What Can Your 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Do In Terms of Advocacy and Getting Out the Vote?
The rule that keeps 501(c)(3) nonprofits out of political campaigns is 72 years old, and this spring it held again. On March 31st, 2026, a federal court in Texas dismissed the challenge to the Johnson Amendment after the IRS and several religious organizations had jointly asked it to approve a settlement. For nonprofits outside the religious space, nothing changed (kpmgclaconnect).
With ballots already in mailboxes and Election Day on November 3rd, Executive Directors keep asking: what are we actually allowed to do? The answer is more than most people think. The line is narrower than the fear around it.
The One Hard Line
Every 501(c)(3) is absolutely prohibited from participating in any political campaign for or against a candidate for public office, directly or indirectly. That includes campaign contributions and public statements of support or opposition made on the organization’s behalf. Violations can cost you your tax-exempt status and trigger excise taxes (irs).
This applies everywhere your organization speaks: your website, newsletter, social accounts, events, and email list. No endorsements, no “we’re proud to support,” no sharing a candidate’s post from the org account.
What You Can Do: Voter Engagement
The IRS allows 501(c)(3)s to provide voter education, including public forums and voter guides, and to run voter registration and get out the vote drives, as long as they’re nonpartisan. In practice, that means no reference to any candidate or party (irs).
The test is bias. An activity crosses the line if it favors one candidate over another, opposes a candidate, or has the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates (irs).
What this looks like in practice:
Remind everyone to vote. Send clients, staff, volunteers, and donors the dates and the official link, GoVoteColorado.gov.
Help everyone the same way. If you offer rides or help returning ballots, offer them to anyone, without asking how they plan to vote.
Host a forum the right way. Invite every qualified candidate in the race, use the same format and time for each, and use a neutral moderator.
Leaders can speak as individuals. The prohibition isn’t meant to stop organization leaders from expressing political views personally. Keep it off org time, org resources, and org channels (irs).
Colorado Dates for November 3rd, 2026
Ballots: Counties had to mail initial ballots to active voters by October 9. denver7
October 26: Last day to register and still receive a ballot in the mail. After that, people can still register and vote in person at a Voter Service and Polling Center through Election Day. coloradodems
October 26 is also the last suggested day to return ballots by mail. From October 27 on, voters should use a drop box or voting center. denver7
November 3: Ballots must be received by 7 p.m. elpasoco
About voter registration drives. Colorado requires more than most people expect. Organizers must complete Secretary of State training in each calendar year before running a drive, and must file a Statement of Intent naming an organizer and a Colorado-resident agent before collecting any applications. Applications collected during a drive must be received or postmarked 22 days before Election Day. For this election, that window has closed. Point people to GoVoteColorado.gov instead, and if drives are part of your mission, complete the training early in 2027. fairelectionscenternationalvoterregistrationday
Advocacy: Yes, You Can
Taking a position on an issue or a bill is not the same as backing a candidate. 501(c)(3)s can lobby. There are just limits.
By default, lobbying has to stay an “insubstantial part” of your activities. There is no bright-line number for that, which makes it hard to plan around.
The alternative is the 501(h) election, filed on IRS Form 5768. It gives you a clear spending limit based on your exempt-purpose spending: 20% of the first $500,000, 15% of the next $500,000, 10% of the next $500,000, and 5% of the rest, capped at $1 million. No more than a quarter of that can go to grassroots lobbying, meaning asking the public to contact lawmakers.
For a nonprofit spending $400,000 a year on its mission, that’s $80,000 in total lobbying room, $20,000 of it grassroots. Most small nonprofits never come close, which is exactly why the election is worth considering. It replaces a vague standard with a number.
Ballot measures count as lobbying, not campaigning. Colorado’s certified 2026 ballot includes proposed constitutional amendments. If a measure affects your mission, you can take a position, but count the cost as lobbying. Also check Colorado’s campaign finance reporting rules with the Secretary of State before you spend. denver7
What Usually Isn’t Lobbying
Lobbying means trying to influence legislation. Commenting to a state or local agency on how it runs a program generally doesn’t count. For housing and health nonprofits, this is the most underused tool you have. Submitting a public comment on a proposed Medicaid benefit change, or on how an agency administers a housing program, puts your data and your clients’ experience on the public record without touching your lobbying limit.
Nonpartisan research and analysis that presents the full facts also isn’t lobbying, even when it reaches a conclusion.
Check Your Grant Agreements Before You Act
This is the part most EDs often skip. Federal grant dollars cannot pay for lobbying, period. Many foundation grants restrict it too, while general operating support often doesn’t.
Before your team spends time on advocacy, check which funding source is paying for those hours. The activity can be completely legal for your organization and still be a violation of a specific grant agreement.
A Three-Question Test Before You Post Anything
Does it mention a candidate or a political party?
Would it read exactly the same no matter who wins?
Is it paid for with money whose grant agreement prohibits it?
If the answer to number 1 is yes, stop. If number 2 is no, rewrite it. If number 3 is yes, change the funding source.
The people your organization serves live with the results of every election, whether they vote or not. Helping them participate, and speaking up on the policies that shape your work, is part of the mission. You just have to do it the way the law allows.
This post is general information, not legal advice. I’m a grant professional, not an attorney. For anything close to the line, talk to a nonprofit attorney before you act.
Sorting out what your grants actually allow is part of the compliance work I do for Colorado housing and health nonprofits. I’m booking new clients for 2027.
