Opening the Coffers

As David Magnani stood before about 200 key players within Western Mass. nonprofit organizations, he had one overriding message: legislators, believe it or not, are human.

“The first lesson is that legislators are people,” said Magnani, a former state lawmaker and now executive director of the Mass. Nonprofit Network, which builds awareness of the Commonwealth’s nonprofit sector. “They have lives. They have likes, dislikes, relatives, friends, hobbies — or they used to have hobbies.

“And because they’re human beings, they have passions about issues they care deeply about,” he added. “If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be in office. And if you know what they care deeply about, you’re one step ahead.”

That was one of many messages delivered by Magnani and a handful of panelists from the legislative and nonprofit arenas at the third Hot Topics in Philanthropy Breakfast staged late last month at Bay Path College. “Making Your Case within the Political Landscape” was the topic of this particular roundtable, and Magnani, the keynote speaker, stressed the need for nonprofits not only to build relationships with lawmakers, but to involve their constituents in grass-roots appeals if they want access to state funds.

“The role of nonprofits is to affect public policy,” he said. “Anyone who thinks that all they have to do is provide services is missing the boat. Every citizen, particularly in the nonprofit sector, should have as part of their job description ‘political organizer.’ And if you’re not getting paid for it, it should still be part of your job description. It’s essential to the ability to shift the conversation.”

Even then, said Magnani, lawmakers often get bogged down in day-to-day business — not to mention campaigning, fundraising, keeping up on the activities of town councils and boards of education, and trying to have a home life. As a result, they often fail to immediately see the value in looking at a problem — and allocating resources to address it — in a different way than they have in the past.

“The system is not designed for change,” he said. “No system pays revolutionaries to change it. The system is designed for inertia. You can overcome that through persistence and focus and consistency. You won’t get it all in one day. It takes time, but if you’re in it for the long haul, you’ll be successful.”

Passion and Ego

State Sen. Gale Candaras (D-1st District) told the breakfast attendees that, while most nonprofits would love their own recurring line item in the state budget, most would be happy with in earmark carved out of an agency’s budget, directing a certain amount of money their way. She said the House has largely opposed earmarks in the past, but argued they serve a purpose, particularly in this region.

“They wanted the heads of the agencies to have absolute discretion over how money was spent in Western Mass.,” she said, “but an agency head doesn’t always understand our needs. We’ve insisted on earmarking and substituting our judgment for that of an agency head.”

But before a legislator can take up for an issue in Boston, he or she must be convinced of that issue’s importance. “As a legislator, I had 75 great causes coming down the pike, so you have to stand out among all the other good causes,” Magnani said.

The key, he told those assembled, is building relationships, not just asking for money. And to that end, the best time to bring an idea to a lawmaker is at his or her own fundraiser.

“You start by offering something, not asking for something,” he explained. “For example, ‘hi, Senator. I heard your son is the captain of the football team. Congratulations, you must be proud. Here’s $25.’ You’ve built a relationship in 30 seconds. When you talk about lobbying, it’s about relationships, not just about data.”

Magnani cautioned, however, not to ask for the moon, since all legislators face budget limitations. “You don’t get everything you want. Democracy was designed for something we consider a dirty word: compromise. When you’re writing legislation, only one person is going to agree with every word, and that’s the person who wrote it. The other people in the State House have to compromise.”

If a nonprofit doesn’t get everything it wants, he said, it’s still important to thank lawmakers for what it did get. And even that might involve some public ego-stroking, he explained, noting that the best way to thank a congressperson isn’t with a note or personal greeting, but with a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. “If someone has to run for re-election and you think he did a good job, let people know about it.”

Another key factor in working into a lawmaker’s good graces is through his staff, particularly his chief of staff.

“I’m the puppet, the one that’s run out in public,” Magnani said. “The chief of staff runs the place and pays attention to all the legislation. And the chief of staff listens to her staff, so if you get to them, you get to the chief of staff.”

Legislators have egos, and some of them are oversized, said Ronald Cretaro, executive director of the Conn. Assoc. of Nonprofits, which supports the work of nonprofit work to benefit Connecticut communities. “But some legislators are humble; they do care about the issues. Most are there because they want to make a difference and do good.”

He agreed with Magnani that it’s important to engage lawmakers on a personal level. Whether it’s giving them an award, asking them to present an award, or asking them to speak at an issues forum for five minutes, the important thing is creating valuable face time.

“Invite them to your organization. Tell your story over and over again,” said Cretaro. “Successful marketing involves getting a message out as many as seven or eight times. Sometimes we think legislators get our message, but we need to find new ways to share it.

“Your first contact should not be asking for something, but just finding a way to be with them, engage them, and help them become familiar with the work you do,” he continued. “Instead of saying, ‘this is what we do; can you find us some additional money?’ say, ‘this is what we do to help the community, and we’d like to be a resource for you.’’

With One Voice

Even purveyors of a worthy cause have to deal with some stiff competition, said Candaras, which has been exacerbated by a recent proliferation of nonprofit groups — and, often, a resulting redundancy in services.

“When legislators are confronted with three or four nonprofits who want to do the same thing, the natural response is, ‘get together, form a coalition, and speak to us with one voice,’” she said. “And you need to tell us how many people you’re going to serve.”

She used as an example the state’s support of Square One, formerly Springfield Day Nursery, which provides early education and care to more than 1,000 infants and preschoolers each day. “We are listening to you, but we need strong voices, especially in Western Mass. Legislators aren’t going to ignore an organization serving 1,100 children in their district.”

However, she and the other panelists also kept returning to the concept of grassroots advocacy — in other words, the involvement of an organization’s clients, not just its leadership, in promoting a cause. And that takes organization.
“It matters deeply that we provide services, and it matters even more deeply how we provide those services,” said Carolyn Ford, executive director of the Human Service Forum, which advocates for human-services organizations in the Pioneer Valley. “And we think constituents and clients of the organization can make this easier. An engaged and invested constituency involved in governance and legal advocacy lends credibility to our efforts to get funds for the organization.”

That may involve letter- and postcard-writing campaigns, hosting legislative receptions and events, staying informed about relevant bills in the State House, and forming coalitions between like-minded groups, she explained.

“We all get caught up in the day-to-day running of nonprofits, and out constituents get caught up in the daily issue of surviving,” Ford admitted. “But it’s important for us to become the educating force behind these issues. Having a targeted message is essential, and so is building relationships across issues, looking also to faith-based organizations and the business community.”

As a case in point, Ford cited the unlikely coalition that has formed between environmental groups and sportsmen — particularly hunting and fishing enthusiasts — in promoting conservation and protection of land and natural resources.

Michael Weekes, president and CEO of the Mass. Council of Human Service Providers, said nonprofits need to begin a national dialogue about the needs they represent in society, noting that even though there are 1.9 million such organizations in America, employing 14 million people and putting 80 million more volunteers to work each day, he has yet to hear the word ‘nonprofit’ uttered at any of the many presidential debates.

“Martin Luther King Jr., our greatest community organizer, said it’s our task to discover how to organize our strength into compelling power. We need to talk about what we do in this nation,” he said, adding that some people still confuse restrictions on political speech with the ability to advocate for a cause.

“It’s legal to advocate — there are rules, but you can speak on behalf of bills,” Weekes said. “When talking to your legislator about issues, give them information in a way they can understand. And don’t underestimate grassroots lobbying. If you’re not there lobbying for your issues, then other people are lobbying against your issues, taking money away from you.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at[email protected]