Gronbjerg
 Lack of IT resources limits abilities to affect policy, according to IU report |
Indiana non-profit organizations are affected by changes in community conditions and public policies, but many are ill-prepared to advocate for their positions on such changes, according to a report recently released by the IU Center on Philanthropy and the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA).
Although more than 25 percent of Indiana non-profits indicated that they participate in some form of advocacy—such as promoting positions on certain policy issues, ranging from health care to gambling, or on issues related to the interests of certain groups, such as senior citizens and veterans—only 3 percent say advocacy is one of their most important activities or programs.
A closer look shows that non-profits involved in advocacy do not devote substantial resources to these efforts, including 20 percent that do not devote any staff or financial resources. Another 30 percent say they devote some staff or some financial resources, but not both.
Lack of technology resources also hinders non-profit advocacy activities. More than 30 percent of non-profits involved in advocacy do not have access to the Internet or cannot communicate via E-mail with their constituents or policymakers. Less than 50 percent have a Web site.
"Indiana non-profits need communication technology and related tools to effectively present the challenges they face when community conditions change or public policy shifts, thereby affecting the good work they do," said Kirsten Grønbjerg, the project director, who holds the Efroymson Chair in philanthropy at the Center on Philanthropy, located on the IUPUI campus, and is SPEA professor in non-profit management at IU Bloomington.
Grønbjerg suggests that non-profits explore access to non-profit information technology support groups, such as the IT Resource Center and NPower Indiana, and also funding sources which might support technology efforts.
The new findings appear in the third report in a series produced as part of the "Indiana Non-profits: Scope and Community Dimensions" project. This multi-year, multi-phase project is examining the size and composition of the Indiana non-profit sector, the critical role that more the than 60,000 Indiana non-profits play in communities and the challenges they face.
The data show that policy changes have a greater impact on some non-profit fields than others. Nearly 60 percent of health organizations and more than 35 percent of human service organizations reported that at least one policy change had an impact on their operations in the three years prior to the survey.
Among the current report’s other findings, more than 50 percent of Indiana non-profits said that changes in community conditions had an impact on their operations while 25 percent noted an impact from public policy changes.
Non-profits also have an impact on the communities in which they operate. A previous non-profit profile report found that more than half of Indiana non-profits target at least some of their programs or activities to a particular geographic region.
"Non-profits also affect the local economy by employing residents in communities across the state, providing volunteer opportunities, and buying goods and services locally," Grønbjerg said. "Therefore, it is important that their voices be heard along with others as communities and policies change."
To read the full report, refer to this Web site:
http://www.indiana.edu /~nonprof/results/npsurvey/inscom.html
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