NPAction Update
Vol 2, Issue 13
6/22/2004

Welcome to this summer's first 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- New Site for Nonprofits and Elections*
*Current Poll- Federal Funding and Lobbying*
*Featured Article- Legal Rules for Nonprofits*
*Featured Forum- Bush Campaign and Churches*
*Featured Resource Links- Candidate Debates and Voter Guides*


*What's New*

Nonprofits Can Help America Vote!!

Announcing a new site to help nonprofits get involved in elections. Nonprofits can help get their constituents registered to vote, educate voters about new laws (such as electronic voting and provisional ballots), assist at the polls, and sponsor candidate debates. Learn how you can help get your community involved in this and every election!

"Nonprofits Can Help America Vote!"
http://www.npaction.org/helpUSvote



*Current Poll*

Our poll on federal funding and lobbying is still open, continuously displayed on the right hand side of the site (just don't try to vote twice!!)

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*

Because partisan electioneering is strictly forbidden for charities, many ignore elections entirely. This should not be the case. Nonprofits can play an important role in helping people make an informed decision about their government, which is the fundamental core of democracy. From hosting candidate forums, to registering their constituents to vote, nonprofits can play a crucial role in elections. This article will give you the basics of what your charity or 501(c)(4) can and can't do this election season.

"Guides to Permissible 501(C)3 & 501(C)4 Election-Related Activities"
http://www.npaction.org/article/articleview/376/1/221/

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*

The Bush campaign has sent out an email to supporters in Pennsylvania, asking them to set up "friendly congregations" where supporters can gather. As discussed in last issue's "Hey, You Asked," this might put the churches in jeopardy of losing their tax exemption. Do you think that the campaign is endangering these churches? What level of involvement in an election is your organization comfortable with?

Read and comment here:
http://www.npaction.org/forum/message/142/

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.

This issue's first link is a guide to hosting a candidate debate, from the Commission on Presidential Debates (as close to the horse's mouth as you're likely to get). Hosting a debate is a great service that nonprofits can provide, especially on a local level. Learn the basics of how to do it, from format to security issues to setting up the stage.

"Guide to Hosting Your Own Debate"
http://www.debates.org/pages/education.html


If a candidate debate is a little more than you'd like to take on, the California Voter Foundation has a publication that can help you set up an online voter guide. While it does not specifically deal with nonprofits (see NPAction's Nonprofits Can Help America Vote! section for legal rules for nonprofits), the guide will give you the basics needed to set up a voter guide. While most people know who they're going to vote for in the presidential election, local nonprofits can help their community greatly by helping voters make an informed decision when voting for sheriff, or town board members.

"How to Make an Online Voter Guide: Quick Tips for the Voter Educator"
http://www.calvoter.org/issues/votered/pub/quicktips.html


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



*"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/


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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.

For more information, contact:

NPAction
1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.,
Washington DC 20009
(202) 234-8494
E-mail: npaction@npaction.org
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å© 2004 NPAction