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Online Advocacy: Not Just for US Politicians Online advocacy is a powerful tool that can help involve an organization’s supporters and apply pressure to elected officials to support or oppose legislation. However, elected officials in the United States are not the only targets of recent US-based online advocacy efforts. Increasingly, nonprofits are applying the same online advocacy techniques – most often petitions and e-mail campaigns, to corporate heads and even foreign governments in order to promote the nonprofit’s agenda and, not incidentally, increase their online house file. A former client has run a very successful program for the past several years targeting heads of major corporations who advertise on TV programs that the nonprofit has identified as inappropriate. Rather than seeking legislative oversight of content, the nonprofit marshals the support of its 700,000 members to complain to firms who support obscene and violent programming with their advertising dollars. The nonprofit sends an e-mail to its members, asking them to sign a petition online complaining about the corporation’s sponsorship of a particular program. Each petition signature triggers an e-mail sent to the corporation, but also captures the signer’s name, email address, and sometimes postal address. It also links to a page that requests financial support for the mission, and a small percentage of petition signers make an online donation right away. Members and signers are also urged to pass the email along to their friends and family. In some cases, the e-assaults work. Some advertisers have responded to the campaign with promises not to advertise on such shows. But even if the advertiser issues a statement disagreeing with the nonprofit, then the nonprofit can go back to its members and complain that the advertiser “doesn’t share your views” and can urge more action. In rare cases, an advertiser will make the mistake of blocking emails from the nonprofit. In that case, the nonprofit can tell its members that the advertiser “doesn’t even want to hear from you!” As you can see, either way it’s an opportunity to continue communication with the supporters and request further action. Similar targets include foreign heads of state. World Wildlife Foundation ran an online campaign last year aimed at Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources, urging them to reconsider action that would close 100 nature preserves in that nation. An additional advantage of such campaigns: they are NOT subject to any IRS or other federal regulation concerning “advocacy” since they are NOT intended to affect any legislation. This is educational programming. Have fun with it! May 2004 | |
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