Recommended Advocacy Organizations
Why join an advocacy group?
My best piece of advice for keeping up your own personal momentum for advocating is to join a reputable advocacy organization. The grit and determination required for activism comes so much easier when you’re exposed to new ideas and inspiration. Keeping your spirits up is just as important as learning skills. If you can, meet regularly in person with other volunteer advocates to support each other over any barriers. That way you can have accountability partners both for advocacy and self-care.
Look for organizations dedicated to empowering volunteers. These groups are as passionate about helping you develop your own individual voice as they are about advancing their causes. Within this alphabetical online list, I’ve noted with an asterisk (*) groups that I've found place volunteer empowerment at the heart of their structure and core values.
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Bread for the World
www.bread.org
Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our
nation’s decision-makers to end hunger at home and abroad.
Members mobilize churches and individuals to change policies,
programs, and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist.
CARE
www.care.org
Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization
fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. In one hundred countries around the world,
CARE places special focus on working alongside girls and women
in poverty because, equipped with the proper resources, women
and girls have the power to help lift whole families and entire
communities out of poverty.
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* Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL)
www.citizensclimatelobby.org
CCL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization
focused on national policies to address climate change. The group’s
consistently respectful, nonpartisan approach to climate education
is designed to create a broad, sustainable foundation for climate
action across all geographic regions and political inclinations.
* Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
www.fcnl.org
Founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers),
FCNL is a nonpartisan organization that lobbies Congress
and the administration to advance peace, justice, opportunity, and
environmental stewardship. It seeks a world free from war, a just
and equitable society, and a sustainable planet.
Little Lobbyists
www.littlelobbyists.org
Little Lobbyists seeks to protect and expand the rights of children
who have complex medical needs and disabilities through
advocacy, education, and outreach. Its vision is for all children
with complex medical needs and disabilities to have access to the
health care, education, and community inclusion they need to survive
and thrive.
Moms Clean Air Force
www.momscleanairforce.org
Moms Clean Air Force is a community of over 1,000,000 moms
and dads united against air pollution—including the urgent crises
of our changing climate—to protect our children’s health. Through
a vibrant network of state-based community organizers, members
work on national and local policy issues. Their activists meet with
lawmakers at every level of government and on both sides of the
political aisle to build support for equitable, just, and healthy solutions to pollution.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
www.momsdemandaction.org
Moms Demand Action is a grassroots movement of Americans
fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from
gun violence. The group advocates for stronger gun laws and works
to close the loopholes that jeopardize the safety of families. Members
work in communities and with business leaders to encourage
a culture of responsible gun ownership.
MomsRising
www.momsrising.org
MomsRising is a transformative on-the-ground and online multicultural organization of more than a million members working
to increase family economic security, to end discrimination against
women and mothers, and to build a nation where both businesses
and families can thrive.
ONE
www.one.org
ONE is a global movement campaigning to end extreme poverty
and preventable disease by 2030, so that everyone, everywhere can
lead a life of dignity and opportunity. Whether lobbying political
leaders in world capitals or running cutting-edge grassroots
campaigns, ONE pressures governments to do more to fight
extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa,
and empowers citizens to hold their governments accountable.
* RESULTS
www.results.org
RESULTS is an international movement of passionate, committed
everyday people using their voices to influence political decisions
that will bring an end to poverty. Volunteers receive training,
support, and inspiration to become skilled advocates.
In time, volunteers learn to effectively advise policymakers, guiding them towards decisions that improve access to education, health, and economic opportunity.
Shot@Life
www.shotatlife.org
Shot@Life is a campaign of the United Nations Foundation that
champions global childhood immunization. The group rallies
members of the public and Congress, businesses, and civil society
partners to support the cause and invest in the immunization
programs of UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and Gavi,
the Vaccine Alliance. It strives to decrease vaccine-preventable
childhood deaths and give all children a shot at a healthy life no
matter where they live.