Bolder Advocacy

Photo Courtesy of Nina Robinson/Getty Images/Images of Empowerment

Louisiana nonprofits played critical roles during the 2021 Louisiana Legislative Session and the recently concluded Veto Session. For nonprofit advocates who want to know how much they can lobby, when they must register as a lobbyist in Louisiana, whether it’s better to conduct voter registration drives in Louisiana using paper or online forms, and more, Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy program is excited to announce two new state-specific resources: Louisiana Lobbying Guide and Louisiana Voter Registration Guide.

Bolder Advocacy and Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families have co-authored two new resources for nonprofits. The guides provide easy-to-understand explanations of federal and state lobbying rules and Louisiana requirements for voter registration drives, all specifically geared for nonprofits working on civic engagement activities. A third guide, geared toward campaign finance and work on ballot measures, is coming soon.

A quick review of the Louisiana nonprofit landscape, highlights some of the many ways the nonprofit community have helped shape public policy, supporting the work of the communities they represent. The Forum for Equality and the ACLU Foundation of Louisiana were just two of the nonprofits and allied organizations that stood alongside LGBTQ+ members of the community to sustain the Governor’s veto against anti-transgender legislation during the Veto Session. The New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice has led the following campaigns to assist workers during the COVID triple threat: created a mutual aid guide for workers; worked with a coalition of immigrant justice advocates to persuade the governor to release detainees in jeopardy of contracting COVID; launched an essential workers’ survey in partnership with a research organization; drafted municipal court reform legislation; and more. These are just a few examples of the impact nonprofits can have when they ensure their community members have a seat at the policy table.

Our easy-to-read guides are free to download, and nonprofits that have additional questions can contact our technical assistance hotline for help with evaluating their advocacy capacity or to talk with one our attorneys, free of charge by emailing advocacy@afj.org or using our online form here.

Link to the Louisiana Lobbying Guide

Link to the Louisiana Voter Registration Guide