Political Savvy, Advocacy & Lobbying for Nonprofit Health
David Heinen
N.C. Center for Nonprofits
Introduction
y Who is here today?
y N.C. Center for Nonprofits
y The Center’s public policy and advocacy role
y Advocacy on nonprofit sector issues
y Tools for you to be a strong for your nonprofit’s issues
Overview
y Basics of nonprofit advocacy and lobbying
y The state of North Carolina’s nonprofit sector y What’s going on in Raleigh?
y What’s going in in Washington?
y Tips on being an effective advocate
Basics of Nonprofit Advocacy and Lobbying
Basic Definitions
y Advocacy
y Lobbying
y Grassroots lobbying
y Political activity
How Can You Be an Advocate?
y Help develop better laws
y Work with government officials
y Empower the people you serve to make their voices heard
y Educate the public about what you do and why it’s important
y Public officials
y Media
y Your board, staff, community, and funders
Nonprofit Lobbying
y Lobbying is legal for 501(c)(3) nonprofits!
y What constitutes lobbying for IRS purposes
y Influencing legislation
y At the federal, state, or local level
y Grassroots lobbying
y But you must be nonpartisan
y You can be an issue advocate
y You can’t support or oppose candidates or political parties
Federal Lobbying Rules
y Two tests for lobbying:
y Insubstantial part test – vague and based on many factors
y 501(h) expenditure test –
straightforward calculation
y Note: other 501(c) organizations may conduct unlimited lobbying
N.C. Lobbying Law ‐ Basics
y Who needs to register and report?
y Principal – organization on whose behalf a lobbyist lobbies
y Lobbyist – staff or contractor who lobbies
y
y
y
Staff – if you spend 5% of your time lobbying in any 30‐day period
Contractors – must register
Volunteers – not required to register
y Solicitor – organization that engages the public in lobbying activities – at least $3,000 in a 90‐day period
N.C. Lobbying Law ‐ Basics
y What constitutes lobbying?
y Attempts to influence legislation or executive action
y Communication with a “designated individual”
y Developing “goodwill” with designated individuals
N.C. Lobbying Law
y Differences from federal lobbying definition: (i) N.C. law covers executive action as well as legislative action – possible confusion among private foundations
(ii) Goodwill lobbying is covered by N.C. law
(iii) N.C. law applies only to lobbying with two branches of N.C. state government
The State of North Carolina’s Nonprofit Sector
N.C.’s Nonprofit Sector
y Impact on North Carolina’s economy
y 400,000 jobs (more than 26,000 in Southeastern NC)
y $33 billion per year in spending (more than $1.7 billion in Southeastern NC)
y Nonprofit employees generate tax revenue for the state and for local governments
N.C.’s Nonprofit Sector
y Three stresses on North Carolina nonprofits
y Recession
y Significant cuts in state funding
y Systemic government contracting issues
y Recent studies document the impact of these stresses
Impact of Recession on Nonprofits
80%
60%
40%
20%
Lo
ca
l
go
ve
St
rn
at
e
m
Fe
go
en
de
ve
t
ra
rn
lg
m
en
ov
t
er
nm
en
In
t
di
vi
du
Fo
al
s
un
da
C
tio
or
In
ns
po
ve
ra
st
ti o
m
ns
en
ti
nc
om
e
0%
2009 ‐ Government‐funded NC
nonprofits
2010 ‐ All NC nonprofits
2010 ‐ State‐funded NC
nonprofits
Impact of Recession on Nonprofits
y State funding of nonprofits
y 70% of N.C. nonprofits with state grants and contracts got less state funding in 2009 – fourth‐worst of any state
y 26% overall drop in grants to nonprofits in FY 2009
Government Contracting Issues
y “Complexification”
y Late payments
y Underpayment
y Changes in contract terms
Government Contracting Issues
y Who is hurt by these?
y North Carolinians in need
y Taxpayers
y All North Carolina nonprofits
y North Carolina’s economy
Actions Nonprofits Have Taken
80%
2009 ‐ Government‐
funded NC nonprofits
2010 ‐ All NC nonprofits
60%
40%
20%
2010 ‐ State‐funded NC
nonprofits
re
pr
se
og
rv
es
ra
m
s/
se
rv
ic
es
on
en
ef
i ts
re
w
ed
uc
ed
D
R
st
af
fb
ut
st
af
f
C
at
a
de
fic
it
ed
uc
ed
O
pe
ra
t
ed
R
Fr
oz
e
or
r
ed
uc
ed
sa
la
r ie
s
0%
What’s Going on in Raleigh?
2011 N.C. General Assembly
“Historic” and “Unprecedented”
y November’s election – political shift in House and Senate
y Who is the new leadership?
y $2.4 billion budget shortfall
2011 N.C. General Assembly
Three main focus areas
State budget
2. Redistricting
3. Jobs
1.
2011 N.C. General Assembly
Other legislative priorities
Exempting N.C. from health care reform law
2. Reducing regulation on small businesses
3. Eliminating charter school cap
4. Voter IDs
1.
Nonprofit Sector Issues
y State budget
y What’s happened so far
y How nonprofits are perceived
y Impact of cuts on nonprofits
y What you can do
Nonprofit Sector Issues
y Nonprofit accountability legislation
y Administrative expenses (H.B. 100/S.460)
y
y
Nonprofit coalition
Current status
y Nonprofit financial accountability (H.B. 572)
y Program accountability (S.463)
Nonprofit Sector Issues
y Legislation affecting nonprofit operations
y Health benefit exchange (H.B. 115)
y Nonprofit annual reporting (S.619)
y Streamlining of service provider monitoring (H.B. 618/S.525)
y Donation drop boxes (S.556)
y Benefit corporations (S.26/H.B. 418)
y Regulatory reform (H.B. 237)
Nonprofit Sector Issues
y Tax legislation affecting nonprofits
y Corporate tax deductions for charitable giving (H.B. ???)
y Taxpayer Bill of Rights – TABOR (H.B. 188)
What’s Going on in Washington?
Changing Landscape in Congress
y Composition of U.S. House and U.S. Senate
y Growing partisanship on may issues
Key Federal Issues for Nonprofits
y Federal budget
y Current budget (through September 30, 2011)
y Next year’s budget
y Federal debt and deficit reduction
y Federal grants/contracts for nonprofits
y Support for volunteer programs
y Incentives for charitable giving
y 1099 reporting
Tips on Being an Effective Advocate
How Can You Get Involved?
y Meet with your legislators to share the story of your nonprofit
y Invite them to see your nonprofit in action
How To Be An Effective Advocate
y Tell your story – Who will the law impact?
y Real‐life examples
y Statistics and other objective information
y Simple and clear message
y Clear message and simple talking points
y Elevator speech
y One‐page fact sheet
y Follow‐up
How To Be An Effective Advocate
y Consider the media
y Who is your audience?
y Legislators
y Executive branch
y Public
y Others in your organization
How Not to Advocate
y Ineffective advocacy
y Form letters and mass e-mails
y Lack of clarity – know your objective
Messaging in 2011
y Creating jobs
y Saving money now
y Impact in legislators’ districts
y Tell your stories
For More Information
y David Heinen – dheinen@ncnonprofits.org
y N.C. Center for Nonprofits – www.ncnonprofits.org