Do 501c-4s support or undermine our Democracy?

Last week I used this space as a Discussion Forum for the NMP 665 Law, Policy, Government Relations, and Nonprofit Course I am currently teaching. The experiment worked well so I am going to do it again. 

I want to reference a front-page article in the 1/27/13 edition of the Sunday NYTIMES titled: Secret Donors Finance Fight Against Hagel.  It is available at:  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/us/politics/secret-donors-finance-fight-against-hagel.html?ref=todayspaper

The article discusses the recent creation of numerous 501c4 nonprofits that are waging a media and public opinion campaign against the confirmation of Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to be head of the Defense Department. 

In this week’s course readings, we are focusing on the positive role nonprofits play in promoting a healthy democracy by helping common citizens influence the public policy and legislation decisions of their government.   But we are also learning that some elites create so-called “astro-turf” nonprofits to promote their own policy and legislative interests in the guise of speaking for the “common man.”

In light of this NYTIMES article and this week’s readings, what do you think are the pros and cons of 501c-4 organizations being able to lobby as much as they want AND not being required to make public who is financing their activities?  Does something (legally) have to change?  Why or why not? 

VIDEO OF HOT TOPICS IS READY FOR VIEWING

Hi:

Recently, I blogged about a Hot Topic Breakfast we had here at Bay Path on 1/11/13 that featured Rick Bailey and  two NMP/SFP adjunct professors as panelist.  The title of Rick's presentation was "Rise Above the Ruckus, You Deserve to be Heard."  In it, Rick discussed 8 thoughtful steps on how to develop an effective marketing campaign by being true to "who" your organization is.

Here's the link and happy watching!

https://my.baypath.edu/ICS/IT_Resources/Campus_Video_Archive/

Thoughts?

Jeff

Obama's Inaugural address and the role nonprofits play in our legislative process.

This Blog Entry is a little different.  Instead of me giving my thoughts, I am inviting students from my NMP 665 class  (Law, Policy, Government and Nonprofits) to comment on President Obama’s inaugural address today with particular attention to two paragraphs that he spoke toward the end of his speech:

 

“My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction.  And we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service.  But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty or an immigrant realizes her dream.  My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.

They are the words of citizens and they represent our greatest hope.  You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.  You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time — not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.”

A major theme of NMP 665 is that nonprofits—throughout our nation’s history—have enabled common citizens to make their collective voices heard by their government.  We will discuss this function of nonprofits in great detail next week, but since we have already touched on this theme, I wanted to take the opportunity created by the President’s speech to further this discussion now.


PS Anyone can “chime in” to the discussion and you can read the entire speech at
 http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/president-barack-obamas-2013-inaugural-address-full-text-86497.html     

Successful Nonprofit "Hot Topics Breakfast" Held at Longmeadow Campus

Last Friday we had a wonderful Hot Topics breakfast on the Longmeadow Campus attended by about 200 nonprofit professionals including a good number of NMP/SFP alumni.   Rick Bailey, founder of RHB (a marketing consultancy), was the main speaker and Dina Plapler and John Urschel, both adjunct professors in Bay Path’s nonprofit graduate program, were guest panelists.

Rick’s main theme was that to market effectively in today's data saturated environment, you need to know what you want to convey to your audience and to boldly convey that message in as clear and constant a manner as possible.  “Coherence” is the term he used for being consistent in what you do as an organization, what you say you do in your marketing message, and what your target audience understands your organization does.    

While Rick acknowledged that these are challenging times for nonprofits, he also said that the current changing environment provides nonprofits with “chopportunities” to address new community needs that are developing because of these changes. 

Below are eight points that he said were critical to maintaining coherence and making the most of your organization’s “chopportunities”:

1.      Know yourself:  The practice of coherence begins by knowing your organization well.

2.     Stay focused:  Once you know your great cause, your mission, and you are assured that it’s relevant, stick to it. Use it as the measuring stick by which you organize your team, your activities, your outreach and your marketing. 

3.     Know your peeps and your would-be peeps:  While it’s important to know yourself well, if you intend to be coherent, it’s essential to know your audience just as well.  Make sure your organization is focused on what is important to your most important audiences.   

4.     Speak clearly:  Be clear about who you are and what you hope to achieve. Know your position in the market and how you differentiate from your competitors.

5.      Know your objectives:  Be clear about what you hope to accomplish.  Have clear and reasonable objectives. And remember to be specific about your audience. Who do you intend to reach? 

6.     Listen first. Then converse:  The first rule of social media is to keep in mind that it is SOCIAL. It’s conversation. It’s communication. And while it has advertising components, it’s first and foremost dialog. 

7.     Behave like your best self:  If you’re transparent and authentic; if you consistently deliver on your promises, you’ll become trustworthy. And trust will turn to the kinds of exchanges you hope to have. 

8.     Fail forward:  Failure is a great thing and can lead to game-changing success.  Welcome it. If you haven’t failed, you probably haven’t tried hard enough.

The event was taped so I’ll alert you to when and where you can watch it on-line.  Thoughts?

Jeff