Montana Nonprofit Association

In This Section

• Overview
• Public Policy Issues
  • Public Policy Agenda
  • State Public Policy
  • Federal Public Policy
• Policy Updates & Alerts
• Public Policy Resource Links
• Nonprofit Day
• Elections & Voter Engagement
• Public Policy Council

Elections & Voter Engagement

Can Montana nonprofits engage in election and voter engagement activities?
Absolutely.  Nonprofits have the constitutional right and responsibility to engage in the electoral and policy-making processes.  Though federal regulations require that nonprofits remain strictly nonpartisan (neither supporting nor opposing candidates for elected office), there is still so much that can and should be done including candidate forums, voter education guides, voter registration, and get-out-the-vote drives.  Each of these activities is legally permissable if conducted in a strictly non-partisan manner.  You will find excellent resources below to help get you started.

Nonprofit Election and Voter Engagement Resources IRS Election Year Fact Sheet  IRS Examples and Analysis of Voting and Election Activities by Charitable Organizations   Rules and Tips: Nonprofits Can Help America Vote  Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network  Nonprofit Congress Election '08 Headquarters  Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest  Alliance for Justice

MNA's Future Election and Voter Engagement Activities
You may have noticed that the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network attended our 2008 Annual Conference as did all the candidates for Governor and Attorney General.  This was a milestone for MNA.  We plan on doing our part and we want to help you as well.  In the coming years, MNA will expand our work in assisting nonprofit organizations and leaders in their efforts to engage in legally permissible and important election year activities.

Candidates for elected office regularly provide detailed plans for how they will strengthen the business sector, as they should.  But what about the nonprofit sector?  Candidates rarely, if ever, address the nonprofit sector and this must change.  MNA's long-term goal is to ensure that every candidate seeking office in Montana answers two fundamental questions:

1. Please describe your personal and professional experiences with nonprofit organizations.
2. Please provide three specific ways in which, if elected, you would partner with and strengthen the nonprofit sector to achieve the goals of your campaign.

Every candidate - local, state, and national.  Working together, we will build strong partnerships with our policy makers and mobilize our nonprofit leaders and constituents for a vibrant nonprofit sector.

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For more information regarding MNA's election and voter engagement activities,
 please contact Executive Director Liz Moore by email or call (406) 449-3717