The Alliance shares the following informational materials providing answers to frequently asked questions about how nonprofits, including museums, and their staff and leadership, can participate in advocacy and lobbying, nonpartisan election-year activity, and nonpartisan voter engagement.

Advocacy & Lobbying Guidelines for Museums – Yes You Can!

Museums and other nonprofit organizations may get questions from leadership, staff and board members wanting reassurance that nonprofits, including museums, CAN advocate and CAN lobby. Yes you can! Independent Sector and Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy provide additional information confirming that nonprofits and museums can advocate and lobby.

• Lobbying Guidelines for Public Charities Fact Sheet
• Bolder Advocacy – Guidelines for 501(c)(3) Charities
• Bolder Advocacy – Yes, Nonprofits, You Can Lobby
• Bolder Advocacy – Resource Library

See the AAM Nonprofit Voter Resources Guide

Election Guidelines – What You Can and Can’t Do

Museums and nonprofits can participate in advocacy and advocate on behalf of their mission, including during an election year. See our updated AAM Guide to Election Year Activities!

• This brief from Nonprofit Vote explains how nonprofits can work on ballot measures and how ballot measures are different from candidate elections. Bolder Advocacy provides this Ballot Measures Toolkit page, with detailed linked resources on engaging in ballot measures, and this Ballot Measures and Public Charities fact sheet.
• This checklist by Nonprofit Vote provides additional resources and information on political activity and permissible voter engagement, with links to additional resources. Bolder Advocacy shares this Election Checklist for 501(c)(3) Public Charities, to help ensure election year advocacy efforts remain nonpartisan.
• While public charities are prohibited from supporting or opposing a candidate or a political party, this does not mean that they must cut off all contact with elected officials and candidates during an election year. Nonprofit Vote shares Working with Candidates on a Nonpartisan Basis and this Bolder Advocacy Hosting Candidates at Charitable Events fact sheet addresses appearances involving a single candidate. Bolder Advocacy also shares this brief on Nonpartisan Candidate Education and considerations for Commenting on Elected Officials and candidates.
• Nonprofit organizations may also continue to engage in education and advocacy to promote their issues during the election season, and learn more about how nonprofits can comment on candidates and campaigns during an election year.
• While 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates for public office (“campaign intervention”), this prohibition does not apply to the activities of 501(c)(3) board members when they are acting in their individual capacity. Learn more about what board members can and cannot do in Bolder Advocacy’s Board Members and Election-Year Activities.
• Nonprofit Vote provides succinct questions and answers about how nonprofit staff members can stay nonpartisan when representing their nonprofit, and participation in political activities in their personal time.
• Outside of work, nonprofit employees are free to volunteer for political campaigns or engage in other partisan political activities. In this Nonprofit Vote webinar, learn how to make important divisions between your nonpartisan work on the clock and your partisan activities off the clock. Also see the July 2022 webinar and resources.

