"We Want to Hire You, But We Don’t Have the Money”: How to Fund Your Advocacy Work

I hear this all the time from nonprofit leaders:

“Bethany, we want to build our advocacy muscle. We need to show up at the Capitol, tell our story, and push back on policies that hurt our people. We’d love to hire you to help us get there… but we just don’t have the money.”

Here’s the thing: I believe you. Budgets are tight. Your team is stretched. You’re juggling service delivery, fundraising, compliance, and just trying to make it through the week.

But I also know this: if your community is hurting because of broken policies, you can’t afford not to do advocacy. And with a little creativity and clarity, you can fund it.

Let’s talk about how.

1. Tell Your Donors What You’re Doing—Seriously. Just Say It.

This is the most flexible, powerful, and underused strategy: share your advocacy intentions with your donors.

You don’t need a new grant. You don’t need a big campaign. You just need to say:

“We’re stepping into advocacy because direct services aren’t enough. We’re tired of putting Band-Aids on systemic issues. We want to fight for policy change—and we need your support to do it.”

Donors want to invest in impact. And advocacy? That’s systems-level impact.

Many will be thrilled to support you—especially your longtime champions who’ve seen the challenges pile up and are ready for you to do something about them.

And remember: individual donor dollars are usually the most flexible. They’re perfect for getting your advocacy strategy off the ground—whether it’s hiring a consultant (hi 🙋‍♀️ me!) or launching a campaign.

2. Tap into Capacity-Building Grants (Yes, Even for Advocacy)

Most nonprofits don’t realize this, but advocacy planning is a legitimate capacity-building activity. You’re building the internal skills, strategy, and infrastructure to engage in policy work—and that absolutely counts.

Local community foundations, United Ways, and funder collaboratives often offer:

• Leadership development grants

• Strategic planning grants

• Infrastructure or capacity-building grants

• Technical assistance funds

All of those can be used to fund advocacy strategy work, staff training, coalition-building, or hiring a consultant (hi 🙋‍♀️ me again!) to help you chart a path forward.

Don’t see an obvious fit? Call your program officer and ask. You might be surprised at how open funders are—especially when advocacy is tied to your mission and community impact.

3. Make Advocacy Part of Your Core Operations (Because It Is)

Stop treating advocacy like an “extra.” It’s not a luxury—it’s a core strategy for mission success.

If you're providing housing, health care, food, education—whatever it is—you are already impacted by policy decisions. Advocacy is how you fight back and shape those systems.

So budget for it like you would for:

• Communications

• Fundraising

• Program development

• Evaluation

Include it in your general operating requests. Fold it into your board development plan. Build the case in your grant proposals that advocacy is how you protect your mission long-term.

4. Start Small with Targeted, Short-Term Funding

You don’t need $100K to get started. You need a plan. And a partner who knows how to build one with you.

There are short-term or small-dollar grants out there for exactly this:

• Rapid response or civic engagement funds

• Mini-grants from statewide associations or national groups

• Policy capacity grants tied to your issue area

Even $3K–$5K can fund a workshop series, a board strategy session, or an advocacy audit. I offer several entry-level engagements to help organizations get clarity and momentum without blowing their budget.

5. Don’t Sleep on Crowdfunding or Micro-Campaigns

You know what moves people? Passion. If your supporters are fired up about what’s happening in the world—channel it. Set up a campaign like:

“We’re ready to fight for change. Help us launch our advocacy campaign.”

This is a great tool when:

• You’ve built trust with your base

• Your community is already activated around a policy issue

• You want to show funders you have community buy-in

Be specific. Be bold. And don’t be afraid to ask. Advocacy gives people hope—and that’s a powerful fundraising motivator.

Bonus Tip: Use the “We’re Planning Something Big” Angle

Foundations love a plan. They want to fund intentionality and sustainability—not just one-off reactions.

So instead of saying “We need to start doing advocacy,” try:

“We’re developing an advocacy strategy that aligns with our mission and community needs. This will help us be more effective and sustainable. We’re looking for support to get that plan in place.”

This tells funders: you’re thinking long-term, not just chasing headlines. That’s attractive. And that’s how you unlock bigger investments.

Let’s Normalize Funding Advocacy

If you're serious about systems change, advocacy isn’t optional—it’s essential. And you shouldn’t have to duct-tape it together with leftover program dollars.

So yes—you can hire me. And yes—you can fund your advocacy work.

Start by naming the intention. Talk to your donors. Look for capacity funding. Reframe advocacy as core to your mission. And ask for what you need.

Need help pitching it to your funders or board? I’ve helped lots of groups write that first email or grant request.

Let’s do it together. Contact me here.

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