[Wikimedia-l] Fwd: [Chapters] Question: How do we define lobbying?

[Samuel Klein]

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:--Expenditure-Test

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 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Forwarding a reply from a non member of the list.
>
> Alex
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: rexx <rexx at blueyonder.co.uk>
> To: Wikimedia Chapters general discussions - closed list <
> chapters at wikimedia.ch>
> Cc: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l at 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 at 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 at gmail.com http://j.mp/faewm
>> Guide to email tags: http://j.mp/mfae
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--
Samuel Klein          @metasj           w:user:sj          +1 617 529 4266