From the course: Nonprofit Management Foundations

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Advocating and serving: Changing public policy

Advocating and serving: Changing public policy

From the course: Nonprofit Management Foundations

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Advocating and serving: Changing public policy

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- [Instructor] I've always liked this quote, "Charity is a matter of personal attribute; "while justice is a matter of public policy." This quote by a prominent civil rights activist of the 60s speaks to a perplexing divide that exists in nonprofits. Non profits are typically geared to either provide direct services, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, care for the elderly, or advocate for political reform. Mount protests against racial discrimination like those in Ferguson, lead demonstrations like the Million Man March, or Earth Day, or lobby policy makers directly to force political change. What's fascinating to me is that having spent more than two decades working with and writing about successful nonprofits, the best nonprofits do both. They refuse to choose between either providing direct charitable service or advocating for policy reform. High-impact nonprofits embrace both charity and advocacy even though many nonprofits are hesitant to get involved with advocacy because…

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