A Call to Advocacy for Nonprofits

A CALL TO ADVOCACY FOR NONPROFITS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jeffrey H. Birnbaum]
Gary D. Bass wants charities to get rough and tumble when it comes to dealing with government. In his new book, "Seen But Not Heard: Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy," Bass and three co-authors argue that charities need to lobby more often and more effectively. "Democracy would be better off," said Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, a nonprofit group that pushes for government accountability. Bass has been trying to convince charities for years that they should not be afraid to lobby. He and others, including the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, have even devised ways to ease -- or at least simplify -- the limitations now imposed on charities so they can press their causes more aggressively. Conservative lawmakers and a few campaign-finance scholars don't like the idea. They worry that, among other things, the ability of charities to keep their donors anonymous could lead to huge and largely untraceable infusions of cash into elections, all under the guise of lobbying.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/19/AR2007111901333.html
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