Help for an aspiring activist

[Robbie88]

I apologize if these are stupid questions, however I have spent quite a bit of time searching for answers on Google and so far have been unsuccessful.

I have wanted to get more politically involved for quite some time now, and the current economic crisis has made me more committed than ever. However, I have done some searching and haven't been able to find any local political group that accurately represents my beliefs. Because of this, I have lately been considering starting an online political activist group advocating for issues that I care about, mainly economic justice and labor. The group would mainly be a network for getting people to email/call their representatives, write letters to the editor, and general political/policy discussion. I plan on keeping it fairly simple to begin with, with no monetary donations being taken, no campaign contributions, etc. so I guess my main question would be if there are any legal or tax issues that I would have to take care of if I do go through with this? Also, do you think that something like this would be worth the time or would it be more trouble that it would be worth?

[eridani]

1. Got a local Craigslist?

Put out an announcement and see who bites. MoveOn and Democracy for America organize meetup sized groups also.

[54anickel]

2. Moyers mentioned "A New Way Forward"...looks like they may be stick around beyond Apr 11 to work on

other social justice issues.

http://www.anewwayforward.org/howto/

[Robbie88]

3. OK, thanks to both of you...

:)

[applexcore]

4. Simply put: No

If it's just helping organize people to do certain things, then you won't have any trouble at all. The only thing you would have to report on your taxes is any ad revenue you made on your site (if you put any up there).

The only time you have to file for a PAC (nonconnected) is if you receive more than $1000 in donations on behalf of any politician, committee or organization. If you do start doing that, its fairly easy to file for a PAC. The biggest headache is making sure you file your reports.


I've been thinking of starting up a PAC over the last few months to help with the 2010 elections, but I haven't made up my mind yet.