Lobbying and advocacy for the public's health: What are the limits for nonprofit organizations?

Nonprofit organizations play an important role in advocating for the public 's health in the United States. This article describes the rules under US l aw for lobbying by nonprofit organizations. The 2 most common kinds of nonprofits working to improve the public's healt h are "public charities" and "social welfare organizations," Although socia l welfare organizations may engage in relatively unlimited lobbying, public charities may not engage in "substantial'' lobbying. Lobbying is divided i nto 2 main categories. Direct lobbying refers to communications with law-ma kers that take a position on specific legislation, and grassroots lobbying includes attempts to persuade members of the general public to take action regarding legislation. Even public charities may engage in some direct lobb ying and a smaller amount of grassroots lobbying. Much public health advocacy, however, is not lobbying, since there are seve ral important exceptions to the lobbying rules. These exceptions include "n on-partisan analysis, study, or research'' and discussions of broad social problems. Lobbying with federal or earmarked foundation funds is generally prohibited.