Over 1,000 Charitable Nonprofits Launch National Sign-On Letter to Defend Nonpartisanship and Public Trust

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Interfaith Alliance, the National Council of Nonprofits, American Humanist Association, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Independent Sector, Public Citizen, and other leading nonprofit organizations launched a national sign-on letter addressed to President Trump. The letter strongly objects to efforts by the administration to weaken the Johnson Amendment, a longstanding federal law that protects nonprofits from partisan politics by prohibiting 501(c)(3) organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

The letter warns that exempting houses of worship from this longstanding protection, as the administration seeks to do, risks politicizing vital nonprofit institutions, eroding public trust, and threatening the independence and integrity of the entire nonprofit sector. The groups signing the letter represent thousands of local nonprofits that show up every day to help people in need. In every community, nonprofits – including houses of worship - feed, heal, shelter, and support their neighbors, no matter their politics. They are asking leaders to keep that trust strong.

The sign-on letter, with already more than 1,000 nonprofit signatures, responds directly to a proposed legal settlement involving the Internal Revenue Service and National Religious Broadcasters that, if approved by a federal judge, would undermine a federal law protecting charitable and religious nonprofits from partisan politics for more than 70 years.

Nonprofits nationwide are urged to join the sign-on letter to preserve public confidence and keep the nonprofit sector focused on mission-driven work rather than partisan politics.

“American democracy and our diverse religious communities benefit from healthy boundaries between government and religion,” said Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance. “It's essential that our houses of worship remain outside the partisan fray, unbeholden to any political figure or group. This decision could open the floodgates to dark money operations that would turn sacred spaces into fronts for shady political schemes. Instead of politicizing the pulpit, the administration should properly enforce the seven-decades-old law that allows tax-exempt houses of worship to advocate powerfully around moral and policy issues without pushing partisanship on their congregations.”

“Nonprofits exist to serve the common good, not partisan politics,” said Diane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits. “Undermining the law that protects nonprofit nonpartisanship could severely damage the integrity and effectiveness of the entire nonprofit sector. Efforts by the administration and some in Congress to do so aren’t about religion or free speech, but about radically altering campaign finance laws and attempting to open the floodgates for political operatives to funnel money through churches while receiving generous tax breaks.”

“Our democracy depends on the freedom of conscience and civic integrity. Undermining the Johnson Amendment would open the door to unchecked political influence from the pulpit, threatening the trust and independence that nonprofit work is built on,” said Fish Stark, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. “We will always defend the principle that nonprofits — including religious organizations — should serve their communities, not a partisan agenda.”

“This longstanding, commonsense rule protects the integrity of both our elections and nonprofits, including houses of worship. The majority of Americans don’t want their charities and churches embroiled in the corrupting influence of partisan politics,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “The Trump administration’s radical reinterpretation of this federal law is a flagrant, self-serving attack on church-state separation that threatens our democracy by plunging houses of worship into partisan battles. AU is committed to fight the administration’s brazen ploy to use our houses of worship as political campaign tools.”

“Undermining the Johnson Amendment would do lasting harm to our democracy. That’s why such a broad coalition — spanning secular and religious organizations, good governance advocates and nonprofits across the political spectrum — is speaking out together,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, president, FFRF Action Fund. “Preserving the Johnson Amendment is critical for keeping our charitable sector from becoming a pipeline for political donations and partisan campaigning. Weakening these protections would erode public trust, invite corruption and create a whole new category of dark money.”

 “The courts have consistently upheld the agreement by religious entities to avoid politics in exchange for their tax-exempt status. If the IRS proceeds, we will see a fundamental shift in how political money flows through our system,” said Lisa Gilbert, Co-President, Public Citizen. “This will open the door for political actors to use religious institutions and likely eventually charitable nonprofits as conduits for anonymous campaign funding, benefiting from substantial tax write-offs while shifting the financial burden onto taxpayers who may disagree with the candidates or causes being supported. We are witnessing in real-time the creation of a new and dangerous dark money channel.”

Nonprofits are encouraged to sign the national sign-on letter, including houses of worship, remain some of the last trusted spaces where people from diverse political, religious, and cultural backgrounds come together to address community needs. Their credibility rests on one fundamental principle: they exist to serve the public, not political parties or candidates. All charitable and religious nonprofit organizations are invited to sign on and help spread the word.

For additional information, read the National Council of Nonprofits’ insights & analysis article here.

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