Nonprofit Advocacy: Roles, Rules, and Responsibilities

Advocacy is core to many nonprofit missions, but navigating the rules can feel complex. This workshop offers practical guidance on how to advocate for your community and promote civic engagement while remaining nonpartisan and compliant. We’ll cover how nonprofits can engage voters, share issue-based information responsibly, and build understanding in the communities they serve. The guidance shared will extend well beyond any single election cycle, supporting organizations as we navigate advocacy and civic engagement with clarity, integrity, and impact.

This event is co-hosted by Nonprofit Connection Santa Cruz County.

Speakers

J.M. Brown has worked for the County of Santa Cruz for eight years as an analyst for District 5, serving Supervisors Monica Martinez and Bruce McPherson. Before transitioning to public service, J.M. worked as a journalist for eight years for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, covering local government and higher education. J.M. has a long history of serving nonprofits as a volunteer, including as the capital campaign chair and Board of Directors Vice President for the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. Previously, J.M. served as chair of the Board of Directors for Arts Council Santa Cruz County and Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes, as well as chair of the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Commission and the County of Santa Cruz Housing Advisory Commission.

Laura Seaman is CEO of the League of California Community Foundations, a statewide coalition of over 40 place-based community foundations serving the neighborhoods where over 99% of Californians live. The League builds and strengthens California’s communities by fostering collaboration and learning among the state’s community foundations. Laura joined the League in 2020 after serving as Associate Director of the Digital Civil Society Lab at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. She is a proud Californian and an alum of UC Davis, where she ran the campus community service office.

Laura came to the League with no policy or advocacy experience. She has been on a learning journey for the past six years about how nonprofits and philanthropy can use their collective voice to shape public policy outcomes for thriving communities. The League now has a lobbying presence in both Sacramento and D.C., a standing public policy committee, and an active legislative, regulatory and advocacy portfolio.

Raymon Cancino is the Chief Executive Officer of Community Bridges, a multimillion-dollar, multi-service organization serving Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties. Prior to becoming CEO, Ray held senior leadership positions with Catholic Charities CYO of San Francisco. He holds a Master’s of Public Administration in Urban Policy degree and two Bachelors of Arts degrees in Political Science and Criminal Justice from San Francisco State University and was selected as the 2018 alumnus of the year for the PACE program at SFSU.

Ray successfully led the passage of Measure D, a local tax measure that has resulted in over $1M dollars annually for paratransit in Santa Cruz County and coordinated numerous local county and city actions that have resulted in increases in social service funding.

Ray currently serves on the California Statewide Board of Meals on Wheels (MOWCA), on the advocacy committees of the California Family Resource Center Association (CFRA) and Cal –nonprofits.