Now that elections are mostly behind us, we wanted to turn our attention to lobbying for policy changes no matter where you are or what project you work on. 

Our attorneys for this episode

Leslie Barnes

Jen Powis

Shyaam Subramanian

 

Direct download

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/rulesofthegame/ROTG-advancing-policy.mp3

 

Shownotes

In this episode, we wanted to introduce the topic of lobbying and encourage all of our nonprofit listeners to take advantage of this transition time to begin educating and advancing your work to newly elected officials.

• Nonprofits as subject matter experts & trusted experts
• Introduce organization, facts about clients you serve & policies your organization support
• Congratulate newly elected officials by introducing yourself and your mission and
  • Become a resource for new elected official staff.

During this transition time, when elections are over, but perhaps new legislative sessions have not begun, or electeds are not sworn in, work to make your issue one of the top issues.  Nonprofit public charities can absolutely connect with transition teams to advocate for policy agendas or to prioritize your issue in the early days.

• For example, recommending characteristics to consider in new appointees to department heads or other appointed spots is permissible and may not count as lobbying!
• Asking for distinct budget line items to be adopted may be lobbying though because you’re specifically asking for funds to be included in the law at a very specific amount. For example, providing a fact sheet showing exactly how you’d like police funding to re-allocated to social services within the police department (or outside of it) would likely be lobbying.
• Remember there’s a distinction between lobbying for specific people to be voted in; and for recommending people (or types of people) to be placed. The more specific your request is on a policy, the closer it become to actual lobbying and not simply education and advocacy.

Remember, advocacy to existing government staff around rules, regulations, and executive orders is NOT LOBBYING! E.g., HUD regulations, Executive Orders to fix family separation etc.

We’ll be discussing the distinctions between lobbying and advocacy a lot over the next few months as we gear up for a new year and new legislative season but in the short term, remember that as a nonprofit, you play an incredibly important role in policy!

This could also include actually serving on the transition team.

• For example, maybe a new mayor wants to study an issue in your town, like how to support performing arts organizations that are struggling. So before she is sworn in, she creates a table to gather resources in the lame duck period.
• If you’re not at the table, ask to be, or better yet, ask that the table be formed with you as chair! This is allowed!

When does it turn into lobbying? All this education turns to lobbying when distinct policy agendas are discussed or specific requests for a line item in a budget is relayed to a legislative official or staff member that has the ability to write it into a law.

Because lobbying is such a big topic, we’re going to spend multiple episodes fleshing out the nuances in the topic.  But for now, the most important part, and you’ll get tired of hearing us say it is:

Public Charities and community foundations CAN lobby

• Lobbying is the express act or communication that attempts to influence legislation or change the law.
• There are two tests for how much lobbying a public charity can engage in and how it reports that lobbying to the IRS on its tax return at the end of the year. The two tests are:
  • Insubstantial Part and
  • 501(h) Expenditures Test
• Just a reminder, you must track and report IRS-defined lobbying activities to the IRS.

Another bit of misunderstanding we often see is around whether private foundations can fund grantees that lobby.  This topic is complex and while a private foundation can absolutely support all nonpartisan advocacy programs, a private foundation can not earmark funds for lobbying or it risks incurring an excise tax.

Let’s not leave out unions, or trade associations, or other types of nonprofits!  While this is not the main subject of this show, just a reminder, 501(c)(4)/(c)(5)/(c)(6)’s can also lobby.

Lobbying is a big topic and one that BA specializes in.  There’s much more on our next episodes.  For immediate questions, call us at the Bolder Advocacy hotline (free) 1-866-NP-LOBBY.  And be bold in your advocacy!  Decide what policy you want today and go lobby!

 

Resources

• National Conference of State Legislatures list of states’ legislative session calendars.
• Transition Team Advocacy
• Being a Player: A Guide to the IRS Lobbying Regulations for Advocacy Charities
• Technical assistance (TA) hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY
• Email us at advocacy@afj.org
• Our website is org

On this episode of Rules of the Game, we’ll take a look at the ways nonprofits can work with newly elected officials to advance missions and policy agendas. Now that all votes have been cast, we have to begin looking forward to what’s ahead and what we want our local, state, and federal policymakers to consider over the comings months and years.

Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/rulesofthegame/ROTG-newly-elected-officials.mp3

Our attorneys for this episode

Leslie Barnes

Natalie Ossenfort

Shyaam Subramanian

 

 

 

Shownotes

How 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
• Take care not to take credit for victory or “flipping the state”
• Can discuss how c3 registered “x” number of voters
• Can discuss how c3 increased voter turnout
• Can share why it’s good/bad X was elected
• Can share issues your organization hopes to work on with new official
• Remind officials what they promised during campaign
• Identify likely allies

 

During a site visit or meet-n-greet with new official a 501(c)(3) public charity may do the following:

• Inform official of organization’s mission
• Inform official of community’s policy priorities
• Share statistics on number of community served by organization
• Shine light on issues of importance
• Make budgetary asks or legislative requests (lobbying-IRS purposes)

 

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 amount.

 

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)
• Join us for future episodes of funding advocacy AND direct advocacy

 

Advocating on Executive Orders

• Don’t involve legislative action, therefore NOT IRS lobbying
• Safe for 501(c)(3) public charities and private foundation alike
• Gov. Newsom’s moratorium on death penalty
• Pres. Trump’s ban on gender & racial diversity training that conflicts with administration’s view of country’s founding

Resources

• Can We Really Say That: Post Election Advocacy for 501(c)(3) Organizations.
• Transition Team Advocacy
• Private Foundations May Lobby
• Bolder Advocacy’s TA hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY
• Email us at advocacy@afj.org
• Our website is org

Tim, Natalie and Leslie discuss the role nonprofits are playing the day after the 2020 election, including examples of messaging now, a look ahead to what may come, plus a look back at the remarkable work nonprofits did to get out the 2020 vote.

On this edition of the pod, we conclude our three-part series on election advocacy by nonprofits with a focus on post-election advocacy. This isn’t very common, but we’ve seen it in 2000 and there are potential signals we could see it in 2020. What can nonprofits do if there’s a contested election?

 

Our attorneys for this episode

Leslie Barnes

Tim Mooney

Quyen Tu

 

Shownotes

• Reminder: 501(c)(3)s cannot support or oppose candidates
• Nonpartisan motivations to advocate in contested elections
  • Proper administration of the election under the law
  • Ensuring all legal votes are counted
  • Protecting the will of the electorate/upholding democratic principles
  • No IRS guidance on this, but it’s consistent with approved pre-election and election days advocacy
  • Example: Brennan Center’s work in 2000
  • Amicus brief in Bush v. Gore
  • Partisan and nonpartisan interests can legally coexist
  • While the Brennan Center argued for the same thing as the Gore campaign, its work was still nonpartisan because the arguments were centered on voters’ fundamental constitutional rights and not the partisan interests of the campaign. 
• Other examples
  • Common Cause’s work in the Georgia gubernatorial election in 2018
  • Minnesota nonprofits’ work in the US Senate race in 2008
• What kinds of advocacy are available to nonprofits in a contested election?
  • Administrative advocacy, including advocacy around secretary of state certifications of the winners, and the process of counting of ballots. 
  • Ballot chasing and curing. If a voter submits a ballot that fails to meet requirements under state law (i.e. stray marks, wrong envelopes, their signature doesn’t match the one on file, etc.), nonprofits can contact those voters and help them fix the problem within the time limits set by state law.
  • Litigation, including requests for emergency injunctive relief on and after Election Day, and submitting friend-of-the-court briefs before state and federal appellate courts.
  • Protests and other public gatherings, demanding proper administration of all ballot counts and fidelity to election procedures under the law. 
  • Direct advocacy to members of legislative bodies or governors when they are making decisions that are critical to the disposition of an election. This includes lobbying for emergency legislation, calls for oversight, or weighing in on a state legislature’s efforts to directly submit a slate of presidential electors in the event of perceived voting irregularities or a natural disaster.

•  

• 501(c)(3)s can do any of these things for nonpartisan motivations
• 501(c)(4)s and other nonprofits can do these things with nonpartisan motivations, or with partisan reasons (tax law limits how much). Election laws dictate the rest.
• 501(c)(3)s can work in coalitions with other nonprofits that are doing nonpartisan motivated work
• Presidential election dates to know
  • December 8 – Safe Harbor
  • December 14 – Electoral College votes
  • January 6 – Joint session of the new Congress meets to certify the Electoral College vote
  • January 20 – POTUS term ends at noon ET, and the winner as certified by Congress, or as chosen by Congress in a contingent election, or person designated by the Presidential Succession Act to be acting President takes the oath of office as POTUS.

 

Resources

• What Nonprofits Can Do in a Contested Election  
• The Connection 
• Accountability Advocacy for 501(c)(3)s 
• 501(c)(3) Contact with Parties and Candidates Concerning Election Protection Efforts 
• Bolder Advocacy’s TA hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY
• Email us at advocacy@afj.org
• Our website is bolderadvocacy.org