How to Lobby for a Nonprofit Organization
Check your IRS status., Choose the sustantiality test or the expenditure test., Find out where your funding comes from.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Check your IRS status.
Most nonprofits are designated as 501c(3) organizations.
This identifies you are a publicly supported charity exempt from taxes. -
Step 2: Choose the sustantiality test or the expenditure test.
The IRS will measure your lobbying activities in 1 of these 2 ways.
Select the expenditure test if you want the IRS to look only at the amount of money you spend lobbying.
The amount you can spend depends on the revenue of your organization.
The limits are graduated beginning at 20 percent of the first $500,000 of the organization's expenditures, plus 15 percent of the second $500,000 expenditures, plus 10 percent of the third $500,000, plus 5 percent of any additional expenditures, up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any 1 year.
Choose the sustantiality test if you do not plan to do a lot of lobbying at all.
This is reviewed by the IRS on a case by case basis and some organizations find it arbitrary. , Nonprofit organizations cannot use any money from government grants or contracts to engage in lobbying activities. -
Step 3: Find out where your funding comes from.
Detailed Guide
Most nonprofits are designated as 501c(3) organizations.
This identifies you are a publicly supported charity exempt from taxes.
The IRS will measure your lobbying activities in 1 of these 2 ways.
Select the expenditure test if you want the IRS to look only at the amount of money you spend lobbying.
The amount you can spend depends on the revenue of your organization.
The limits are graduated beginning at 20 percent of the first $500,000 of the organization's expenditures, plus 15 percent of the second $500,000 expenditures, plus 10 percent of the third $500,000, plus 5 percent of any additional expenditures, up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any 1 year.
Choose the sustantiality test if you do not plan to do a lot of lobbying at all.
This is reviewed by the IRS on a case by case basis and some organizations find it arbitrary. , Nonprofit organizations cannot use any money from government grants or contracts to engage in lobbying activities.
About the Author
Beverly Collins
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