Welcome to EO Radio Show – Your Nonprofit Legal Resource. I'm Cynthia Rowland, and this is episode 147 of EO Radio Show. As most listeners are undoubtedly aware, 2026 is an election year. Charities and private foundations should refresh their understanding of election‑year issues to remain exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3).

This week's episode is a refresh of the show's episode 7, originally released in 2022. Today's focus is on allowable educational and advocacy activities for public charities, including a discussion of the definition of lobbying and the two rules that apply to them.

The first rule we'll discuss is the subjective test under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). And the second alternative—the elective test for charities that make the 501(h) election—allows for an objective limitation on lobbying expenditures.

For more information on related election issues, listeners may want to go back to last week's episode—that's episode 146—which covered the limitations in 501(c)(3) relating to candidate campaign intervention. And stay tuned for episode 148, addressing permissible private foundation policy advocacy activities, which differ from what is allowed for 501(c)(3) organizations classified as public charities.

Finally, be sure to check out the show notes for resources from the IRS on these topics, and the Farella Braun + Martel YouTube channel for the complete EO Radio Show playlist.
 

Show Notes: 

Farella Webinar: Election Year Issues for Private Foundations and Public Charities

Bolder Advocacy Podcast: https://bolderadvocacy.org/podcast/

IRS Chart: Common Tax Law Restrictions on Activities of Exempt Organizations

IRS Form 5768 for 501(h) election: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5768.pdf

National Council of Nonprofits: Taking the 501(h) Election: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/taking-the-501h-election

Treasury Regulations on Exempt Purpose Expenditures: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/56.4911-4

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