Mission Voice: Public Charity Does Not Mean Public Silence

Advocacy Lobbying & Political Activity
Written By Nancy Durand, Esq.

Public charities often know the restrictions around political activity better than they know the space the law leaves open for civic engagement. In this article, our founder introduces the idea of mission voice: the knowledge, credibility, relationships, and community experience a nonprofit can bring into public decisions that affect its mission.

The article explains that public charities may engage in issue advocacy, public education, policymaker engagement, coalition work, certain nonpartisan voter activities, and lobbying within applicable limits, while remaining prohibited from intervening in campaigns for or against candidates. It then moves beyond the legal question to the governance question: whether and how an organization should use its influence in service of mission should be a deliberate leadership decision, not the result of assuming that “political” automatically means prohibited. BLS-012 - Mission Voice

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Nancy Durand, Esq.

Nancy Durand, Esq. is the founder of Good Works Legal Solutions and a nonprofit attorney with more than 20 years of legal experience. Her work helps nonprofit leaders understand the legal and governance responsibilities that shape their organizations and translate that knowledge into thoughtful, practical stewardship.

Through Good Works, Nancy brings together nonprofit law, governance, and real-world organizational experience to help leaders make sound decisions, strengthen governance practices, and steward their missions with clarity, wisdom, and integrity.

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