Advocacy, Lobbying, and Elections

Congregations and IRS Guidelines on Advocacy, Lobbying, and Elections

As a religious organization, First UU Society of Burlington is required to follow certain IRS regulations in order to maintain its Non-Profit Status. It is truly important that we are all aware of what we are allowed to do and what we are not allowed to do. The UUA has published a great little guide called, “The Real Rules”, that goes into great detail on this topic. But let’s face it, it isn’t exactly a page turner. So what do you really need to know?

It is pretty simple really: Issues are ok, candidates are not. What I mean by this is that it is ok to advocate for issues.

It is not ok for FUUSB to ever show support for or against a candidate.

Therefore, we can pass around a petition to support an issue, but we cannot pass around a petition to support a candidate. We can post in our Facebook group about an event about a particular issue, but we cannot post about an event to support a candidate. We could also put a sign up in the yard about an issue that we do not support, but we could not put a sign up for a candidate that we do not support. So, Issues are ok and Candidates are not.

If you are unclear or have any questions, contact Christina at xina@uusociety.