501c3 charities and candidates

[Nevernose]

I’ve got a few (a million) questions here, and I would appreciate any opinions or suggestions. I’ll also assume that none of this is legal advice and will take everything with a boulder of salt. Also, I’m not even thinking about the NRA. I was just talking to a neighbor/candidate and it came up.

So: where’s the line drawn for 501c3 charities and supporting candidates? They can’t support or endorse a candidate, right? Or do anything that promotes or discourages one candidate over another?

Can a candidate support or endorse a 501c3?

Could, say, Horatio Beefheart put a picture of his favorite charity, the Portly Butterflies Association, on his mailer?

What if he put it on his mailer with a fine print that says “While Mr Beefheart supports the PBs, this image in no way constitutes an endorsement by the PBA”?

Same question, but with the disclaimer on Bwefheart’s website?

What if Mr Beefheart was using a vintage PBA poster from Beefheart’s personal collection?

What if it was a picture of Beefheart holding the PBA picture, like a “real world” photograph?

If it was given freely to Mr Beefheart with no strings attached, could Beefheart then use an image of his own poster?

Same question, but an electronic copy of the same poster he already owns?

Does merely accepting the poster — again, without any sort of agreement having ever been communicated or implied — still leave the possibility of a unilateral contract situation?

What if the digital Portly Buttefly poster was free for anyone, without limitation?

What if the only limitation given was “non-profit use?”

What if the PBA poster was available, for free and without restriction, to any and all candidates from any political party, or even he same party?

Could the PBA limit the unlimited use by candidates to specific races, e.g. Dog Catcher municipal races but not Insect Commissioner races?

If candidate Beefheart used the image without permission, could it jeopardize the nonprofit status of PBA?

If candidate Beefheart used the image for a nonprofit (but political) purpose, could PBA sue him? And if it were for a nonprofit purpose, would there be any damages to seek?

What if candidate Beefheart used the image simultaneously for BOTH a political AND an educational use?

I appreciate the thoughts and potential answers. You can probably surmise that these are tough ones to Google. My lawyer isn’t a copyright or tax person — and mostly she told me to leave her alone with my dumb questions while she’s at work, and not to forget that it’s my turn to cook dinner.

[Nevernose]

1. No takers or guesses?

[Bucky]

2. Too many questions. I can't read all that. But I can tell you this...

If you have a 501 c 3, you need to stay a million miles away from any political campaign. Letting your brand take on a partisan affiliation means you lose your nonprofit status. You and any candidate you affiliated with might even face some fraud questions.

Think of it as a church and state issue. Don't just build a wall between your nonprofit and a political candidate, build a Chinese Great Wall, and pretend the Mongols are 20 ft tall.

[NCTraveler]

3. Im not educated in this area.

Read it all and figure I should at least say hi. I imagine it’s a topic of interest to numerous DU’ers. K&R