Perhaps you have board members who (wrongly) believe that nonprofits cannot play any role in politics, and don't want you to take a stand on those very questions where your voice is most needed to be heard.
With mid-term elections barely six weeks out, the organization where I've been the Executive Director for the last 3-1/2 years has been asked to put our name in support of a couple of local ballot initiatives. To explain the law and put my board at ease, I have gone through several sources to put together the following guidelines and policy for engaging in political activity.
Please feel free to borrow and adapt this policy for use in your organization.
Policy and
Guidelines for Political Activities
[THIS
ORGANIZATION] encourages all of its board, staff, volunteers, and clients to be
active and informed citizens, and supports the individual capacity of all to
execute their prerogatives as citizens.
However, as a
nonprofit corporation whose activities are regulated in part by Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the Organization is prohibited from
participating in political campaigns for candidates and is restricted in
conducting certain lobbying activities. This does not restrict [THIS
ORGANIZATION] from taking part in limited issue advocacy related to our
mission, except in regards to spending limits for lobbying activities.
Violation of IRS
regulations could have serious ramifications for the Organization, including
loss of its tax-exempt status. Therefore, we provide these guidelines on the
permitted use and restrictions of [THIS ORGANIZATION]'s resources for
politically related activity by its board, staff, and volunteers.
These guidelines
cannot address every potential situation. [THIS ORGANIZATION] reserves the
right to amend or modify these guidelines at its discretion or as it deems
necessary to comply with the regulations governing political activities of
501(c)(3) entities.
Allowable
Activities:
Endorsing Ballot
Measures
Ballot measure
advocacy is an attempt to influence the passage or defeat of a law or
constitutional amendment - not the election or defeat of a candidate. 501(c)(3)
organizations are free to takes sides on ballot measures as a lobbying
activity, subject to normal limits on lobbying. Ballot measure advocacy is a
first amendment issue, not a matter of tax law. Any organization or individual
is free to express their opinion for or against a proposed law or
constitutional amendment.
As a 501(c)(3)
organization that does not file the 501(h) form, [THIS ORGANIZATION]'s activity
in this regard falls under the "insubstantial part test," meaning
that [THIS ORGANIZATION] may only spend an "insubstantial" amount of
money on lobbying efforts. "Insubstantial" is generally assumed to be
3-5% of annual spending. Any costs associated with endorsing or advocating for
ballot measures, including related staff time, must fall under this threshold.
[THIS
ORGANIZATION] chooses to only endorse and promote those ballot initiatives and
proposals which are directly related to its mission and to the benefit of our
clients. These would include, but not be limited to, initiatives related to
[LIST KEY TOPICS RELATED TO YOUR MISSION].
The Executive
Director is empowered to add [THIS ORGANIZATION]'s name and logo to any
"sign-on letter" in favor of a ballot measure meeting the above
criteria and initiated by a nonprofit partner or nonprofit coalition of which
[THIS ORGANIZATION] is a part.
The Executive
Director will bring all other endorsements, and any lobbying activity that will
incur any expenses, to the Board of Directors for approval before signing or
taking any action. If a timely endorsement is required before the next regularly
scheduled Board meeting, unanimous approval by the Board officers (President,
Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) will suffice.
Promoting Voting
Nonprofit
organizations classified as 501(c)(3) public charities may conduct nonpartisan "get-out-the-vote"
activities and voter registration without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.
It is a legitimate charitable activity to support voter engagement and educate
the public about the importance of voting.
[THIS
ORGANIZATION] encourages all Board, staff, and volunteers to participate in all
elections. We especially uphold and encourage the right of our clients, and all
marginalized populations, to take an active role in our democracy. [THIS
ORGANIZATION]'s staff may distribute voter registration materials and/or
non-partisan voter information guides to clients, and/or allow other
organizations to conduct nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote
activities within the program site.
In these ways,
[THIS ORGANIZATION] affirms its commitment to the "Vote with Your
Mission" campaign of CalNonprofits. More information on this initiative
can be found at calnonprofits.org/programs/voteyourmission
Running for
Office
Board Members and
staff may decide to run for public office while associated with [THIS
ORGANIZATION], as is their right. To ensure compliance with IRS regulations and
Organization policy, including conflict of interest and/or a conflict of
commitment, a plan to manage potential conflicts must be established upon declaration
of candidacy.
Plans must ensure
that other Board Members and staff do not experience a compromised work
environment or feel pressure to comply with the political goals of candidates.
An employee
intending to seek public office must inform his/her supervisor and the
Executive Director to develop a plan to avoid conflicts of interest. It is
requested that this notification come as soon as the employee is considering
becoming a candidate, but, in all cases, notification must be made no later than
upon declaring candidacy.
In any case, the
Board or staff member running for office may not solicit or accept funds or
contributions for campaigns (their own or someone else's) from donors
identified through donor rolls or other [THIS ORGANIZATION] records or
directories.
Appearances by
Candidates
Candidates for
public office or their designees are welcome to appear at the program site or
[THIS ORGANIZATION]'s sponsored events for non-campaign related activities,
such as an educational or informational talk to [THIS ORGANIZATION], our
clients, or our supporters.
Such appearances
must satisfy the following criteria:
* The
individual(s) is/are chosen to speak for reasons other than candidacy for
public office.
* The individual
speaks in a non-candidate capacity.
* The event and
organization maintains a nonpartisan atmosphere.
* No specific
organized campaigning activity occurs in connection with the event.
* The event
involving a candidate should not be dictated by, or put under the control of, a
candidate, their representatives, or any outside organization.
In no case shall
[THIS ORGANIZATION] organize an event for the sole purpose of the promotion of
a single candidate for any office.
Non-Allowable
Activities:
Endorsing Candidates
[This
Organization] will not endorse or promote individual candidates or political
parties in any election, at any level of government, or take part in any form
of partisan political activity.
Substantial
Lobbying
While we affirm
our free speech rights to engage in nonpartisan issue advocacy, such as
endorsing ballot initiatives and engaging in get-out-the-vote activities, we
recognize that as a 501(c)(3) organization that does not file form 501(h),
[THIS ORGANIZATION] may only spend an "insubstantial" amount of money
on such activities that may be interpreted as lobbying.
"Insubstantial"
is generally assumed to be 3-5% of annual spending. Any costs associated with
any such activities, including related staff time, must fall under this threshold
on an annual, Fiscal Year, basis.
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