Our team at AFJ is devastated but determined following the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade. The decision permits states to regulate our bodies and the most intimate of health care decisions – when to have a child, when to start a family. This horrific decision made possible by a rigging of rules & troubling power plays will irreparably harm our communities and our families. Make no mistake, this decision contains deeply flawed legal reasoning, designed to return and roll back rights for women, Black and Brown residents, and LGBTQ individuals. But since this isn’t a legal analysis show, we wanted to focus on what comes next? What can nonprofits and the communities they serve do following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision? And most importantly… How can we fight back? 

 

Attorneys for this episode

Natalie Ossenfort Leslie Barnes Tim Mooney 

 

Shownotes

• Very little changed from the draft – for a great deep dive on the draft and opinion, be sure to listen to the excellent analysis at the Strict Scrutiny podcast
• State laws vary widely
• For nonprofits, nonprofits can and should engage in lobbying
• Ballot Measure Advocacy
  • Add/defend state constitutional privacy protections (MT, KS)
  • in states where there is public support for access to abortions, but the legislature may oppose abortions. (AZ, GA, MI, NC, NH, PA, WI) Abortion Battlefields in a Potentially Post-Roe Political World – Sabato’s Crystal Ball (centerforpolitics.org)
• AFJ State Court resources
• Corporate advocacy
• 501(c)(4)s can target advocacy based on electoral outcomes.
• Justice Thomas’ dissent highlights the issues to come

 

Resources 

• Strict Scrutiny podcast – deep dive into the draft and final opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Roe is dead. Now what? | Strict Scrutiny (simplecast.com)
• 5 Ways Nonprofits Can Respond to Dobbs v JWHO
• AFJ’s Social Media Toolkit to respond to Dobbs v JWHO 
• AFJ’s State Court Justice Project – to research and tap into action on state Supreme Court races
• AFJ’s Bolder Advocacy Podcast on Reproductive Rights Advocacy, recorded pre-Dobbs decision
• AFJ’s Reproductive Rights Advocacy Toolkit for Nonprofits

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. 

The endgame of presidential elections used to be pretty straightforward. Congress plays a more-ceremonial-than-substantive role counting each state’s certified electoral college delegates. The candidate who won more than 270 electoral votes officially wins and the new President gets sworn in on January 20th. But January 6, 2021 was, of course, very different. The false rhetoric claiming the historically well-run election was “stolen,” led to the failed, but nonetheless deadly, January 6th insurrection. This month, a select committee of the House of Representatives is poised to lay out its findings on why this happened and who was behind the effort. On this episode, we talk about how nonprofits have a role to play in the investigation and the response to the revelations. 

 

Our Attorneys for this Episode 

Natalie Ossenfort, Tim Mooney, Quyen Tu 

 

Shownotes 

• The Select Committee explained 
• Live Tweeting the hearings – responding to revelations, fact checking, etc 

• Lobbying for specific responses 

• Referral to DOJ for criminal investigation/prosecution 
• New laws – amending Electoral Count Act, DC Statehood 
• Disqualifying those that took part in the insurrection from running for federal office (14th Amendment plus new laws) 

• Educating your constituencies (about what process is / what it isn’t…) 
• Electoral work (nonpartisan voter education, or partisan c4 efforts) 

• (c)(3): praising and criticizing incumbents, best practices 
• (c)(4): can be more electorally-focused 

Resources 

• Nonprofits’ Role in January 6th Investigations and Response  
• Praising & Criticizing Incumbents
• The Rules of the Game 
• The Connection

On this episode, our third in our 2022 Election series, we thought we’d look at how nonprofits can further democracy through candidate debates. Since the pandemic, we’ve seen organizations get seriously creative in using technology to engage and keep us safe and socially distanced. If you’re a long-time listener, you might recall that we also hosted an episode on Candidate Debates in 2020, back when we launched during the shutdown.  

Link: 

Attorneys for this episode 

Leslie Barnes, Tim Mooney, Quyen Tu 

Shownotes 

• Public charities can convene candidate debates and forums 
• The safe harbor for (c)(3)s hosting candidate debates 

• Narrowing invitees based on nonpartisan criteria 
• Publicize widely and invite public 

• Neutral moderator 
• Questions: broad and wide-ranging topics 
• Equal treatment of each candidate 
• No pledges 
• Best practices  

• Hosting a debate watch party and commenting on debates 
• Fact checking is ok, supporting/opposing candidates is not 

• Forums 

• Facts & Circumstances analysis 
• Federal university rule 

• Candidate meet and greets 

Resources 

• Hosting Candidate Debates: Public Charities Can Educate the Community Through Candidate Debates  
• Commenting on Candidates and Campaigns: How 501(c)(3)s Can Respond During an Election Year  
• Responding During Election Season and Debates  
• Sample 501(c)(3) Organizational Policy for Election Season  
• Rev. Rul. 2007-41 

On this special edition of the podcast, we respond to the release of the draft decision that suggests the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, removing the federal constitutional protection to choose an abortion. While Roe and the fundamental right to reproductive autonomy remains as we speak, nonprofits across the country are poised to act, should this draft become reality. Today we’ll cover just some of the things you and your organization can do. 

