Examining the Association Between State Lobbying Regulations and Nonprofit Lobbying Expenditures

Nathan J. Grasse
Associate Professor
Master of Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Program
Carleton University

Newly released data on 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations’ lobbying expenditures shows that these organizations have increasingly engaged in lobbying over the past several decades. However, over roughly the same period, states have adopted increasingly stringent lobbying regulations. While often promoted as a way to curb the influence of private interests in public policy, state regulations often apply equally to for-profit firms and nonprofit organizations. This article employs two measures of state-level lobbying stringency to examine how traditional direct legislative and grassroots lobbying vary in different regulatory environments. We find that nonprofits reduce expenditures on direct lobbying and increase those on indirect or grassroots lobbying in more stringent regulatory environments. These findings are important because nonprofit organizations typically advocate on behalf of their constituencies, and state regulations may shape their lobbying activities.

Nathan J. Grasse is an Associate Professor in the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (MPNL) program at Carleton University. He is an associate editor at the Journal of Civil Society, a member of the editorial board of Public Administration Review, and a board member of the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council, and has published in journals such as Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Policy Studies Journal, and the Review of Public Personnel Administration. His academic focus primarily revolves around the governance and financial management of public-serving organizations.