Nonprofit Law Podcast #16: Election season series - voter guides

Election season series - voter guides

Download: Nonprofit Law Podcast #16 (mp3, 9:10)

Shownotes

Intro

Tim Mooney… Welcome to the Nonprofit Law Podcast
Your guide to the laws impacting nonprofits.
Shownotes…. nplawcast.com
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Month long series on election activity

Focuses on public charities, other 501(c)s and 527s
Covering voter guides, debates & forums, renting mailing lists, ballot measures, and voter registration/GOTV
Why now? Many nonprofits are already planning 2008 and some are already engaged in it
Don't do any of these things? Still important to know in case something unexpected comes up

Voter guides

501(c)(3)s
Purely nonpartisan
IRS safe harbor... reprint candidate questionnaire
No pledges
Broad range of issues
IRS: Too easy to make any candidate look good or bad when focusing on a single issue
Position on one issue should not suggest position on another
Several issues: four? five? more?
Distribute to all
Unbiased questions
No editing

Other 501(c)s
Partisan "slant" ok, but it would then count towards secondary activity, so watch amount

527s
Generally comparing and contrasting issue differences before a targeted distribution (i.e. NRA PAC comparing gun positions to NRA members)

Resources

AFJ's Rules of the Game

Closing

Email me with questions and suggested topics
Audio guide to using the Internet, podcasting and social networking for your nonprofit - go to nplawcast.com for details next week
Need more than a podcast? Tim-Mooney.com
nplawcast.com

This podcast provides general information about legal topics but it is not a complete discussion of all legal issues that arise in relation to nonprofits nor is it a substitute for legal advice. This podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is general legal information and the contributors make no warranties regarding the general legal information provided in this podcast , and disclaim liability for damages resulting from its use to the fullest extent permitted by the applicable law.