# BRD-060 — A 501(c)(3) may not run certain use cases

> A brand holding 501(c)(3) status must not register the Agents & Franchises, Carrier Exempt, Proxy, Social or Sweepstake use cases.

- **Rule ID:** BRD-060
- **Layer:** Brand (`BRAND`)
- **Checks:** `brand.tax_exempt_status + campaign.use_case`
- **Severity:** BLOCKING — Breaking this rule gets the submission rejected outright.
- **When it bites:** Gates approval — get this wrong and registration is refused
- **How it is detected:** Deterministic (settled in code from the submitted values); External record we cannot query — reported as a warning to verify
- **Fix type:** Fix the field — a better value in the form clears it
- **Required by:** TCR
- **Applies:** Applies when the brand is a non-profit.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/brand/brd-060/

## Why this rule exists

These five use cases are commercial mechanics — reselling reach, sweepstakes promotion, proxy messaging — and a charitable exemption is granted on the basis that the organisation is not doing them. The block protects the exemption as much as the channel: a charity that runs a sweepstakes campaign on its exempt status has a problem considerably larger than a rejected registration.

## How to fix it

Choose a use case the exemption permits — CHARITY for fundraising and appeals, ACCOUNT_NOTIFICATION for supporter records, CUSTOMER_CARE for enquiries. If the programme really is a sweepstake or an agent network, it belongs on a separate commercial brand rather than on the exempt entity. Done when the use case is one a 501(c)(3) may hold.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
tax_exempt_status: 501(c)(3) · use_case: CHARITY — not SWEEPSTAKE
```

## Check this yourself

**Is the 501(c)(3) status on this brand real and current, and is the use case one an exempt organisation may hold?**

1. Confirm the exemption in the IRS Tax-Exempt Organization Search.
2. Check the use case is not Agents & Franchises, Carrier Exempt, Proxy, Social or Sweepstake — those five are commercial mechanics an exemption is granted on the basis of not doing.

*What wrong looks like:* A charity runs a sweepstake campaign on its exempt status. The rejected registration is the smallest of its problems.

## Notes

Decidable from the two declared values, which is why it carries a check even though the catalog grades it EXTERNAL_DATA — the external half is confirming the 501(c)(3) status itself, which is BRD-053. The neighbouring rule XBC-002 asks the opposite question: whether a brand claiming the CHARITY use case actually holds the status.