This paper, originally published in the NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, discusses a wide array of issues arising from the use of Section 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations to conduct the lobbying necessary to advance charitable goals. The paper goes on to propose an innovative legislative change that would allow the creation of a…

Private foundations’ expenditures for legislative lobbying are prohibited as “taxable expenditures” by Section 4945 of the Internal Revenue Code. For the purpose of deciding what is prohibited lobbying, private foundations may rely on the definitions found in Sections 501(h) and 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code, which define lobbying for those public charities that have…