{"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":"Election Season Prep","slug":"election-season-prep","published_at":"2025-11-12T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rules-of-the-game-the-bolder-advocacy-podcast-744868/election-season-prep","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rules-of-the-game-the-bolder-advocacy-podcast-744868","url":"https://rulesofthegame.libsyn.com/election-season-prep","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/rulesofthegame/ROTG144-election-season-prep.mp3?dest-id=2280527","summary":"Whether it be local elections or picking a new president, election season seems to always be lurking around the corner, so on today's episode we're unpacking what it means for 501(c)(3)s to remain nonpartisan and how these nonprofits can safely engage in several different types of advocacy during election season. Attorneys for this episode Monika Graham Melissa Marichal Zayas Sarah Efthymiou Remaining Nonpartisan: The rule is clear: 501(c)(3) organizations cannot engage in any activity or make statements that suggest support or opposition to political parties, candidates, or groups of candidates running for public office, including those not affiliated with a specific political party . However, the definition of what counts as \"nonpartisan\" remains somewhat unclear . The IRS uses a \"facts and circumstances\" test to determine whether a charity's communication and/or activity is truly nonpartisan or a disguised attempt to influence an election. T he IRS considers whether the communication and/or activity : identifies candidates compares a candidate's position on issues important to the organization with the organization's position s on those same issues expresses approval or disapproval of a candidate's position or actions is delivered close to an election, references voting, focuses on issues that distinguish candidates is part of an ongoing series of communications independent of election timing or coincides with non-electoral events like legislative hearings on pending bills DO: Keep your focus on issues, not elections . Continue mission-related issue advocacy but avoid suggesting how people should vote. Educate voter s . P rovide nonpartisan facts, resources, and information about voting without mentioning or implying support for candidates or parties Host candidate…","meta_description":"Whether it be local elections or picking a new president, election season seems to always be lurking around the corner, so on today's episode we're unpack…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1626,"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/election-season-prep/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/election-season-prep.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}