The proliferation of hate speech has fanned the flames of anti-Asian sentiment with messages associating China with the COVID-19 pandemic, all while downplaying the real and present threat of domestic terrorism fueled by white nationalism. And as we have seen over and over, speech has consequences with blood on the hands of murderers — not only in recent shootings but for the consistent escalation of violence against Asian Americans and others.  A disturbing combination of widespread prejudicial sentiment and easy access to guns makes tragedies like this far too common. Messages of misogyny, xenophobia, and white supremacy fill the air we breathe, masquerading as conservative sentiment as they infect the minds of those who could be spurred to act violently. In recent years, we have seen targeted attacks against people of color, religious minorities, the LGBTQ community, and other vulnerable populations, and we have failed to address the patterns of who commits these atrocities and what inspires and allows them to do so.  On this episode, we’ll be talking about nonprofit advocacy against hate, bigotry, and discrimination.      Attorney Co-hosts   Jen  Quyen  Shyaam    Introduction  Nonprofits have an essential role to play in fighting hate in all its forms, by educating the public, pressuring elected officials and candidates, and organizing community members to raise awareness about identity-based violence and discrimination. We’re going to highlight a few nonprofit advocacy efforts today, and talk about how you can stand up to hate as a nonprofit organization.   We have to acknowledge what’s happening now and our collective past history   Attacks against people based on their race or ethnicity  Rise in hate incidents and hate crimes against APA community because of Trump’s insistence on blaming China for the coronavirus  Between March 2020 and Feb 2021, almost 3,800 incidents reported to Stop AAPI Hate. Fraction of the real number.  Attacks against Middle Eastern, Arab, or Muslim Americans after 9/11  LGBTQIA+, violence against trans-people  We want to be clear that we know there’s so many ways hate is spreading right now, but we chose to lift up a few examples to affirm for public charities that Combating Hate is always on mission.    This episode isn’t heavy on rules.  If you’ve been listening, you know that public charities can’t be partisan and that to determine partisanship, the IRS will apply the facts and circumstances test to campaigns and communications.   For 501(c)(3) organizations, the important analysis will be to understand an organization’s risk and the continuity of its messages.   Example 1: Briefly Review the Facts and Circumstances Test for Public Charities. What about anti-hate messaging when connected to voting – e.g., vote for love not hate!    The IRS will apply a facts and circumstances test and while we don’t know everything the IRS would look at, here’s examples of how we would walk through the analysis.   Does the communication or ad or website reference a candidate or election? (that’s a no-no)   Is there some other external factor influencing the campaign like a bill up at the state house?   Is this part of the on-going mission of the public charity? And is this messaging similar to or in connection with other forms of communications on the topic (i.e., part of an on-going long-standing campaign).  If it’s a wedge issue, or looks like a campaign slogan, a nonprofit public charity should proceed with caution.     Example 2: NAKASEC.  The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium has an affiliated—or connected—501(c)(4) known as the NAKASEC Action Fund.  In 2020, NAKASEC AF wanted to forcefully push back against a Virginia Congressional Candidate selling a mask that suggested the coronavirus was “Made in China.”  This phrase was on the mask. They ended up releasing statements and a letter,