Guidelines for 501c3 Organizations Presented by All attendees will receive a copy of this PowerPoint presentation and a link to the recorded webinar Founded in 2005 Nonprofit VOTE partners with Americas nonprofits to help the people they serve participate and vote ID: 589341
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Slide1
BEING NONPARTISAN:Guidelines for 501c3 Organizations
Presented by
All attendees will receive a copy of this PowerPoint presentation and a link to the recorded webinarSlide2
Founded in 2005, Nonprofit VOTE partners with America's nonprofits to help the people they serve participate and vote.
We are a leading source of nonpartisan training, materials and other resources for nonprofits doing voter engagement work. Find out more about our mission and partners on our
site
www.nonprofitvote.org
About us
AboutSlide3
Today’s presenter
Who
George Pillsbury
Senior Consultant
Nonprofit VOTESlide4
Our voices are not being heard
Voter engagement and advocacy work go together
Nonprofits have unique access and assets
When
we do this work, we are extremely effective!
Why VOTING matters
Why This
MattersSlide5
agenda
Prohibition on Partisan Political Activity
Nonpartisan Voter Registration
Engaging
Candidates
Ballot Measures
Issue Advocacy
Staff Activities and Social Media
AgendaSlide6
The one sentence prohibition
“A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization may not support or oppose a candidate for public office”
-1954 amendment to US Tax Code
Being nonpartisan -One rule - 1954
HistorySlide7
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization may not
-Endorse candidatesDonate money or resources to candidates
Rate or rank candidates on their positions compared to
yours
NO PARTISAN POLITICAL ACTIVITES
Being
NonpartisanSlide8
Comparing candidatesIt’s
ok to compare candidates in questionnaires and voter guides. Keep your opinion out of it.Criticizing candidatesAvoid making statements about candidates. You may correct a factual misstatement related to your issue.
RANKING CANDIDATES –
Two examples
Being
NonpartisanSlide9Slide10
LEGISLATIVE SCORECARDS
Released February 19, 2016Slide11
WHAT NONPROFITS CAN DO
The IRS makes it clear 501(c)(3) nonprofits may conduct a wide range of voter engagement activities on a nonpartisan basis including –
Register
Voters
Engage Candidates
Conduct voter and civic education
Encourage people to vote
Being
NonpartisanSlide12
1. VOTER
REGISTRATIONSlide13
Promote voter registration
Announce deadlines.Provide information on where and when to register to vote.
Conduct voter registration
Table in your lobby or events.
Register staff and volunteers.Do a voter registration drive.
COMMON NONPARTISAN ACTIVITIES
Voter
RegistrationSlide14
No endorsements: May not
suggest which party to join. May say what it means to register “unaffiliated”Know your state’s rules:
VOTER REGISTRATION
GUIDELINES
Voter
Registration
www.nonprofitvote.org/voting-in-your-state
/Slide15
2
. ENGAGINGCANDIDATESSlide16
At your events
Sponsor candidate forumsDo a
c
andidate questionnaire
Share your
policy ideas
Ways to Engage Candidates
Engaging
CandidatesSlide17
At an event
Invite all the candidates running for the same officeTreat candidates as guests
– no campaign materials allowed
Remind audience it’s a nonpartisan event
and thank candidates for attending
Engaging
Candidates
CANDIDATES APPEARANCES
Elected officials may be invited to speak in a
non-candidate
capacity.Slide18
Question:
Can a candidate who is invited to an event make a short statement about their candidacy from the podium?Answer: No.
Candidate appearances (Poll)
Engaging
CandidatesSlide19
Cover a range of issues
or topics within your own issue areaProvide equal time for the candidates
Ask all
candidates* to
attend *viable
Have at least 2 candidates
to be a “forum”
CANDIDATE FORUMS
Engaging
CandidatesSlide20
A range
of issuesNot just yes or no
Send to
all the candidates
If a candidate doesn’t respond
- may list “no response” or use official statements from the candidate’s website
Candidate Questionnaires
Q: What make it partisan?
A: If you indicate a correct answer
Engaging
CandidatesSlide21
3
. BALLOT MEASURESSlide22
Ballot measures are about laws or constitutional amendments
Activity on ballot measures is lobbying. It’s influencing the passage or defeat of a law– not the election or defeat of a candidate
501c3 nonprofits may work
for or against a ballot measure as a lobbying activity
BALLOT MEASURES
Ballot
MeasuresSlide23
4
. VOTER EDUCATION AND GET OUT THE VOTE Slide24
How, where and when to voteEarly Voting
Voter ID NeededUsing a voting machine
Voter
Education
VOTER ED
–
The
Process of VotingSlide25
VOTER ED
– sample ballots, voter guides
Voter
Education
Stay Neutral
when mentioning the names of candidatesSlide26
501(c)(3)s may -
Provide voter assistanceConduct get-out-the-vote drives
Remind
staff and constituents to vote
GET OUT THE VOTE
Get Out
The Vote
Don’t say
who to vote for
Don’t wear
candidate swagSlide27
5. ISSUE ADVOCACY & WHAT STAFF CAN DO Slide28
Factors to consider -
Increasing advocacy activities during the election season could be partisanHistory of work on an issue in the past is a key nonpartisan factor
ISSUE ADVOCACY
Issue
Advocacy
“501(c)(3) organizations
may take positions on public policy issues
, including issues that divide candidates in an election for public office.” -
(IRS)Slide29
WHAT STAFF CAN DO
Staff
Activities
Nonprofit staff may engage in partisan activities, such as supporting a candidate, outside of normal work hours
Q:
What about social media?
Don’t use organizational accounts for partisan purposes - including sharing, retweeting
Free to use your personal accounts
CEO or senior staff should be more carefulSlide30
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU GRADUATED!
Being
NonpartisanSlide31
more resourcesSlide32
info@nonprofitvote.org
617.357.VOTE (8683)
www.nonprofitvote.org
Nonprofit VOTE
89 South Street
Suite 203
Boston, MA 02111
George Pillsbury
gpillsbury@nonprofitvote.org
Julian Johannesen
julian@nonprofitvote.org