On this episode, we’ll discuss how your organization can prepare to maximize your advocacy and impact in 2023. With several states gearing up for new legislative sessions and the 118th United States Congress about to head to work, the time is ripe for ensuring that your organization is ready to boldly advocate on behalf of the communities and causes you care about. That’s why today we present to you the Top 10 things your public charity can do now to get ready for 2023. 

Link –  

Our attorneys for this episode 

Tim Mooney 

Natalie Ossenfort 

Quyen Tu 

1. Calculate Your Lobbying Limit  

• If your organization has made the 501(h) election, your total lobbying limit is based on your organization’s annual exempt purpose expenditures.  
• You can use our lobbying calculator to estimate how much your organization can spend during your fiscal year on lobbying activities. 
• By understanding how much you are allowed to spend on lobbying, you can more effectively prepare for upcoming legislative sessions. 

2. If you haven’t done so already, consider making the 501(h) election. 

• Most public charities have the option to maximize their lobbying limits by making the 501(h) election. 
• Organizations that do can easily calculate their lobbying limits and, in some instances, allocate up to 20% of their budgets to lobbying activities. 
• If you don’t, however, your lobbying limits are based on the somewhat vague and confusing “insubstantial part test”, which limits lobbying to around 3-5% of an organization’s overall activities each year. 

3. Brush Up on State Lobbying Disclosure Laws in preparation for upcoming legislative sessions – We have a Lobbying Practical Guidance series that will help! 

• Created in partnership with the Democracy Capacity Project, this series will help you and your nonprofit determine how state lobbying disclosure rules may impact your policy work 

• We currently have guides published for 19 states, but several more are coming soon! 

4. Remember that lobbying at the Federal level (to Congress or Executive branch officials) may implicate the Lobbying Disclosure Act. 

• The triggers for lobbyist registration under the LDA are relatively high, so many groups won’t need to register and report as lobbyists. 

5. Create a Policy Agenda (see ROTG #13 – aka the previous episode) 

6. Assess whether you need a 501(c)(4). 

• Running up against your public charity’s lobbying limits? Wanting to take a stand on candidates running for public office?  
• If so, it might be time to consider forming an affiliated 501(c)(4) (aka social welfare organization).  
• Our publication entitled “The Connection” will help get you started. 

7. Convene or join a coalition to amplify your impact. 

• Coalitions can take several forms (i.e. informal partnerships, fiscal sponsorship arrangements, independent 501(c)(3)s or 501(c)(4)s). 

• Just remember that the rules that apply to your organization’s tax-exempt status follow you in to coalition work. So, for example, if you happen to work for a 501(c)(3), you’ll need to make sure that any coalition work you engage in is conducted in a nonpartisan manner (not designed to support or oppose candidates for public office). 
• Use our coalition checklist to get started today. 

8. Audit your recordkeeping system 

• Proper recordkeeping is essential to meeting your advocacy goals. It can help your organization  

• comply with filing obligations (e.g. IRS 990 / state lobbying reporting requirements),  

• Informing strategic planning / stay focused on your mission, and  
• obtain funding (by building trust with your funders and boosting your ability to provide detailed budgets and grant reports) 

• For sample timesheets and other recordkeeping tips, check out BA’s Keeping Track guide. 

9. Connect with your funders, supporters, and champions 

10. Make plans to celebrate the victories, large and small, along the way! All no’s eventually lead to a yes said Tim. 

Resources 

• The Connection  
• Lobbying Calculator 
• Coalition Checklist 
• Keeping Track 
• Practial Guidance Lobbying Series 

On this episode we revisit the ways nonprofits can create a policy agenda to advance their missions. Now that the election is over, we have to begin looking forward to what’s ahead and what we want our local, state, and federal policymakers to consider in the coming year. Originally podcast December 16, 2020.

