Advocacy is the act of supporting a particular cause or promoting specific actions aimed at bringing about social or political change. These clear and defined actions, which include lobbying and signing petitions, can also be instrumental in helping your nonprofit organization fulfill its purpose.
When supporters advocate on your behalf, you can make a real difference in the world. To attract more advocates for your cause, consider investing in advocacy software. The right advocacy software can maximize your supporters’ efforts and empower them to take civic action on your nonprofit’s behalf.
At the same time, there are different types of advocacy tools to fit different nonprofit needs. Let’s walk through some of these types and discuss some effective solutions for each.
Top nonprofit advocacy software solutions
1. Bonterra Supporter Engagement’s Advocacy solution: Top multifunctional advocacy software
Bonterra Advocacy (formerly EveryAction) provides all the tools your nonprofit needs to get in touch with the decision-makers of your community while building relationships with supporters. This multi-functional advocacy solution has tools such as:
- Elected official lookup: Make it easy for supporters to find their representatives at the federal, state, or local level.
- Click-to-call: Encourage supporters to call their representatives by embedding a form into your nonprofit’s website. With a click of a button, they can automatically connect with elected officials. Provide scripts and talking points to help guide them through the conversations.
- Social advocacy: Publicly call decision-makers to action with a customizable online form that allows supporters to send quick and effective tweets to elected officials.
- Email advocacy: When supporters provide their contact information, you can automatically match them to their elected officials and encourage them to send pre-written or custom messages.
- Custom targets: Expand your advocacy reach beyond the hundreds of preloaded elected officials by custom-targeting brands and other decision-makers relevant to your cause.
This solution not only optimizes your nonprofit’s advocacy results, but it allows you to strengthen your connections with supporters. You can easily create and promote your petitions, along with forms that encourage your supporters to make a gift toward your purpose. This wide variety of tools, configurable forms, and outreach capabilities makes Bonterra Advocacy a favored software solution for nonprofits.
2. ShowClix: Top advocacy event tool
ShowClix is an event management tool that organizations can leverage to sell tickets for their upcoming advocacy events. This solution is designed for all sizes and types of events and offers features such as:
- Ticket management for single or recurring events
- A simple, navigable event calendar for supporters
- Package and merchandise upsells
- Custom promotional codes
- Ability to add donations to checkout
With ShowClix’s event tools and analytics, your nonprofit will be able to easily reach both new and existing supporters and gather them to rally around your cause.
3. Eventbrite: Top advocacy event ticketing software
Eventbrite is a ticketing software solution that makes it easy to sell tickets or host free events for your advocacy supporters. By incorporating Eventbrite into your nonprofit’s advocacy software ecosystem, you’ll gain access to features such as:
- Mobile ticketing
- Outreach to new supporters
- The mobile app
- Embedded checkout on your website
Your organization can post about your upcoming advocacy event and attract new supporters on this popular, widely-accessible platform.
4. Bonterra Donor Engagement’s Guided Fundraising solution: Top CRM software for advocacy organizations
Bonterra Guided Fundraising (formerly Network for Good) provides an all-in-one platform for managing and tracking relationships with supporters, communicating with them, and tracking your fundraising performance. Some notable features of this solution include:
- Extensive donor profiles: Set your supporter relationships up for success by collecting information and tracking engagement related to each individual that participates in your advocacy campaign. You can save information about petitions signed, representatives tweeted, and donations made.
- Strategic fundraising: Create branded fundraising pages and launch peer-to-peer campaigns with ease. Additionally, your nonprofit can optimize results by turning to expert fundraising advice built directly into the software.
- Tracking and reporting: Keep track of your nonprofit’s fundraising and advocacy efforts in the same place. This type of reporting can help your nonprofit get a well-rounded view of your supporters.
With professionally-written messaging templates and optional fundraising coaches at your disposal, your nonprofit will be equipped to make the most of your supporter relationships and raise awareness for your cause.
5. DonorSearch: Top prospect research tool for advocacy
DonorSearch is an incredibly effective prospect research tool for reaching out to new advocates for your nonprofit’s cause. With DonorSearch, you can gain valuable information about potential advocates, then reach out to them individually. For instance, this tool allows you to discover supporters’:
- Past philanthropic activities for similar organizations
- Valuable connections with businesses or related organizations
- Past donations and contributions made toward similar purposes
DonorSearch uses prospect research to help your organization find supporters who will be most likely to engage with your purpose. These connections will pay off significantly during advocacy campaigns.
Top consultants to help with advocacy software
6. ThinkShout: Top digital agency for advocacy
ThinkShout is a digital agency that works with purpose-driven organizations. They can maximize your design strategy to engage advocates and further your nonprofit’s cause. These consultants can help with:
- Designing attractive and navigable websites based on your nonprofit’s needs
- Crafting data-driven strategies that will engage supporters and boost your advocacy campaign
- Maintaining security standards across your digital resources
ThinkShout will help your nonprofit work with top advocacy software solutions to create a strategy that most effectively engages your supporters.
7. Bracewell Policy Resolution Group (PRG): Top political advocacy consultants
Bracewell PRG works to bring governmental relations, strategic communications, and legal representation services together for a well-rounded approach to legal advocacy. Their team of lobbyists, lawyers, and communications specialists will help your nonprofit come up with a strategic communications plan to encourage politicians to enact policy changes related to your purpose.
PRG can help your nonprofit:
- Make face-to-face contact with Congress
- Develop and articulate a focused message
- Train members of your team to effectively address the media
Having an advisor with experience working with elected officials and the political system can be a valuable asset for nonprofits trying to make a political splash for their cause.
8. Whole Whale: Top data-driven agency for advocacy
Whole Whale is a digital agency that uses data and technology to assist social impact organizations in achieving their purposes. These consultants take a holistic approach to digital strategy. They can support your nonprofit’s advocacy campaign by:
- Measuring and reporting on your advocacy campaign’s ROI
- Ensuring your campaign is visible with an effective SEO strategy
- Encouraging conversions with optimized landing pages and campaign resources
Whole Whale consultants are experts at interpreting data and working with nonprofits to optimize their strategies by leveraging important metrics. They’ll help you use your advocacy software to its fullest extent.
Choosing the right advocacy software for your nonprofit
With a well-rounded strategy and the right advocacy software on your side, your nonprofit’s campaign is bound to succeed. Start conducting your own research into the different tools available to decide what will work best for your organization’s specific needs.
Keep your goals and your purpose at the forefront of your campaign as you move forward with advocacy software that equips you to generate positive, lasting change in your community.
