Nonprofit Radio: Advocacy, Net Neutrality, & The Bright Lines Project

Nonprofit Radio 2014

 

I’ll be on Nonprofit Radio on Friday, June 6, discussing with host Tony Martignetti advocacy and lobbying with respect to the Net Neutrality issue and what we might expect in the future with regard to laws that govern charities and other tax-exempt organizations.

Catch John Oliver‘s brilliant discussion of Net Neutrality on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Read Michelle Baker‘s post Nonprofit Advocacy is More Than Lobbying.

Comment on the FCC’s proposed rulemaking which begins with the fundamental question: “What is the right public policy to ensure that the Internet remains open?” You can comment on the FCC site or use the form provided by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

And for more about the future of laws that govern charities and other tax-exempt organizations with respect to advocacy, check out the Bright Lines Project:

This project is rooted in the belief that clear definitions of what constitutes political intervention by tax exempt groups will help strengthen American democracy. Such clarity must be associated with a zone of free speech that is wide and deep and that affords opportunity for charities and other tax exempt groups to pursue issue advocacy. The operating assumption is that bright lines will help nonprofit leaders understand that participating in nonpartisan voter activities is permissible, and, like lobbying activities, morally essential to a robust democracy.

The Bright Lines Project proposes 6 bright line rules to create a definition of “political intervention” across all sections of the Internal Revenue Code with safe harbors that include nonpartisan voter engagement, grass roots lobbying, and voter education that compares candidates even-handedly. I’m a supporter.