Meeting your elected officials: a practical guide for charities

This guide is for founders, directors and board members of small charities who want the people making decisions about their community to understand their work: a city council member deciding on a park, a state legislator voting on a budget, a member of Congress whose office could help with a federal grant. Elected officials and their staff want to hear from local organizations. After reading, you'll know how to find your representatives, how to ask for a meeting, what to bring, what to say, how to follow up, and how to stay inside the rules that apply to charities.

Read our guide to political activity and lobbying first. It explains the two different rules: charities may never support or oppose candidates, and may lobby only within limits.

Education or lobbying: know which you're doing

The IRS describes lobbying as when an organization "contacts, or urges the public to contact, members or employees of a legislative body" to propose, support or oppose legislation, or advocates adopting or rejecting legislation. It says a 501(c)(3) "may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status."

Not every meeting with an official is lobbying. The IRS says organizations "may conduct educational meetings, prepare and distribute educational materials" and consider public policy issues in an educational way without putting their exemption at risk.

In practice:

• Usually education: introducing your charity, inviting an official to visit a program, sharing what you see in your community, or answering their questions.
• Lobbying: asking a legislator or council member to vote for or against a specific bill or ordinance, or asking for a specific amount in a budget bill. The IRS says legislation includes action by Congress, any state legislature or any local council, so this applies at every level.

Both are allowed. Just keep lobbying to a modest part of your work, and keep a simple record of time and money spent on it. If your charity has made the 501(h) election, track lobbying spending as our lobbying guide explains.

Find your representatives

USAGov's "Find your elected officials" page links to contact details for every level: the president, U.S. senators and representatives, governors and state legislators, and mayors and other local officials.

Make a short list of the officials who matter most to your work. For most small charities, that's the city council or county board member for your area, your state legislators, and your member of the U.S. House. Note which officials represent your clients and volunteers, too: officials pay most attention to their own constituents.

Ask for a meeting

• Contact the office, usually by email through its website or by phone. Many offices have a scheduler.
• Say who you are and where you're based, in their district, in one sentence.
• Say why you want to meet, briefly: to introduce your work, invite them to visit or talk about an issue.
• Offer options: a short meeting in their district office, a video call, or a visit to your program.
• Expect to meet staff. A meeting with a staff member who handles your issue is often more useful than a quick handshake with the official.

Prepare a one-page leave-behind

Bring one page, printed, and have it ready to email:

• who you are: your mission in one sentence, and where you work;
• who you serve, with a few real numbers from your own records;
• one short story, shared with permission;
• what you'd like: a visit, support for a program, or (if it's lobbying) a position on a specific bill;
• contact details for one person.

Our guide to telling your story helps you find the right example, and your case for support is a good source for the rest.

In the meeting

1. Thank them for their time, and say who's in the room.
2. Tell your story in two or three minutes: the need, what you do, a result.
3. Make one clear ask, if you have one.
4. Listen. Ask what they're hearing from other constituents and what would help them.
5. Answer honestly. If you don't know, say you'll find out.
6. Leave the one-pager, and agree on a next step.

Bring one or two people, such as a board member, a volunteer or someone you serve who is comfortable sharing their experience. Keep the group small.

Follow up

• Send a thank-you within a day or two, with the one-pager attached and anything you promised.
• Keep in touch with occasional updates, like your annual report or an invitation to an event.
• Record the meeting: who you met, what you discussed, any lobbying, and the time spent. It helps your next visit and your lobbying records.

Your meeting checklist

• We read our lobbying guide and know the difference between education and lobbying
• We never mention elections or candidates, and the charity makes no campaign donations
• We've listed the officials who matter most to our work
• We have a one-page leave-behind with our story and contact details
• We asked for a meeting with a clear, short reason
• We sent a thank-you and any promised information within two days
• We keep a simple record of meetings and any time or money spent lobbying