Advocacy is an essential part of serving the community.

What does that mean for your work? Information needs to get out beyond your current supporters, to the general public via the media and to politicians and government leaders. You can choose the issues to fight or promote – but please choose to advocate. If we don’t, who will?

Nonprofit NoVA provides resources that will help you, your Board and your volunteers learn the how and why and value of your and their advocacy work.  And if you are ready to start building a relationship with your legislatures:

- Contact information for you Federal and State Representatives.  And here is a convenient tool for anyone in Virginia to find their representatives at both State and Federal levels. 

- Contact information for Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County, Loudoun, Prince William will help you get in touch with your local representative.

As the financial markets continue to roil, local governments and the state of Virginia are slashing budgets.  Line-item cuts of 5 - 30% are hitting nonprofit service-providers hard.  At the very time when many face rising levels of demand, their base funding is being slashed.  And for nonprofits, that means more than a $1 cut for every $1 of government money.  In Virginia, nonprofits bring an average of $4 - $8 to the table, for every $1 of government support.

Nonprofits leverage their funding with support from community members and foundations. In addition, their salaried staff are often paid less than government employees doing similar work.  When the government funds are cut, so is the leveraging ability of the nonprofit.