Lobbying and Charities: a QuizLobbying by Charities: Answers to the Quiz
November 27, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
To learn more about what nonprofit officials know about federal laws governing charity advocacy, Jeffrey M. Berry, of Tufts University, and his colleagues gave a random sample of charity leaders the following quiz. The correct answers, plus the percentage of nonprofit executive directors who knew the answers, can be found here.
Can a nonprofit organization:
Support or oppose federal legislation under current IRS regulations?
__ Yes __ No
Take a policy position without reference to a specific bill under current regulations?
__ Yes __ No
Support or oppose federal regulations? __ Yes __ No
Lobby if part of your budget comes from federal funds? __ Yes __ No
Use government funds to lobby Congress? __ Yes __ No
Endorse a candidate for elected office? __ Yes __ No
Talk to elected public officials about public-policy matters?
__ Yes __ No
Sponsor a forum or candidate debate for elected office? __ Yes __ No
Following are the answers to the quiz plus the percentage of executive directors of charities who answered correctly in a nationwide survey.
| Can your organization: | Correct answer | Percentage who had the correct answer |
| Support or oppose federal legislation under current IRS regulations? | Yes | 54% |
| Take a policy position without reference to a specific bill under current regulations? | Yes | 61% |
| Support or oppose federal regulations? | Yes | 62% |
| Lobby if part of your budget comes from federal funds? | Yes | 32% |
| Use government funds to lobby Congress? | No | 93% |
| Endorse a candidate for elected office? | No | 84% |
| Talk to elected public officials about public-policy matters? | Yes | 80% |
| Sponsor a forum or candidate debate for elected office? | Yes | 45% |
