On December 4, the state legislature passed a $46.2 billion budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. The budget is now under review by Governor Baker, who has until December 14 to return with vetoes or sign. MNN worked with legislative leaders to include an unemployment insurance payment deadline extension for self-insured nonprofits. If signed in the final budget, self-insured nonprofit organizations would have through June of 2021 to make their unemployment insurance reimbursement payments, which have ballooned due to COVID-19 related layoffs. The budget also included a one-year delay of the state charitable tax deduction, which was scheduled to be restored for contributions made in 2021. The one-year freeze means that without further legislative action, the deduction would become available for contributions made in 2022. MNN continues to advocate for the restoration of the deduction in order to support individual giving to nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofits can nominate committed, compassionate front-line nonprofit employees for the 2021 Light of Dawnn Awards by Friday, January 8.

The awards honor the legacy of Dawnn Ashley Jaffier, a nonprofit worker who demonstrated an unwavering commitment to building her community through her work at nonprofits. The 2021 Light of Dawnn Awards will be presented to three nonprofit employees who, while not in highly-visible roles, have far-reaching and positive impacts in their communities like Dawnn did.

This year's awards are presented by the Highland Street Foundation, West End House Boys and Girls Club, the Kraft family, and MNN.

MNN is excited to announce a new member benefit coming in 2021! You may be familiar with the Massachusetts 401(k) CORE Plan – the retirement plan that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts built for small nonprofits, currently available to organizations with 20 or fewer employees. It’s an easy and affordable way to offer your employees a quality benefit without you (the employer) having to take on a lot of legal responsibilities. Since we know you wear many hats, the CORE Plan was designed so that the Commonwealth (not the employer) is the Named Fiduciary of the Plan, and as such, they take on the vast majority of fiduciary responsibilities. We know you know that your employees are your most important asset, and should be afforded the opportunity to save for retirement through a workplace savings plan. Because the CORE Plan and MNN are both committed to the well-being of the nonprofit sector in Massachusetts, we are teaming up to offer a group discount only available to MNN members on the CORE Plan starting in January. 

With any questions about MNN membership, please contact Molly McCaig, MNN's Operations and Membership Coordinator.

The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) is conducting an important racial equity and social justice (RESJ) study on behalf of State Street Foundation (SSF). SSF believes that investing in positive RESJ outcomes is critical to achieving lasting impact in communities affected by systemic racism. In thinking about its current and future grant-making strategies, the Foundation would like to better understand the landscape of nonprofit organizations that are explicitly working to advance racial equity and social justice in Boston and/or Quincy.

If these criteria apply to your organization, please find a few minutes to respond to a brief online survey that TPI is conducting, which you can access here. Findings from this survey will be shared with local funders and other interested community leaders. You can also download a copy of the survey to read in advance and share with colleagues by clicking on this link. 

Please submit survey responses by Friday, December 18, 2020. If you have any questions about the survey, please reach out to Elaines Peña. 

You can see a full listing of affiliates in our online Business Directory. Many affiliates offer discounts to our members!

Since 2002, K. Weill Consulting Group, LLC has been providing nonprofits with targeted fund development services designed to strengthen their operations and programs. *Free 30-minute phone consultation.

by Brian Kindorf, Managing Director, Non Profit Capital Management

The MassTrac bill information and tracking service is used by over 1,400 Massachusetts government relations professionals. MassTrac offers summaries of all bills; summaries of each section of the important bills and budgets; amendments that are written in plain English; tracking that includes bills, amendments, line items, and regulatory hearings; comparisons between newer bill versions and earlier drafts; and the ability to read what every person who testified on bills said in addition what legislators say when the bills are debated. In this webinar, participants will learn more about these benefits in addition to the new MassTrac work-from-home and budget tools. Register here.

You will be invited to share at least one communications challenge you have witnessed or experienced, and leave this session with key principles and tips that will accelerate your organization's success. This workshop is presented and facilitated by Susan Mogensen of Brown Dog Consulting. Register here.

Congregational Giving Assistant, Unitarian Universalist Association

Special Education Teacher, Collaborative for Educational Services

Project Coordinator, Massachusetts Farm to School

Deputy Director of Development, Samaritans Inc.

