Re: Questions for candidates

[Karen Sandler <karen gnome org>]

On 2015-05-29 19:35, Magdalen Berns wrote:
> Hi Karen,
>
> Thanks for your input.
>
> Also, we are not allowed to work for or against specific candidates
> for office.
>
> I think you are correct about this. Am I right in assuming that only
> applies to political parties in the USA, then?
>
> I don't know -- for that you should check with a lawyer.
>
> As I recall the regs are silent as to whether the restriction on 
> endorsing or
> opposing political candidates is limited to the US. I once found some 
> IRS guidance
> that said that that it is applicable internationally too. I would 
> definitely consult a
> lawyer before any United States c3 charity takes on any political 
> activity.
>
> I think we signed up to the EU "fix my documents" initiative and I
> would really hope we could continue to support work like that without
> it being an issue. My guess would be that putting our name to that
> sort of campaign should be okay, since advocating a legislative
> amendment does not cost us anything, is not strictly endorsing a
> specific political party and is hopefully not likely to be considered
> a significant enough kind of lobbying activity, but do you think it
> would be a good idea for us to check with a Lawyer before doing that
> sort of thing, in future?

I think it's a good idea to check any lobbying or political involvement 
of the charity by a lawyer. As Richard said, there is a difference 
between non-partisan education and lobbying or political activity (and 
there's some amount of lobbying that can be permitted). Here are two 
brief summaries from the IRS:

http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Lobbying

http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Charitable-Organizations/The-Restriction-of-Political-Campaign-Intervention-by-Section-501%28c%29%283%29-Tax-Exempt-Organizations

> I am now also wondering whether I should write to the California
> Department of Justice to double check that directors are allowed to be
> a member of a political party outside the USA just in case I manage
> get elected onto the board. Does this seem like a sensible idea? As
> disclosed in my candidacy statement, I am a member of the Scottish
> National Party who run the Scottish Government which can sometimes
> mean being personally involved with election campaigns, proposing
> amendments and voting on proposals as a delegate on behalf of my ward.

These restrictions are US federal rules related to GNOME's 501c3 tax 
status, not the CA rules (there are different kinds of rules that CA 
imposes on us).

Your personal views and other affiliations should not be problematic so 
long as they are not connected to your role within the GNOME 
Foundation... but do you intend to make political statements or lobby in 
your capacity as a GNOME Foundation director if you are elected? That 
would be very relevant. See this FAQ on the IRS site for more 
information: 
http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Charitable-Organizations/Frequently-Asked-Questions-About-the-Ban-on-Political-Campaign-Intervention-by-501%28c%29%283%29-Organizations:-Constitutional-Considerations.

Also, I should make it clear that this is not legal advice. You should 
consult with a lawyer about your personal obligations if you are 
uncertain. As you can probably see, there's a lot of information 
available on the IRS site too if you'd like to educate yourself (I don't 
think I'll have time for more back and forth on this issue).

While I am not running for another board term and have limited time, I 
still intend to be available as pro bono counsel to GNOME when the new 
board takes office. I also am happy to continue to help coordinate other 
pro bono counsel, as I have done for the last number of years.

karen