Advocacy Organizations

Advocacy organizations are nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with civil and human rights. They respond to the needs of oppressed or marginalized individuals and groups and seek to redress actual or perceived social, political, or economic inequities. In their modern forms, they are sometimes incorporated as nonprofit charitable organizations but may also be political action committees. Advocacy organizations can be secular or religiously affiliated, partisan, or nonpartisan. Their scope varies from local (e.g., the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) to global (e.g., Amnesty International). Their missions may be relatively specific (e.g., National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) or more general (e.g., American Civil Liberties Union). Advocacy organizations seek to influence public opinion, government policy, and/or law through education, research, ...