In today’s nonprofit world, numerous groups and organizations have started to include a tool in their toolbox called digital advocacy. Advocacy is probably a word you as a nonprofit guru are aware of. Advocating for a cause, a demographic, etc., is your jam. While it’s simple to add the word digital in front of that and call it a day, technically digital advocacy has more of a political spin.

Erica Young - The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Welcome to part two of our Thought Leadership series on building sustainable and forward-thinking HR departments in the social sector.

As the current workforce continues to churn and find its footing in the new not-so-normal, Mockingbird reached out for a two-part interview with Innovation Catalyst Erica Young whose background in nonprofit work and strategic business partnerships at The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) places her at the intersection of people management in today’s nonprofit world.

As nonprofits, it is important to maintain a nonpartisan stance when engaging with and talking about candidates. While nonprofits may take a stance on specific issues or policies, this is considered lobbying and can only take up a small percentage of your organization’s budget (see more on the IRS substantial part test below). Voting is inherently a nonpartisan issue, so as long as you encourage people to register and vote without tying that message to specific candidates or issues, you will be in full compliance with the law.

The urgency for incorporating cultural competence into all aspects of our society is as important as ever, so how can you advance cultural competence in your organization?

Evaluating advocacy efforts is no easy feat, but doing so can yield better results as well as lessons learned that can be shared with other organizations and/or used the next time you need to advocate for change.