Lobbying by nonprofits has dropped slightly with the economic downturn, according to a First Street study.
We researched more than 300 nonprofit organizations, whittling down the list to 102 reporting lobby activity in Washington this year.
By setting current activity as a requirement, we omitted organizations that have stopped lobbying or even ceased operations altogether.
Our study zeroed in on major charitable organizations providing human services, arts and culture groups, health organizations and environmental groups.
We excluded nonprofits outside this focus, such as political advocates, religious organizations, trade groups, professional associations, colleges and health systems.
We then compared lobby expenditures in 2011 with expenditures in 2007, before the financial crisis. For the purposes of the following percentages, we further reduced our sample so that it included only the 81 organizations lobbying in both 2011 and 2007.
We then made one more adjustment, omitting lobby powerhouse AARP because its spending is so high that its year-to-year shifts can obscure underlying patterns. (See our February post on the organization’s spending.)
Of the remaining nonprofits in our sample:
- Total spending by the groups dropped by 3.3% from 2007 to 2011.
- Annual spending during period peaked in 2008. The financial crisis came to a head that fall, after many groups had spent most of their lobbying budget.
- Thirty-five(45%) increased their lobby spending.
- Thirty-eight (48%) decreased their lobby spending.
The following table shows nonprofits in our survey that spent more than $100,000 last year, ranked by amount. The table includes AARP, along with organizations that did not report any lobbying in 2007.
| Organization | Lobby Q1 2012 | Lobby 2011 | Change, 2007 to 2011 |
| AARP | $1,950,000 | $15,170,000 | -22.4% |
| American Cancer Society | $1,110,000 | $5,180,000 | -14.0% |
| Environmental Defense Fund | $552,000 | $1,819,000 | 53.5% |
| Pew Charitable Trusts | $640,000 | $1,600,000 | 373.9% |
| Human Rights Campaign | $340,000 | $1,560,000 | -18.5% |
| Nature Conservancy | $320,000 | $1,550,000 | 27.0% |
| Leadership Conference on Civil Rights | $268,293 | $898,483 | 66.2% |
| Kidney Care Partners | $200,000 | $870,000 | 8.8% |
| American Diabetes Association | $294,000 | $804,000 | 38.6% |
| Feeding America | $132,376 | $775,848 | -67.0% |
| U.S. Fund for UNICEF | $171,000 | $713,000 | 78.3% |
| Susan G. Komen for the Cure | $140,000 | $710,000 | 31.5% |
| American Heart Association | $175,818 | $701,589 | -40.6% |
| Better World Fund | $170,000 | $660,000 | 17.9% |
| Defenders of Wildlife | $83,913 | $620,555 | -28.0% |
| Local Initiatives Support Corporation | $160,000 | $610,000 | -15.9% |
| Ounce of Prevention Fund | $160,000 | $590,000 | 2850.0% |
| National Public Radio | $135,750 | $576,929 | 621.2% |
| Ocean Conservancy | $57,278 | $569,407 | 255.9% |
| Arthritis Foundation | $133,393 | $533,572 | -16.6% |
| Teach for America | $110,466 | $529,295 | 130.1% |
| Natural Resources Defense Council | $100,200 | $473,011 | -21.2% |
| National Multiple Sclerosis Society | $159,069 | $459,532 | 14.9% |
| National Affordable Housing Management Association | $120,300 | $444,950 | 93.5% |
| Habitat for Humanity | $110,000 | $430,000 | 48.3% |
| Muscular Dystrophy Association | $100,000 | $420,000 | NA |
| Save the Children | $260,000 | $417,401 | -8.4% |
| Oxfam International | $397,580 | $415,735 | -38.0% |
| Goodwill Industries International | $122,000 | $404,000 | 78.8% |
| Youth Villages | $66,400 | $388,765 | NA |
| National Kidney Foundation | $75,000 | $360,000 | 80.0% |
| United States Olympic Committee | $90,000 | $360,000 | 28.6% |
| Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria | $100,000 | $350,000 | NA |
| Rotary Foundation of Rotary International | $84,206 | $325,702 | 48.0% |
| Paralyzed Veterans of America | $92,927 | $322,038 | -14.5% |
| Workers Compensation Fund | $80,000 | $320,000 | NA |
| World Wildlife Fund | $50,000 | $320,000 | 23.1% |
| Wilderness Society | $10,000 | $318,000 | -1.9% |
| Canada Council | $100,000 | $300,000 | -60.5% |
| YMCA | $100,000 | $300,000 | -60.5% |
| Innocence Project | $75,496 | $289,921 | NA |
| Cystic Fibrosis Foundation | $130,000 | $270,586 | 241.5% |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of America | $70,000 | $270,000 | -53.4% |
| National Wildlife Federation | $190,000 | $260,000 | -23.5% |
| Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International | $60,000 | $250,000 | -68.8% |
| Epilepsy Foundation of America | $60,000 | $240,000 | 0.0% |
| New Profit Inc. | $37,500 | $240,000 | NA |
| Newman’s Own Foundation | $64,258 | $226,378 | NA |
| Ducks Unlimited | $65,000 | $225,000 | 60.7% |
| March of Dimes Foundation | $60,000 | $225,000 | -51.1% |
| Catholic Charities | $53,700 | $214,900 | NA |
| Trust for Public Land | $41,188 | $214,108 | 7.1% |
| American Museum of Natural History | $40,000 | $200,000 | -16.7% |
| Conservation Fund | $62,900 | $195,135 | 50.1% |
| United Way of America | $63,000 | $191,000 | -70.2% |
| Boy Scouts of America | $45,000 | $190,000 | 5.6% |
| Common Cause | $50,000 | $190,000 | -33.3% |
| AIDS Healthcare Foundation | $50,000 | $180,000 | -18.2% |
| Humane Society of the United States | $40,000 | $180,000 | 0.0% |
| National Hemophilia Foundation | $50,000 | $180,000 | 12.5% |
| International Myeloma Foundation | $49,000 | $179,200 | NA |
| Special Olympics | $84,380 | $177,966 | 1.0% |
| Boys Town | $40,000 | $175,000 | 337.5% |
| Children’s Aid Society | $52,500 | $175,000 | NA |
| American National Red Cross | $28,247 | $173,049 | -51.3% |
| United Negro College Fund | $39,802 | $162,021 | -16.4% |
| Children’s Tumor Foundation | $50,000 | $160,000 | 14.3% |
| Immunodeficiency Foundation | $40,000 | $160,000 | -20.0% |
| National Community Action Foundation | $40,000 | $160,000 | -5.9% |
| Pride Industries | $40,000 | $160,000 | NA |
| American Forest Foundation | $42,717 | $140,388 | NA |
| National Trust for Historic Preservation | $50,000 | $140,000 | -30.0% |
| National Urban League | $20,000 | $140,000 | 600.0% |
| Phoenix House | $21,000 | $124,992 | 25.0% |
| American Kidney Fund | $30,000 | $120,000 | 100.0% |
| Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society | $40,000 | $120,000 | NA |
| Foundation for Environmental & Economic Progress | $30,000 | $120,000 | -50.0% |
| National Geographic Society | $30,000 | $120,000 | 0.0% |
| Leukemia & Lymphoma Society | $34,000 | $114,000 | -45.7% |
Sources: First Street, Center for Responsive Politics, Guidestar, Muckety.
[...] our recent survey of Washington lobbying by major nonprofits, Pew ranked third, behind AARP and the American Cancer [...]