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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CENTERS FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING

Allowable Advocacy Activities for Federal Grantees

Introductory Note: The 1973 Rehabilitation Act as Amended (“the Rehab Act as Amended”), 

requires Centers of Independent Living (CILs) to perform Core Services, including systems 

advocacy (29 U.S.C §§ 705(17)(D) & 796f-4(b)(5); defined at 45 C.F.R § 1329.4). ACL and ILA 

have received several requests for guidance describing allowable advocacy activities to help 

ensure that ACL grantees, including CILs, can best serve their target populations and meet their 

grant obligations without violating federal law.

Federal laws and regulations prohibit federal grantees, which includes recipients of funding 

related to the Rehab Act as Amended, from using federal funds to lobby government officials 

(18 U.S.C. § 1913; 31 U.S.C. § 1352; 2 C.F.R § 200.450).

The following frequently asked questions (FAQs) are to help clarify how these laws function for 

ACL grantees. This guidance is intended to help ACL grantees better understand their rights and 

obligations. It is not a comprehensive guide to every circumstance that could be a violation of 

the regulations cited above. ACL grantees are responsible for understanding the full scope of 

their legal responsibilities as federal grantees, and are strongly encouraged to reach out to ACL 

program officers with any questions about the appropriate use of federal funds. 

For the purposes of these FAQs, a “grantee” includes employees; board members; and council 

members acting on behalf of the grantee, and not in their individual capacity. Grantees should 

note that they may not act in their individual capacity while they are also operating in an official 

capacity. (For example, a grantee could not attend a meeting in an official capacity and avoid 

anti-lobbying regulations by claiming to speak briefly “in their individual capacity” or “in their 

personal opinion.”) 

Q1: What is the difference between advocacy and lobbying?

A1: Advocacy is the act of engaging with government officials to educate and provide technical, 

factual, and non-partisan information about relevant issues. For example, a grantee could meet 

with an elected official to provide information about grant activities and educate them about 

the beneficiaries of those activities. They may also respond to written requests from 

government officials for testimony. Advocacy is a permissible use of federal funding, and 
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certain ACL grantees, including CILs, are required to engage in advocacy. (See 45 C.F.R § 1329.4 

for the regulatory definition of “systems advocacy.”)

Lobbying is the act of engaging with local, state, or federal government officials (including 

elected officials, their staff, and other government employees) with the intent to influence 

funding, support for, or opposition to a particular issue or piece of legislation or potential 

appointment. The Anti-Lobbying Act prohibits the direct or indirect use of appropriated funds 

to pay for "any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written 

matter or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of 

Congress, a jurisdiction, or an official of any government to favor, adopt, or oppose, by vote or 

otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation, whether before or after the 

introduction of any bill, measure, or resolution proposing such legislation, law ratification, 

policy or appropriation." 18 U.S.C. § 1913. While advocacy may inform an official on an issue, 

lobbying is meant to influence an official’s opinion in a specific way and for a specific purpose. 

Lobbying is not an allowable use of federal funding, and ACL grantees should be able to provide 

documentation to show that non-federal funds were used for any lobbying activities. 

Example: It would be lobbying if a CIL grantee asked their representative to support or 

introduce legislation or a specific issue, or allocate more funding to a program such as Money

Follows the Person. Since lobbying is an impermissible use of federal funds, any money used to 

support a meeting discussing support for or opposition to a specific bill or funding stream, 

including funds used to pay the salaries of individuals engaged in such work, would need to 

come from a non-federal funding source that permits lobbying activities. In this example, the 

grantee could instead advocate in a non-partisan, fact-based way by presenting research and 

data to their federal representative about the impact of Money Follow the Person programs. It 

would also be advocacy to explain, in a non-partisan and fact-based way, the resources that 

were (or were not) available to people with disabilities. If both advocacy and lobbying take 

place during a meeting, the entire meeting is considered a lobbying meeting. 

Grantees should carefully document the funding source for any lobbying activity. Upon 

request, grantees should be able to provide documentation to ACL demonstrating that no 

federal funding was used to engage in lobbying activities. 

Q2: What is the difference between “direct lobbying” and “grassroots lobbying”? 

A2: Direct lobbying is an attempt to influence deliberations or actions by Federal, state, or local 

legislative or executive branches. Lobbying government officials, as in the example above, is 

considered “direct lobbying.” Grassroots lobbying, or indirect lobbying, includes efforts that 

encourage members of the public to contact their local, state, or federal elected officials urging 

their support or opposition of a specific issue or piece of legislation. In effect, grassroots 

lobbying involves a federal grantee encouraging stakeholders to lobby. Direct lobbying and 

grassroots lobbying are both unallowable uses of federal funds. (2 C.F.R § 200.450).

Example: 

Direct Lobbying: An ACL grantee meets with their state legislators to ask for their support for a 

law that would expand protections for people with disabilities. The grantee did not support the 
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meeting using federal funding. Although this is direct lobbying, it is permissible because the 

grantee can provide documentation that shows the meeting was not supported by federal 

funding.

