It seems like every time we turn on the news, there are reports of a mass shooting somewhere in America. Sadly, names of US cities or communities have become associated with horrific tragedies: Uvalde, Buffalo, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Newtown. On this episode we talk about the role nonprofits have in combating gun violence.

Our hosts for this episode 

• Ryann Alonso 
• Natalie Ossenfort 
• Quyen Tu 

  Shownotes

• Introducing Ryann Alonso – clarify what we mean by gun violence. 
• Role for 501(c)(3) Public Charities
  • lobby for legislation to prevent gun violence
  • public education campaigns
  • fight disinformation and misinformation 
• Role for  501(c)(4)s
  • all of the above, plus 
  • work on getting candidates who support these efforts into office 
  • 501(c)(4)s are social welfare organizations, and they can conduct an unlimited amount of lobbying 
  • Can also support / oppose candidates as secondary activity
• Other activities
  • Coalitions
  • Corporate advocacy
  • Litigation

Resources 

• State Firearm Laws 
• Public Charities Can Lobby: Guidelines for 501(c)(3) Public Charities 
• Election Checklist for 501(c)(3) Public Charities: Ensuring Election Year Advocacy Efforts Remain Nonpartisan 
• Praising and Criticizing Incumbents: How 501(c)(3)s Can Hold Elected Officials Accountable for Official Actions 
• Primer on Social Welfare Organizations: Using 501(c)(4) Organizations for Good 
• Accountability Advocacy: How 501(c)(4)s Can Hold Elected Officials Accountable for Their Actions 
• 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) Collaboration 
• Bolder Advocacy’s TA hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY 
• Email us at advocacy@afj.org 
• Our website is bolderadvocacy.org 
• To read the whole poem quoted at the beginning of the podcast, please check out Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ We Were Made for These Times.