Heidi K. Abegg

Partner
blank image Heidi K. Abegg

Heidi K. Abegg

Partner
Washington T: 202.836.8458 F: 202.689.3166
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Heidi K. Abegg

Heidi K. Abegg

PARTNER
habegg@whitefordlaw.com
WASHINGTON
T: 202.836.8458
F: 202.689.3166
Biography
BIOGRAPHY
Ms. Abegg has extensive experience in the legal issues that impact associations, tax-exempt organizations and advocacy and political organizations, including tax, employment, fundraising and charitable solicitation registration, foreign influence laws, donor privacy, governance, conflicts of interest and contract review and negotiation.

Her practice spans all aspects of political law, lobbying compliance, government ethics and campaign finance law at the local, state and federal levels. Clients rely on her for tailored legal solutions to wide-ranging compliance matters, especially in the integration of law and public policy, including the opportunities and challenges tax-exempt organizations face when engaged in government relations, grassroots advocacy, ballot measure work, fundraising and strategic communications.

Ms. Abegg provides general counsel to charities, social welfare organizations, trade associations and corporate political action committees, as well as candidate committees, independent expenditure committees, ballot measure committees, donors, lobbyists and consultants, as well as unregistered political organizations. She has extensive experience in forming, merging and dissolving tax-exempt organizations, associations and for-profit subsidiaries, and obtaining tax-exempt status, group exemption rulings and sales tax exemptions. Her practice includes drafting and negotiating contracts and advising on all aspects of the employment relationship.

Ms. Abegg draws on her experience litigating First Amendment and campaign finance cases to assist association and tax-exempt clients with third party subpoenas and in submitting amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and federal appellate courts.

An ultrarunner and former NCAA Division I cross country runner, Ms. Abegg advises a number of running associations and road races.
 

Memberships & Activities

  • Vice Chairman: Concordia Publishing House
  • Commission on Handbook, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

Notable Litigation

  • In re: Specialty Equipment Market Association No. 19-72623 (9th Cir. 2020)
  • Perry v. Bartlett, 231 F.3d 155 (4th Cir. 2000) (argued and on brief)
  • Citizens for Responsible Gov’t State PAC v. Davidson, 236 F.3d 1174 (10th Cir. 2000)
  • Anderson v. Spear, 189 F.Supp.2d 644 (E.D. Ky. 2002)
  • California ProLife Council PAC v. Scully, No. S-96-1965 (E.D. Cal. 2000)
  • Federal Election Comm’n v. The Christian Coalition, 52 F. Supp. 2d 45 (D.D.C. 1999)
  • Griset v. Fair Political Practices Comm’n, 23 P.3d 43 (Cal. 2001)
  • Gov. Gray Davis v. American Taxpayers Alliance, 102 Cal.App.4th 449 (Cal.App.Ct.2002)
  • Amicus Brief of Senator Mitch McConnell, Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Andrew J. Martin, Danny Ross, Lon Fields and Robert Winstead, 96 S.W.3d 38 (KY 2003)
INSIGHTS

Speaker: "Legal Review- Contracts, AI, and Other Legal Developments Impacting Road Races," for Road Race Management's Annual Race Directors Meeting, Hollywood, FL (December 2025)

Author: Worker Centers: Charities or Labor Organizations Masquerading as Charities, and the Impact of an IRS Decision on the Question, 14 Engage 3 (October 2013).

Co-Author: Hugh K. Webster & Heidi K. Abegg, 613-3rd Tax Management, Lobbying and Political Expenditures (2002).

Co-Author:The Developing Constitutional Standards for “Coordinated Expenditures”:  Has the Federal Election Commission Finally Found a Way to Regulate Issue Advocacy?, 1 Election Law Journal 209 (2002).

Co-Author: Free Speech and the Christian Coalition Case, Free Speech and Election Law News, Summer 1999.

ARTICLES

February 18, 2026

Client Alert: State Attorneys General Target Plastics Industry Initiatives with Antitrust Scrutiny Amid a Growing Trend: What Nonprofits Need to Know When Participating in Coalitions and Coordinated Initiatives

A coalition of ten Republican state attorneys general recently sent letters to companies participating in plastics-related section 501(c)(3) and section 501(c)(6) organizations, warning that their participation may violate federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws. This development is part of a broader trend of regulatory agencies and state officials using antitrust scrutiny to target nonprofits and associations for what some view as political reasons. Nonprofits, trade associations and their members should carefully review their involvement in collective industry initiatives and consider seeking legal guidance to navigate this evolving regulatory climate.
November 4, 2025

Client Alert: With Giving Tuesday Approaching, What Nonprofits Need to Know About GoFundMe’s Creation Of Over A Million Unauthorized Nonprofit Donation Pages

Serious overreach by online fundraising platform should trigger action by nonprofits.
 
  • Understand the issues created by third party fundraising such as GoFundMe.
  • Decide whether to permit fundraising by third parties.
  • Conduct due diligence, including reviewing terms and limitations of third-party fundraising – not all fundraising is created equal!
September 5, 2025

Client Alert: No CFC! No Federal Funding! How Do We Raise Funds Now? – Avoiding Legal Pitfalls When Beginning New Fundraising Campaigns

Nonprofits are experiencing funding challenges and scrambling to fund their missions. While termination of nonprofits’ federal funding has garnered a lot of attention recently, yet another funding challenge arose this week. Charities participating in the Combined Federal Campaign (“CFC”) now face a new funding shutoff created by the Trump Administration’s pause of the annual charitable fundraising program.
August 20, 2025

Client Alert: Nonprofits and New Foreign Influence Registration and Reporting Schemes: A Growing Trend with Broad Applicability

Florida’s recent amendments to its Charitable Solicitation Act are getting a lot of attention – and for good reason – charitable fundraising just got even harder. But Florida’s efforts to combat foreign influence should attract the nonprofit sector’s attention for another reason. Florida’s unique approach may be a sign of what is to come as state efforts to regulate foreign influence of nonprofits ramp up, creating a national minefield.
May 27, 2025

Client Alert: Nonprofit Charities: A Short Time Frame to Obtain DC Sales and Hotel Tax Refund

As a result of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia’s (Tax Division) recent ruling that a District of Columbia law unconstitutionally denied out-of-state charities a hotel and sales tax exemption, eligible nonprofit organizations are entitled to obtain a refund of the sales and hotel taxes paid for meetings or events held in DC since December 12, 2016, plus interest. With hotel and sales tax rates currently at 14.95% and 6% respectively, the amount of a refund could be significant. However, the deadline to submit a claim to obtain a refund of taxes paid is June 6, 2025.

PRESENTATIONS

January 8, 2026

Webinar: Political Law 101 Bootcamp, Part 1: Lobbying Disclosure Act Compliance

For many corporations, associations, and nonprofit organizations, there is a lot at stake in Congress and with the Trump Administration. More organizations are thinking about engaging in federal lobbying to promote and protect their interests, and even to ensure their survival. At a certain point, engagement with legislators and executive officials will trigger registration under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA).