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> Wait, non-profits (generally seen as organizations doing good by their very definition) cannot lobby but other organizations (with making money as their principal goal) can?

Non-profits (including some tax exempt non-profits) may lobby, but charities are more restricted [0]. Note that charities -- 501(c)(3) organizations -- are not just tax exempt, but donations to them are tax deductible to the donors, which amounts to a public subsidy of donations that increases (due to progressive marginal income tax rates) with the income of the donor.

[0] But they may still lobby...as noted in the IRS page referenced upthread, charities "may engage in some lobbying", but lobbying can't be a "substantial part of its activities".




You can see this seperation in orgs like the ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/what-difference

EFF I guess gets around it by being a lawsuit focused organization more? https://www.eff.org/about




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