On 10/5/11 1:50 AM, Ryan Kaldari wrote: > The WMF isn't allowed to lobby for or against legislation, per our 501c3 > non-profit status in the US. This is not necessarily true for chapters > though, and definitely not true for the communities. > Somewhat true, but not a red line. The IRS gives this wonderfully vague formulation: "A 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status".
In addition, "organizations may conduct educational meetings, prepare and distribute educational materials, or otherwise consider public policy issues in an educational manner without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status". For example, perhaps, in suitable cases, Wikimedia could issue factual statements about proposed legislation likely to affect its operations, with a neutral legal analysis of if and how the legislation would do so. -Mark _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
