Advocacy 101: What 501(c)(3)s CAN Do

08/19/2025 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET

Location

Zoom

Description

Advocacy 101: What 501(c)(3)s CAN Do

Tuesday, August 19 | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM | Online Workshop

Presented by: Anne Gingerich, Executive Director, PANO | Sarah Speed Gabel, Senior Director of Policy, The States Project | Anne Dudro, Director of Federal Government Affairs, DMGS

Most nonprofits have been created to address inequities in policies and the programs resulting from those policies. Thus, legislative advocacy is critical to meeting this moment in time – when trust in our public institutions is at all-time low. Join PANO for an on-the-spot learning and application of the steps required to best engage local, state, and federal officials in cause-related lobbying.

 

Topics will include but are not limited to:

  • Advocacy Program Structure & Getting Started
  • Lobbying Basics – Critical Information
  • Making Our Case with Elected Officials
  • Building Advocacy Coalitions, Including those Served

 

This workshop will conclude with how to track your lobbying costs, and what 501 (c)(3)s must avoid. As it turns out, we can do quite a bit. Check out In Support of Democracy: What Nonprofits Can Do for a sneak peek.

 

Attendees will walk away with the following:

  • An Advocacy Toolkit with step-by-step guidelines for building your cause-related case.
  • Access to district- specific information about each of our 253 state and 19 federal legislators – to fast track the research needed to best tailor the conversations you have with your own representatives.
  • A Lobbying Tracker – to support your lobbying reporting efforts.

 

Because 501(c)(3)s CAN lobby! This workshop will provide you with all the tools you need.

 

SINGLE LOGIN COST:
$20 per person for PANO Members | $50 per person for Not-Yet Members

Terms of Participation
Your purchase entitles you to a single login. Please do not share the login information with others, as it may interfere with your ability to join. If multiple individuals from your organization would like to attend, please purchase separate tickets for each person or consider a group ticket (below).

 

GROUP TICKET COST (4-10 individuals):
$66 per group for PANO Members | $166 per group for Not-Yet Members

Terms of Participation
 If you have 4-10 individuals interested in attending the webinar, please have one person register selecting one group ticket. You can then enter the names and email addresses of up to 9 other individuals to add to your group ticket. Each person registered will receive their own unique login instructions and may join from wherever is most convenient for them.

This option makes the most sense when you have 4-10 individuals interested in attending the webinar. For fewer than 4 attendees, a single login ticket for each person is the most cost-effective option. For more than 10 attendees, please email Christina Spadaro at christina@pano.org to discuss options.

MATERIALS AND LOGIN INSTRUCTIONS:
Materials (PowerPoint and other handouts), along with login instructions, will be emailed to registrants within 24 hours of the date of the webinar.

PANO uses Zoom as our webinar platform; you can familiarize yourself with Zoom and/or join a test meeting prior to these sessions.

Can’t make it in real time? All registrants will receive a recording of the webinar.

 

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

 

Anne Gingerich, Executive Director, PANO
With a firm belief in the abundance of resources available, Anne Gingerich loves to don her visionary hat and consider what might be possible for PANO members, the nonprofit community, and PANO, in partnership with various organizations, companies and government entities.

 

Anne takes a systems approach to her work, engaging multiple individuals and groups to identify and implement collaborative solutions to community problems. At PANO, she “walks alongside” community benefit organizations, increasing their effectiveness, efficiency, and financial stability through the planning, training, facilitation, and referral services available at PANO.

 

Starting in her current position as PANO’s Executive Director in 2013, Anne brought her experience as director of Nonprofit Resource Network at Millersville University, as adjunct professor with Millersville University Masters of Social Work Program, and as Senior Development Officer at the Lancaster General Health Foundation, Community Service Director of the United Way of Lancaster County, and Emergency Social Services Manager of the American Red Cross of the Susquehanna Valley.

 

Anne earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work at Millersville University and earned her Masters of Social Work at Marywood University.

 

The owner of a beautiful Victorian home in Lancaster County, Anne enjoys cooking, Rails-to-Trails biking, reading, and good coffee.

Sarah Speed Gabel, Senior Director of Policy, The States Project
As the Senior Director of Policy at The States Project since April 2025, Sarah Speed Gabel leads the policy team to identify, assess, and develop strategic, innovative, and impactful state level policy ideas to advance America’s Goals and achieve the American Promise. In her role, she is also helping to build a library of hundreds of the most popular, responsive, and impactful state-level model policy ideas and identifying promising solutions to the most pressing issues state lawmakers are facing.

 

Anne Dudro, Director of Federal Government Affairs, DMGS
Anne Dudro brings over two decades of expertise in federal policy to the Duane Morris Government Strategies team. Throughout her career, she has been committed to crafting and executing innovative strategies that address complex challenges while promoting effective public policies.

 

Before joining DMGS, Anne co-founded and served as managing partner of Commonwealth Consulting Partners, a Pittsburgh-based government relations firm. There, she specialized in helping clients achieve immediate objectives and long-term goals through tailored government affairs strategies, focusing on grant procurement, education, and emerging technologies.

 

Anne’s extensive experience also includes a tenure as a Senior Associate at HCM Strategists, seven years in President George W. Bush’s administration, two years as Chief of Staff for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary Margaret Spellings, and two staff positions at the White House from February 2002 to February 2005.

 

A graduate of St. Lawrence University with a degree in Government, Anne now resides in Pittsburgh with her husband and three children. She is actively involved in her community and has served on numerous boards.

 

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