Legal Guidelines For Funding Nonpartisan Civic Engagement

The laws and IRS code's regulations on civic engagement grantmaking, often confuse funders, new and seasoned, raising some tough questions.

• What is the impact on the tax status of my foundation?
• Is my organization eligible to conduct nonpartisan electoral activities?
• What activities might my foundation's resources support?
• Where can these activities take place and toward whom might they be targeted?

The short answer is that your foundation can support nonpartisan civic/voter engagement
activities, and nonprofits can actively integrate nonpartisan civic/voter engagement activities into their
ongoing missions and work. Our democracy demands the attention and engagement of all Americans,
and nonprofit organizations are particularly well suited to providing the means for educating and motivating Americans to get engaged.

For more information on what's allowable for funders and the do's and don'ts of non-partisan civic participation, please explore the publications, links, and resources on this page.

RESOURCES

FCCP's Voter Education, Registration and Ballot Campaigns: A Funder's Guide to
Legal Issues - follow these links. (Part I, Part II)

Alliance for Justice's Investing in Change: A Funders'Guide for Supporting Advocacy at www.afj.org.

Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network's (NVEN) web page contains a variety of legal resources
useful to foundations and nonprofit organizations interested in elections - www.nonprofitvote.org.

NPAction is an online resource that provides tools and information for nonprofit advocacy including a
section on Legal Rules for Nonpartisan Voter Education, Outreach, and Participation by Nonprofits at www.npaction.org.

IRS Issues Memorandum on Political Campaign Activity on the Internet, click here for link.

Grantcrafts' Advocacy Funding: The Philanthropy of Changing Minds funding guide. GRANTCRAFT

Disclaimer: FCCP neither makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, quality, completeness, or validity of any of the information it provides, nor will it have any liability to you or any other person resulting from the use of any information by you. Please consult your tax advisor and/or general counsel for specific advice.