IRS on 501(c)(3) Links

Potential political campaign intervention by 501(c)(3)’s is the topic of this IRS FAQ.

Can an organization post information on its website (or link to other websites) about a candidate for public office?

A website is a form of communication.  If an organization posts something on its website that favors or opposes a candidate for public office it is prohibited political activity.  It is the same as if the organization distributed printed material, or made oral statements or broadcasts that favored or opposed a candidate.

If an organization establishes a link to another website, it is responsible for the consequences of establishing and maintaining that link even if the organization does not have control over the content of the linked site.  Because the linked content may change, the organization should monitor the linked content and adjust or remove any links that could result in prohibited political activity.

MI PACs

An overview of MI PACs’ financial activity is available at CNNMoneyline.

A relatively light election schedule, and possibly Michigan’s sluggish economy, are slowing the amount of money flowing into the state’s political campaigns.

The state’s 150 largest political action committees had raised a combined $27.3 million for the 2008 election cycle through July 20, according to a report released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network. That’s down about 9 percent from what the state’s largest 150 PACs had raised through mid-July 2006. Some of the PACs on the list for 2008 are different from the list for 2006.