Advocacy Campaign Partnership MOU

What a good one includes

• A clear definition of the campaign’s specific advocacy objectives, target audience, and intended policy or social outcomes.
• A detailed breakdown of individual partner responsibilities, including who manages public relations, grassroots mobilization, and government lobbying.
• Specific terms detailing how financial contributions, shared staff hours, and physical resources will be allocated and tracked.
• A governance framework outlining how coalition votes are weighted, how disagreements are resolved, and who has the authority to speak to the media on behalf of the campaign.
• Explicit protocols on data sharing, ownership of campaign assets, and how supporter list sign-ups collected during the campaign will be managed.
• An exit strategy and timeline outlining the active duration of the partnership and how a member can gracefully withdraw without jeopardizing the campaign.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Fearing to define who owns the media spotlight, which leads to conflicting public statements or resentment among partners when one group dominates the press coverage.
• Leaving decision-making protocols vague, assuming that consensus will always be easy to reach when controversial strategic pivots are required.
• Neglecting to specify how financial risks or unexpected campaign debts will be shared among the participating organizations.
• Omitting data privacy and contact list ownership clauses, resulting in disputes over who can communicate with the supporters mobilized by the joint campaign.

Frequently asked questions