NPAction Update
Vol 2, Issue 12
6/8/2004

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

You are receiving this newsletter as requested during your registration with NPAction.org. To unsubscribe, send an email to npaction@npaction.org.


In this issue:
*What's New- Hot Websites and Salary Surveys*
*Current Poll- Federal Funds and Lobbying*
*Featured Article- Lobbying Rules and Federal Funding*
*Featured Forum- Nonprofit Speech and a Death by 1000 Cuts*
*Featured Resource Links- From the Horse's Mouth and an Electoral Toolkit*
*Hey, You Asked- Churches and Elections*


*What's New*

Two new reports from the NonProfit Times came to your humble editor's attention this week. The first is a report on "hot" nonprofit websites, which features great websites from smaller charities that are making waves and getting attention. See what secrets of their success can be used by your organization.

"Hot Nonprofit Websites"
http://www.nptimes.com/Jun04/Hot_Nonprofit_Website_SR04.pdf


The NonProfit Times 2004 salary survey finds that nonprofit starting salaries have gone down, but raises have beaten inflation. Also, it gives us numbers for what we already know: that the smallest nonprofits have the smallest salaries. So is your organization a cheapskate, or a sugar daddy? Find out in this survey.

"NPT Salary Survey 2004"
http://www.nptimes.com/Feb04/specialreport.pdf



*Current Poll*

This issue, we ask, "Does your organization receive federal funds and lobby?" Vote on this week's poll, continuously displayed on the right hand side of the site (just don't try to vote twice!!)

The results of last issue's poll on lobbying laws are in, and 25% feel they're experts on nonprofit lobbying laws, 13% muddle through, 38% know enough to know that they don't know, and 25% claim ignorance of lobbying laws.

Here's your chance to ask a question you've wanted to ask other nonprofits, but couldn't figure out how. Send your idea for a poll to npaction@npaction.org.

Past Poll Results
http://www.npaction.org/article/archive/207



*Featured Article*

There are many organizations that think that they shouldn't lobby if they get federal funding, either because it's illegal, or because it's uncouth. This issue's featured article handles the legal issues raised by lobbying while receiving federal funds, and also reviews basic lobbying rules for all nonprofits.

"Can 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organizations Receiving Federal Grants Lobby?"
http://www.npaction.org/article/articleview/100/1/183/

Remember that you can rate and comment on most NPAction articles by clicking the "New Comment" button at the end of an article.



*Featured Forum*

An NPAction user read an article about the Bush administration's "death by a thousand cuts" approach to nonprofit lobbying and free speech (http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/1706/1/41/), and posted a comment in the NPAction User Forum. From the looks of it, he's pretty incensed.

Read the article at OMB Watch, then join in the discussion:




*Featured Resource Links*

This issue's first link comes directly from the horse's mouth, so to speak, and is a short set of rules on lobbying and political activities by charities. There are all sorts of documents on NPAction elaborating on this information, but sometimes it's nice to have it from the source

"Political and Lobbying Activities"



The second resource link comes from Voices for America's Children (formerly the National Association of Child Advocates), and is a downloadable toolkit for charities wishing to engage in election-related activities. While it is somewhat issue specific, just mentally replace "children" with your issue of choice while reading it, and learn what activities your charity can engage in this election season.

"Electoral Advocacy Toolkit 2004"



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

Suggest a Resource Link




*"Hey, You Asked"*

An NPAction user asks: "I recently read that the Bush campaign has been emailing people in Pennsylvania and asking them to organize "friendly congregations" where supporters can meet, sign up voters, and generally campaign for the Bush/Cheney ticket. As far as I know, churches are 501(c)(3) organizations and can't participate in partisan electioneering. Is this legal?"

The short answer is that this is probably not legal because religious and charitable organizations are strictly prohibited from electioneering (working for the election of a specific candidate or party). The Bush/Cheney campaign claims that its email is legal because they are asking individuals within the congregations to speak to other individuals in their church. However, the email asks these individuals to take action that could involve their congregations in partisan activity and endanger their tax exempt status.

Get the full answer and resources on what charities can do during election season:


To ask a question for the experts behind "Hey, You Asked" go to:




*"Steal This Code": 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



*NPAction Update Archives*



--------------------------------------------------------------
NPAction Update is a service for NPAction subscribers. If you received this message from another party, and wish to subscribe, go to www.npaction.org and hit "Login" then "register new user." Registration not only allows you to receive the NPAction Update, but also to participate in all of the forums, vote in polls, and be a full member of the NPAction community.

To change your user options, log in at:
http://www.npaction.org/user/login

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.

For more information, contact:

NPAction
1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.,
Washington DC 20009
(202) 234-8494
E-mail:



*Featured Resource Links*

This issue's first link comes directly from the horse's mouth, so to speak, and is a short set of rules on lobbying and political activities by charities. There are all sorts of documents on NPAction elaborating on this information, but sometimes it's nice to have it from the source

"Political and Lobbying Activities"
http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=120703,00.html


The second resource link comes from Voices for America's Children (formerly the National Association of Child Advocates), and is a downloadable toolkit for charities wishing to engage in election-related activities. While it is somewhat issue specific, just mentally replace "children" with your issue of choice while reading it, and learn what activities your charity can engage in this election season.

"Electoral Advocacy Toolkit 2004"
http://www.voicesforamericaschildren.org/Content/ContentGroups/Publications1/Voices_for_Americas_Children/Advocacy/20024/eatkit.PDF


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



*"Hey, You Asked"*

An NPAction user asks: "I recently read that the Bush campaign has been emailing people in Pennsylvania and asking them to organize "friendly congregations" where supporters can meet, sign up voters, and generally campaign for the Bush/Cheney ticket. As far as I know, churches are 501(c)(3) organizations and can't participate in partisan electioneering. Is this legal?"

The short answer is that this is probably not legal because religious and charitable organizations are strictly prohibited from electioneering (working for the election of a specific candidate or party). The Bush/Cheney campaign claims that its email is legal because they are asking individuals within the congregations to speak to other individuals in their church. However, the email asks these individuals to take action that could involve their congregations in partisan activity and endanger their tax exempt status.

Get the full answer and resources on what charities can do during election season:
http://www.npaction.org/forum/message/142/

To ask a question for the experts behind "Hey, You Asked" go to:
http://www.npaction.org/forum/messagelist/170



*"Steal This Code": 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


*NPAction Update Archives*
http://www.npaction.org/article/archive/210/


--------------------------------------------------------------
NPAction Update is a service for NPAction subscribers. If you received this message from another party, and wish to subscribe, go to www.npaction.org and hit "Login" then "register new user." Registration not only allows you to receive the NPAction Update, but also to participate in all of the forums, vote in polls, and be a full member of the NPAction community.

To change your user options, log in at:
http://www.npaction.org/user/login

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.

For more information, contact:

NPAction
1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.,
Washington DC 20009
(202) 234-8494
E-mail: npaction@npaction.org
Web: www.npaction.org

å© 2004 NPAction