NPAction Update
Vol 1, Issue 4
12/09/03

Welcome to this week's edition of the NPAction Update.

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In this issue:

*What's New*
*Featured Articles*
*Featured Forum*
*Featured Resource Links*
*Featured Files*
*Put NPAction on Your Site*


*What's New*

December 15 is recognized as Bill of Rights Day in the United States. Designated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, this commemoration celebrates the adoption of the first ten amendments ratified by the states into the U.S. Constitution, and serves as a important reminder of citizen rights and civic obligations 212 years later. Reacquaint yourself with these important words, or experience them for the first time, today.

Bill of Rights (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/bill_of_rights.html

U.S. News & World Report devoted the Money and Business section of its December 8th issue to the topic of philanthropy. Articles include giving tips, tax considerations for donations, demands on charities, foundation accountability, a profile of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation President Patty Stonesifer.

U.S. News & World Report (December 8, 2003)
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/031208/


*Featured Articles*

Our first feature, "Private Foundations and Policymaking: Latitude Under Federal Tax Law," is a series of ten articles drawn from work by Thomas A. Troyer and Douglas Varley of the law firm Caplin & Drysdale. They provide an excellent reference to help both charities and funders better understand the legal aspects of philanthropy in advocacy activities.

Private Foundations and Policymaking: Latitude Under Federal Tax Law
http://www.npaction.org/article/archive/212/

Our second feature covers something that everyone loves: exceptions to the rule. "Exceptions to the IRS Definition of Lobbying" highlights activities in which 501(c)(3) organizations can engage to an unlimited degree, because they are not considered lobbying according to IRS restrictions.

Exceptions to the IRS Definition of Lobbying
http://www.npaction.org/article/articleview/95


*Featured Forum*

What is the difference between an advocate and an activist? Although these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, advocacy and activism appear to be two different areas, each requiring different, if not complimentary, skill sets. If the two concepts are indeed separate, then where does one end and the other begin? Read different perspectives, and weigh in with your opinion, in this NPAction forum.

Adovcacy versus Activism
http://www.npaction.org/forum/message/58

NPAction Forums
http://www.npaction.org/forum/categorylist


*Featured Resource Links*

The NPAction Resource Links Directory is a human-edited compendium of tools and references, contributed by nonprofits for nonprofits.

Suggest a Resource Link
http://www.npaction.org/link/suggestlink

As the winter holidays approach, members of Congress head back to their home districts both to spend time with their families, and to work with their constituents. This can be a great time for local nonprofits to connect with their legislators. The Take Action Center, a joint service of OMB Watch and NPAction, provide ways for you to get in touch with legislators, find staff members that work on your issues, and communicate with decisionmakers.

Take Action Center (OMB Watch & NPAction)
http://capwiz.com/ombwatch/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq?command=congdir

Government resource links
http://www.npaction.org/link/category/206

While most nonprofits incorporate some technology into their advocacy efforts, such as email and the web, not many have explored the field of advocacy videos. If a picture is worth a thousand words, video might be worth ten thousand. "Short and To the Point," the MediaRights.org guide to making advocacy videos (or if you fancy yourself an ar-tiste, advocacy films), helps organizations plan for utilizing this effective audio-visual format to make a specific arguments about the causes for which they fight.
"Short and To the Point" (MediaRights.org)
http://www.mediarights.org/news/article.php?art_id=00046

Outreach & Media Advocacy resource links
http://www.npaction.org/link/category/85/


*Featured Files*

Though 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations cannot take sides in elections for public office, an organization's leadership, board, and staff still retain their First Amendment rights and ability to directly engage as individuals in campaign-related activity-- so long as their actions are not attributable to the charity by the IRS. Our first featured file provides information for individuals involved in election activities who are also associated with 501(c)(3) charities.

Guidelines for Candidate Campaign Activity by Individuals Associated with a 501(c)(3) Charity
http://www.npaction.org/filemanager/fileview/26

Our second file explains several electoral activities that 501(c)(3) charities are permitted to engage in, if done in a nonpartisan manner. This guide, prepared by Rosemary E. Fei, principal at Silk, Adler & Colvin, discusses the guiding authority with respect to 12 specific types of activities for nonprofits.

Election-Related Activities of 501(c)(3) Organizations
http://www.npaction.org/filemanager/fileview/27


*Put NPAction on Your Site*

NPAction invites organizations to share our tools on their websites. Choose a logo that best meets your needs, whether you want to link to our site, incorporate our search engine with results from a range of nonprofit sources, add the ability to connect to federal lawmakers and national media, or state-level policymakers and media. Just copy the HTML code from our site, and you're ready to go (but when you steal the code, just let us know!).

"Steal the Code" today
http://www.npaction.org/article/archive/208


About NPAction Update

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NPAction, an online resource hosted by OMB Watch, provides access to tools and information for nonprofit advocacy from a wide range of organizational partners and sources in order to encourage greater participation by nonprofits in the policy arena. Funding for this project was provided by Atlantic Philanthropies, the Ford Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Surdna Foundation.

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