There is nothing illegal about a charity accepting contributions from a political office holder or aspirant. In fact, one of the ways that a politician can unwind a political action committee is to give the remaining money to a charity.

 

Obviously charities may not endorse or oppose candidates for public office (See Ready Reference Page: “Charities May Not Participate in Elections”), but charities can accept their money. Many donors, who sound a whole lot more reputable when called “public officials” than when called “politicians,” make charitable contributions for the best of motives and for the best of programs. 

 

The issue tends to be one of public perception. “Political” charities, from those involved in various Jack Abramoff scandals to those identified with the Pennsylvania state senator who was recently convicted of fraud (See Ready Reference Page: “Indictment Spells Out Claims of Benefit, Obstruction of Justice by State Senator)(See Nonprofit Issues, Lessons in Litigation, 8/1/2009), are subject to charges of abuse, and, in some cases, rightly so. If you are going to accept money from politicians, you want to be sure that the charity controls the use of the funds and you probably want to be sure that the whole transaction passes the “smell test.”