Voices from the Margins: Policy Advocacy and Marginalized Communities

This article aims to explore policy advocacy processes facilitated by social service nonprofit organizations (NPOs) using a social justice lens. Qualitative interview results from 39 NPOs from 18 communities provide a deeper understanding of advocacy, revealing that NPOs perceive that policy advocacy is not a discrete phenomenon, that advocacy activity differs in visibility and scale, and that advocacy strategies are clearly informed by NPOs' front-line service delivery work. A typology of policy advocacy showing different advocacy types and their fluid nature is presented. The results also show that marginalized people's involvement varies depending on a diversity of influential conditions. Conclusions and implications focus on social inclusion/exclusion, the varied and fluid nature of policy advocacy, challenges for practitioners, and the complex nature of "advocacy chill."