Funding Prospects for Nonprofit Telecom Policy Advocacy Varies as MAP Plans to Wind Down
Fundraising for communications policy nonprofits has been difficult since the recession hit, which contributed to the Media Access Project board’s decision to wind down the operation this month. “It’s been very hard for many of the public interest groups since the recession, and foundation funding is very hard to get,” said Andy Schwartzman, MAP’s policy director since 1978. MAP said Tuesday that it plans to suspend its operations May 1, ending a nearly 40-year run as one of the communications bar’s most effective public interest advocates.
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MAP’s unwillingness to change its mission may have contributed to its demise, Schwartzman said. “MAP has made choices to stay as a public interest law firm and not be particularly involved with outreach and grassroots activity,” he said. “We wanted to be seen as inside-the-Beltway counselors. That’s a hard sell and it takes very sophisticated funders to understand."
That “hard sell” probably has contributed more to communications policy nonprofits’ lack of success in funding than the economy, said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge. “The foundations don’t want to touch this stuff with a 10-foot pole,” Sohn said. “It’s too difficult for them to understand” and can involve picking fights with companies that may even share board members with some of the major foundations, Sohn said. “With a limited number of exceptions, the foundation world has not invested in this area."
But the recession and its continuing effects, combined with the presidential election year, make 2012 a particularly constrained fundraising environment, said Craig Aaron, CEO of Free Press. But in general, awareness about the types of issues Free Press, MAP and its cohort advocate is growing, which can only improve the funding environment, he said.
"A lot more people in the world, as well as foundation types, are aware of this work and understand the importance of it, especially as technology has become more important to the work they do and in their daily lives,” Aaron said. “We have seen such tremendous growth in awareness through the net neutrality fight, and through the [Stop Online Piracy Act] fight most recently, I have to feel like in the long run, the work will speak for itself and be supported."
MAP has been extremely active on broadband issues, as well as wireless competition. Schwartzman was a leading voice against the AT&T/T-Mobile deal and has been active against Verizon Wireless’s buy of AWS licenses from the cable operators. He has a long history working the appellate process. Last year, he coordinated multiple challenges to the 2010 net neutrality order in multiple circuits, as MAP sought a circuit that would be less likely than the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn the order. “Andy is kind of a master at working the appellate process and you have to wonder who will pick up the mantle if that goes away,” said an industry official.
U.S. nonprofits generally had a good year in 2011, according to a study released Monday by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative (http://xrl.us/bm2k96). But larger organizations were more likely than smaller ones to see their charitable receipts increase, the study said. An organization’s size often correlates to its fundraising staffing levels, the study said. “For any group, striking that balance between focusing on the work you intend to do and fundraising is always a challenge,” Aaron said.
MAP’s funding in 2010, the most recent year for which it has filed a Form 990 with the IRS, was $633,244, about the same as the year earlier. During that same period, contributions to Free Press increased about 19 percent to $4.29 million. Contributions to Public Knowledge increased nearly 200 percent to $2.26 million, though contributions to the group tend to fluctuate year to year.
As MAP winds down its operations this month, it will continue to work on issues it is already involved in, but will not participate in new proceedings, Schwartzman said. “We'll be in shutting-down mode,” he said.