The Washington Post had a comprehensive feature on nonprofit corporations - 501(c)(4) groups - and their political activities.
This is an issue that has frequently come up in the past - how much political activity can a prolife nonprofit organization such as The Hudson Valley Coalition for Life engage in?
Nonprofits Become A Force in Primaries - washingtonpost.com
Nonprofit groups created to educate the public and lobby on issues have started inserting themselves into the presidential primaries, adding an unexpected wild card to wide-open elections in both parties.
The groups provide a new avenue for routing millions of dollars into an election cycle already awash with spending by traditional political organizations. The nonprofits are competing with the campaigns for voter attention, especially in early-voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, and their advertising, phone calls and mailings could help diffuse the candidates' own messages.
The nonprofits enjoy advantages over traditional political groups because there is no limit to who can give or the size of the donations, and no requirement to publicly disclose the contributors.
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The 501(c)(4) groups pay no taxes on the donations they collect, but -- unlike charities -- their donors do not get a tax deduction. They are allowed to make political endorsements and engage in other political activities as long as political action is not their primary purpose.
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Federal election regulators are closely watching the activities of independent groups because of their ability to raise unlimited amounts of money, including from corporations and labor unions. If the FEC determines that the groups should be designated as political committees, they can accept no more than $2,300 from any individual.
If nonprofits put up an advertisement that expressly urges viewers to vote for or against a candidate -- or solicits donations for that purpose -- the FEC will intervene, said Robert D. Lenhard, the commission's chairman.
"We will look at what they say in their ads, and what they say in their solicitations," Lenhard said. "To the degree that influencing elections is their major purpose, they will need to register as a political committee."
Campaign activity by these nonprofits only adds to the cacophony already put out by traditional political groups. One 527 group, the conservative Club for Growth, plans to make a six-figure television-advertising buy in Iowa this week with a commercial that concludes with the line: "Call Mike Huckabee. Ask why he supported all those taxes."
Emily's List, a longstanding PAC, has spent more than $100,000 on polling, a special Web site and staff to encourage caucus-goers to support Clinton in Iowa. "That's just the beginning," said Ramona Oliver, the group's communications director. "It's going to be a significant investment."
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