 

Our Attorneys for this Episode 

• Leslie Barnes
• Tim Mooney
• Quyen Tu 

Resources 

Reproductive Rights, Health, and Justice Resource Guide 

5 Ways Nonprofits Can Respond to Dobbs v. JWHO 

 

Quick Overview 

• The Dobbs opinion is only a draft – it is not law now. Roe is. 
• People who seek an abortion now have a fundamental constitutional right to those medical services 
• That said, should this draft become the majority opinion, Roe will be overturned ending federal protections, returning the question to the states 
• Many states have ghost bans on the books, others have trigger laws that will end abortion rights when Roe is overturned (or the decision is issued). Other states have constitutional or other legal protections for the right to reproductive autonomy. 
• It’s likely that state courts and legislatures will become a major focus 
• There are efforts to legalize abortion and ban it nationally in Congress. 
• Some states are looking to do much more than ban abortion. The draft is breathtaking in its scope, putting marriage equality, the right to contraception, and much more at risk of losing protection under the US Constitution. 

 

What nonprofits can do 

• Organize and protest 
• Provide services to people seeking reproductive healthcare 
• Lobby Congress to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act 
• Lobby your state legislature to protect the right to choose 
• Consider ballot measure options 
• Accountability advocacy 
• Support litigation to block bans 
• Elections – 501(c)(4)s can make this an issue in their support/opposition of candidates  
• Nonpartisan voter education – 501(c)(3)s need to tread carefully as we get closer to primaries and the general election. Reproductive health advocacy can continue, but be mindful that it cannot look like support or opposition to candidates or parties 
• Individuals – you have more flexibility in what you can do. Protesting, organizing, donating, volunteering, voting for the candidates of your choice and more. 

 

Bolder Advocacy is here to help your organization in its efforts. 

Contact us: 866-NP-LOBBY or advocacy@afj.org 

On this episode we’ll continue our election series and answer the question: “Now that you’ve registered your community members to vote, how can you convince them to turn out at the polls?” Today, we’ll dissect tax code rules for 501(c)(3)s and 501(c)(4)s so that you can confidently hit the streets and get out that vote (GOTV).

Our Attorneys for this Episode 

• Tim Mooney  
• Natalie Ossenfort   
• Quyen Tu 

 

Show Notes 

• Why do GOTV? Nonprofits can strengthen our democracy and racial equality by encouraging their communities to go vote.  
• GOTV for 501(c)(3)s 

• Must be nonpartisan 
• Can be targeted 

• Okay to express a broad range of issues 
• Avoid mixing issue advocacy with GOTV 

• GOTV for 501(c)(4)s 

• Nonpartisan GOTV is pretty common. This counts as primary purpose activity. 
• Partisan GOTV is allowed but is limited to overall secondary activity. 

• If you use express advocacy, your GOTV might be an independent expenditure and reportable to state or federal agencies. 

• If not, some states regulate partisan activity without express advocacy. 

• GOTV doesn’t have to be hard or take a lot of resources. Every nonprofit should do it. 

 

 

Resources 

• The Rules of the Game: A Guide to Election-Related Activities for 501(c)(3) Organizations  
• Election Checklist for 501(c)(3)s: Ensuring Election Year Advocacy Efforts Remain Nonpartisan 
• Nonprofits Get Out the Vote: Strategies and Messaging (Nonprofit Vote presentation, 2018) 
• America’s Nonprofits Get Out the Vote” report 

On this episode, we’ll start taking a closer look at one activity that your organization may be interested in engaging in during this midterm election season: voter registration! Since voter registration activities take place in an election context, you’ll want to be thinking about multiple areas of the law when designing and implementing voter registration campaigns and drives. That’s why we’ll spend this episode talking about what you need to consider when it comes to nonprofit tax law, federal election law, and of course… state law.