Grassroots Lobbying: An ACL grantee sends out an action alert urging supporters to contact 

Congress. The alert asks people to tell their representatives to vote "yes" or "no" on pending 

legislation. The grantee used office equipment and staff time funded by a federal grant to send 

out the action alert. This is an impermissible use of federal funds because it is lobbying.

Q3: If I travel to Washington, D.C., for a conference using federal grant funding, can I also visit 

Capitol Hill to meet with my elected officials? What can we talk about?

A3: Yes, although whether you can use grant funds to pay for the visit depends on whether you 

lobby your elected officials. There are no restrictions on a grantee’s ability to meet with their 

federal representatives or attend meetings that are open to the general public, regardless of 

where you are meeting with them. However, if any part of a meeting involves lobbying, federal 

funding may not be used to support the costs associated with the meeting, including travel, 

lodging, or meals.

Example A: A grantee travels to Washington, D.C., for an annual two-day conference, and stays 

for an extra day to set up meetings with their federal representatives to persuade them to vote 

a particular way on an upcoming piece of legislation. Because this is lobbying, federal funds 

may not be used to support this third day of travel, and one third of all costs associated with 

the trip should be paid for using non-federal funds. The cost of the conference registration may 

be paid for using federal grant funding only if the grantee does not participate in lobbying as 

part of the conference. 

Example B: A grantee travels to Washington, D.C. for an annual conference, and participates in 

a “Hill Day” and protest organized by the conference. The grantee meets with federal 

representatives to encourage support for pending legislation. They also attend a committee 

hearing and hold up a sign asking representatives not to confirm a candidate for a position. The 

grantee may not use federal funds to support travel or participation in this conference. If there 

are other days of grant-related travel that do not involve lobbying, federal funding can support 

that part of the trip.

Example C: A grantee travels to Washington, D.C. for an annual conference and to meet with 

their federal representatives to educate them about grantee programs. They arrange to share 

the meeting with a lobbyist colleague and intend to split time in the meeting; the grantee will 

advocate about issues related to their grant, and the lobbyist will encourage the federal 

representatives to allocate more funding to the grant programs. This is considered an 

impermissible use of funds because the grantee is being used to influence legislation even 

though they are not actively discussing legislation with their representatives. A grantee would 

have to give a factual presentation in a way that was sufficiently distinct from the lobbying 

activity (such as at a different time or location) in order to use federal funds to support this 

portion of the trip. 
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Q4: Can federal funding support participation in or preparation for a march, demonstration, 

or rally? What if the event takes place during an annual conference?

A4: Regardless of when or where the event is taking place, whether or not this is permissible 

depends on the intent of the event and its scheduled participants. If the march, demonstration, 

or rally intends to specifically encourage or discourage a Congressional decision, it cannot be 

supported by federal funding. Federal regulations prohibit grantees from using federal funding 

to support these types of activities (2 C.F.R § 200.450) where they are intended to influence the 

“enactment or modification of any pending Federal or state legislation.” Individuals may 

exercise their right to free speech by participating in such activities in their individual capacity, 

and federal funding cannot support this portion of the trip. (Refer to Q3, Example A for 

additional details on which portion of the trip must be supported by non-federal funds.)

If the march, demonstration, or rally will not endorse or condemn a particular piece of 

legislation, a grantee may participate. Because the grantee may not be able to anticipate 

whether the event will involve lobbying, grantees are strongly encouraged to review their 

Annual Notice of Award and consult with their project officer before participating in such 

activities.

Example: A grantee organization prints flyers and posters announcing a march during their 

annual meeting, and encouraging members to join them in calling on Congress to take up 

legislation to improve community living outcomes for people with disabilities. This is not an 

allowable use of federal grant funding, even if the grantee ultimately does not actually take 

part in the march.

Q5: Can my organization or I use grant funds at the federal or state level to develop or 

distribute materials, do phone campaigns, letter writing campaigns, issue actions alerts, urge 

members of Congress to support legislation, or urge elected or appointed officials to support 

positions?

A5: No. As discussed above, these are all examples of grassroots lobbying.

Q6: Can my organization inform the public of proposed changes that would impact the 

populations we work with?

A6: Yes, grantees can and should share this kind of relevant information with stakeholders. The 

communication should be factual, technical, non-partisan, and related to the specific topic. The 

materials cannot suggest specific actions or positions, which would be lobbying.

Q7: Can I comment on proposed legislation or regulations?

A7: Yes, at the request of a Member of Congress or federal official, grantees may submit 

factual, non-partisan comments through official channels related to the proposed legislation or 

regulation and its potential impact on the populations with which the grantee organization 

works. 

Q8: What are the consequences for using federal funds for lobbying? 
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A8: If a grantee organization uses federal funds to lobby, ACL may take enforcement actions 

that include, but are not limited to, withholding cash payments, disallowance, including 

interest, of unallowable expenses that include the total direct and indirect costs, and/or

termination of the award. 

Example: An ACL grantee was found to have misused their office equipment by using it to print 

fliers for a lobbying event. The grantee had to return the costs associated with preparing and 

printing those fliers to ACL.

Additional Resources:

 Federal Restrictions on Lobbying for HHS Financial Assistance Recipients

 Annual Notices of Awards 

For More Information: Please contact your Independent Living Project Officer.