POLICY / ADVOCACY
The following resources are meant to help community-based organizations build their public policy and advocacy capacity and skills so they can identify their communities’ health needs and potential solutions; effectively communicate these issues to policymakers and opinion leaders; and mobilize their members and leaders to action.
Access Project
The Access Project works to strengthen community action, promote social change, and improve health, especially for those who are most vulnerable. By supporting local initiatives and community leaders, The Access Project is dedicated to strengthening the voice of underserved communities in the public and private policy discussions that directly affect them.
ADVOCACY 101
Advocacy 101 Toolkit
The California Endowment Web site provides some helpful articles on how to advocate, how to pick winning issues and what you can and cannot do legally.
Alliance for Justice: The Nonprofit Advocacy Project
Works to strengthen the voice of the nonprofit sector in public policy debates by giving tax-exempt organizations a better understanding of the laws that govern their participation in the policy process.
American Public Health Association Advocacy Section
This site looks at the advocacy work of APHA and offers advocacy tips and reports and fact sheets.
Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest
This Web site is intended to be a public resource for nonprofit organizations to learn about the powerful contributions to society that can come from lobbying in the public interest.
The Democracy Center
Dedicated to strengthening the advocacy work of nonprofit and community groups in California, the center provides advocacy training, counseling, strategy planning and other assistance.
The Lobbying and Advocacy Handbook for Nonprofit Organizations (Amherst H. Wilder Foundation)
This guide will help you understand your role in shaping public policy, assess the benefits of lobbying to fulfill your mission, and show you how to develop and carry out an advocacy plan.
NPAction.org
This online resource is designed to support capacity building for nonprofit advocacy by collecting the best practices of seasoned advocates and engaging newcomers with a wide range of topics and tools.
OMB Watch: So You Want to Make A Difference: Advocacy is the Key
This advocacy manual provides resources to help local leaders and citizens learn more and feel more confident about getting involved in policy advocacy.
Policy Link
PolicyLink is a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity by Lifting Up What Works®
Real Clout: A How-To Manual for Community Activists
Real Clout is written to serve as a how-to manual for community activists who need to figure out how their state or county government works. It addresses issues such as how to convince state or county public officials to interpret existing law and regulations differently, and how to work with a state or county public official to design, create and fund a new program.
San Francisco AIDS Foundation Grassroots Manual
Whether you're new to grassroots advocacy, or are interested in strengthening your skills, this manual is for you. It's full of tips and useful knowledge designed to help you ensure that policy makers in City Hall, Sacramento and Washington, D.C. are responsive to the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS in your community.
ADVOCACY, POLICY AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS
Center for Studying Health System Change
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Children's Defense Fund
Community Health Leadership Program
Community Tool Box
Council on Health Care Economics and Policy
Covering Kids and Families
Covering the Uninsured
Demos
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
Families USA Foundation
Health Care Coach
Healthy Communities Initiative
Heller Graduate School Research Centers
Interfaith Health Program at the Carter Center
Local Initiatives Funding Partners
Massachusetts Health Policy Forum
National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project
National Academy for State Health Policy
National Health Law Program (NHeLP)
Project Inform
Sustainable Communities Network
The Public Agenda Online
Third Sector New England
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN)
Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism Project
ASSOCIATIONS
American Hospital Association
American Public Health Association
National Association of Community Health Centers, Inc.
National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems
National Conference of State Legislatures
National Governors' Association
FOUNDATIONS
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Boston Foundation
Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of MA
The California Endowment
The Commonwealth Fund
Connecticut Health Foundation
Endowment for Health
Fetzer Institute
The Ford Foundation
Grantmakers In Health
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation
The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts
The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati
Heinz Foundation
Henry J.Kaiser Family Foundation
Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation
Kenneth B. Schwartz Center
Mid-Iowa Health Foundation
Milbank Memorial Fund
Missouri Foundation for Health
The Nathan Cummings Foundation
Ottinger Foundation
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Public Welfare Foundation
Quantum Foundation
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation
TIDES
United Methodist Health Ministry Fund
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
JOURNALS AND MEDIA COMPILATIONS
Health Affairs
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report