Nonprofits urged to lobby for their causes

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin on Friday, Dec. 11, published an op-ed piece by attorneys Judy Sobin and Melissa Pavlicek – who work with and are volunteers with numerous Hawaii nonprofit organizations, including Olelo Community Television, the Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children and Lawyers for Equal Justice – urging Hawaii nonprofits to advocate at the Legislature in support of their clients and the community.

The newspaper’s headline erroneously said “Nonprofits not allowed to lobby.” Charities are allowed to lobby – although they may be required to register and report lobbying expenses – but they may not be involved in electoral politics. Here is the beginning of the article:

These are tough times and nonprofit organizations are among the economically wounded.

The Hawaii Community Foundation recently reported that Hawaii residents remain generous contributors to charities, but nonprofit organizations have faced an increase in demands for services and the concurrent loss of funding. Their staff and their clients are, without a doubt, experiencing an extra dose of the pain. Social services organizations, charter schools, associations that fund culture and the arts — none has escaped unscathed.

We don’t subscribe to a “storm the Legislature” approach, but neither is this the time to be a shrinking violet. In order to accomplish economic recovery, what may seem now like a Herculean task, at a time when many nonprofits are having trouble keeping the lights on, we urge executive directors, boards of directors, members and staff of nonprofits to engage in education and advocacy.

Hunker down and focus on your core missions, as we all must, but don't silence your voices.

We acknowledge the restrictions on nonprofits when it comes to lobbying. Exemption from paying federal taxes places a burden on nonprofits to remain nonpartisan and restricts the amount of time spent by staff on trying to convince legislators to act in their favor. Political activity by nonprofits is prohibited. But speaking out on topics that nonprofits know best — delivery of services to those in most need — is not an option, it's a necessity.

Nonprofit organizations and their leaders may — we say they must — educate elected officials and the public on issues. They must engage in public discourse by hosting “talk story” forums, publishing editorials, convening panels of experts to explore solutions and providing research-based data to their elected officials, and providing real-time feedback on the decisions legislators and others are making and how those decisions affect all of us. Click here to view the entire article.