VIDEO - Ana Oliveira on ROI for Foundation Support of Policy Efforts

Want to create significant impact with your donor dollars? Consider incorporating support for policy work in your giving plan. That’s the message from Ana Oliveira, President and CEO of The New York Women’s Foundation, who spoke yesterday at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy’s Marketplace of Ideas series. In this post, Ana is speaking to the imperative for state and federal policies that ensure family sick leave for employees. (The panel was keynoted by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine who led passage of a law doing just that for employees in his state.)

In this clip she claims both that foundations largely fail to grasp immense opportunities available through policy efforts and that that policy work is not the same as lobbying, which is prohibited by tax exempt status.

In looking for a rationale for donor support, I came across Power in Policy: A Funder's Guide to Advocacy and Civic Participation. While I haven’t read the book and thus can’t recommend it, it includes recommendations from several heavy-hitters who echo Ana’s statement at yesterday’s event:

“Philanthropic leadership in the twenty-first century demands that we become more involved in the public policy process. This book is essential in understanding the issues, and how to be an effective community leader and informed advocate.”
—Steve Gunderson, President and CEO, Council on Foundations

“Through our public policy grantees, we have seen policies enacted that can improve the health of far more Californians than we could ever hope to have reached through funding direct service alone. If the achievement of your mission requires changes in public policy, pick up this guide. It will help you navigate the challenges.”
—Gary L. Yates, President and CEO, The California Wellness Foundation

“Just what the philanthropy doctor ordered. Provides a persuasive argument why foundations must change their attitude if they are to preserve and strengthen our civil society and democracy.”
—Pablo Eisenberg, Senior Fellow, Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership, Georgetown Public Policy Institute, author of Challenges for Nonprofits and Philanthropy: The Courage to Change

As PhilanthroMedia’s audiocast on donor strategies for the environment makes clear, policy work isn’t for the faint of heart. But if you are serious about creating significant change, it should be considered an essential tool in your arsenal.

Susan Herr