MPs advise charities on high-impact, cost-effective lobbying
Build rapport with priority MPs and mobilise public to lobby them locally, parliamentarians tell cash-conscious charities
Councillors & Local Authorities rate charities highly for public service provision - but doubt Compact
- The majority of Councillors and Local Authority staff rate charity provision of public services at least on a par with a Local Authority’s own
- Around 3 in 5 rate charity provision of public services over delivery by companies
- Scarce a quarter think Compact has made a big difference
58% of Councillors and 50% of Local Authority staff think “charities are able to deliver public services as cost-effectively as local authorities”, respective figures rising to 63% and 59% when comparing charita
3 in 4 MPs think charities campaign better than companies
- MPs love charitable constituency focus, face-to-face briefings - and media opportunities!
- MPs hate mass mailings - or being bored!
- “Be more targeted and personal,” think tank advises
Three quarters (76%) of all MPs agree agree that “in general, charities are more effective at campaigning amongst MPs than companies”; a quarter (24%) agreeing “strongly” - according to figures out today (see attached summary slide
Research shows effective lobbying requires voluntary income
- Financially independent charities most likely to engage with, and impress, MPs
- Top 30 MP-impressing UK charities’ average voluntary income is 61%, against 38% sector-wide average
- Only 5 of Top 30 MP-impressing UK charities have less than the sector-wide average (but still have large voluntary incomes)
- “Thriving and effectual voluntary sector requires independent income,” vies Saxton
Charities whose voluntary funding has given them significant financial independence from gover
Getting the Message Across
Not for profit think-tank nfpSynergy has teamed up with The ImpACT Coalition to produce a free, short, practical report and guide that will empower charities to formulate and communicate simple messages, including pithy pub facts, needed to dispel a range of debilitating misperceptions their stakeholders may have, both about themselves and the wider third sector.
Ten tips for lobbying MPs - nfpSynergy
nfpSynergy has a wealth of back-data regarding MPs' opinions of charities and their campaigns, comments from those who work in this area and experience of the sector. This has enabled us to compile a report containing ten tips, which extract the most salient issues to emerge from our research, to help you in your future charity campaigns and lobbying.