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National Service Colleagues,
As part of their service duties,
AmeriCorps State and National members, VISTA members, and Senior Corps
volunteers may contribute to social media site design and/or communications on
behalf of the sponsor or grantee organization to whom they are assigned. Similarly,
as part of their grant-funded duties, sponsor and grantee staff of AmeriCorps
State and National, VISTA, and Senior Corps projects and programs may also
engage in social media activities as part of their grant-funded work or
service.
In view of the involvement of
members, volunteers, and grant-funded staff in official social media activities
on behalf of CNCS grantees and sponsors, this is a reminder that members,
volunteers and sponsor/grant-funded staff are prohibited from engaging in certain
activities during service or while working on grant-funded matters. With
regard to service and grant-funded staff activities and matters specifically
in the social media space (e.g., Twitter, Instagram, Facebook), please
be reminded of the following:
Generally, as part of their
official duties, members, volunteers and sponsor/grant-funded staff may
design, launch, and operate social media sites on behalf of the grantee or
sponsor organization. Moreover, they may communicate about official
program and project-related activities associated with the grant or
project. However, members, volunteers, and sponsor/grant-funded staff
are strictly prohibited from engaging in the following types of communications
on social media as part of their service or grant-funded activity:
- Lobbying Activities – attempting to
influence the passage or defeat of legislation or proposals by initiative
petition;
-
Electoral Political Activities – engaging
in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the
outcome of an election to a public office;
-
Other Political Activities –
participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include
advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political
candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials;
-
Organizing Activities – assisting,
promoting, or deterring union organization, or organizing or engaging in
protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes; and
-
Voter Registration Activities –
conducting a voter registration drive, or discussing options regarding
transportation to the polls.
The following FAQs discuss two
separate situations where neither VISTA members, Senior Corps volunteers,
AmeriCorps members, nor CNCS grant-funded staff are permitted to use sponsors’
official social media sites to support, promote, or endorse a specific
political activity that is either partisan in nature, or is considered to be
lobbying.
QUESTION: I am a VISTA member who, as part of my official VISTA
duties, works on my project’s social media site. One of my project’s
strong supporters is running in a local partisan election for a seat on the
city council. May I post something on the project’s social media site in
support of the candidate?
ANSWER: No, neither you nor any other
VISTA member, nor any grant-funded staff of the project, may post a
communication on the project’s social media site regarding the candidate. As
discussed above, AmeriCorps members, VISTA members, Senior Corps volunteers,
and sponsor/grant-funded staff are all strictly prohibited from engaging in
partisan political activities that are designed to influence the outcome of an
election to a public office.
Additionally, because VISTA
members are considered federal employees for purposes of the Hatch Act, they
are prohibited from engaging “activity directed at the success or failure of a
political party, partisan political candidate, or partisan political group”,
while they are on duty as a VISTA member or at the VISTA service site.
Therefore, the Hatch Act is an additional reason why VISTA members would be
prohibited from posting something on the project’s social media site regarding
the candidate.
QUESTION: I am a Project Director at a Senior Corps
sponsor organization, and my annual salary at the organization is paid with
CNCS Senior Corps grant funds. May I, as part of my official duties, post
a communication on my organization’s social media site encouraging the local
community to contact members of the state legislature to pass legislation that
would expand and benefit our organization’s vital programs?
ANSWER: No, neither you, nor any other
grant-funded staff of your organization, nor any Senior Corps volunteers may
post communications on your organization’s social media site that constitute
lobbying. As discussed above, Senior Corps volunteers and grant-funded
staff are strictly prohibited from engaging in lobbying as part of their
service or grant-funded activity. CNCS funds may not be used to engage
in any lobbying activities. Lobbying includes an attempt to influence the
decision-making of an elected official on a legislative and a request for
others to contact an elected official in support of or opposition to a
legislation. Therefore, posting a communication on your organization’s social
media site encouraging members of the local community to contact members of the
state legislature to pass legislation clearly constitutes lobbying, and, for
the reasons discussed above, is prohibited.
If you have further questions regarding
appropriate official activities while operating in the social media space,
please contact your CNCS State Office or CNCS AmeriCorps Program Officer.
Sincerely,
 Mikel Herrington
Acting Chief of Staff
Corporation for National and Community Service
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