RPAC Fundraising

You can only ask someone to invest in RPAC if they are part of the “solicitable class”. Members of the solicitable class that are allowed to invest in RPAC include:

• Individual members of NAR, GAR, or local associations (REALTORS® and Affiliates)
• Affiliates must hold an individual membership; other employees of the Affiliate’s company are not eligible to invest
• Executive and administrative personnel of NAR, GAR, or local associations
• The families of association members/staff (spouses, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters who live in the same household)

RPAC investments cannot be accepted when:

• Made by a person under the age of 18
• Made by a Foreign National
• Made by a person who has federal business contracts
• Made anonymously
• Made on behalf of another person
• Made in cash in excess of $100.00

A solicitation is any communication that “encourages… support [of] the PAC’s activities (by making a contribution) [or] facilitates the making of contributions.” Facilitating the making of contributions includes providing info on how a member can invest in RPAC. Basically, a solicitation is anything that could possibly be viewed as requesting funds, such as:

• A flyer advertising an upcoming RPAC fundraiser
• A brochure distributed at a New Member Orientation
• An email from the board president detailing how RPAC benefits the industry
• The annual dues billing statement to members
• A drop-box for collecting RPAC investments

All solicitations for RPAC support must include specific disclaimer language, either printed on the solicitation itself or visibly present at an event. Here is the standard disclaimer for Georgia.

Contributions to RPAC are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. Georgia RPAC contributions are voluntary and are used for political purposes. The Georgia Association of REALTORS® and its local associations will not favor or disadvantage any member because of the amount contributed, and you may refuse to contribute without reprisal. 70% of each contribution is split between Georgia RPAC to support state and local political candidates and Georgia RIAC for issues mobilization and education. 30% is sent to National RPAC to support federal candidates and is charged against your limits under 52 U.S.C. 30116.

The state does prohibit certain types of fundraising for non-tax exempt organizations.* In general, games of chance cannot be used for RPAC fundraising – that includes raffles, drawings, and bingo games. On the other hand, games of skill such as trivia or a “closest putt to the hole” contest are acceptable methods for raising RPAC funds in Georgia.

*While the local REALTOR® Association may be structured as a tax-exempt organization, political organizations (including RPAC and PAF) are not tax-exempt.

Other fundraising activities such as auctions, ticketed events, and merchandise sales are permissible under Georgia law.

The One-Third Rule is actually a threshold established by the Federal Election Commission to prohibit 1-to-1 “exchanges” of corporate money or merchandise for personal PAC contributions. The rule provides that the value of prizes, merchandise, and entertainment distributed to contributors at a fundraising event may not exceed one-third of the total contributions made by contributors at the event. The calculated value doesn’t include food, beverage and facility expenses, but does include professional entertainment expenses. Stated conversely, the event must result in total contributions of at least three times the cost of prizes and entertainment. If that contribution amount is not achieved, the sponsor must be reimbursed by the PAC in an amount necessary to reduce the net “expenditure” (for merchandise and entertainment) to one-third of the contributions collected.

When computing the value of prizes and merchandise distributed at a fundraising event, keep in mind: (1) Each prize need not satisfy the one-third standard individually, as long as the collective cost of items and the contributions received for them does, and (2) items must be valued at their fair market value, even though such items may have been donated to the association without cost.

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