Yesterday the Hudson Institute's Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal hosted a forum titled, "Should Nonprofit Organizations Play an Active Role in Election Campaigns?" Nonprofit leaders Pablo Eisenberg and Robert Egger both wrote separate opinion pieces in The Chronicle of Philanthropy that initiated the forum where the two continued this debate that developed into a discussion on the state of the nonprofit sector. Egger, president of the D.C. Central Kitchen, said charities should be allowed to openly endorse candidates for political office, while Eisenberg, a Georgetown University scholar, said doing so would not be tolerated by taxpayers who expect the money they donate to charities to go to causes and not politics. Accurately, Eisenberg commented that nonprofits can in fact become involved in issues that are related to elections and the law allows some lobbying. Unfortunately many are either scared to cross the line, unacquainted with the laws so they simply do not lobby, and many of the foundations that fund nonprofits discourage such advocacy. Nonprofits can be blamed for not utilizing the means available to become politically engaged. Egger wants a discussion on innovation, to use any means possible to bring about change. The two actually agreed on a great deal, and one of the most distinguishing points was that Egger wants charities to be able to explicitly endorse candidates. Both agreed that charities need visionaries and new leadership as the discussion grew to address the future of the sector. A transcript of the forum will be available online by Aug.16.