Our attorneys this episode

• Jen Powis
• Shyaam Subramanian
• Natalie Ossenfort

Resources

• Transition Team Advocacy 
• Amplify Your Voice: Lobbying Do’s and Don’ts 
• Bolder Advocacy’s TA hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY 
• Email us at advocacy@afj.org 
• Our website is bolderadvocacy.org 

Tis the season for giving thanks, and we here at the Rules of the Game podcast are immensely grateful for the amazing work done by nonprofits across the country to advocate on behalf of ballot measures during the midterm elections. On this episode, we’ll highlight several noteworthy wins. From protecting reproductive rights to expanding education access for Dreamers, it was truly a remarkable year for rallying public support and seizing policy wins at the ballot box.

Our attorneys for this episode

Leslie Barnes

Natalie Ossenfort

Tim Mooney

Shownotes

Ballot Measures: A Quick Review of the Rules

• Yes, 501(c)(3) public charities CAN support / oppose ballot measures (including ballot initiatives, bond proposals, constitutional amendments, etc.)
  • Public charities can lobby (within their lobbying limits)
  • Advocacy for or against a measure = lobbying
    • The public is a legislator in the ballot measure context
    • Under the insubstantial part test, ballot measure advocacy = lobbying.
    • Using the 501(h) election, ballot measure advocacy = DIRECT lobbying.
  • Public charities should refrain from supporting / opposing candidates that may appear on the same ballot (remain nonpartisan)
• Different rules for private foundations, which should NOT engage in ballot measure advocacy due to prohibitive excise tax, but can take advantage of lobbying exceptions and use general support grants and specific project grant safe-harbors to support the work of their grantees
• 501(c)(4)s can engage in nonpartisan as well as partisan ballot measure work, but partisan work should remain a secondary activity of the organization
• Regardless of what type of tax-exempt org you may work for, also keep in mind state / local law, which may require reporting of ballot measure activities and expenditures

Big Wins!

• Arizona Proposition 308
  • Championed by Mi Familia Vota, Unidos US, Arizona Community Foundation, and more!
  • Grants undocumented Arizona high school graduates the ability to obtain in-state college tuition prices and gets rid of Prop 300, which passed with 71% of vote in 2006 and banned state benefits for undocumented persons

• Measure 26-228 in Portland, Oregon
  • Championed by Coalition of Communities of Color (Unite Oregon, Latino Network, Muslim Educational Trust, Imagine Black, NAYA Family Center, Pacific Islander & Asian Family Center, LWV Portland, etc.
  • Expands City Council – Creates four City Council districts with three councilors each and ends City Councilmembers managing day-to-day city services and operations.

• Emancipation on the Ballot
  • 5 states (OR, TN, AL, LA, and VT) considered proposed state constitutional amendments asking voters whether to abolish slavery
  • Passed in 4 states. LA voters will try again with a revised ballot measure.
  • NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund explains why slavery is still legal in over a dozen states and permitted under the US constitution
    • Why Slavery is Still Legal in America – And How Voters Can Take Action (naacpldf.org)
    • Congress considering amendment to 13th Amendment
  • Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform worked to pass AL’s new constitution that removed slavery as well as multiple racist provisions
  • Nonprofits will continue to play vital role in implementing these laws

• Michigan Proposal 3 (aka Reproductive Freedom for All Proposal)
  • Establishes new independent right to reproductive freedom in state constitution and invalidates conflicting state laws
  • Allows state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, but not if abortion is necessary for patient’s physical or mental health
  • Supported by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, ACLU of Michigan, Michigan Voices, and others
  • Similar wins in California and Vermont. VT’s Proposal 5 won with 72% of the vote! Abortion rights now enshrined in VT constitution. It was supported by groups like ACLU of VT, LWV VT, Alliance for a Better VT and more.

• Michigan Proposal 2 (Expanding Voting Access)
  • Championed by ACLU of Michigan, NAACP Michigan State Conference, and League of Women Voters of Michigan
  • Changes voting policies in Michigan, including requiring nine days of early voting, authorizing absentee ballot drop boxes, and allowing voters without photo ID to sign an affidavit verifying their identity.

