For more than 60 years, an important provision in the federal tax code has successfully protected charitable nonprofits, religious congregations, and foundations from being hounded by politicians, political operatives, and paid political consultants seeking political endorsements, financial contributions, and more. That provision is being threatened by the President, who recently vowed to “get rid of and totally destroy” the protection, and legislation in Congress seeking to completely repeal or substantially weaken it. Although couched as attempts to promote religious freedom and free speech, the legislative proposals would have the effect of politicizing and thereby erasing the public’s high trust in charities, houses of worship, and foundations to benefit politicians and paid political consultants.

Where We Stand

“The National Council of Nonprofits has long held that the public’s overall trust in the sector would diminish and thus limit the effectiveness of the nonprofit community if individual 501(c)(3) organizations came to be regarded as Democratic charities or Republican charities instead of the nonpartisan problem solvers that they are.”

Public Policy Agenda for 2017

The National Council of Nonprofits has consistently expressed our position in favor of “preserving the integrity of charitable nonprofits by supporting the tax-law ban on electioneering and partisan political activities.”

Community Letter in Support of Nonpartisanship

Take Action

Individuals can support nonpartisanship and help defeat efforts in Congress to repeal or weaken current protections in the law (known as the “Johnson Amendment”) by forwarding the Community Letter in Support of Nonpartisanship to their U.S. Senators and Representatives. Individuals and organizations are invited to spread the word on social media as well. (Sample Tweet: #Nonprofits are effective because they focus on #CommunityNotCandidates. Maintain #JohnsonAmendment https://www.givevoice.org/sites/default/files/community-letter-in-support-of-nonpartisanship.pdf).

Status

The President and some in Congress are seeking to remove the protection in federal law that keeps charitable nonprofits, including religious institutions and foundations, away from engaging in partisan, election-related activities, such as using charitable assets for political contributions and endorsing candidates for elective office. One bill in Congress, H.R. 172 , would completely repeal the “no partisan politicking” provision, subjecting nonprofits to demands/requests to get involved in partisan political electioneering, including using charitable, religious, and foundation assets to make political donations. Such a move would not only allow people to get tax deductions for making political donations, but also force the public to effectively be subsidizing that speech by others. Two other bills, S.264 and H.R. 781, would substantially weaken the law by allowing leaders of individual 501(c)(3) entities to endorse candidates for public office and engage in some partisan electioneering activities. 

As is far more likely, efforts will be made to attach a version or repealing or weakening of the Johnson Amendment to must-pass legislation such as appropriations bills. In late June, one such effort attached an extraneous rider to the Financial Services FY2018 appropriations bill (at Section 116) that would hinder enforcement of the Johnson Amendment against religious institutions, even when there are egregious violations.

Why It Matters

The tax-law provision now being challenged by politicians is the final clause of Section 501(c)(3), which provides that in exchange for tax-exempt status, a charitable nonprofit, foundation, or religious organization may “not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” Since 1954, that language has served to protect charitable nonprofits and foundations – and the donating public. It helps to ensure that organizations dedicated to the public good in communities remain above the political fray.

Our society is better today, because 501(c)(3) organizations operate as safe havens from the caustic partisanship that currently is bedeviling our country, as places where people can come together to actually solve community problems rather than just posture and remain torn apart. Repeal or revision of the law would damage the integrity and effectiveness of all charitable nonprofits and foundations.

Background

Congress first exempted from taxation organizations operating “solely for charitable, religious, or educational purposes” in 1894. Since then, Congress has added amendments expanding the list to include several other entities that can qualify for tax exemption. Congress also has added three major conditions: to receive the benefits of tax exemptions, those organizations cannot pay out profits (no private inurement), spend a substantial part of their activities lobbying, or engage in partisan politics (the provision at issue now). Organizations can do any of those, of course, but then they lose their tax exempt status.

Congress adopted the main part of the provision being challenged now in 1954 when Senate Minority Leader Johnson offered it as an amendment – which is why it is sometimes called “the Johnson Amendment.” Additional language was added to that provision in 1978 (the “or in opposition to” parenthetical): “does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.

Statements of Support for Nonprofit Nonpartisanship

• Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
• BoardSource
• Council on Foundations
• Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers
• Independent Sector
• National Council of Nonprofits
• Religious and Denominational Organizations
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund
• More

Editorials

• Religious groups urge Congress to keep limit on church political activity, The Hill, Washington, DC, April 4, 2017
• Keep partisan politics out of the nonprofit sector, The Hill, Washington, DC, March 22, 2017
• Our view: Johnson Amendment upholds separations we need, Citizen-Times, Asheville, NC, March 1, 2017
• Keep the Johnson Amendment, National Catholic Reporter, Kansas City, MO, February 18, 2017
• Trump’s promise to allow churches to back candidates is a bad idea. For everyone, Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT, February 4, 2017
• Churches aren’t being muzzled by the IRS, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, August 14, 2016
• More

Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor

• Permanently Driving Off Donors (and What You Can Do to Prevent It!), GrantStation TrendTrack, Minneapolis, MN, August 9, 2017, Tim Delaney, President and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits
• These adorable puppies need your help to keep the nonprofit sector nonpartisan, Nonprofit = Awesomely Fun!, Seattle, WA, July 24, 2017, Vu Le, Executive Director of Rainier Valley Corps
• Don't Tread on Us: Keep Toxic Partisanship Away from Nonprofit Missions, Nonprofit Quarterly, Boston, MA, July 7, 2017, Tim Delaney, President and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits
• Keep nonprofits nonpartisan, The Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck, ND, May 28, 2017, Dana Schaar Jahner, Executive Director of the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations, and Kevin Dvorak, President and CEO of the North Dakota Community Foundation
• Keep Nonprofits Nonpartisan, New York Nonprofit Media, New York, NY, May 3, 2017, Sharon Stapel, President of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York
• A Message to Congress - Keep Charities and Foundations Nonpartisan, NJSpotlight, Montclair, NJ, April 19, 2017, Linda M. Czipo, President and CEO of the Center for Non-Profits, and Nina Stack, President of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
• Keep partisan politics out of the nonprofit sector, The Hill, Washington, DC, March 22, 2017, Tim Delaney, President and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, and Vikki Spruill, President and CEO of the Council on Foundations
• Let’s keep nonprofit sector neutral, The Journal Record, Oklahoma City, OK, March 1, 2017, Marnie Taylor, President and CEO of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits
• More

Additional Resources

• Recommendations of the National Council of Nonprofits on Comprehensive Tax Reform, National Council of Nonprofits, July 17, 2017
• Nonprofits to Congress: Don't Politicize Houses of Worship, National Council of Nonprofits, July 13, 2017
• Letter to the House Appropriations Committee, National Council of Nonprofits, July 11, 2017
• Nonprofits Vigorously Object to Financial Services Subcommittee Efforts to Politicize Houses of Worship, National Council of Nonprofits, June 29, 2017
• Letter to the House Financial Services Subcommittee, June 29, 2017
• It’s “Go Time” For Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship, National Council of Nonprofits, May 8, 2017
• National Council of Nonprofits Statement on "Religious Freedom" Executive Order, National Council of Nonprofits, May 4, 2017
• Statement of Tim Delaney Before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Hearing on Examining a Church's Right to Free Speech, National Council of Nonprofits, May 4, 2017
• Protect Nonprofit Nonpartisanship: Oppose Efforts to Repeal or Weaken the Johnson Amendment, Issue Summary, National Council of Nonprofits, April 11, 2017
• Community Letter in Support of Nonpartisanship, April 5, 2017
• Nonprofits to Congress: Keep Partisan Politics Away from Nonprofit Missions, National Council of Nonprofits, April 5, 2017
• More

Webpages

• Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship | Initial Commentary, February 5, 2017
• Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship | Infographic, March 2, 2017
• Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship | Common Questions and Answers, March 2, 2017
• Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship | Executive Order, May 18, 2017
• Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship | Legislative Challenge, May 18, 2017
• Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship | Statements in Support
• Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship | Editorials
• Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship | Op-Eds
• Protecting Nonprofit Nonpartisanship | Additional Resources