Annual Giving and Stewardship Manager, Scleroderma Foundation

Director of Compliance and Housing Administration, Father Bill's & MainSpring

Cook, Community Action Pioneer Valley

Administration Fiscal Specialist, Community Action Pioneer Valley

Chief People Officer, Union of Concerned Scientists

Senior Business Systems Manager, City Year

Environmental Analyst, NEIWPCC

Chief Operating Officer, Fenway Community Health Center

Disaster Program Manager, The American Red Cross

Vice President of Racial Equity and Social Justice, Fenway Community Health Center

Supervising Attorney, New England Innocence Project

Operations and Finance Associate, Project Bread

Triage Coordinator, Healing Abuse Working for Change

Staff Librarian, City of Cambridge

Associate Building Engineer, TSNE

Geriatric Services Support Coordinator, Springwell Inc.

Payroll Specialist, Jewish Family & Children's Service of Greater Boston

Bookkeeper Consultant, Rights Action Lab Inc.

Chief Executive Officer, Haiti Projects

Marketing and Communications Manager, Last Mile Health

Assistant Program Director, Bethany Hill Place

A Better Tomorrow Services, Inc. - A Place To Turn - Adolescent Consultation Services - African and American Friendship Inc. - African Children Fund Inc. - African Community Education Program, Inc. - African Community Health Initiatives - All Dorchester Sports and Leadership - All Out Adventures - Alliance of Sleep Apnea Partners - AmeriCorps Alums Boston - Amherst Ballet Theatre Company Inc. - Amherst Committee for A Better Chance - Assabet Valley Chamber of Commerce - Audible Local Ledger, Inc. - AvaCon Inc. - Barakat, Inc. - Beacon of Hope Community Services, Inc. - Berkshire Bach Society - Boston By Foot - Boston Young Healthcare Professionals - Bridge Repertory Theater of Boston - C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc. - Calling All Crows - Cape Cod Volunteers - Cape Cod Young Professionals, Inc. - Cape Verdean Community UNIDO - Captions for Literacy - Central Food Ministry, Inc. - Chelsea Chamber of Commerce - Children's Museum of Greater Fall River - Christian Community Service Organization of North Reading - CitySprouts - Dreamfar High School Marathon, Inc. - Dress for Success Worcester - Drinking Gourd Project, Inc. - Duxbury Art Association - East Somerville Main Streets - EdVestors, Inc. - Ellen M. Gifford Sheltering Home - English At Large - Extras for Creative Reuse - Fairbanks House Historical Site - Fourah Bay Community Foundation Inc. - Friends of the Dwight-Derby House - Golden Tones Inc. - Great Pond Foundation - GreenLight Fund - Grow Native Massachusetts - Hagar's Sisters - Haitian Studies Association - Hands Across the Sea - Hawthorne Youth & Community Center - Homework House - House of Possibilities (HOPe) - JFYNetWorks - Junior Achievement of Southern Massachusetts - Legal Center for Nonprofits, Inc. - Littleton Scholarship Trust - Main Street Partners - Marshfield Community Television - Massachusetts American Legion Auxiliary - Massachusetts Association of Older Americans - Massachusetts Coalition of Police - Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog, Inc. - Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership - MetroWest Mediation Services - Moments House, Inc. - Mystic Chorale Inc. - Nathan Hale Foundation - New England Hemophilia Association - New England Innocence Project - North Cambridge Family Opera - North Star Family Services, Inc. - NorthEast Passenger Transportation Association (NEPTA) - OARS - One 27 Global - Operation Help Now, Inc. - Oxbow Schoolhouse - Pasand - Pioneer Valley Symphony - Plymouth Public Library Corporation - Provincetown Arts Press - Puckihuddle Preschool, Inc. - Rosie's Place - Royall House and Slave Quarters - Seeds of Solidarity Education Center, Inc. - Self Esteem Boston - Shelter Music Boston - Shirley-Eustis House - Si, Se Puede, Inc. - Sierra Leone Cultural Organization, Inc. - Sight Loss Services, Inc. - Sippican Historical Society - Small Army for a Cause - Southeast Cyclones Youth Hockey Association - Southeast Regional Services Group - Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership - Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance - Spina Bifida Association of Greater New England - Spiral Foundation at OTA Watertown - StandUp For Kids-Worcester - Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum - Symphony Nova - The Art Connection - The Arts Fuse - The Gay & Lesbian Review - The Interchange Institute - The Learning Center for the Deaf - The Performance Project - Transformative Culture Project - Vietnamese-American Civic Association (VACA) - Walden Chamber Players - Watertown Community Foundation - Waypoint Adventure, Inc. - Welcome Project, Inc. - Winchendon Community Action Committee, Inc. - YNPN Boston - ZUMIX