Advocacy in Nonprofit Organizations: A Leadership Perspective

The influence of nonprofit leaders in organizational advocacy strategies and outcomes has not been fully explored in the literature, despite the recognition that political or policy entrepreneurs are crucial to the American policy process. These leaders are placed squarely in the political arena with other political elites, including elected officials, and this study uses a common agency framework to describe the ways in which leaders should be expected to leverage their own personal preferences in guiding their organization’s behavior. Using data from a unique survey of nonprofit leaders in California, I measure the ways that a leader’s personal values and characteristics – specifically their political ideology on a left-right spectrum – have an effect on the organization’s advocacy efforts. Results indicate that political ideology is related to whether or not a leader identifies their group as one that engages in political or policy issues, and what types of tactics they use.