Non-profit Reading Materials

July 25, 2015 3:43 PM

I'm interested in starting a political non-profit organization. Can anyone recommend some reading material for me? I'm most interested in best practices for structuring the organization, tips on administering meetings, etc. I think most of that information can be broad enough for all non-profits, but I would love any materials that talk specifically about political ones too.
posted by ZackTM to Law & Government (11 answers total)

I love this resource for structuring meetings- it's not for non-profits per se, but it lays out a bunch of methods for running meetings in a productive way, and how to reach consensus:
http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/handbookweb.pdf

There website has a lot of other information on it too.
posted by momochan at 4:03 PM on July 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've got a couple of books I could suggest.

• Read this before our next meeting
• The Board Member's Book

The former is trying really hard. The latter is just really dry.

I've also got a "reading list" that I maintain in Instapaper. Here are a few picks from that:

• How to Design an Agenda for an Effective Meeting
• The Tyranny of Structureless (I think I learned about this through MeFi)
• Criticism and Ineffective Feedback

posted by adamrice at 4:13 PM on July 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

I hope this doesn't seem rude, but the breadth of your question makes me think you'd be well served by getting some work or volunteer experience at a nonprofit of the sort you'd like to start.

Also, when you say a "political nonprofit," what do you mean? Election politics and lobbying are somewhat distinct from groups that try to influence public policy via, say, educating the public or policymakers about an issue (e.g., about homelessness).
posted by salvia at 4:56 PM on July 25, 2015 [2 favorites]

I used to be on the board of the Center for Nonprofit Management and although they're in Southern California, most of their materials are accessible on their website. I always screw up the links using my mobile so here's the url: www.cnmsocal.org
posted by janey47 at 7:15 PM on July 25, 2015

Check out the Alliance for Justice to learn about what political activities are legal. How you file with the IRS has significant implications along multiple axis.
posted by postel's law at 9:07 PM on July 25, 2015

I'll start by saying that when people tell me they want to start a nonproft, I usually say "don't." It's usually better to attach yourself to an existing group that does related work (benefits of experience and existing infrastructure to name just 2).

If you do want to look at starting your own group - I'll echo postel's law and Salvia you need to figure out what kind of nonprofit you want to start - 501c3 or 501c4.

Next, read Kim Klein. She's very knowledgeable and very accessible for grassroots nonprofits.
posted by entropyiswinning at 12:06 AM on July 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Apologies for the vague question, I wanted to cast a broad net. We are looking to create a local political group that can influence short term local municipal elections and policy in the long term. We have been considering either a PAC or a 501(c)(4). Curious about the advantages/disadvantages of either.
posted by ZackTM at 9:41 AM on July 26, 2015

First step: get a lawyer familiar with election law. Second step: tell the lawyer what you're planning to do (endorse candidates? give money to candidates? field your own candidates? etc.). Third step: listen to your lawyer.

There's a big matrix of differences between c4s and PACs. Without far more specifics, it's impossible to recommend one or the other.
posted by JackBurden at 12:32 PM on July 26, 2015

Yeah, I was going to come in and recommend Pelosi's Campaign Bootcamp but get a lawyer and figure out exactly what you want to do — be as specific as possible. In general, 501(c)4s have to be focused on making society better through some nominal means, but can't advocate directly for a candidate. PACs can give money directly for campaign activities — sending out precinct captains or buying mailers, forex.

If you have good bylaws and management, you can run both a c4 and a PAC and have their activities overlap, but again, see an actual human lawyer for that.

The other consideration beyond the obvious compliance questions is what your funding source is. Different donors and donor bases want their money to do different things. Make sure those things are legal and covered by your bylaws as part of your initial capital campaign.
posted by klangklangston at 10:40 PM on July 26, 2015

You might also be well-served by creating a (c)3, because that designation gives you access to a wider range of donors, and you can use those funds for the "to shape policy" part of your mission. I'd guess, but am not certain, that having all three designations would be overkill, but I do know of groups / people that have both a c3 and a PAC, or both a c3 and a c4.
posted by salvia at 12:49 AM on July 27, 2015

I should've added that I don't know how closely affiliated the c3 and PAC, or the c4 and PAC are. I don't know the rules about how firewalled those need to be.
posted by salvia at 12:51 AM on July 27, 2015