PANO Workshop: Lobbying and Advocacy

Check out this workshop in Harrisburg, sign up with your PANO membership, which you receive courtesy of district funds.

Here’s a direct link: PANO Workshop

Lobbying and Advocacy -
The Most Important Tool in Your Mission Toolbox
with Joseph M. Geiger, CAE, Executive Director

Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations
Friday, August 20, 2010
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
(registration begins at 8:30)

PANO Building
777 East Park Drive
Harrisburg, PA 17111

Throughout the history of the United States, advocacy by nonprofits led to fundamental reforms in our society that have saved and improved lives and strengthened our democracy.

Pennsylvania’s nonprofits are facing unprecedented challenges. Many nonprofits are coping with declining and disappearing contributions, grants, traditional corporate support and government lifelines. When resources dwindle, the community’s need for services grows.

Advocacy is arguably the most important tool in the box in fulfilling community mission. Government officials, including the Internal Revenue Service, expect charities to be engaged in the policy process. Some say, if a nonprofit is not lobbying, it is not doing its job. So many nonprofits don’t understand the rules of engagement, so it gets left to a few. That is not sustainable and not powerful. As nonprofits find themselves in competition for scarce resources, advocacy becomes increasingly crucial to an organization’s performance. The stakes are too high for nonprofits to stand on the sidelines.

This half-day workshop will provide you with tools and tips to help you engage in conversations with your elected officials at all levels of government. You will learn the rules by which we must adhere. The timeliness of this program is great given the upcoming fall elections.

This program will provide you with:

Who should attend? Nonprofit Board Members, Executive Directors, Government Relations Staff – everyone intending to engage in our democratic process!

Cost: $59 members; $106 nonmembers
Early registration ends on 06/20/2010.
Regular registration starts on 06/21/2010 and ends on 08/20/2010.
Late registration starts on 08/21/2010.
All times are 12:00am (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).