​The COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs still have billions of dollars available to help small businesses hard hit by the pandemic, including nonprofits. They have also made the application process more simple than when first introduced.

Applications are due Dec. 31 and all applicants should file their applications as soon as possible to allow for processing. Ask your lender or the SBA if you have any questions.

Yesterday, an Emergency Temporary Standard was made public concerning vaccination and testing requirements for larger employees.

We understand that not many Idaho nonprofits have 100+ employees. However, please read the NCN summary carefully to discern if your organization needs to comply.

​Yesterday, President Biden announced his current six-point plan to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In the plan, two points may impact Idaho’s nonprofits. 

Requiring All Employers with 100+ Employees to Ensure their Workers are Vaccinated or Tested Weekly (OSHA developing an Emergency Temporary Standard).

• Although this does not impact many Idaho nonprofits at the moment (the majority in the state have fewer than 100 employees), we will keep you updated if that number changes. 
  
  

Requiring Vaccinations for all Federal Workers and for Millions of Contractors that Do Business with the Federal Government (implemented via Executive Order signed today).

• We will be monitoring this if it impacts others that “do business” with the federal government. 
  
  

Requiring COVID-19 Vaccinations for Over 17 Million Health Care Workers at Medicare and Medicaid Participating Hospitals and Other Health Care Settings.

• If your organization is a health clinic that accepts both federal programs, employees will most likely need to be vaccinated.
  
  

Requiring Employers to Provide Paid Time Off to Get Vaccinated (OSHA developing an Emergency Temporary Standard).
​

• If an employee of your organization wants to get the vaccine and the appointment is during normal working hours, you will need to pay them for that time. 
  
  

If your organization does not meet any of these requirements, here are more resources concerning vaccine policies. 

Although we were all hoping that the pandemic would be behind us now, the Delta variant is spreading throughout Idaho. Because of this, nonprofits and other businesses are having to make additional decisions about workplace requirements. 

We have seen private businesses, healthcare facilities, and schools issue vaccine mandates. Some even have employment termination as a consequence. Below you will find resources to help you navigate these difficult choices.

• Decision making framework for potential policies 
  
• Sample vaccine requirement policy language (access to 3 free SHRM articles a month)..
  
• Legal questions about requirements (published Feb. 2021)
  
• Communications toolkit for you to use for your clients/those you serve
  

The nonprofit sector is a wonderful community that puts people first. We know that you all will approach these tough decisions with grace and understanding. 

As always, thank you so much for all you do for our state! Please reach out if you have any further questions: [email protected] ​

​Nonprofits need relief and Congress can act to support our sector. Please join the nearly 400 nonprofit organizations from across the county by signing a letter to congressional leaders and the current administration identifying challenges charitable organizations continue to face.

​New PPP Open for Two Weeks

Starting Wednesday, Feb. 24, businesses with fewer than 20 employees can apply for relief through PPP. After two weeks, this opportunity will then open to those with 20+ employees. You will need to work with your lender to establish funding options. 

New COVID-19 Health Order to be Voted on Friday, Dec. 4th @ 5:15pm MT
Central District Health will vote on the proposed order (see below) today, Dec. 4th at 5:15 pm MT. To watch, please follow this link: Live via Youtube.

The Idaho Nonprofit Center wanted to conduct a short pulse pull to see where you stand on mask wearing. Please take just 30 seconds (at most) to complete this 2 question poll. We appreciate your time and dedication to Idaho! ​

Our friends from the Charitable Giving Coalition are circulating a one-pager supporting inclusion of the Universal Giving Pandemic Response Act (S. 4032, H.R. 7324) in the next COVID relief package.
 
TAKE ACTION TODAY: Add your organization to the Universal Giving Pandemic Response Act Endorsement List confirming your support for the bill.
 
The deadline to sign on is TODAY, July 28, 2020

When COVID-19 hit, nearly 180,000 households were already one emergency away from financial ruin — a 10-year record high — setting the stage for the unprecedented economic impact of the crisis, according to the state’s latest ALICE Report.

Over the last decade, Idaho’s low-income families systematically lost buying power and financial stability as the high cost of essentials outpaced wages, driving the number of ALICE households to rise 86% by 2018, the report shows.

To read a copy of the report and find county-by-county and town-level data on the size and demographics of ALICE as well as the community conditions and costs faced by ALICE households, visit www.UnitedForALICE.org/Idaho

Provide full unemployment benefit reimbursement to nonprofits that self-insure these benefits.

