ABSTRACT
This chapter examines three critical roles that nonprofit organizations play in shaping public policy and politics in the US: political representation, political mobilization, and political education. It identifies specific types of nonprofit organizations involved in the political arena and how they influence policy-making. The chapter focuses on nonprofit organizations that are free to engage in political activities, including direct support of candidates and partisan policies. It also examines some of the strategies and tactics nonprofit lobbying and advocacy groups use in their efforts to provide political representation for their group members. The chapter discusses how nonprofit organizations shape the political environment through political representation, mobilization, and education activities. Some political scientists and organizers would argue that political action and defiance against government laws or authority and protests that lead to mass disruption are a true source of political power, particularly for the poor who have limited means to effect policy change in other ways.
