Other Resources

Comprehensive Election Guidelines

Short Election Activity Overview

Nonprofit Lobbying, Advocacy, and Public Policy Engagement

State Law Resources

Guidance for Religious Organizations

Voter Education – Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Activities

Multilingual GOTV Information and Toolkits

501(c)(4)s and PACs

Election Activities Research and Reports

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Comprehensive Election Guidelines

• Revenue Ruling 2007-41, Internal Revenue Service. On June 1, 2007, the IRS released guidance on facts and circumstances it considers when determining whether a charitable organization has engaged in prohibited political activities. In Revenue Ruling 2007-41 describes 21 different fact situations and determines whether or not they would be considered prohibited campaign intervention. The situations include: voter registration drives, candidate forums or other candidate appearances, issue advocacy campaigns, selling or renting mailing lists or leasing offices space, and website links to candidate-related material.

• Helpful Election Activity Resources, Alliance for Justice. Learn about the different election-related activities that public charities and foundations can engage in.

 Short Election Activity Overview

• Voter Education by Nonprofits During a Political Campaign, CLPI. A two-page guide on the type of voter activities a 501(c)(3) public charity can legally engage in.

Nonprofit Lobbying, Advocacy, and Public Policy Engagement

• Make A Difference for Your Cause: Strategies in Nonprofit Engagement in Legislative Advocacy, CLPI. This resource and discussion guide provides examples of nonprofits that have successfully used public policy engagement to meet their missions and presents six questions readers can use to stimulate discussion with others in their organizations.

 State Law Resources

• State Law Resources, Alliance for Justice. Alliance for Justice has compiled web-based state law resources on campaign finance and ballot measures, lobbying disclosure and voter registration issues. These resources are currently available for: Arizona , California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washingtonand Wisconsin. More states will be added in the coming months.
  
• State Advocacy Guides, NP Action. This one-stop guide provides visitors with the means to locate and correspond with their Congressional delegation, state legislature, statewide elected officials, major media, and local officials, on key issues and pending legislation.

 Guidance for Religious Organizations

• Politics and the Pulpit: 2008. A Guide to the Internal Revenue Service Code Restrictions on the Political Activity of Religious Organizations. This guide sets out in plain English the rules governing political activity that apply to nonprofit organizations (including churches and other religious groups) that are exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
  
• Charities, Churches and Politics, Internal Revenue Service. Provides background information on the political campaign activity ban on churches and the latest IRS enforcement statistics regarding its administration of this congressional ban.

Voter Education – Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Activities

• A Nonprofit’s Guide to Hosting a Candidate Forum, Minnesota Participation Project. This guide will mainly assist those hosting a candidate forum in the upcoming election season. It was developed summarizing existing tools and enhanced through interviews with the Legislature, prominent journalists, and a public relations expert.
  
• Voter Education Toolbox, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. This to olbox is focused primarily on candidate events, candidate questionnaires and voter guides, with additional brief information on legislative scorecards and voting records, issue advocacy, and candidate education.

• Nonprofits, Voting, & Elections, Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network. Nonprofits, Voting and Elections is a 15 page guide to permissible, nonpartisan voter participation activities for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. The Guide is specifically tailored to the needs and concerns of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and is updated annually.
  
• NonprofitVOTE, Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network. NonprofitVOTE is a national website designed specifically for nonprofit staff, board members and volunteers to engage and educate communities around elections and voting. The site provides election information for all 50 states and features free, downloadable materials on the range of voter engagement activities for 501(c)(3) nonprofit staff and volunteers as they work to register, educate, and encourage their constituents and communities to vote.
• Seize the initiative, Alliance for Justice. This guide answers questions frequently asked by nonprofit
  organizations about working on ballot measures.
  
• New Experiments in Minority Voter Mobilization: A Report on the California Votes Initiative , The James Irvine Foundation. This report evaluates the effectiveness of various voter outreach strategies designed to increase turnout among infrequent voters in California.

Multilingual GOTV Information and Toolkits

• Mobilize the Immigrant Vote TOOLKIT, Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action Multilingual GOTV. This toolkit provides a number of tools and resources in English, Spanish and Chinese that can help support immigrant organizations in planning and implementing electoral strategies. The kit offers versatile exercises, strategies and practices for voter education to organizations with limited resources.

501(c)(4)s and PACs

• Political Campaign and Lobbying Activities of IRC 501(c)(4), (c)(5), and (c)(6) Organizations, Internal Revenue Service. This article is intended to provide exempt organization tax professionals with information about the rules relating to their political campaign and lobbying activities.

Election Activities Research and Reports

• Voter Engagement Evaluation Project (VEEP) (2006), Proteus Fund. This report analyzed the involvement of 501(c)3 organizations in the 2004 election cycle and presented the success stories, best practices, and unique models — along with the challenges and obstacles — in a written report.
  
• How Nonprofits Helped America Vote, OMB Watch. The report describes nonprofits' electoral engagement during the 2006 election and their preparation for upcoming elections. It highlights how nonprofits are defending voters' rights against attacks, including tactics meant to suppress and intimidate voters, new voter ID requirements, and limitations on voter registration drive. The report also covers the activities that may be viewed as more traditional voter engagement and mobilization efforts, and includes a list of resources for more information on how nonprofits can get involved in the 2008 elections.