A charity that does not spend at least a portion of its time in advocacy work is probably not doing its job as well as it should.

Therefore, charities must understand the tax law definitions of "lobbying" and "legislation." There is a vast amount of advocacy that can be carried on without approaching tax limitations. Private foundations can support most of it, and preparing an application with foundation rules in mind can make it easier to get funded.

Tax law is not the only issue, however. Beware of federal and state lobbying registration requirements, with different definitions, and different reporting.

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