Maintaining nonpartisanship key for greater good

Anyone who knows me well or has kindly taken the time to read this column over the last several years has no doubt heard me talk fervently about the importance of the Johnson Amendment.

Friends and colleagues joke that they hear my stump speech on this topic coming from a mile away. But, like anything worth fighting for, I’m going to keep using all my breath to raise my voice on this critical matter, especially as recent events have brought it back in the news.

The Johnson Amendment protects nonprofit nonpartisanship. It is the provision included in IRS tax code 501(c)(3) that strictly prohibits nonprofit organizations – including charities and houses of worship – from endorsing or opposing political candidates in any way, including but not limited to written or verbal speech, monetary campaign contributions and more.

Enacted way back in 1954 with broad bipartisan support, the Johnson Amendment is a bedrock of charitable work. While nonprofits can – and should! – advocate for ideas, causes and policies close to their missions, the Johnson Amendment keeps us on a level playing field above the political fray, helping ensure that donor dollars go straight to the mission they support without risk of funds being funneled to a candidate whose politics they may or may not personally support.

One doesn’t often hear of a business sector advocating for limitations or regulations on their operations the way the charitable sector champions the Johnson Amendment – a fact which should speak volumes as to how important it is to the foundation of our American system for serving the public good.

This spring, advocates of nonprofit nonpartisanship celebrated a big win when a federal court dismissed a proposed legal settlement that would have barred enforcement of the 72 year-old law under certain circumstances. While the legal settlement would have applied only to the two churches involved in this particular case, the case itself nonetheless threatened to weaken the foundation of nonprofit nonpartisanship.

For well more than a century, the United States has passed laws that have helped shape social good in America into what it is today. While some other nations fill in social service gaps through government programs, the United States offers a federal tax deduction to private nonprofit organizations to meet such needs. Preserving the integrity of this sacred relationship – free from the risks of political whims, dark money and myriad other problems that could arise in a hypothetical partisan environment – is central to the genesis of the Johnson Amendment seven decades ago.

Nonprofits remain some of the most trusted spaces where people from diverse political, religious and cultural backgrounds come together to address community needs. Our credibility rests on one fundamental principle: nonprofits exist to serve the public, not political parties or candidates. Preserving nonprofit nonpartisanship means protecting public trust, donor confidence and the vital services Oklahomans rely on every day.