Tona Zinn interned for the Appleseed Foundation in the summer of 2025. In this blog post, Tona reflects on the current needs and opportunities for advocacy organizations in the US.
Policy advocacy is struggling. It’s actually a good thing.
As a senior at Northwestern University studying political science and social policy, my current outlook on American politics is one of tragic optimism. At a time when they are needed most, public interest policy advocates are struggling to meet the challenges of today. Decades of advocacy strategies built around institutions and increasingly unresponsive legislators and courts have led to a paralysis for advocacy groups, who now face two bad choices: try to soften the blow or run for cover.
Reactionary politics, fueled by decades of growing polarization at the national and state levels, is dominating the current policy agenda. Many advocacy organizations have found themselves unprepared for authoritarian tactics and authoritarianism. However, this moment also comes with a silver-lining opportunity to reimagine a system for social change.
Now, perhaps more than ever, all politics – and policy opportunities – are local. Our future policy advocacy systems need to localize resources and build power by addressing local material needs. For example, further integrating community organizing techniques into existing advocacy strategies, using resources for mutual aid campaigns, or exploring member organization frameworks are proven power-building strategies to engage local communities. These are avenues for advocates to broaden their coalitions and foster grassroots power.
Of course, by no means will this change come about easily. Fortunately, our biggest obstacle is comfortability and the only thing certain about the future is discomfort. We must embrace this uncertainty as an encouragement to chart a new course for public interest advocates. We cannot fight tomorrow’s battles with yesterday’s strategies.
It is time to turn the page on policy advocacy so heavily focused on institutional persuasion. In writing this piece, I spoke with many professionals in the advocacy space who shared their perspectives on the future of policy advocacy. These professionals spoke of the need for urgency, action, and new approaches.
In other words, we should seize this moment to focus less on pleading with the powerful, and focus more on the urgent work of building new power from the ground up.
