From the 2025 Earning Influence report ↗

Become a better advocate · Prioritization tool

Decide which advocacy moves to make first.

Score each activity on the value it creates, the effort it takes, and the capacity it asks of you. The tool ranks your options so the strongest one rises to the top, so limited time goes to the work that moves the mission.

Purpose

Work through the advocacy activities you are considering and prioritize them with the priority score method described in Independent Sector's report Earning Influence: Recommendations to Increase Nonprofit Advocacy and Civic Engagement (2025), Section 5, Appendix E. Scoring each one across three dimensions turns a long wish-list into a ranked, defensible plan you can act on.

The scoring system

Every activity is scored on three factors. Each has a bar that runs from minimum to maximum. Move the bar to where the activity sits and the tool does the math:

Impact

How much it advances the mission and clears a barrier to advocacy

Least value → Most value
Effort

How much effort it takes to develop and launch

Minimal effort → Significant effort
Capacity

How much organizational capacity it requires

Minimal capacity → Substantial capacity
FactorWhat it measuresScale
ImpactHow much it advances the mission and clears a barrier to advocacyLeast value → Most value
EffortHow much effort it takes to develop and launchMinimal → Significant
CapacityHow much organizational capacity it requiresMinimal → Substantial
Priority score: PS = Impact + Effort + Capacity. More impact scores higher. Less effort and less capacity needed also score higher, because the tool converts those two bars so that the best answer is always 5. Range 3 (lowest priority) to 15 (highest). A high score means strong value for a light lift.

Priority levels

  • 13–15: Very high priority. High value, low effort and capacity needs.
  • 11–12: High priority. Good value with reasonable requirements.
  • 9–10: Medium priority. Moderate value and / or requirements.
  • 7–8: Lower priority. Limited value or sizeable requirements.
  • 3–6: Low priority. Minimal value or substantial requirements.

Step by step

  1. Add your organization and name (optional) so exports are labelled.
  2. Name the activity specifically. For example, "Coalition with local education nonprofits," not just "Coalition." Not sure what to score? Use "Browse activities" under the name field to pick from a library of common activities.
  3. Set the Impact bar: mission fit, barriers cleared, likely impact on outcomes. Further right means more impact.
  4. Set the Effort bar: development time, resources to start, planning complexity. Further right means more effort.
  5. Set the Capacity bar: staff expertise, ongoing resources, fit with current workload. Further right means more capacity needed.
  6. Save the activity to add it to your ranked shortlist.
  7. Repeat for every option you are weighing.
  8. Read the ranked list. The longest, top bar is your strongest option, then decide.

Not sure which activities to score?

Under the activity name, "Browse activities" opens a library drawn from the Earning Influence report and Bolder Advocacy guidance from Alliance for Justice, with a source on every entry. Pick one to start, and a note explains what it is and what it typically involves. As you type your own activity, the tool suggests matching entries from the same library. Under each bar, "What to consider" gives questions to help you judge the activity for your organization. The tool never fills in scores for you: every organization is different.

Tips

  • Score as a team to get diverse perspectives.
  • Be honest about capacity constraints. That is where the score earns its keep.
  • Weigh both short-term and long-term advocacy goals.
  • Re-score periodically as your context and capacity change.
  • Export to share results with board members or funders.

Saving & exporting

Your evaluations are stored in this browser and persist between visits. You can edit or delete any activity, and export the full list as an Excel spreadsheet or a PDF report for board decks, or backups. Clearing your browser data removes saved evaluations, so export a copy if you want to keep one.

Source

This tool applies the priority score method described in Independent Sector, Earning Influence: Recommendations to Increase Nonprofit Advocacy and Civic Engagement (2025), Section 5, Appendix E: Scoring Methodology. As noted in that report, the priority score method is credited to Park, T. (2018), "Priority Score: A Simple Product Prioritisation Technique."

–of 15
Pick a value for each factor
PS = Impact + Effort + Capacity

Score an activity

Not sure where to start? Browse common advocacy activities, pick one, and score it for your organization.

Your shortlist

Save an activity to rank and export it

Best options first

priority score

How the score works

Each bar runs from minimum to maximum and is scored 1 to 5. More impact scores higher. For effort and capacity, less is better, so the tool flips those two so that less effort and less capacity needed also score higher, following the report's method. The three add up to a priority score from 3 to 15. Higher means more value for less lift. Re-score as your capacity and context change.