Urgent Policy Alert

Congress is expected to pass its last piece of COVID-19 legislation this month. It is urgent that nonprofits tell the House and Senate to include nonprofit policy solutions in the final package. Help ensure that federal lawmakers insert these bipartisan solutions in the legislation by signing your organization’s name onto the new Nonprofit Community Letter to congressional leaders.

Adapted from the National Council for Nonprofits policy alert 7.6.20

Deadline to Sign: Friday, July 10

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Background Information

The CARES Act enacted by Congress in March extended economic relief programs to some nonprofits, but the law fell short in many ways. In early April, the broad nonprofit community sent to every House and Senate office a letter highlighting needed policy reforms. That version of the letter was signed by more than 450 national nonprofit organizations.

A new version of that letter is now open for all charitable nonprofit organizations throughout the country to sign, not just national groups. It has been revised to reflect legislative and administrative actions that have occurred since early April when the letter was delivered to Congress. This new, updated letter identifies remaining problems and fresh, bipartisan solutions in four distinct areas:

• Continue Emergency Funding Programs, including improvements to the Paycheck Protection Program, creation of a nonprofit jobs-expansion program, and funding for community support grants programs that enable nonprofits to serve vulnerable populations.
• Provide Low-Cost Loans to Mid-Size and Larger Nonprofits that have been left out of and not able to access government funding.
• Strengthen Charitable Giving Incentives by expanding the incentives to all taxpayers, not just itemizers, via an above-the-line or universal charitable deduction of one-third of the standard deduction.
• Provide Full Unemployment Benefit Reimbursement paid to laid off or furloughed employees of self-insured or reimbursing nonprofit employers.

Please join charitable nonprofits of all missions, sizes, and states across the country by signing your organization onto this urgent letter calling on Congress to include these policy priorities in the COVID-19 economic relief bill that lawmakers are negotiating now to pass by the end of July. 

The deadline for signing the letter is close of business, Friday, July 10, 2020.

Sign TODAY