Advocacy Inequalities among Nonprofits: Do Mission and Tax Status Make Differences

Abstract

Scholars have long recognized the high levels of participation by organized business in the “pressure system” (Baumgartner and Leech 2001; Schattschneider 1960; Scholzman and Tierney 1986) and have recently begun studying charitable group involvement, or lack thereof, in the policy influence process (Berry and Arons 2003; Berry 2005 and 2006). Few studies, however, have made comparisons of activities across interest group sectors; and none have done so focusing exclusively on nonprofit associations. This study contributes to the recent nonprofit lobbying literature by examining the lobbying activities of membership associations that issue legislator ratings, or “scorecards.” Creating a sample from scorecard-issuing groups limits focus to nonprofits that have an indicated interest in congressional policy. Specifically, this study attempts to determine if business associations spend significantly more and charitable associations significantly less on lobbying activities. Using analysis of variance methods, the author finds that business associations do spend significantly more on lobbying than their charitable and ideological tax-exempt counterparts. Labor unions fall somewhere in between business and charitable and ideological groups. Finally, groups employing “complex organizational structures” (Boris and Krehely 2002; Reid 2001) lobby at higher levels than groups with one tax status, although this finding does not apply to charitable groups.