 

Our attorneys for this episode 

Leslie Barnes 

Tim Mooney

Natalie Ossenfort 

 

Tax Law 

• 501(c)(3) Public Charities: Must keep voter registration activities nonpartisan
• Activities designed to encourage voting by all those eligible
• Targeting must be for neutral nonpartisan reason
• Offer services to everyone
• Be careful when tying issue advocacy to voter registration

 

Federal Election Law

• FEC regulations prohibit coordination of VR activities with candidates and parties (no candidate contributions by corporations)
• Post-Citizens United, independent expenditures as voter registration and partisan targeting are legal for (c)(4)s – not (c)(3)s.
• No payments or anything of value (even pizza) to people in exchange for registering to vote

 

State Laws

• Many states permit use of state and federal voter registration form (National Mail Voter Registration Form)
• Texas: Only Volunteer Deputy Registrars can register voters
  • These individuals must meet certain eligibility requirements
  • Must be trained by the county in which they conduct VR activities
  • Rules related to assisting applicants, etc.
• Recent trend in some states to make it harder to assist voter registration – Florida passed limits on nonprofits engaging in voter registration, but a federal district court recently blocked the law (NBC News)

 

Foundations

• Public and private foundations can support (c)(3) grantees that engage in voter registration drives
• Rules prohibit private foundations earmarking grants for nonprofits working on voter registration drives in less than 5 states and in a single election cycle
• Grantees need to meet the detailed requirements of 26 CFR 4945(f)

 

Voter Mobilization, Voter Protection, Candidate Engagement – coming up on other episodes

 

Resources

• Want to Conduct or Fund a Voter Registration Drive?
• The Rules of the Game: A Guide to Election-Related Activities for 501(c)(3) Organizations
• Voter Registration Rules for Private Foundations

 

As the world absorbs the news out of Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, & the world over, we wanted to devote this episode to the actions nonprofits can take to support international relief efforts and international advocacy. This episode is for foundations and nonprofits working domestically and abroad to deliver equitable relief and advocacy. 

It’s our 50th episode! Thanks for listening and keep sharing with your colleagues that might be interested in what we do around here. 

• Lobbying definitions include international bodies 

• International advocacy that doesn’t (usually) count 
• International lobbying registration and solicitation registration may be necessary 
• Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) 

 

Resources 

• International Advocacy: What Nonprofits Need to Know – Alliance for Justice 
• Responding to the Ukraine Crisis: What Nonprofits and Foundations Need to Know 
• International Center for Not-for-Profit Law 

 

On this episode, we continue our ongoing series on advocacy in action turning to efforts to increase diversity in the federal courts and beyond. With the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings beginning this week on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the next Justice of the Supreme Court, we spoke with two experienced and accomplished attorneys who speak to the importance of the nomination and what that means for Black women, the judiciary, and efforts like Alliance for Justice’s Building the Bench program. 

Attorneys for this episode 

Kimberly Humphrey  Natalie Ossenfort  Tim Mooney 

Shownotes 

• Introducing Kimberly Humphrey 
• Why this topic is important and timely and a brief intro to our Building the bench efforts 
• Introducing our guests 
• Thoughts on lack of representation in the legal profession 
  • The landscape 
  • The courts specifically 
• Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination 
• AFJ/Building the Bench 
• Other efforts 
• Concluding thoughts 
• Links to full interviews 
  • Kisha Brown 
  • Jocelyn Cuttino 

 Resources 

• Jocelyn Cuttino on LinkedIn 
• Kisha Brown on Justis Connection 
• AFJ’s Building the Bench 
• Ketanji Brown Jackson nomination resources 

On this episode, we’ll tackle a question we receive regularly: What can we do to raise funds for our 501(c)(4)? 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations are tax exempt, but they do not receive tax deductible contributions. While this may sometimes seem like a barrier to fundraising, we come to you today bearing excellent news. There are several ways to effectively secure funding for 501(c)(4) activities.  

Our Attorneys for this Episode  

Natalie Ossenfort Tim Mooney   

 

Show Notes 

• Refresher on social welfare organizations 
• Several sources of funding for 501(c)(4)s 
  • Individuals 
  • Community Foundations and other Public Charities 
  • Private Foundations (must use expenditure responsibility otherwise it’s a taxable expenditure) 
    • A pre-grant inquiry 
    • A written grant agreement specifying the purpose of the grant and including certain terms 
    • Reports from the Grantee
    • Report the grant on the grantor’s 990-PF 

Resources  

Investing in Change: A Funder’s Guide to Supporting Advocacy  

How to Fund a 501(c)(4): What nonprofits and foundations need to know