Join the Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene and Hult Center Foundation for a practical 90-minute training designed to help arts and culture nonprofits understand the guardrails, clear up common misconceptions, and advocate with greater confidence.

We’ll dig into questions like:

• What advocacy can a 501(c)(3) organization do?
• What actually counts as lobbying—and how much lobbying is allowed?
• What’s the difference between advocacy and lobbying?
• Are the rules different for staff and board members?
• What can you do personally, and what changes when you’re representing your organization?
• What changes when a candidate, election, or ballot measure enters the picture?
• What are nonprofits often afraid to do that is actually allowed?

Melissa Auchard Scholz of Scholz Nonprofit Law will help us understand the legal guardrails and what they mean in practice.

Then we’ll move from understanding the rules to using your voice. Ryan Fisher of NW Public Affairs and Tristan Perrotti of the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon will give us a look ahead at Oregon’s 2027 legislative session, share some of the issues affecting arts and culture, and explore practical ways organizations and individuals can participate in advocacy.

We’ll leave plenty of time for Q&A, so bring the questions you’ve always wanted to ask.

Who should attend?
Arts and culture nonprofit executive directors, staff, board members, and others involved in nonprofit leadership or advocacy.

You don’t need to be a policy expert or experienced advocate. The goal is to leave with a clearer understanding of the guardrails, greater confidence about what’s possible, and practical ways to put that knowledge into action.