More Than Just Armchair Advocacy
On August 25, dozens of nonprofits came together to advocate for protection of the Johnson Amendment as part of a push for “No Riders” on federal appropriations bills – and they didn’t even have to leave the comfort of their offices. In the span of one hour, hundreds of tweets were directed to key House and Senate offices expressing the importance of nonprofit nonpartisanship and sharing comments from signers of the updated Community Letter in Support of Nonpartisanship.
While such “hashtag activism” is no substitute for letters, phone calls, and meetings with elected officials, it can be a great way to get an issue on the radar of offices on Capitol Hill or in state capitals. Another great strategy is to use social media to thank elected officials for their support, just as the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network did in the tweet to the right.
But this story of advocacy in action isn’t just a look back at recent efforts – it’s a preview of things to come. On September 25, we invite you to join nonprofits from across the country in celebrating #MissionMonday. We hope you will join nonprofit colleagues throughout the country in sharing the impact of your nonprofit’s mission and how it would be affected by the infiltration of partisan politics if the Johnson Amendment were to be weakened or repealed. Stay tuned for more details in the next issue of Nonprofit Advocacy Matters and feel free to follow us at @NatlCouncilNPs and @buildnpcapacity and continue to use the #JohnsonAmendment and #CommunityNotCandidates in the weeks leading up to #MissionMonday.
But for now, here are a few more memorable tweets from the August 25 twitter event:
