501(c)(3)s and 501(c)(4)s: AFJ's Question of the Week

From Alliance for Justice's Advocacy Blog, 6/30/2008:

Question: A 501(c)(4) organization would like to join our coalition of 501(c)(3)s to carry on nonpartisan voter registration and mobilization activities. Can we allow the 501(c)(4) into the coalition?

Answer: Yes, so long as the 501(c)(4) abides by the rules for 501(c)(3)s. As detailed in Alliance for Justice’s publication The Connection: Strategies for Creating and Operating 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, and Political Organizations, 501(c)(3)s may engage in voter registration and education with 501(c)(4)s or 527s as long as the activities are conducted in a strictly nonpartisan manner. While the participating non-501(c)(3)s may engage in their own partisan activities – subject to federal, state, and local tax and election laws – these activities must remain completely separate from the nonpartisan activities conducted jointly with 501(c)(3)s.