Facts In Action

As a child care director, teacher, or family child care provider, you are aware of which types of programs work well for children and which don’t. This knowledge should be shared with policymakers to help improve laws that affect you and the people you serve. As a nonprofit employee you are in a unique position to lobby about that which you are most familiar, but also you are subject to specific rules about lobbying. In this article you will find basic do’s and don’ts for lobbying as a nonprofit employee.

As a nonprofit there are monetary limits on the amount of resources you can spend on lobbying. You can either: 1) spend less than a "substantial" amount of your resources on lobbying, or 2) opt for the H-election, which is very specific about the ratio of your annual expenditures that can be spent on lobbying. For questions about the "H-election", contact the Alliance for Justice at 1-866-NPLOBBY or www.allianceforjustice.org

So what can you do during election time?

You May

• Provide information to staff and parents about the importance of voting and political participation.
• Organize a get-out-the-vote or voter registration drive at your center.
• Tell all of the candidates about the importance of early childhood education and child care (or any topic).
• Invite a candidate to your child care center for a site visit.
• During a debate, ask a candidate their views on a particular topic, such as child care subsidies.

You May Not:

• Provide information about only the candidates you support to staff and parents.
• Register voters at your center only for the party you support.
• Target specific candidates to tell about the importance of early childhood education and child care.
• Invite a candidate to your child care center to host a campaign event (i.e. no soliciting for campaign contributions, votes, or handing out campaign literature).

Lastly, these rules apply only to your non-profit or when speaking on behalf of your organization. When acting as an individual these restrictions do not apply. For further information: http://www.naeyc.org/policy/toolbox.asp

Facts in Action, October 2004