Shorewood SEED Foundation (SEED) is a 501(c)(3) organization. By law, none of its staff time or resources can be used for partisan political purposes—that is, to support or oppose any candidate running for public office. This is a strict prohibition, and any perceived violation could result in a costly investigation by the public, media and/or IRS, and possibly the loss of our tax-exempt status. Examples of activities to avoid include:
- Making statements that favor or oppose candidates or political parties at any SEED event or meeting or in any SEED official publication, including the website.
- Posting comments that favor or oppose candidates or political parties on any SEED social media, including our blogs, Facebook/Instagram pages, X (Formerly Twitter) accounts (including staff accounts that are associated with SEED), etc.
- Giving a candidate political party, PAC or any group working in a partisan political way any SEED mailing list.
- Forwarding an email from a candidate, political party, PAC or any partisan political group that came to your SEED email account. Do not use your SEED email address to subscribe to candidate or political material. If you inadvertently get candidate or political emails at work, delete them and unsubscribe your SEED email address from the email list.
- Making statements or handing out literature supportive or critical of a candidate, political party or PAC at a SEED event.
- Wearing political buttons or T-shirts while representing SEED at any event or meeting or in the office.
- Paying for or attending political events hosted by political parties, campaigns, or other entities with SEED resources.
Note: These organizational prohibitions do not inhibit your individual participation in election activities, provided you do not use any Shorewood SEED Foundation resources act or represent that you are acting as an employee, volunteer, officer or Board member of Shorewood SEED Foundation. Examples of the type of individual election activities you may participate in include voting, making financial contributions to candidates, volunteering for a candidate on your own time (weekends or evenings), or running for office.