{"podcast":{"title":"Rules of the Game: The Bolder Advocacy Podcast","slug":"rules-of-the-game-the-bolder-advocacy-podcast-744868","podcast_index_feed_id":744868,"rss_url":"https://rulesofthegame.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"https://afj.org/podcast","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/3/1/a/e/31ae8c4533ab742d/RoTG.png","author":"Alliance for Justice","episode_count":100,"summary":"Nonprofits are important advocates on issues critical to every community, but sometimes the rules and regulations of advocacy can be barriers to entry. In Rules of the Game, Bolder Advocacy attorneys at Alliance for Justice use real examples to demystify these laws to help 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofits be bolder advocates, whether holding elected officials accountable, educating candidates, engaging voters, or lobbying for policy change. Entertaining legal education, not legal advice!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-08T22:20:06.614648+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rules-of-the-game-the-bolder-advocacy-podcast-744868"},"episode":{"title":"Ballot Measure Advocacy","slug":"ballot-measure-advocacy","published_at":"2026-04-15T11:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rules-of-the-game-the-bolder-advocacy-podcast-744868/ballot-measure-advocacy","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rules-of-the-game-the-bolder-advocacy-podcast-744868","url":"https://rulesofthegame.libsyn.com/ballot-measure-advocacy","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/rulesofthegame/ROTG155-Ballot-Measure-Advocacy.mp3?dest-id=2280527","summary":"With direct democracy becoming more important than ever in this political climate, we thought it was a good time to revisit ballot measures. From local park bonds to important state constitutional amendments, ballot measures have become important tools for policymaking, and nonprofits often play a huge role in supporting and opposing them. On this episode we do a deep dive on the details and how you can get involved. Attorneys for this episode Susan Finkle Sourlis Tim Mooney Natalie Ossenfort Shownotes What Are Ballot Measures, and Why Are They Important? · According to Ballotpedia, as of April 5, 2026, 87 statewide ballot measures have been certified for the ballot in 35 states for elections in 2026. · These initiatives will ask voters to weigh in on topics like redistricting, campaign finance, state budgets, school funding, the state judiciary, and more. · Ballot measures are important advocacy tool to create policy change. They are a form of direct democracy. The Law: Internal Revenue Code · Ballot measures = pieces of legislation. If they pass, they become law. · As a result, advocacy for or against the passage of a measure = lobbying (more specifically, direct lobbying since the public serves as a legislative body during the ballot measure process). · Reminder: public charities can lobby, but they need to stay within Internal Revenue Code set lobbying limits. o Default test: Insubstantial Part Test o Optional test for most public charities: 501(h) Expenditure Test · Under either test, one must express a view on legislation for a communication to be considered lobbying. · Here are some ballot measure activities that would be considered lobbying: o Asking voters to vote yes or no on a measure o Posting social media messages either supporting or opposing a measure o…","meta_description":"With direct democracy becoming more important than ever in this political climate, we thought it was a good time to revisit ballot measures. From local pa…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1318,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/rules-of-the-game-the-bolder-advocacy-podcast-744868/episodes/ballot-measure-advocacy/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rules-of-the-game-the-bolder-advocacy-podcast-744868/ballot-measure-advocacy.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}