UH OH - POLITICAL ACTION

I have greeting cards of me standing with a certain presidential candidate that are fun to send out in this political season. But, I can detect a slight tremor of hesitation in my hand when stuffing one of those cards into an envelope addressed to a nonprofit executive. Have the prohibitions placed on nonprofit involvement in politics, enacted in the 1950s, become so intimidating that they threaten a vital sector of America?

It should come as no surprise that I believe nonprofit organizations, operating in a free society, must not only be allowed to address issues of public policy that are determined by the political process, they must exercise their right to be heard. Lobbying in the public interest goes to the heart of free expression. So, too, nonprofit organizations’ political expression should not be muzzled, especially in an election year where much is at stake.

Robert Egger, Founder and President of the DC Central Kitchen, points out that “The stakes for America are too high for nonprofit leaders to allow themselves to be bullied into silence by the perceived or often overt threat that any talk about politics will cause a charity to lose its tax-exempt status. It is time for charities not just to get involved in this historic race, but also to urge candidates for the White House to make it a priority, once elected, to rethink how nonprofit groups are regarded and regulated. Furthermore, nonprofit leaders must also stimulate a discussion about changing the rules that prohibit charitable organizations from getting involved in partisan politics.”

I like the tack the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations is taking. PANO is a 501 (c) 3 statewide membership organization representing over 700 charities to advance the charitable nonprofit sector through leadership, education and advocacy in order to improve the quality of life in my former home state. Advocacy is a central part of PANO’s charitable mission.

PANO has taken a front row seat in criticizing proposed rulemaking for their state’s Lobbying Disclosure Act. While PANO supports transparency and accountability through lobbying disclosure, they believe proposed regulations have created an obstacle to public participation in advocacy that is fundamentally contrary to the public interest and, thus, they have offered constructive recommendations and comments to change the proposed rulemaking and are urging further public comment.

In June of this year PANO and the United Way of PA were instrumental in getting members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to launch the Pennsylvania Charitable Nonprofit Caucus, a bipartisan, bicameral forum for state lawmakers to collaborate on legislative and regulatory issues impacting charity and philanthropy in their state. The goal of the caucus is to enhance the ability of nonprofits to achieve their missions on behalf of the Commonwealth. Over 30 statewide charities and foundations representing arts and culture, education, religion, health care, human services, and other nonprofit subsectors will serve as a resource to the Caucus for information, education, vision and advocacy.

Way to go Keystone State!