• DC Initiative 82
  • Championed by DC Committee to Build a Better Restaurant Industry, National Center for Lesbian Rights, DC for Democracy, National Employment Law Project
  • Once again the voters are eliminating the sub-minimum tipped wage, and all servers and bartenders that were under this system will be moved into full minimum wage over the course of the next few years.

Resources

• • Ballot Measures and Public Charities: Yes, You Can Influence that Vote
  • Ballot Measures and Recalls: Basic Rules for 501(c)(3) Public Charities, 501(c)(4)s, and Unions
  • Being a Player: A Guide to IRS Lobbying Regulations for Advocacy Charities
  • Foundations and Ballot Measures
  • Bolder Advocacy’s TA hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY
  • Email us at advocacy@afj.org
  • Our website is org

Following the 2022 midterm elections, nonprofits can work with newly elected officials on policies to advance their communities’ missions and policy agendas. That transition advocacy is the focus for most of the country, but in Georgia voters have 3 more weeks of non-stop political ads, commercials, texts and direct mail to look forward to thanks to a December 6th runoff election for US Senate. On this episode we discuss the special rules for the Georgia runoff, and what the rest of the country’s nonprofits can do in the transition period to get a jump on 2023.

Our attorneys for this episode

Leslie Barnes

Natalie Ossenfort

Tim Mooney

Show Notes

Georgia’s Runoff, Other States’ Recounts, & Contests

How can nonprofits navigate the post-election space, in states where vote totals are not yet finalized and in Georgia, where voters are facing a run off election in under one month? What can nonprofits do in these states?

• GA still has candidates
• GA’s new election law
  • SB202 made some key changes
  • Earlier vote (Dec 6)
  • Cannot register new voters
  • Shorter early voting period (5 days)
• Opportunities for (c)(3)s
• Opportunities for non-(c)(3)s
• Activities in your personal capacity
• Ballot curing
• Recounts & Contests

Transition Advocacy

• 501(c)(3) public charities can build relationships with newly elected officials and their staff to amplify the organization’s mission and advance community’s policy priorities
  • Congratulate or acknowledge those who won their elections
  • Introduce newly elected officials to your organization’s mission / issues, remind them of campaign promises
  • Make budgetary or legislative requests (could be lobbying – IRS & state lobbying disclosure)
  • Recommend people for appointed boards and commissions
  • Take care not to take credit for victory or “flipping the state”
  • Can discuss how (c)(3)s registered “x” number of voters
  • Can discuss how (c)(3)s increased voter turnout
  • Identify likely allies
• 501(c)(3) public charities can lobby a limited amount.
• Lobbying is defined as activities designed to influence legislation, for IRS purposes.
• 501(c)(4) social welfare groups can lobby an unlimited
• Private foundations cannot lobby without incurring a steep excise tax, but they can engage in the following non-lobbying activities:
  • Congratulate newly elected officials
  • Hold elected officials accountable
  • Schedule meet-n-greets
  • Share funding interest
  • Share foundation’s mission
  • Build relationships
  • Influence executive orders, rules, regulations (not IRS lobbying, but could trigger state lobbying disclosure)
  • Join us for future episodes of funding advocacy AND direct advocacy

Advocating on Executive Orders

• Don’t involve legislative action, therefore NOT IRS lobbying (could be lobbying under state disclosure laws)
• Safe for 501(c)(3) public charities and private foundation alike
  • Whitmer’s establishment of the Michigan’s Parent’s Council as an advisory body to the state Department of Education
  • Biden’s directives to HHS to help lower prescription drug costs

Resources

• Can We Really Say That: Post Election Advocacy for 501(c)(3) Organizations.
• Can We Say That?- Georgia Runoff 2022 Edition
• Transition Team Advocacy
• Private Foundations May Advocate
• Bolder Advocacy’s TA hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY
• Email us at advocacy@afj.org