Matlin Legal FAQs

Nonprofit Advocacy Rights FAQs

1. What are our 501(c)(3)’s advocacy rights? (AKA: Tell us what our (c)(3) can and can’t do.)

   That's a great question! Your 503(c)(3) has so many different advocacy opportunities that we can't list them all in a short FAQ (or even a single workshop!). Most (c)(3)s tend to need to learn about their rights to:

   • Advocate and lobby
   • Hold officials accountable
   • Engage with voters and candidates around elections
   • Learn the best practices for advocacy in a coalition or affiliated organizations
   • Engage in advocacy with restricted funds.

   See descriptions of popular workshops and book an appointment to explore your organization's options for receiving legal help or a workshop from Matlin Legal. 

2. We don’t advocate or lobby. Why would we need legal guidance about nonprofit advocacy rights?

   Your organization might have already started engaging in public policy advocacy, and you’re not giving yourself credit! If your organization has ever…

   • Signed a sign-on letter 
   • Given public comment
   • Asked government officials to fund (or not fund) something
   • Shared a social media post from another organization asking the community to sign a petition
     …you’ve already engaged in advocacy! Congratulations! 

   Let’s work together to explore how your organization can use advocacy to make an even greater community impact.

3. We know our 501(c)(3) is allowed to lobby. How much can we lobby?

   Yes! Your publicly-supported 501(c)(3) is allowed to lobbying (to influence legislation). How much your organization is allowed to lobby depends on the choices your organization has made, the size of your organization’s spending budget, and the lobbying activities your organization engages in. Your 501(c)(3) might be restricted to dedicating 3-5% of your organization’s activities to lobbying, or you might be able to use up to 20% of your budget to lobby!

   Chat with Sara to get a rough estimate of your lobbying limit, arrange an initial consultation to explore guidance specific to your organization, or connect about a training tailored to your organization’s advocacy experience.

4. Is my organization allowed to praise or criticize the decisions or statements of officials who might be/are candidates?

   Yes, your organization is allowed to hold officials accountable (even when they are running for office) as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons and you follow certain guidelines. Sara can help your organization speak out and demand action, without taking unnecessary risks. Get guidance from Sara about crafting strong messaging that’s also legally compliant, or explore a workshop for your team about nonpartisan accountability advocacy. 

5. If we never endorse or oppose candidates, that’s enough to stay nonpartisan, right?

   That’s a crucial first step! You also need to make sure that your organization doesn’t engage in activities or communications to try to influence which candidates win elections. So if you’re pushing officials to make good public policy decisions, building your community’s voice, and engaging with voters and candidates, Sara’s guidance can help you support your causes, not the candidates. Work with Sara to strategize about strong civic engagement and responsible accountability advocacy. 

How to Get Started FAQs

6. We’re not sure if we need a workshop, consulting, legal advice, or just a reality check. What should we do? 

   No problem! Matlin Legal is happy to help you figure that out. 

   You can make an appointment to chat and explore your options. During this first informal conversation, you can share some general information about what you’re looking for, and Sara can share general legal information about organizations like yours. 

   If you think you might want to share confidential information or you want to receive legal advice tailored to your organization, please schedule an initial consultation to explore an attorney-client relationship. (Please note: Before Sara can officially become your attorney and you can officially become Sara's client, you would need complete a conflicts check, intake process, and signed agreement. For now, please don’t share any confidential information.)

7. Something’s gone wrong, and we need help figuring out what to do. Can Sara help? 

   We hope so! Sara can help most California organizations with troubleshooting, triage, and legal advice. Depending on the issue, Sara may be able to help with problem-solving for organizations outside of California. Contact Sara to see if she can jump in with rapid response. 

   (Please note: Before Sara can officially become your attorney and you can become Sara's client, you would need to complete a conflicts check, intake process, and signed agreement. For now, please don’t share any confidential information.)

