Every organization should include advocacy as part of their mission. Those who do, and who actively engage in advocacy see benefits such as incresed demand for services, increase in community involvement and significantly increase revenue.
People often confuse the words "lobbying" and "advocacy." The legal definition of lobbying usually involves attempting to influence legislation. Advocacy covers a much broader range of activities that might, or might not, include lobbying. One way of differentiating between the two terms is to understand that lobbying always involves advocacy but advocacy does not necessarily involve lobbying.
Developing and implementing an advocacy plan may require developing new skills and new methods of communicating with your members and the community you serve. The challenge in implementing an advocacy plan is to develop a process of working together that is flexible enough to allow adjustments to new social and political contexts, while maintaining a focus on long-term outcomes.
