Most 501c3 charities assume they can't do anything related to elections. While they can't support or oppose candidates, they can engage in many election activities that will further their mission. Learn some basics about what you can do and more importantly, what are some of the strategic considerations involved.

1. Elections and your 501c3 Tax Status Presented at the River Rally May 2010

2. More About Me After 12 years running the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and OLCV Education Fund Launched consulting practice last fall. Focus areas are: Strategic Planning Coalition building Fundraising Communications Special knowledge of 501c3s and election rules/strategy. I do have a law degree, but I’m not going to give you detailed legal advice.

3. Two basic questions What can you legally do as a 501c3 around elections? Given what’s legal, how can you use elections to build power for your organization?

4. Covering three topics What you definitely can’t do What you can do Why you might want to do these things

5. What you can’t do “may not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”

6. In plain english . . . Can’t support or oppose a candidate for public office.

7. What is public office? Any election. President Dog catcher Everything in between Ballot measures are NOT covered. They’re treated as lobbying, which is a whole different workshop.

8. Who’s a candidate Declared candidate Candidate in exploratory stage “Draft” a candidate effort

9. What is support or oppose? Not just giving money or lending your organizational name (endorsement). Any action that under all the facts & circumstances the IRS concludes is meant to help or hurt a specific candidate or set of candidates.

10. Penalty for breaking the law?

11. So how do you know what you can do? IRS guidelines for what you can do No time to do an exhaustive review, which could take all day. Alliance for Justice has the best, easy to understand guidebook www.afj.org Will focus on a handful of key examples

12. Four areas I’ll cover Issue advocacy Voter registration Voter education Activities of individuals

13. Issue advocacy It often involves saying positive or negative things about an elected official running for reelection or higher office. You don’t have to stop doing your issue advocacy just because of an election. Corrollary: You shouldn’t do your issue advocacy just because there is an election.

14. Types of issue advocacy Lobbying – Vote Yes on Bill X. Criticizing incumbents’ positions – Governor Jones should stop cutting funding for river protection . . . Scorecards Public – regular, all members, broad range of issues, no commentary For members. Regular, all members, narrow range of issues, commentary. Candidate education Offer it to everyone if anyone Use only info you already have in hand. Don’t create info at a candidate’s request even if you share it with others.

15. IRS uses “facts & circumstances” test Good facts & circumstances If part of a pattern of issue advocacy that existed prior to the election season. If only refer to them in their elected official position Language doesn’t match the candidate’s campaign materials Bad facts & circumstances If only do around the election time. If refer to their candidacy. If language matches candidate’s message (unless can show you were using it first)

16. Voter Registration No reference to who they should vote for No preference by political party Make available to everyone Target population/geography for nonpartisan reasons Can’t use code words to couch preference – IRS has said “Vote Pro-Choice, Register to Vote” is code for Democratic at this point. “Environment” is probably not code for party, but may be in some elections. No direct IRS ruling on it. So would want to know more about the context.

17. Voter Education Candidate questionnaires Debates/Forums Appearances unrelated to candidacy.

18. Test: “fact and circumstances” Just like with issue advocacy, IRS will look at all facts & circumstances to determine if you were really doing something to help or hurt a specific candidate or party. They’ve laid out some guidelines for safe facts & circumstances for different types of voter education.

19. Candidate questionnaires Unbiased Open-ended questions (but should have word count or character count limit) Distributed to all candidates Broad range of issues No pledges to vote for or against something No editing of their responses Present responses formatted equally Disclaimer that not supporting/opposing anybody

20. Candidate debates/forums Broad range of issues. Not clear how broad. Environment probably broad enough, but river probably not. Invite all viable candidates. Can exclude those polling low as long as rational basis identified before hand. Impartial moderator. Unbiased audience selection. Equal opportunity to talk. No contextual favoritism.

21. Appearances unrelated to election Invite sitting officeholder to event in their office capacity. Awards as an example, or a policy update No equal opportunity required Avoid mentioning candidacy. Must tell that to the candidate too! Don’t time to closely coincide with the election Disclaimer in writing to the candidate to be safe.

22. What about individuals?

23. You can participate as individuals You don’t lose your rights as an individual just because you are staff or on the board of a 501c3 nonprofit. Bottom line rules for organizations: Can do elections in personal capacity. Not on organizational time/resources. Organization can’t ratify activities. Have a written policy if possible (e.g. it’s okay to do this, but don’t use work email or resources). AFJ has an example of their policy.

24. For more information on the law Best source = Alliance for Justice. www.afj.org. Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network, www.nonprofitvote.org.

25. Why do any of this? Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should do it! For me, the first question to answer is: what is your theory of change?

26. Possible theories of change for a river protection group Change requires litigation to enforce existing river protection laws. Change requires more data to document river health problems. Change requires a better educated citizenry who’ll fight to protect the river. Change requires elected officials to recognize the importance of river protection. Change requires elected official to have better information about what’s needed for river protection.

28. Which activities to choose? Debates? Issue education? Questionnaires? Other methods? Depends on your theory of change!

29. Match up the strategy to your theory of change

30. Match up the strategy to your theory of change

31. Match up the strategy to your theory of change

32. Match up the strategy to your theory of change

33. Match up the strategy to your theory of change

34. Match up the strategy to your theory of change

35. If more than one makes sense, how decide which? No obvious answer. But I’d ask the following questions: Which is most synergistic with my other programs? Which builds my capacity by involving volunteers, helping with fundraising, or building the organization’s reputation in the community?

36. Follow up questions?