Matlin Legal Practice Areas FAQs

8. What is the focus of Matlin Legal’s consulting?

   Matlin Legal wants to make it easier for nonprofits and funders to use their advocacy rights. Whether you’re seasoned advocacy veterans or just beginning your public policy journey, Sara’s consulting and workshops help you and your team learn and apply the IRS (and CA) rules for your organization. Sara helps 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, private foundations and public foundations make the most of their rights to change the community through:

   • Lobbying and administrative advocacy
   • Nonpartisan accountability advocacy
   • Nonpartisan candidate and voter engagement
   • Collaboration with affiliated organizations and coalitions
   • Funding for advocacy
   • California ballot measure advocacy and state-level lobbying

   Learn more about Matlin Legal's areas of focus or connect with Sara to build your organization’s nonprofit advocacy capacity.

9. Does Matlin Legal help with nonprofit formation?

   No. Matlin Legal focuses on what advocacy your organization is allowed to do after you have already incorporated and have your tax-exempt status. Still, if you’re considering forming a nonprofit, and deciding which tax status is right for your advocacy group, Matlin Legal can help you understand your options. Schedule a short introductory consultation with Sara to get a basic overview and explore whether you’d like to bring Sara in for a deeper discussion. 

10. We’re having a problem with the IRS (or our state or local compliance agency). Can you represent us?

    That sounds like a difficult situation! Sara does not represent organizations or individuals in federal, state, or local administrative or court proceedings. 

11. Do you teach how to lobby? 

    Sara is an experienced community lobbyist, but she does not teach lobbying skills. She can teach your team what is and isn’t lobbying and help you tailor your advocacy messaging to comply with funding restrictions (which sometimes restrict lobbying).

12. Where is Sara Matlin licensed to practice law? 

    Sara is a licensed attorney in the State of California. Her practice focuses on the IRS rules that impact nonprofits’ advocacy across the country, as well as California nonprofit advocacy rules. 

13. Matlin Legal focuses on IRS and CA nonprofit advocacy rules. What about the state and local nonprofit advocacy laws outside of California?

    Sorry, but Sara’s license and knowledge don’t extend to state and local rules outside of California. She can often point you to attorneys and written resources that cover those topics. 

14. Do you consult for and give workshops to coalitions or grantee cohorts? 

    Yes! Sara enjoys training and guiding groups whose members have a variety backgrounds, tax statuses and levels of nonprofit advocacy experience. She also offers workshops for philanthropy-serving organizations. Contact Sara to discuss how Matlin Legal can support your groups. 

15. ¿Se ofrece capacitaciones y asesoramiento en español?

    ¡Sí! Sarita es bilingüe (aunque actualmente su sitio de web no lo es…). Por lo general, los talleres de Matlin Legal en español son gratuitos, igual que el asesoramiento en español. Comuníquense con Sarita, llamándola al 650-394-5194. (También pueden rellenar el formulario en inglés para pedir una cita.)

Workshops FAQs

16. What is included in the workshop package?

    For each workshop, Matlin Legal provides the following:

    1. A one-hour prep session with a representative from the hosting organization;
    2. A customized Zoom workshop;
    3. A recording of the workshop;
    4. A PDF of the slides; and
    5. A free 30-minute consultation for each organization that participated in the workshop.

    If need be, we can make arrangements for the webinar to be hosted on your platform, instead of Matlin Legal’s Zoom platform. Additional services, like customized pre- or post-workshop surveys, can often be provided for an additional fee. 

    Schedule a conversation to get a workshop on your team’s calendar.

17. How much does a workshop cost?

    Matlin Legal’s workshop fees are on a sliding scale. See Matlin Legal’s Priorities for factors we consider when determining the workshop cost. We can often offer a "bulk" discount if we schedule more than one workshop for your team. We’re also open to exploring creative fee arrangements where everyone wins, like a workshop/membership exchange. Contact Matlin Legal to discuss your options. 
    
    If you postpone or cancel a workshop within 24 hours of the workshop start time, you'll be invoiced for that workshop in the first five days of the next month, regardless of whether the workshop has been rescheduled.