Federal and state unemployment laws give nonprofits and governments the option of operating as self-insured (“reimbursing”) employers. This means that they reimburse their state unemployment insurance systems for benefits the state paid to the organization's laid off or furloughed employees.

Shutdown orders by government officials, program cancellations, and reduced revenue streams have forced many nonprofits to furlough or layoff staff, triggering unemployment payment bills that are due this month in most states. These challenges are adding to cash flow difficulties at a time when funds are needed to deliver on missions, but when other employers will likely experience little or no additional costs resulting from COVID-19-related layoffs.

Congress should increase the federal unemployment insurance reimbursement for self-insured (reimbursing) nonprofits to 100% of costs.

If you live in the Central District Health Region be advised that residents of Ada County are now required to wear face coverings in indoor and outdoor public places effective immediately. For more information and specifics on the new ordinance, please visit the Central District Health website for more details.

• Click here to preview the initial draft order.
  ​

Many Idaho cities outside of Ada County (McCall, Moscow, Ketchum, Hailey, and Driggs) saw ordinances go into effect requiring masks as well. Each has both similarities and nuanced differences. We strongly suggest you review your cities website to understand the requirements in your community.  

We issued some guidance last week specific to cities with the ordinances in place, and in the coming weeks we anticipate more cities and/or counties following suit. Here’s a quick round up of information and guidance that you, our nonprofit friends, can use.

As your need for virtual events and meetings grow so does the list of services and software. The Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce has complied a comprehensive spread sheet that compares features to help you quickly decide which company is the best fit for your purposes.   

The purpose of this site is to help provide the best reopening information possible and support healthy, sustainable decision-making processes to best serve you, your organization, and your community.

For the most up to date information on navigating workplace reopening during COVID-19, please refer to the following websites:

NATIONAL RESOURCES

US Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

• Worker Safety and Support
• Workplaces During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

• Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19

World Health Organization (WHO)
 
LOCAL RESOURCES

• Idaho Rebounds: Our Path to Posterity 
• Central District Health

 
RISK MANAGEMENT & LIABILITY

• Guidance: Getting Your Workplace Ready for COVID-19

• COVID-19: Five Things to Know and Do by Nonprofit Risk Management Center
• Legal: Considerations for Employers by Sullivan and Cromwell LLP
• A COVID-19 Business Risk Assessment Tool by Pennsylvania Department of Health

 
PERSONAL PROTECTION AND SAFEGUARDS

• How to Clean and Disinfect from CDC
• Covid-19 Basics: Disinfecting Cultural Resources by National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
• Office Safety checklist – Creating Healthy Spaces with an Office Cleaning Plan by Robin Powered, Inc.
• General Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting for Non-Health Care Settings by NYC Health

 
 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• HR Considerations for Returning to Work After COVID-19 by CliftonLarsonAllen
• What Nonprofit Board Members Should Be Doing Right Now to Address the COVID-19 Situation by BoardSource
• Reopening the workplace: A Preliminary Guide for US Employers by Morgan Lewis
• What Should Employers Consider As They Draft A Return To Work Policy? by Forbes
• Return to Work Checklist - Posting and Policies from ThinkHR
• Operation Open Doors Checklist from National Retail Federation
• Prevention and Preparedness for Employers Checklist from Saul, Ewing, Arnstein and Lehr
  

Earlier this week the Idaho Nonprofit Center’s Board of Directors and I issued a statement in support of racial justice and equality. In it we pledged to fiercely and emphatically embrace diversity, equity and inclusion principles as part of our mission and our values as an organization and invited our nonprofit community to join us.

We committed to the following:

• We are going to add diversity, equity and inclusion as a strategic initiative to our 2018-2021 strategic plan, effective immediately
• We will adopt core values that state the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion
• We will lead through this challenge and share what we learn
• We are planning a series of trainings that will be made available for free to our nonprofit community
  
  

As a first step, we have already updated our strategic plan and operationalized this new initiative. Our entire Idaho Nonprofit Center team is also completing up the Wassmuth Center’s Human Rights certification course, and will be offering the opportunity to our board as well.

I strongly encourage all of you to take a look at this course. Here’s a brief excerpt from the course description for your review:

Payroll Protection Program (PPP) Flexibility Act was signed into law last week. 

Highlights include:

• Extending the expense forgiveness period from eight weeks to twenty-four weeks
• Reducing the 75 percent payroll ratio requirement
• Eliminating 2-year loan repayment restrictions for future borrowers
• Allowing payroll tax deferment for PPP recipients
• Extending the June 30 rehiring deadline
  

We received the following information from the SBA this morning and will share their rules and guidance with you as soon as we can.

