This coming election year is a big one, and UUs across the country are being encouraged to boldly engage our values in the electoral cycle. But it can be confusing to know what is appropriate for non-profit organizations with 501(c)3 status, including churches and other faith communities.

The short answer is there’s a lot we can do as long as we are not partisan.

This means we can engage in issue-based advocacy, promote local ballot measures, and perform voter education and mobilization, as long as this work is not done for a specific political party, as an endorsement of a specific candidate, or to impact whether or not a particular candidate wins an election.

Because the UUA knows many of us have questions or concerns, they will be updating and providing clear guidance to the most frequently asked questions later this month (which we’ll share here on UUCM Happenings). In the meantime, the UUA publication The Real Rules is a terrific go-to source, as are the summaries provided by Bolder Advocacy.

If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Terri.