Since founding his non-profit watchdog group in 1983 “to promote open government, accountability and citizen participation,” Bass has advocated a relaxation of IRS limits on lobbying by charitable organizations and urged groups that accept tax-deductiblecontributions to lobby for their pet causes within those limits. Along with colleagues at the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, last month he published “Seen But Not Heard: Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy.” The book argues that most charities still don’t lobby effectively.

Q. What did you learn from the surveys and interviews you did for the book?

A. The good news is nonprofit leaders say that engaging in public policy is essential and that eight out of 10 do it. The bad news is that it’s inconsistent and infrequent.

Q. In what situations do charities lobby?

A. What happens now is charities get involved on a crisis basis. They engage, and then they drop out. All the capacity-building in our sector is around how to lobby, or what the tax laws allow you to do, instead of why in the first place you should be engaged.

Q. Do restrictions in the tax code explain why the charities are reticent?

A. The tax law is actually quite permissive, so it’s striking that you can count the number of charities that even come close to the expenditure limits on two hands.

Q. But isn’t the conventional wisdom that charities aren’t supposed to lobby?

A. Some of that may come from a long history of politicians trying to squelch their advocacy. But the second reason may be a disdain for advocacy in general, the perception that it’s a dirty thing.

Q. What about the idea that charities are held in high esteem precisely because they’re non-political?

A. There’s a world of difference between electioneering and engaging in public policy. You want to have charities lobbying in the public interest, whether they are conservative or liberal.