Bolder Advocacy Resource Library

The ballot initiative process in California can be an effective tool for nonprofits, including 501(c)(3) public charities, to bring about change in public policy. This fact sheet outlines the legal considerations associated with circulating petitions.

This publication, designed for reproductive rights, health, and justice groups, is a short overview of the laws and regulations that apply to 501(c)(3) public charities when they engage in lobbying and advocacy, including how to shape advocacy during an election time. This resource should be considered an overview of the rules that apply to advocacy.

The San Antonio Ethics Review Board requires individuals and organizations who lobby in San Antonio to register with the city and file activity reports if they meet certain requirements.

If you or your nonprofit works to impact public policy in the City of Corpus Christi, you may be required to register as a lobbyist. The general rule is that a person (including corporations or associations) is engaged in lobbying if he or she communicates with a city official directly or indirectly, in writing or orally (including electronic communications), in an effort to persuade that official to favor or oppose, recommend or not recommend, vote for or against, or take or refrain from taking action on a municipal question.

This new Advocacy Resource is designed to guide organizations through the process of forming and working in coalition with easy-to-understand explanations of the most common forms of coalitions, how to fund them, how to work on the most common types of joint activities, and how partners can share resources. The guide also provides sample agreements that should help coalitions come to agreement on decision-making processes and other issues before conflict arises.

Foundations often give “lobbying-restricted funds,” meaning they place restrictions in grant agreements that prohibit their grantees from using those grant funds for lobbying. Such restrictions are not legally required in a grant to a public charity. But, once included in a grant agreement, the grantee is contractually obligated to adhere to the restriction. This resource sets out common advocacy activities for 501(c)(3) public charities and notes those in which your organization can safely engage using “lobbying-restricted funds.”

If you or your nonprofit organization works to impact public policy in Houston, Texas you may be required to register as a lobbyist and report your lobbying activities.

This factsheet answers a frequently asked question about voter registration and GOTV drives, whether conducted by a c3, c4, or any other entity.

Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy program has just published the definitive guide to the laws and regulations governing autodialing, robocall, and robotext campaigns, called Robocalling Rules: Before you Pick Up that Phone, Hold that Call—What You Need to Know about Robocalls, Robotexts, and Autodialers.

Candidates for public office sometimes make statements about immigrants or immigrant rights that are incorrect, or with which nonprofits disagree. Nonprofits may wish to set the record straight. While 501(c)(3) organizations may continue to engage in education and advocacy to promote their issues during the election season, they are strictly prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates for public office. So how can 501(c)(3) organizations respond to candidates or political parties’ statements and remain nonpartisan? By being very deliberate and careful with their statements.

Las caridades públicas 501(c)(3) pueden cabildear bajo límites generosos permitidos bajo la ley tributaria federal. La cantidad de cabildeo que puede hacer una organización depende de cuál de las dos pruebas utiliza la organización para medir su cabildeo—“la prueba de gastos 501(h)” o “la prueba de la parte insustancial.” La mayoría de las organizaciones beneficiarían de elegir medir su cabildeo según la prueba de gastos 501(h), porque los reglamentos gobernando el cabildeo bajo la Sección 501(h) son mucho más claros.

Advocacy is defined as any action that speaks in favor of, recommends, argues for a cause, supports or defends, or pleads on behalf of others. This fact sheet offers a look at how advocacy is defined, how it is different from lobbying, and offers examples of advocacy projects from several nonprofit groups.