The Coalition for Life, Political Campaigns, and 501(c) 3

The Brazos Valley Coalition for Life is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, which gives the Coalition for Life (CFL) a tax exempt status. According to the Internal Revenue Service, a 501(c) 3 organization must be “organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.”

However, CFL appears on the surface to be in conflict with the IRS regulations surrounding 501(c) 3 organizations, as the photograph below shows, the CFL office displays prominently several Rob Curnock campaign signs. This location is at 3601 East 29th Street, Suite 8 in Bryan, Texas, and is still listed on the CFL web site under contact information. The CFL does list another location down the street, 4012 East 29th Street, as the CFL “new house.” However, the CFL sign is still prominently displayed on the 3601 East 29th Street location.

The Rob Curnock for Congress Campaign listed the 3601 East 29th Street, Suite 8 office space as their Brazos County campaign office on the campaign web site under Federal Election Commission records, the Curnock campaign paid $3,000 in rent for “Brazos HQ” listed at the 3601 East 29th Street location. The rent payment from the Curnock campaign is listed to “Brookwood Square, LP.”

The facts as they are now is that the Curnock campaign is using the previous headquarters of the CFL as its current headquarters, however, the CFL still list the previous location on its web site. The CFL sign is still prominently displayed, which gives the impression that the CFL supports the political campaign of Rob Curnock for Congress. In order to avoid the appearance of supporting a political campaign and being in conflict with their tax exempt status, the CFL should immediately remove their sign from their previous office. Otherwise it appears that the CFL may be participating in campaign activity for a political candidate.