18. Can you cover all of the 501(c)(3) advocacy do’s and don’ts in one workshop? 

    Sara loves customizing workshops to each organization’s interests and needs. But “(c)(3) advocacy do’s and don’ts” is really multiple topics (lobbying, nonpartisan advocacy, elections, advocacy funding…) 

    Most workshop topics take 60-90 minutes each. Smooshing multiple topics together in one hour often makes participants (and the trainer!) cranky–the topics are rushed, we can’t dig into helpful examples, and we don’t have enough time to address relevant questions. So we’d need to narrow down the workshop topic to something we can tackle in one workshop or schedule additional workshops.

19. We’d like a workshop in about 3 weeks. Can you do that?

    Sara usually needs about 4-6 weeks to plan and customize a workshop. If you need a workshop sooner than that, she may be able to accommodate that request, but she will need to charge a “rush” fee. Contact Sara to explore your options!

20. Do we need to pay for the workshop before the workshop?

    Usually, you can pay after the workshop. Once the workshop is scheduled, you'll typically be invoiced by the 5th of the following month after the scheduled date of the workshop. Payment is typically due within 30 days of that invoice. (For example, if we schedule a workshop for October 1, you would typically receive an invoice by November 5, and you would pay that invoice by December 5.) If you schedule multiple workshops, we may need a deposit to confirm commitment to the time we invest to prepare for the workshops.

    Please let us know if you need some flexibility around payment (because of cash flow issues, grant funding, etc.). We’d be happy to find an arrangement that works for everyone. 

Costs and Payment Structures FAQs

21. What forms of payment do you accept?

    We currently accept checks and ACH payments (preferred). 

    Please make all checks payable to: 

    Law Office of Sara Matlin
    855 Jefferson Avenue, #1042 
    Redwood City, CA 94064

    Please remit all ACH payments to: 

    Law Office of Sara Matlin
    Bank Name: Tri Counties Bank
    Account #: 472061744
    Routing #: 121135045

    Please let us know if you need some flexibility around timing or form of payment (because of cash flow issues, grant funding, etc.). In addition, we can often be flexible about receiving payment from a third party (such as a funder or government agency). And we may even be open to a swap, like a workshop/membership exchange. Just ask!

22. Do we need to pay a retainer or deposit? 

    Probably not. Generally, Matlin Legal charges hourly for consulting and legal advice, so you would be invoiced for one month’s services in the first five days of the following month. (For example, if we provide four hours of consulting in the first week of October, we would send an invoice by November 5, and you would pay that invoice by December 5.) If we agree to bill your organization on a project basis, we may need a retainer to confirm your organization’s commitment to the project.  

    If we schedule a workshop, you will usually be billed in the first five days of the following month after the workshop date. However, if you schedule multiple workshops, we may need a deposit to confirm commitment to our investment in preparing for the workshops. 

    If you postpone or cancel a workshop within 24 hours of the workshop start time, you will be invoiced for that workshop in the first five days of the next month, regardless of whether the workshop has been rescheduled.

23. Do you charge an hourly rate or a flat fee?

    It depends on the support we’re offering. We tend to structure our consulting and legal advice costs using hourly billing, but we’re also open to offering billing on a project basis. Contact Matlin Legal to start the conversation. 

    We typically offer our workshops at a flat fee. However, if you would like to add surveys or similar services to the workshop, that cost would be extra.

24. Do you charge for your services?

    Matlin Legal is not a nonprofit, so Sara needs to charge for her services. However, Matlin Legal’s workshop and consulting fees are on a sliding scale. See Matlin Legal’s Priorities for factors we consider when determining our rates. We’re also open to exploring creative fee arrangements where everyone wins, like a workshop/membership exchange.
    
    Para organizaciones que comunican en español: Sarita es bilingüe (aunque su sitio de web actualmente no lo es…). Por lo general, el asesoramiento y los talleres de Matlin Legal en español son gratuitos. Comuníquense con Sarita, llamándola al 650-394-5194 para explorar sus opciones. (También pueden rellenar este formulario en inglés para pedir una cita.)