Crossing a line
It makes me mad when I see nonprofit organizations getting involved in influencing legislation and intervening in election campaigns. Under the rules governing their tax exemptions, they're not supposed to be doing that. And so you can imagine my reaction at finding this in my mailbox the other day, with the return address being that of Sisters of the Road Cafe in Old Town Portland:
I'm not at all surprised to see the Urban League of Portland down at the bottom there, playing this game. The rules don't ever seem to apply to those folks. But Sisters of the Road always seemed like a humble group that cut square corners. The Oregon Food Bank, too. Sheesh.
Well, they needn't worry about alienating donors, I guess. Nowadays literally hundreds of millions of local tax dollars are pumped into the homeless industrial complex in Portland every year. I guess they figure they're set now, and they can throw their weight around and get even fatter. It's disappointing to see them doing this stuff.
technical violations at the intersection of tax law and election law only apply to one side, Jack
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Fux News perspective on every post, but it’s getting old.
DeleteYou’re correct Jack. The socialists have a firm grip on Portland. When they look in the mirror they never see warts. They are intoxicated with the rave reviews from their follow travelers.
ReplyDeleteCould it be a PAC that they have separate from the NP? We had that when I was with OLCV.
ReplyDeleteI don't see the word "PAC" anywhere on the mailer.
DeleteI gave up donating to the OR Food Bank a while ago…I guess I’ll add the Sisters of the Road to my ignore list!
ReplyDeleteCan we come up with a more descriptive term than "homeless". These folks are not hanging out in the streets because they lack a home- they are there to avoid getting their act together so they can be drugged out bums. Sorry the time for compassion has come and gone. These folks need tough love or they are headed for any early exit from life. How about Hobo-Sapiens?
ReplyDeleteI always thought lobbying and advocacy for positions, though not candidates, is allowed. Found this from a 2018 OR nonprofit publication. Is this incorrect?
ReplyDeleteWhat are the basic rules I should know about lobbying?
• A nonprofit may spend up to 5% of its time and budget on lobbying.
• Lobbying may include contacting legislators directly or encouraging the public to contact their legislators.
• Providing general information or nonpartisan education about policy issues to the public does not count as lobbying.
• A nonprofit may not participate in political campaigns for candidates for public office or donate to candidate elections.
• A nonprofit may initiate, support or oppose ballot measures. These activities constitute direct lobbying.
• A nonprofit must keep good records and report any lobbying activity on IRS Form 990.