Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Bob Cooper and Brant Phillips provided insight on the increasing prominence of nonprofit organizations as political vehicles in a guest column featured in the Nashville Business Journal. As the authors point out in the article, nonprofit entities under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code are not required by federal law to disclose the identity of their donors, leading them to be labeled as “dark money groups.” Although these organizations are supposed to be operated “exclusively for the promotion of social welfare,” the IRS has interpreted the language in such a way that allows lobbying and campaign activities, as long as they are not the primary focus of the nonprofit.
The full article, “Where Nonprofits Meet Politics,” was published online and in the print edition of the Nashville Business Journal on October 30, 2015.