SBA, in consultation with Treasury, will promptly issue rules and guidance, a modified borrower application form, and a modified loan forgiveness application implementing these legislative amendments to the PPP. These modifications will implement the following important changes:

• Extend the covered period for loan forgiveness from eight weeks after the date of loan disbursement to 24 weeks after the date of loan disbursement, providing substantially greater flexibility for borrowers to qualify for loan forgiveness. Borrowers who have already received PPP loans retain the option to use an eight-week covered period.
  
  
• Lower the requirements that 75 percent of a borrower’s loan proceeds must be used for payroll costs and that 75 percent of the loan forgiveness amount must have been spent on payroll costs during the 24-week loan forgiveness covered period to 60 percent for each of these requirements. If a borrower uses less than 60 percent of the loan amount for payroll costs during the forgiveness covered period, the borrower will continue to be eligible for partial loan forgiveness, subject to at least 60 percent of the loan forgiveness amount having been used for payroll costs.
  
  
• Provide a safe harbor from reductions in loan forgiveness based on reductions in full-time equivalent employees for borrowers that are unable to return to the same level of business activity the business was operating at before February 15, 2020, due to compliance with requirements or guidance issued between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, related to worker or customer safety requirements related to COVID–19.
  
  
• Provide a safe harbor from reductions in loan forgiveness based on reductions in full-time equivalent employees, to provide protections for borrowers that are both unable to rehire individuals who were employees of the borrower on February 15, 2020, and unable to hire similarly qualified employees for unfilled positions by December 31, 2020.
  
  
• Increase to five years the maturity of PPP loans that are approved by SBA (based on the date SBA assigns a loan number) on or after June 5, 2020.
  
  
• Extend the deferral period for borrower payments of principal, interest, and fees on PPP loans to the date that SBA remits the borrower’s loan forgiveness amount to the lender (or, if the borrower does not apply for loan forgiveness, 10 months after the end of the borrower’s loan forgiveness covered period).
  
  

In addition, the new rules will confirm that June 30, 2020, remains the last date on which a PPP loan application can be approved.

Many nonprofits had reported difficulty in getting employees back to work after being laid off due to the additional $600 unemployment benefit that the CARES Act provided. We have been sharing this information with our state leadership and are pleased to share this news from last week. Nonprofits and small businesses both had the same challenge and our state is working to address it:

Recently, Governor Brad Little announced his plan to offer up to $1,500 cash to Idahoans who return to work.

More than 60-percent of Americans who are out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic earn more with the enhanced unemployment benefits than their normal wages. The enhanced benefits are set to expire next month, making it even more important to get Idahoans back to work.

“A strong economic rebound cannot occur without workers returning to a job, and the new Return to Work cash bonuses incentivize our workforce to get back to work safely. Like other states, Idaho went from record employment to record unemployment levels in a matter of weeks. Our hearts go out to those who lost jobs or income due to the global pandemic,” Governor Little said.

The executive committee of the Idaho Workforce Development Council will discuss the plan next week. Under Governor Little’s plan, up to $100 million in federal relief funds will be made available to Idaho workers who are eligible for unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic.

Governor Little’s plan includes one-time cash bonuses of $1,500 for full-time work and $750 for part-time work and will be provided to the worker after return to the workplace.

The funds will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for qualified applicants.

Governor Little will work with the Idaho Workforce Development Council and his Coronavirus Financial Advisory Committee to finalize the plan and eligibility requirements. More information on eligibility and how to apply for a Return to Work cash bonus are expected to be available by June 15 at Rebound.Idaho.Gov.

Idaho was one of the last states with a confirmed coronavirus case and one of the first with a concrete plan in place to open the economy responsibly and safely in stages. Ninety percent of businesses were able to open their doors on May 1, and today nearly all businesses are able to open.

NOTE: Cash bonuses are available to anyone who filed a UI claim since March 1 – even those who have already returned to a job since then. It is first come first served.

To assist qualified organizations within the state of Idaho in acquiring non-medical/emergency masks, gloves, and sanitizer (MGS), the Idaho Department of Administration is consolidating demand and purchasing large quantities of MGS to distribute throughout the state.
 
For small businesses and nonprofits that cannot afford the MGS.  If you’re one of these organizations, please complete the form and certify that you’re not financially able to purchase the MGS.