Voter Engagement Resources

• Nonprofit Vote’s comprehensive resource library helps inform nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations interested in encouraging voting and voter participation among their staff, board, clients, constituents, and communities. Searchable resources provide in-depth coverage on topics ranging from candidate forums to voter education, voter registration, helping get out the vote, ballot measures, issue advocacy, social media guidelines and engaging your staff.
• National Voter Registration Day takes place each September. The Alliance is a National Partner of this important nationwide initiative to help ensure no one misses the chance to vote because of lack of information about their voting status, polling place or how to register to vote.
• Serving as a local polling place is a powerful way to increase voter access and connect with your community. Get started by reaching out to your local elections office today. Does your museum participate in allowable election activities, such as serving as a polling place? Let us know about your experience with these activities.
• National Voter Registration Day’s Get #VoteReady page has resources for getting registered and getting ready to take the steps needed to cast a ballot. Find advice on healthy in-person voting practices in your state, explainers of what you can expect to see on your ballot, and how to request an absentee ballot.
• Vote Early Day is a movement of thousands of partners across the nation – from businesses to nonprofits to campuses, including AAM – to empower Americans to vote early and make their voices heard. Find resources to celebrate Vote Early Day and help voters learn about their options to cast their ballot ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
• National Voter Education Week (NVEW) is an open-source campaign to help voters bridge the gap between registering to vote and actually casting a ballot. This week of interactive education highlights opportunities for voters to find their polling location, understand their ballot, make a plan to vote in person or remotely, and inspire others to get involved. The Partner Resources include email templates, one-pagers, slide decks, and press outreach materials to help you engage with your stakeholders to ensure they’re #VoteReady and Shareable Content you can post on your social media to help spread the word about each day of National Voter Education Week. There are also graphics offered in multiple languages such as Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and more.
• Learn more about all of the Civic Holidays and the resources available to help your community be #VoteReady.
• Nonprofit Staff Vote – AAM is ensuring that our employees have the time off they need to vote, and we are committed to providing nonpartisan voter engagement resources to help them stay informed. If you are offering paid time off to vote, you can also join us and nonprofits across the country in sharing your participation in #NonprofitStaffVote.
• The Nonprofit Voter Empowerment Project is a nonpartisan effort developed by Independent Sector and Nonprofit Vote to support nonprofits’ efforts to increase voter participation among their staff, grantees, volunteers, and constituents.
• See Nonprofit Vote’s WEBINAR RECAP: How Nonprofits Can Promote Voting By Mail and their Tips for Supporting Voting By Mail for information about voting by mail.
• Learn more about engaging voters for a more inclusive democracy in Nonprofit Vote’s Nonprofit Power report, webinar, and resources. The 2021 report shows the important and positive impact of nonprofit voter engagement on boosting turnout and helping close racial, income and other gaps in voting.
• Nonprofit Vote’s Engaging New Voters report and Benefits of Voting resources also provide powerful information about why voter engagement is a critical part of nonprofit work and materials for engaging voters. Learn more:
  • Webinar Roundup: Engaging New Voters–How Nonprofits Can Close the Voter Participation Gap
  • Webinar Recap: Engaging New Voters: Planning and Best Practices
• Their Getting Started Checklist provides practical steps on topics ranging from creating your voter engagement plan to voter registration, engaging candidates, and ballot measures, with links to additional resources. Bolder Advocacy provides guidelines for understanding nonpartisan considerations when you want to Conduct a Voter Registration Drive and National Voter Registration Day provides Guides for Voter Registration Drives in Each State.
• Made By Us is a coalition of 150+ museums, historic sites and historical societies joining forces to serve the next generation – meeting curiosity with credibility. Learn more about their Civic Season initiative and check out the Made By Us information and activities.
• Did you know that 1-in-4 adults has a physical, sensory, cognitive, mental health or other disability? The RespectAbility Report from RespectAbility.org provides nonpartisan political commentary on U.S. elections with a focus on disability issues. Also find their 50 State Guides for Voters with Disabilities.
• On our Voter Information page you can use your address to confirm who represents you, access voter registration forms, and find election deadlines. On Nonprofit Vote’s Voting in Your State page you can access links to find your polling place, check your voter registration, and find state and local elections offices.
• The Community for Accredited Online Schools offers Navigating the Election Process for Students & First Time Voters, A Beginners Guide to Election Rights Rules and Regulations, a guide for first-time voters that includes information about political parties, the process and steps to cast your vote, advice for preparing for the poles, voting rights and rules, and first time voter demographics.
• BestColleges.com has created a Student Voting Guide. The state-by-state directory explores voter eligibility criteria, residency requirements, registration deadlines, and other voting guidelines. The voting rights manual outlines the registration process for college students in all circumstances and the voting resources list includes links to campus organizations, registration portals, and more.
• In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, BestColleges.com created this Voter Guide for Hispanic and Latino/a Students, which includes Voting Statistics for Hispanic and Latino/a Students, 5 Ways Students Can Get Involved in the Midterm Elections, and Resources for Hispanic and Latino/a student voters.
• Concord Law School shares this civics education information and Civics Education Resources.

Voter Information

The national, nonpartisan Election Protection coalition (866ourvote.org) works year-round to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to vote and have that vote count. Made up of more than 100 local, state and national partners, Election Protection uses a wide range of tools and activities to protect, advance and defend the right to vote. Election Protection helps voters make sure their vote is counted through a number of resources, including:

• A suite of voter helplines administered by coalition members:
  • English: 866-OUR-VOTE – Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
  • Spanish/English: 888-VE-Y-VOTA – NALEO Educational Fund
  • Arabic/English: 844-YALLA-US – Arab American Institute (AAI)
  • Asian Languages/English: 888-API-VOTE – APIAVote & Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC)

Visit VOTE411 and BallotReady to learn more about voting in your state and what’s on the ballot.

NEW RESOURCE: Nonprofit Voter resource portal is a directory complete with pledge to vote, voter registration, and how to vote resources. This shareable resource has all you need to inform and encourage voters in your community to get out the vote. Visit and start sharing NonprofitVoter.org today!

These linked resources are provided for informational purposes only and do not serve as formal legal advice. It is always recommended to consult your own legal counsel with specific questions about you or your museum’s activities.