IRS Letter on Lobbying Mailed to 275,000 Charities

BY GRANT WILLIAMS

Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest, a Washington organization that educates nonprofit organizations about the role that lobbying can play in achieving their goals, has mailed to 275,000 charities a copy of a letter that the Internal Revenue Service wrote last year that spells out the basic federal lobbying laws and rules.

“The legality and appropriateness of lobbying by charities remains among the most misunderstood elements of nonprofit activity today,” said a statement by Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest. “Many charity executives — and unfortunately, many of their professional advisers — assume charity lobbying is illegal, and certainly not an appropriate activity.”

The I.R.S. letter was written at the request of Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest. Among other things, it explains how much lobbying charities may do, how organizations can have their advocacy work counted in two different ways, and how groups that lobby can be eligible to receive grants from private foundations.

“The I.R.S. information letter should help make absolutely clear that lobbying is perfectly permissible under federal tax law,” said Thomas A. Troyer, a Washington lawyer who chairs the advisory committee of Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest.

The revenue service letter and related documents are available at the Web site of Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest at http://www.independentsector.org/clpi.