To many, the U.S. Tax Code is a confusing piece of law, but it was the right vehicle for our organization, Noble Research Institute, to build a new platform for nonprofit agricultural research in the United States. We sought to create a new type of 501(c)(3) to offer U.S. agricultural research a new path to private philanthropy. The idea was not original—we sought to create an agricultural equivalent to medical research organizations (MROs), which have been in the U.S. Tax Code since the mid-1950s. MROs serve as the preferred tax-exempt structure for hundreds of independent biomedical research institutions in the U.S. I offer this story to share our journey and a few lessons learned along the way. I hope this information is helpful for other nonprofit legislative initiatives at a state or federal level.

A Schematic for Effective Nonprofit Legislative Initiatives

Every sector suffers from some operational roadblock—for example, insufficient public sector funding, immovable regulatory barriers, or legislative constraints. A nonprofit legislative initiative typically requires a sector-wide challenge or condition. If only your institution is affected, it will be difficult to garner a broad base of support needed for success.

For us, agricultural research is a historically and systemically underfunded area in the United States. This systemic condition became a roadblock for not just us, but the entire industry and the advancement of agricultural sciences.

Where to start? Look for proven models and/or existing legislative frameworks in other states (for state initiatives) or that are beneficial to analogous sectors (for state or federal initiatives). Adapting known models or successful legislation commonly has an advantage over new and untested legislation or policy. In our nonprofit legislative initiative, we leveraged provisions in the U.S. Tax Code supporting the creation of tax-exempt human-focused medical research institutions.

This study of the sector and possible solutions is the perfect place to pause and reflect on the potential journey ahead. If your organization isn’t ready to tackle a roadblock head-on, consider joining an existing coalition of organizations working toward a goal you support.

Read the full article about nonprofit legislative initiatives by Steven Rhines at Forbes.