When a legislator visits your organization, having a specific policy can help clearly draw the line between advocating and lobbying by ensuring everyone knows what they can share, who approves it, and how to avoid accidentally misrepresenting the visit, supporting legislation, or endorsing a candidate. The following 12 questions will help you develop your own social media policy specifically for legislative visits or other potentially political content.

In listening to advice shared at our recent OneTable QC workshop on Advocacy and talking to policymakers and their staff, mostly at the federal level, today's blog post highlights 10 tips for effectively engaging with them to help inspire better policy and improved access to the resources your organization and constituents need to succeed.

At our OneTable QC event last week, we learned how to turn your everyday work into advocacy for your organization. Today we talk about one way - telling your organizational story - and how you can turn that story into effective advocacy.

Why do we make assumptions? Our brains process billions of pieces of information every day, sorting them into categories by connecting the unknown to the known. Because we know our own feelings and reactions best, we tend to project them onto others. This blog helps identify how to overcome, or at least minimize, your assumption bias.

Writing an effective professional email takes more than good grammar and a polite sign-off; it demands clarity and intentionality. These 8 tips will help every email you send land with greater impact.

At a meeting back in February, my staff and I talked about some of the likely challenges with which we thought our clients lived after the barrage of executive orders that the current administration had released at that time.

As executive orders and funding freezes began to feel more common, we started collecting data in a quarterly Federal Grant Impact Survey. Today's blog post highlights are most recent findings and the state of Quad Cities nonprofits today.

Last week, I had the honor of cohosting the inaugural Table Talk session of the OneTable QC initiative, a joint venture between Wastyn & Associates and the Quad Cities Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The event brought together nearly 60 local nonprofit leaders from various sectors to discuss their realities in the current political and economic environment, to share what they anticipate as the various elements of the Reconciliation Bill get implemented, and to brainstorm ways to minimize these impacts on their organizations and the people they serve.

Too many nonprofits think that they cannot talk to lawmakers about the causes that matter to them because they know that lobbying can jeopardize your 501c3 status. While the latter is true, you can engage in advocacy. Learn the difference between the two in this short video.

Happy Holidays from the Wastyn & Associates team with best wishes for a prosperous and joyous new year.