I believe the WMF can spend $1M a year on lobbying (per Doug's comments, our budget, and our current choice to use the 'expenditure test'). We currently spend almost none of this -- which I think is too little. http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Measuring-Lobbying-Activity:-...
Also worth noting: some related activity is not considered lobbying. If you are unsure about whether a project that you think is important would include lobbying, it is worth asking for specific advice. http://www.clpi.org/images/pdf/Exclusions%20from%20Lobbying%20Color.qxp.pdf
I would like to see a discussion (on the Grants talk page) on how a group might apply specifically for a lobbying grant. That would at least let the WMF calculate how much was being spent in lobbying across all of its [lobbying grants] for the year. Is this possible? I don't know if there are further restrictions on funds spent on international lobbying.
SJ
On Fri, Apr 19, 2013 at 9:17 PM, J Alexandr Ledbury-Romanov alexandrdmitriromanov@gmail.com wrote:
Forwarding a reply from a non member of the list.
Alex
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: rexx rexx@blueyonder.co.uk To: Wikimedia Chapters general discussions - closed list < chapters@wikimedia.ch> Cc: Wikimedia Mailing List wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:04:45 +0100 Subject: Re: [Chapters] Question: How do we define lobbying? I was aware that in the USA non-profits can lobby, but there are limits on how much they can spend on it. The most restricted type of non-profit is a 503(c) and such an organisation may choose to spend up to 20% of their first $500,000 of annual expenditure on lobbying - the maximum any 503(c) may spend on lobbying in a year is $1,000,000.
I assume that the WMF would need some mechanism to ensure that the grants it makes do not become used for lobbying in such a way that the total exceeds the $1M total - which would jeopardise their tax-free status. It is therefore perfectly understandable that WMF may decide that the easiest way to be certain is to bar the use of granted funds for lobbying completely. If we wanted to move away from that, each grantee would probably need a more complex accounting system to be able to reassure the WMF that spending on lobying was strictly limited. I'm not suggesting such a system would be impossible, only that it would require some negotiation between Chapters and WMF.
Some quick Google results for background reading:
http://www.clpi.org/the-law/faq http://apps.americanbar.org/buslaw/blt/2009-03-04/mehta.shtml http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/whitepaperdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=12202
Cheers
Doug Taylor
On 19 April 2013 16:37, Fae faewik@gmail.com wrote:
In a workshop in the Milan conference, there was a break-out discussion led by Iolanda (WMIT) on lobbying. There is a lot of interest in finding ways of supporting change in copyright legislation and open knowledge access in as many countries as possible.
One of the interesting features of the WMF agreement when providing funds under the FDC process is that this money should not be used for lobbying. During the coffee break I had a quick chat with Garfield (the WMF CFO) about a possible clarification. My understanding from that chat was that if there were valid reasons for lobbying in support of our cause, this should be a separate grant for traceability reasons, it is not intended to imply a blanket ban, but traceability is needed to satisfy the IRS. If a chapter has separate income from the WMF, then there is no concern as this is a matter for the individual chapter board and membership to worry about.
I think this is a useful clarification, and this ought to be followed up as an action from our workshop.
I would welcome any comments from the wider community on what sorts of lobbying as a movement that we definitely want to support, encourage and possibly provide funds for, and if we could come to a clearer definition of what lobbying is (such as political protest) and things we do as a community that is not quite lobbying, even though it may relate to government legislation (such as publishing a white paper with our summary of the benefits of changes in copyright law).
Cheers, Fae -- faewik@gmail.com http://j.mp/faewm Guide to email tags: http://j.mp/mfae _______________________________________________ Chapters mailing list Chapters@wikimedia.ch https://intern.wikimedia.ch/lists/listinfo/chapters
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