Guide to Election Year Advocacy

Since 2012 is an election year, you might be wondering how you can get involved.

If you work for a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit, your museum receives certain tax benefits. With these advantages comes the requirement that you not participate in any “partisan” activities, or actions that appear to support or oppose a political candidate or political party. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service, however, explicitly preserves your right to advocate on behalf of your museum and its mission, and to involve your visitors, supporters, and community members in certain “non-partisan” election-related activities.

We have created the following guide to help you distinguish between what is allowed and what is not. (One exception: If your museum is operated by the city, state or federal government, there may be additional restrictions.

YES, you can!	NO, you can't
Participate in a campaign on your own time	Use office computers, supplies, telephones, email, fax or other resources
Write a check to support a candidate	Treat any candidate differently from all other candidates
Host a candidates forum	Invite only your preferred candidate(s) or discuss only a single issue
Be an enthusiastic supporter of a particular candidate	Wear a candidate's t-shirt or buttons in your museum or at official events
Decorate your home or apartment with campaign or candidate-related items	Decorate your office space with items that can be perceived as supporting or opposing particular candidates or political parties
Do voter education: help inform voters about issues in an election	Tell people whom to vote for
Do voter registration: help register people to vote	Register only those who agree with you
Do get-out-the-vote activities	Tell people whom to vote for
Allow a candidate to rent your space for a campaign event (at fair-market value)*	Only allow certain candidates to rent the space, donate your space or provide a discounted rate
Donate personal funds	Make an organizational monetary or in-kind donation
Volunteer on your personal time	Volunteer on company time
Make candidates aware of your organization’s agenda	Ask candidates to endorse your organization’s agenda
Publicize Election Day	List information favorable to a particular candidate
Ask all candidates to fill out a questionnaire about issues	Ask only some candidates to fill out a questionnaire about issues
Work on behalf of a ballot measure: for example, a ballot initiative to set aside 1% of a sales tax for cultural organizations	Spend more than a substantial amount of time or money working on a ballot measure**

  *Some museums will not do this because they wish to avoid the appearance of impropriety, but it is allowed.
** For more information on the rules around lobbying and advocacy, we recommend contacting the Alliance for Justice.

Nonprofits have an important civic role to play on Election Day.

Here’s what you can and cannot do to get involved:

YES, you can!	No, You can't
Encourage your staff to vote	Tell them who to vote for
Allow late arrival/early departure for voting	Allow late arrival/early departure for campaign work
Allow staff to serve as a nonpartisan election worker on company time	Allow staff to participate in a political campaign on company time
Include Election Day as an organization-wide holiday	Make people participate in Election Day activities
Use personal leave time to participate in campaigns	Make your staff participate in a campaign
Provide information on early and absentee voting, location of polling places, ID requirements and links to candidate information	Present any of this information in a partisan way
Congratulate re-elected or newly elected officials	Characterize it in a partisan way (i.e., declare it a “victory for our issues”)