ABSTRACT
Nonprofit organizations have begun playing a key role in governance and public policy making over the past few years. They are mainly recognized for providing social services to citizens, but these organizations also play an additional role of dealing with policy advocacy. The latter is considered a strong feature of the work that nonprofit organizations carry out. In addition to allowing these organizations to engage and represent their constituencies, policy advocacy also gives a voice to diverse views and demands, promotes economic and social justice, contributes to a more vital civil society, and strengthens democracy. In recent years, there has been evidence of growing interest in nonprofit advocacy in the literature, and specifically in policy advocacy by nonprofit service organizations, which undertake both advocacy and service delivery in their continuing daily work. This entry provides an overview of the literature on this subject, addressing the core issues regarding policy advocacy activities that nonprofits carry out and focusing on the advocacy that nonprofit service organizations offer. This includes the special character of the advocacy that nonprofit service organizations perform, and the various challenges that they face in such activity.
