Frequently Asked Questions

This course offers non-partisan public education on how multi-entity social justice organizations can execute bold civic engagement work in compliance with the laws and regulations that govern their work. The 2024 course modules include:

Welcome Webinar: Building Power: Bold & Safe Election Year Work

Module 1: Cultivate an Organizational Culture of Compliance

Module 2: Develop Smart Power-Building Strategies & Structures

Module 3: Build Operational Capacity To Execute Your Strategy

Module 4: Conduct Compliant Multi-entity Financial Management

Module 5: Build Bold & Safe Teams

This course includes 6 modules focused on the key elements of building bold & safe multi-entity organizations. It will include materials that will help you build a culture of compliance, manage your finances across entities, track your political activity, and build election year teams.

Each module will include pre-recorded video tutorials and training, worksheets, and toolkits to put your learnings into action, as well as weekly live sessions to discuss content and answer questions that arise. You will have access to the platform throughout the elections.

The course spans 6 weeks, from June 20, 2024 through August 2, 2024, with a break the week of July 4.

Each week, you will gain access to the week’s online curriculum, including short videos, worksheets, and toolkits. The time should be under an hour to watch videos and complete exercise.

Every Thursday at 11am PT/ 2 pm ET (for 90 minutes) we will host live our course discussion, where you will connect with other leaders doing this work, as well as our trainers who will be available to discuss their content, show you how to apply the tools, and answer your questions. Please note that participation in Thursday’s live discussion and engagement with course tools, such as surveys, are required.

This course is jointly created and run by The Capacity Shop (TCS), a 501(c)(3), and New Left Accelerator (NLA), a separate, but affiliated 501(c)(4).

 This course is designed for mid to senior level staff in start-up and emergent multi-entity organizations — including Executive Directors, Operations, Compliance and/or Finance staff of multi-entity organizations [i.e. organizing using at least a 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) to execute civic engagement work during an election cycle.]

It will also be helpful for:

• Staff of multi-entity organizations that have reporting responsibilities
• Board Members of multi-entity organizations that hold fiduciary responsibility
• Intermediaries, funders, and consultants that serve multi-entity organizations
• Non-profit organizations that are considering adding an entity in order to engage in electoral work

NLA and TCS, the creators of this course, serve social justice “progressive” leaders and organizations who are pioneering innovative ways of lifting-up and mobilizing their communities, which in turn lifts us all. Specifically, we look for organizations and leaders with a commitment to:

• Working toward a more just, inclusive, egalitarian, and cohesive American society.
• using levers of power to rectify racial, social, and/or economic injustices and inequalities.
• Raising up the voices and protecting the rights of those underserved and underrepresented in our democracy.
• Fighting for liberation and full access to democratic institutions for us all.
• Deep respect for the dignity of all people regardless of race, gender, ability, age, or sexual orientation.

Requirements:

• You have been invited to participate by an ‘Election Ready’ Partner.  It is not yet open to the general public, but you can join the waitlist.
• The entities in your group must include a 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) and the 501(c)(4) or a separate political committee/organization must be planning to engage in partisan activity in 2024.
• You are planning to engage in reportable political activity in the 2024 election season.
• You have at least one dedicated staff member working on operational work (i.e., compliance, finance, etc.).
• You have raised or have confidence you will raise funds for your election work.
• Your organization(s) has or will hire a lawyer to consult with you this year.

Conditions of Readiness:

These conditions are required to do bold work safely.

• Leadership commitment to building the operational capacities to do bold work safely: Leadership must have a commitment to developing the operational capacities and systems required to execute compliant election year work.
• Clear civic engagement strategy: Your organization must have a strategy in place to execute both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) work this year and a plan for a portion of your legally permissible work to include reportable political activity.
• Willing to build a team to acquire multi-entity knowledge: Commitment to building a team of multi-entity informed staff and outside vendors (accountants, lawyers, and compliance advisors) to support your work, and assignment of at least one operations staff member to lead this work.

Without meeting these essential conditions, you might not be ready: If you don’t feel your organization(s) can engage with these essential supports, you may not be ready to do this and should consider not carrying out the work this year.