What Nonprofits Get Wrong About Government Relations

Many nonprofits are doing some kind of government relations, but often they don't know why what they're doing isn't landing.

And, I've seen both sides of the table. I've been the one sitting down with elected officials hoping to change policy, secure funding, or save something that mattered. I learned that a sympathetic response and a meaningful one are very different things.

And I've also been the Member of Parliament on the other side, sitting through hundreds of meetings with nonprofits, charities, and advocacy groups, seeing well-meaning organizations put a lot of effort in the wrong direction.

So many organizations doing genuinely important work, with real evidence and real urgency, wonder after the meeting is over why nothing moves.

Before we get into what those shifts are, it's worth naming something honestly. Many charitable organizations have held back from government relations in the past for legitimate reasons. The memory of the CRA audits under the Harper government, when organizations were targeted for their advocacy, still shapes how the sector operates. The good news is that the laws have changed. Charities can now engage in unlimited nonpartisan public policy dialogue and development, provided it relates to advancing their mission. The line between issue-based and partisan advocacy still requires care, but it is no longer a reason to stay silent.

At the federal level, there is also a new practical reality worth knowing: as of January 2026, the threshold for registering as a federal lobbyist dropped from 34 hours to just 8 hours over any 28-day period. If your organization is meeting with federal government officials, you may now be required to register, and the consequences of not doing so are significant. It takes less than 30 minutes and is worth checking now.

With that as context, if you want to have effective conversations with elected officials, here is what I've seen consistently get in the way, and what changes things when organizations get it right.

Strategic Shifts that Can Make a Difference

Shift 1: Stop confusing access with influence

Getting the meeting is good, but that is not the win. Your goal isn't to have a sympathetic MP, MLA, or city councillor nod along and pose for a photo. Most nonprofits celebrate access and mistake it for progress. Getting in the room is genuinely hard and it matters. But it is the beginning of the work, not the end. Real influence is built before the meeting and sustained after it. So celebrate getting the meeting, but don't stop there. Make sure you know what you are going to do with every meeting you get. And always follow up. 

Shift 2: Show up with the right ask

The meetings that made a difference when I was an MP were the ones with a specific, actionable request. Not 'we need more support for this cause' but 'here's the amendment to the bill' or 'here's the dollar amount and why it will make the difference' or 'here's exactly what we need you to say in Parliament and here's why it matters to your constituents.' And, if they are supportive, get a specific commitment from them.

This doesn't mean being rigid. In fact, one of the most effective things an advocate can do is ask for advice. It signals respect and shifts the dynamic from persuasion to partnership. Some of the most productive conversations I had as an MP started with an advocate saying, "We're trying to figure out the best way to move this forward, what would you do?" That question opens doors in a way that presentations alone rarely do.

But advice-seeking works best when it's paired with clarity about what you actually need. Walk in knowing exactly what you want, but then leave room for the conversation to give you something you didn't know.

Shift 3: Treat government relations as a relationship, not a tactic

Whether it's the lobby day, the annual letter, or the petition delivered, these are tactics, not strategies. And a tactic without a strategy is just noise. The organizations that actually move things are either lucky to arrive at just the right moment, or more often are in consistent contact throughout the year. These organizations are sharing data, showing up at consultations, appearing before committees, sending short updates when something relevant happened in their community. One way to think about it, is to treat your government contacts the way good organizations treat their donors, with ongoing investment, not just asks.

Government relations is a relationship. You get out of it what you put in. The MPs and senior staff who pick up the phone when an organization call are often the ones who had been hearing from them all year, not just during budget season.

Shift 4: Stop going straight to the top

Everyone wants to meet the minister. But you should also be thinking about the bureaucrats whose recommendations influence decision makers, or the political staff like the chief of staff or the senior policy advisor who actually writes the briefing note the minister reads before they meet you. And, having meetings with your local representative who is connected to the issue, or other elected officials who will voice their support and answer your questions, can give you a clearer lay of the land and help build the foundation for broader support for your issue. Understanding how government actually works, who influences whom, where decisions actually get made, is more valuable than a photo with a cabinet minister. Ministers matter, and if you can get one to champion your issue that is genuinely powerful. But ministerial attention is rare, brief, and filtered through layers of staff who shape everything that reaches them. Building relationships with bureaucrats, political staff and other elected officials is not a consolation prize. It is often one of the most important steps you can take.

Shift 5: Build a strategic engagement plan

The most effective advocacy I witnessed as an MP came from organizations that had done their homework. They knew which elected officials had a personal connection to their issue. They knew which committee members were persuadable, which staff had relevant history, and which ridings had constituents ready to show up. They understood the dynamics with opposition parties and how to use these strategically. 

They mapped their champions before they made a single call. They targeted MPs strategically, not just the ones who already agreed with them, but the ones who could be moved, and the ones whose support would matter most in a caucus room.

Finding your champions inside government is a skill most nonprofits underinvest in. It takes time. It requires asking your board, your staff, and your network who they know and whether any of those relationships connect to your issue, but it can make all the difference.

Shift 6: Use your data

Governments are starved for good ground-level evidence. Nonprofits sit on it and rarely use it strategically. The organizations that became the go-to voices on their issues were the ones that showed up with numbers, stories, and clear policy implications. Not just "here is the problem" but "here is what we are seeing, here is what the data shows, and here is what would actually fix it." That combination of evidence and specificity is effective.

If you don't have the capacity to analyze your data deeply, start simply. Even a clear picture of who you serve, what they're experiencing, and what that tells us about the policy environment can shift a conversation.

Shift 6: Know that timing is everything

Government moves in cycles, budgets, mandate letters, elections, transitions, cabinet shuffles. Most nonprofits knock on doors at the wrong time and don't understand why nothing happens. Knowing when to push and when to plant seeds is as important as knowing what to ask for. The period just after an election, when new mandate letters are being written (if mandate letters are even written) and ministers are looking to define their priorities, is an opportune time if you have relationships already built. The period just before a budget is another. But, building relationships during the quieter moments means you have access to the room when the moment arrives.

What the best advocacy looks like from the inside

The advocates who stood out to me were human, specific, and consistent. They made it a conversation instead of a presentation. They followed up. And they kept showing up, not just when they needed something, but because they cared about the issue and understood that relationships and trust are built over time.

If you've read this and recognized your organization in one or two of these patterns. It's a starting point. Government relations is a skill, and it's one that mission-driven organizations can develop.

The work you're doing is important, so make sure it reaches the people with the power to support it.

Laurel Collins is the founder of Shoreline Strategy. She spent six years as the Member of Parliament for Victoria and has spent her career working at the intersection of advocacy, government, and mission-driven leadership.