Should a Nonprofit Be Partisan?
That our society is becoming more sharply divided along political lines and differing ideologies is hardly news. But what trends are we seeing among nonprofits? Are organizations accepting partisanship and choosing sides, or are they working to create space to find common ground? The answer: Some of both.
For some organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, the decision is relatively straightforward. They provide a service that is opposed by many people in one of the two major political parties.
But for others, expressions of partisanship—overt or implied—are a choice. They seem aimed to ensure that their organizations consist of like-minded people.
This has been a hard column to write without calling people out and naming names. Instead, let’s look at the general trend and think about what it would take for nonprofits to consider the political spectrum when they say “All are welcome here.” Suggesting that we can avoid any alignment with political parties, or at least ideologies, is not realistic. But can we change our language to increase engagement and communicate more successfully? Can we help bridge divides rather than widen them?
PACE, the acronym for Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, is a national organization of grantmakers whose members “share a belief that America will be healthier and more successful, resilient, and productive, if democracy is strong and the office of citizen is treated as central to how it functions.” In Minnesota, the McKnight and the George Family foundations are members. Among PACE’s efforts is the Civic Language Perceptions Project, which tests the triggering effect of specific words through national polling of 5,000 individuals across the political spectrum.
The findings of the Perceptions Project show that certain words are more likely to be accepted and motivating than others. For example, the most recent survey report charts “bring together” words vs. “drive apart” words. The top five bring-together words? Community, unity, belonging, service, and freedom. The top five drive-apart words? Diversity, bipartisan, republic, social justice, and racial equity.
Setting aside the meaning of the different words and just looking at the language itself, wouldn’t policy advocates and nonprofits want to use more “bring together” words and fewer “drive apart” words?
The survey goes on to ask which words are most likely to motivate action, make the reader or listener most want to vote, most make them want to stand up for a cause or to help others in their community. Because the survey has been in place for five years, the data show how perceptions of certain words have changed over time. Some have increased in positivity (more motivating and more bringing together) and some have declined. The PACE AI tool tests and informs word choices; it’s at pacefunders.org/language/.
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Of course, language is not the only element of a position, an ideology, or the specific solutions enacted to try to solve difficult and urgent problems such as structural racism or opportunity gaps. But we use words to describe actions and the rationale for taking them. Words create stories. Words are needed to enlist others to create large-scale movements—those that solve problems or reform policies.
Jake Loesch, Citizens League executive director, says, “We have seen a trend over the past few years wherein most nonprofits claim nonpartisanship but actually have a perspective.
“We try to model different behavior. We are a convener with a willingness and commitment to work with people we disagree with. The best outcomes happen when people can express strong opinions. Yes, they will disagree, but this will help them hammer out the best solutions.”
Other Minnesota nonprofits also are on a mission to be open and encourage engagement and debate. Loesch cited Braver Angels, which exists to address “the growing challenge of partisan animosity.” Engage Winona is “working to ensure everyone has access, voice, and power in community planning, decision-making and changemaking,” while Upstream Minnesota is “envisioning a future where all who live and work in Minnesota express their connection across race, ideology, and geography through a unified culture of caring for our place and each other.”
My request to nonprofits is to run your most recent press release, or your mission statement or board report, through the PACE AI tool, or ask someone who disagrees with you to tell you the ways your language is off-putting even when values are likely to be shared. We can do a better job of ensuring that we are communicating well and in ways that welcome the conversation, not shut it down.
