Political Campaigns and
Charities - What Are The Rules?
Under the Internal
Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely
prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or
intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in
opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.
Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements
of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the
organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for
public office clearly violate the prohibition against political
campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in
denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of
certain excise taxes.
Certain activities
or expenditures may not be prohibited depending on the facts and
circumstances. For example, certain voter education activities
(including presenting public forums and publishing voter
education guides) conducted in a non-partisan manner do not
constitute prohibited political campaign activity. In addition,
other activities intended to encourage people to participate in
the electoral process, such as voter registration and
get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political
campaign activity if conducted in a non-partisan manner.
On the other hand,
voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias
that (a) would favor one candidate over another; (b) oppose a
candidate in some manner; or (c) have the effect of favoring a
candidate or group of candidates, will constitute prohibited
participation or intervention.
The Internal Revenue Service provides
resources to exempt organizations and the public to help them understand
the prohibition. As part of its examination program, the IRS also monitors
whether organizations are
complying with the prohibition.
