File a complaint with the IRS to impact Project 2025

You may have seen the social media activity about challenging the tax-exempt status of The Heritage Foundation.  Here’s some background:

A 501(c)3 corporation may not participate in politics, let alone publish political manifestos. They may engage in some advocacy and education efforts, but they must be non-partisan. Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, has made statements suggesting a strong alignment with conservative political goals, including comments about “taking this country back” and describing a “Second American Revolution.” These statements, made on platforms like Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, can be interpreted as politically charged and supportive of specific political agendas.

And then, of course, there’s Project 2025.

If the IRS can be convinced that the Heritage Foundation is promoting a political agenda, they lose their status, which would significantly impact operations: They would have to pay federal income taxes on donations received, and donations themselves would no longer be tax-deductible. Plus, their reputation could easily suffer, making it more challenging to attract both donors and collaborators.

There’s a process for filing a challenge. A mass public groundswell may prompt the IRS to act quickly, and hopefully more thoroughly.

How to File a Challenge

As someone who’s worked inside many a bureaucracy, I can tell you that details are key when doing something like this. Documenting specific instances of when the Heritage Foundation’s actions crossed over into political advocacy (speeches, social media posts, events, publications) is vital.
Download, fill out and print this form:  IRS Form 13909

Very simple, only one page, which you can fill out using your computer instead of having to do it manually. Here’s the information you’ll need:

The Heritage Foundation, Inc.
214 Massachusetts Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20002-499
EIN # 23-7327730

The difficult part is box 12 – “Description of alleged activities”. We shouldn’t all submit the same background material (apart from the link to Project 2025), so it’s incumbent on everyone to find one specific violation through a web search, and provide a link to the evidence. Here are a few things to search for:

• Endorsing specific political candidates and promoting their election campaigns. This includes publishing materials and hosting events that explicitly support certain candidates over others
• Disseminating strategic plans intended to guide political campaigns
• Direct coordination with the republican or any other political party

Also, Google the names of the persons involved:

• Paul Dans
• Stephen Moore
• Spencer Chretien
• Mandy Gunasekara
• William Perry Pendley

Remember, you only need one solid example! If everyone submits something different, it’s more grist for the IRS’ mill.