Resources for Advocacy

It’s more important than ever for nonprofits to be at the table for informed, thoughtful discourse about Maine’s future. MANP provides a variety of training and resources to help nonprofit staff and volunteers to advocate and lobby effectively and legally on issues that advance their mission work.

Training + Information

• MANP's Raise Your Voice toolkit provides an introduction to the rules related to nonprofit advocacy.
• Find an extensive collection of searchable, curated resources available to anyone. (In particular, we recommend the resources of Bolder Advocacy, Nonprofit Vote, and Stand for Your Mission.)
• Our webinar library provides our members exclusive access to on-demand access to content on Advocacy 101, Nonprofits + Election Season, Advocating through the Media, and more!
• On our blog you can find updates related to current policy issues we're following.

Contacting Policymakers

• Office of the Governor
• Representative Jared Golden
• Representative Chellie Pingree
• Senator Susan Collins
• Senator Angus King
• Find Your State Representative
• Find Your State Senator
• Senators + Representatives listed by Joint Standing Committee
• State Agencies

Navigating Legislative Process

Explore these hidden gems on the State’s website regarding legislative processes:

• How a bill becomes a law
• Legislative process

Follow the status of bills and committee work from the State’s website.

• Look up a bill
• View public hearing and work session schedules

Framing Your Issues

Nonprofits are essential to making Maine a great place to live, work, and visit and together we can can ensure that civic dialogue about Maine’s most pressing issues reflects the vital role that nonprofits play in our state.

MANP created Frames That Work: A Messaging Toolkit for Nonprofits to help Maine nonprofit staff and volunteers:

• understand what messages are effective in improving public understanding of the key role that nonprofits play in Maine’s economy and quality of life, and
• frame messages about their organizations within the broader context of the sector’s value and impact.

The toolkit includes an introduction to the social science of framing, responses to FAQs about Maine's nonprofits, samples/templates for Letters to the Editor, op-eds, social media posts, blog posts, and tips for engaging with legislators. 

Get the Frames That Work Toolkit

In addition to this Maine-specific toolkit, we highlighly recommend the many resources produced by FrameWorks Institute, which studies how people understand social issues in order to help changemakers develop effective communications.