--- title: Non-Profits, Politics, and the Johnson Amendment description: I suspect it is common knowledge that non-profit organizations are enviable due to the highly favorable tax status they enjoy. But, there has to be a trade-off and with non-profits, one of the significant trade-offs is the prohibition against engaging in political activity. --- [Dan's Desk](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer) - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo) - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn) - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law) - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney) - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal) [Subscribe](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/non-profits-politics-and-the-johnson-amendment#) 08/31/2016 # Non-Profits, Politics, and the Johnson Amendment - - - - - [mailto:?subject=Non-Profits%2C%20Politics%2C%20and%20the%20Johnson%20Amendment&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fnon-profits-politics-and-the-johnson-amendment](mailto:?subject=Non-Profits%2C%20Politics%2C%20and%20the%20Johnson%20Amendment&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fnon-profits-politics-and-the-johnson-amendment) I suspect it is common knowledge that non-profit organizations are enviable due to the highly favorable tax status they enjoy. But, there has to be a trade-off and with non-profits, one of the significant trade-offs is the prohibition against engaging in political activity. In 1954 Congress enacted [The Johnson Amendment](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/the-restriction-of-political-campaign-intervention-by-section-501-c-3-tax-exempt-organizations) to amend [Section 501C(3)](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/exemption-requirements-section-501-c-3-organizations) of the IRS code. The amendment is the actual piece of law that prohibits non-profit organizations from engaging in political activity, including supporting candidates, circulating politically oriented materials, and speaking out against candidates. In fact, an initial question in the application to become a non-profit organization requires you to affirm your organization exists solely for "religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purpose, foster national or international amateur sports competition…or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals." Plainly, political **activity does not fit within the rubric of a required purpose of a non-profit**. But, there's also a sneaky little thing called the First Amendment. That Amendment is the Amendment that gives us freedom of speech. This extreme contradiction has not, that I have seen (but I'll also admit I have not deeply researched), been litigated or addressed by the Supreme Court, but the contradiction is astounding. What do you do then as a non-profit? To me the answer is easy—**do not utter anything political that will draw attention from the IRS to your non-profit**. As an individual (i.e. not in the capacity of your non-profit), go out and walk the streets of America extolling the virtues of whoever it is you want. For seasoned non-profits this is not crazy new information. But the basics should never be forgotten and are good to re-visit from time to time. The material contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, nor is it a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. Each situation is unique, and you should not act or rely on any information contained herein without seeking the advice of an experienced attorney. All information contained in links are the property of the linked site. - [401c3](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/401c3), - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney), - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo), - [IRS](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/irs), - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law), - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer), - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal), - [minnesota](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/minnesota), - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn), - [non profit](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/non-profit), - [political speech](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/political-speech), - [politics](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/politics) ![Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/assets-mjfw/site%20images/Dans-Desk.jpg) ## [Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) Dan is a lifelong resident of Minnesota. Born in St. Paul, Dan spent many of his formative years growing up there before moving to White Bear Lake. After graduating from White Bear Lake, Dan spent four glorious years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in two majors. Dan worked as a Senior Investigator at the Minnesota Department of Commerce for several years after graduating from college. During his final years Dan attended William Mitchell College of Law while still working full-time. During this exhausting 3 ½ year period Dan honed his skills in becoming an efficient, to-the-point legal practitioner. While at Madison Dan met his wife, Tonya, and together they moved to Minnesota to plant their roots. Dan and Tonya have two amazing, unique children and reside in Hugo. ### CONNECT WITH ME - ## Related Posts [12/16/2015 IRS Gaffe Interrupts Non-Profit Certifications I recently formed a non-profit organization and obtained IRS approval for the entity as a recognized 501(c)(3) entity. Very soon after receiving… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/irs-gaffe-interrupts-non-profit-certifications) [05/23/2018 Litigation is Not a DYI Project It is alarming when non-lawyers try to play lawyer. I see it fairly often and I never see it done with success. Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/litigation-is-not-a-dyi-project) ### Subscribe Here! ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dan Gallatin", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin" }, "dateModified" : "2020-08-21T22:47:19.790Z", "datePublished" : "2016-08-31T05:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Non-Profits, Politics, and the Johnson Amendment", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/non-profits-politics-and-the-johnson-amendment", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/logos/Gallatin-Logo-654x84.png" }, "name" : "Gallatin Law, PLLC" } } ```