Election season is upon us, and a frequently asked question in the nonprofit realm is the extent to which 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations can engage in politics. While there is a blanket prohibition against political campaign intervention, there are activities nonprofits can engage in during election season without having to fear the ire of the IRS.
Let’s begin by defining what political intervention is. The IRS defines political intervention as supporting or opposing a candidate for public office during an election cycle. Support in this context means everything from campaign contributions and outright endorsements to more subtle actions like the use of nonprofit mailing lists and phone numbers to contact constituents. While your nonprofit cannot invite the candidate they support for a lunch-in with their members, they can still engage voter participation in other ways.
DO: Educate
There are many steps a nonprofit can take to educate people, the key to doing this right is to ensure you remain neutral and bipartisan in all programing and materials. You can disseminate information on candidate platforms and policy positions as long as you do so for all candidates in a bipartisan manner. You can invite candidates to a public forum to discuss issues important to your nonprofit’s mission. In doing so you need to extend the invitation to all candidates, whether they accept or not is not relevant, the invitation is sufficient. Any forum discussions should allow time for all candidates to speak on an equal basis, and questions should be prepared by an independent panel and cover a broad range of issues.
DO: Get out to vote drives
Your nonprofit can ensure that its members and supporters are registered to vote by holding voter registration drives. You can ensure that people know where their polling locations are, and on election day you can arrange carpools to get voters to the polls.
DO: Candidate Questionnaires
Your organization may submit questionnaires to all candidates seeking their stance on issues important to your organization. You can then publish the candidate responses for the benefit of the public, and to engage your own base in better understanding candidate positions.
DON’T: Work Directly With a Campaign
Do not work in coordination with a candidate’s campaign whether openly or behind the scenes. This includes sharing strategies, timing of announcements etc.
DON’T: Campaign Contributions
Do not contribute to a candidate’s campaign either through monetary contributions, volunteer time, or even using nonprofit resources to print flyers or other materials.
DON’T: Public Statements of Support or Opposition
Do not publicly support or oppose a candidate. This includes public statements which do not name a candidate but are clearly referencing them in a negative or positive light.
DON’T: Use of Nonprofit Resources
Do not allow your directors, officers, and staff to use nonprofit resources to support or oppose a candidate for public office. This includes using phone number and email lists to contact individuals, using nonprofit computers, phones, printers, and other resources to undertake partisan work.
