Charity Inc.: Prepare for election season

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Oklahoma will hold its primaries on June 26. Nonprofits should be preparing for both primaries and the general midterms in November.

We have been encouraging organizations to help employees, consumers and constituents register, as well as getting important education on the issues faced by Oklahomans.

Of course, as we always remind nonprofits, we encourage you to tell your folks to vote, but don’t tell them who to vote for. This is part of the IRS prohibition on interfering with elections called the Johnson Amendment. However, nonprofits can and should educate the public about the issues.

I did want to take an opportunity to outline a few other suggestions about participation in the democratic process.

First and foremost, nonprofits should never become a forum for a particular candidate or party. If you as a nonprofit are approached by a candidate who wishes to speak to your staff, board or constituency, politely decline and let him or her know that you would have to also invite all of their opponents to do the same.

Secondly, never allow candidate use of your mailing list for fundraising purposes. Obviously, this could be construed as an endorsement, but other ethical considerations are at play. Your donors, board, staff and consumers should be protected.

Now is a good time to remind staff not to engage in electioneering at work or with nonprofit-owned equipment or technology. Many nonprofit leaders, employees, board members and consumers are actively involved in campaigning for their candidates of choice. However, ask them to do this outside of work time or away from the office.

Moreover, they should never endorse a candidate or work for a campaign under the organization’s name. If you’re an executive director endorsing a candidate, ask that candidate not to list your employer.

Finally, if your organization chooses to produce a candidate report card or host a candidate and issues forum, ensure that you’re including as many of the candidates as possible.

Our elected officials help shape the future of our communities, state and country. We should all participate in the election process and ensure that our public and our constituencies are informed about issues. As nonprofits, while we have set boundaries to observe, we also have a duty to encourage all to be a part of the electoral process.

Marnie Taylor is president and CEO of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. She can be reached at (405) 463-6886, ext. 201, or [email protected].