Volunteer activity for nonconnected PACs

Personal services

An individual may volunteer his or her own uncompensated personal services to a nonconnected committee without making a contribution.

Uncompensated internet activity

If an individual or group of individuals, acting independently or in coordination with any candidate, authorized committee or political party committee, engages in Internet activities for the purpose of influencing a federal election, neither of the following is a contribution by that individual or group of individuals:

• The individual’s uncompensated personal service related to such Internet activities; or
• The individual’s use of equipment or services (including computers, software, Internet domain names and other equipment used to access the internet) for uncompensated Internet activities, regardless of who owns the equipment and services.

Such internet activities include, but are not limited to, sending or forwarding email, providing a hyperlink to another person’s website, blogging or creating, hosting or maintaining a website.

Please note that the following are not exempt from the definition of contribution:

• Any payment (other than a nominal fee) for a public communication. The definition of “public communication” includes communications placed for a fee on another person’s website, digital device, application or advertising platform;
• Any payment for the purchase or rental of an email address list made at the direction of any political committee; and
• Any payment for an email address list that is transferred to a political committee.

Free legal and accounting services

The value of legal and accounting services provided to a nonconnected committee solely to ensure compliance with the Federal Election Campaign Act is not a contribution if the regular employer of the individual performing the services is the one who is paying for the services. The value of the services, however, must be reported as a memo entry on Schedule A.