Two egregious errors in three sentences -- not a FR record, but still notable.
1. Non-profit organizations run political operations all the time. Tax-exempt organizations may not do so. Confusing the two and expecting to be taken seriously as a political commentator is an error on the level of confusing weight with mass and expecting to be taken seriously as a physicist.
2. Non-progit organizations, if competently run and sufficiently supported, have all the money they need to rent space, hire buses, etc. In fact, they need to spend all their income on such things -- hence, the name "non-profit".
You are correct, however, when most people talk of non-profit organizations they generally mean, right or wrong, as a tax-exempt one. I personally think it is refreshingly honest that they are a for profit group. I am getting tired of the sanctimonious “I’m a pauper for my beliefs” people
I believe you are wrong. Non-profit organizations are under Section 503 of the tax code, with the basic purpose of being tax exempt.
Here’s a list of the different kinds of non-profit organizations allowed by the IRS:
According to the IRS Publication 557, in the Organization Reference Chart section, the following is an exact list of 501(c) organization types and their corresponding descriptions.[1]
501(c)(1) — Corporations Organized Under Act of Congress (including Federal Credit Unions)
501(c)(2) — Title Holding Corporation for Exempt Organization
501(c)(3) — Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations
501(c)(4) — Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees
501(c)(5) — Labor, Agricultural, and Horticultural Organizations
501(c)(6) — Business Leagues, Chambers of Commerce, Real Estate Boards, etc.
501(c)(7) — Social and Recreational Clubs
501(c)(8) — Fraternal Beneficiary Societies and Associations
501(c)(9) — Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Associations
501(c)(10) — Domestic Fraternal Societies and Associations
501(c)(11) — Teachers’ Retirement Fund Associations
501(c)(12) — Benevolent Life Insurance Associations, Mutual Ditch or Irrigation Companies, Mutual or Cooperative Telephone Companies, etc.
501(c)(13) — Cemetery Companies
501(c)(14) — State-Chartered Credit Unions, Mutual Reserve Funds
501(c)(15) — Mutual Insurance Companies or Associations
501(c)(16) — Cooperative Organizations to Finance Crop Operations
501(c)(17) — Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Trusts
501(c)(18) — Employee Funded Pension Trust (created before June 25, 1959)
501(c)(19) — Post or Organization of Past or Present Members of the Armed Forces
501(c)(21) — Black lung Benefit Trusts
501(c)(22) — Withdrawal Liability Payment Fund
501(c)(23) — Veterans Organization (created before 1880)
501(c)(25) — Title Holding Corporations or Trusts with Multiple Parents
501(c)(26) — State-Sponsored Organization Providing Health Coverage for High-Risk Individuals
501(c)(27) — State-Sponsored Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Organization
501(c)(28) — National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust
Most non-profits fall under 501 (c) (3). But you can’t charter a political organization under section 501 at all.
The purpose in going through all the trouble of filing as a non-profit, of course, is precisely to be tax-exempt. And some non-profits have auxiliary corporations that are not shielded under their non-profit umbrella, through which they conduct their political activity. If you donate to such a political organization, you do not receive a tax exemption.