Defining, Celebrating, and Defending an American Tradition is a monograph to address misunderstandings regarding the role of nonprofit advocacy in American history and in contemporary times.
Many people believe that advocacy is fractious, inefficient, radical, or outside the mainstream.
Others complain that funding for advocacy could be better spent by providing services to those in need. Others, still, maintain that advocates are disaffected people left over from the 1960s. None of these simplifica tions about advocates or their organizations approach the truth. Looking at the major social movements of the last two hundred years reveals a canon of dedicated advocates and effective advocacy organizations. Today, most advocacy organizations are nonprofit.