Hello Nonprofit Leaders and Supporters,
Wildfires continue to burn across our beautiful state and smoke continues to shroud much of western and southern Oregon. We are all praying that the rains forecast to start this evening will give a reprieve to the firefighters and to so many impacted by this devastation.
Nonprofits across our state continue to provide the thousands that have been displaced with needed shelter, food, and medical services. The work to support these families and communities has only begun and we know that they will rely on your nonprofits for months and even years to come as they assess, grieve, recover, and rebuild. NAO has reached out to our colleagues in California and Washington who are also dealing with these devastating fires and we are planning to bring you the best available thinking and resources on how nonprofits and philanthropy can support our communities. From the outset, we know that a robust State and Federal response will be the only means by which our fire-impacted communities can rebuild. It is absolutely essential that the response be well coordinated to avoid duplication of efforts and systemic inequities that will have some receiving the bulk of the support and others with nothing. Nonprofits will play a critical role in assessing needs, ensuring services are timely and adequate, and avoiding duplications.
With that in mind, we are partnering with our colleagues at Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington to hold an online webinar with Regine Webster, Vice President, and Kim Maphis Early, Senior Associate at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. They will join us for a conversation on How the Money Moves in an emergency and a look at the financial streams that undergird disaster recovery. They'll be examining the many roles that philanthropy and nonprofits can play, particularly as an advocate for an equitable recovery, and share resources that can provide data and best practices to inform organizations working in the sector. More details to come shortly.
NAO thanks all of you who have responded and are continuing to respond to these critical needs. We have curated a set of resources and links and created an Oregon Wildfire Response Resources page to help you and your organization navigate these difficult times. If your nonprofit is responding to communities impacted by the fires, please be sure to connect with your local county Office of Emergency Management, United Ways and County/Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COADs).
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In some good news, I am excited to share that NAO will be bringing another great resource to our nonprofit community. We are launching an NAO podcast – The Public Space. Lilisa Hall, NAO’s Membership, Communications & Advancement Director will connect with experts from across the nonprofit sector and beyond to talk about the changing ideas, opportunities, and issues that affect our communities. Each conversation will offer tangible steps that nonprofit organizations, supporters, and partners can take to better our communities. Click here to access The Public Space’s trailer and get snippets from our first two episodes.
Episode 1, scheduled for release Thursday, September 24, features Steve Patty, Founder and Leadership Consultant at Dialogues in Action who will discuss tangible ways in which leaders can effectively lead and motivate during challenging times. Steve’s discussion is never more relevant than now with so many significant issues our communities are dealing with right now. Episode 2, scheduled for release in October, features Kim Brick, Executive Director and David Navarro, Director of Development and Fundraising at Oregon Coast Community Action, who will share how they managed a racially charged crisis this past summer. They will share their experience, offer key takeaways, and discuss what this crisis meant to them personally and professionally. We hope these conversations will resonate with you. We hope they spark an idea, make you stop and think, encourage you to make a change, or take a bold action. We hope The Public Space helps contribute to positive change in our communities! |
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At the State Level
As we reported earlier this week, Governor Brown announced that she will veto a number of budget adjustments passed by legislators last month, restoring planned cuts to a handful of state agencies while scrapping $100 million lawmakers had earmarked for emergency COVID-19 spending.
OPB reported that the Governor is first eliminating $100 million that the Legislature gave to its own emergency board in order to deal with pandemic-related cost increases on health care and social services. That money will be kept in state coffers instead. This would significantly impact the plans already in motion with nonprofits that receive state funds for those services.
A coalition of health and human services organizations including the Alliance4Kids, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon, Central City Concern, NAO, and many others, will be sending an urgent letter to Governor Brown to implore her not to make these cuts and instead invest in both the responses to Coronavirus, combatting systemic racism, and the wildfires. This should not be and either/or scenario. Government has to step up and use emergency reserves to combat the multitude of issues our state is facing. The full text of the letter can be found here. If you would like to sign on to this letter, please send an email to Doug Riggs at: doug@ngrc.com. THIS LETTER NEEDS TO BE SENT BY FRIDAY AT NOON! DON’T WAIT!
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At the Federal Level
On Tuesday, Speaker Pelosi and several House committee chairs quickly dismissed as insufficient the Bipartisan COVID Relief Framework, a $1.5 trillion package proposed by the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of 50 House Democrats and Republicans. Apparently, the Speaker is getting tremendous pressure from rank-and-file members who feel the House needs to vote on new legislation to address critical needs, perhaps conducting a series of votes on major issues like unemployment, Paycheck Protection Program extension, stimulus checks to individuals, money for testing, and state and local aid. These votes, if they happen, would be cast to show commitment and not so much to enact freestanding legislation.
ACTION ITEM: With news that there may be legislating in the House next week and the framework put forward by the Problem Solvers Caucus, nonprofits need to get into the fight and promote our agenda with key Members of Congress. Please take this renewed interest in moving legislation to reach out to our Senators and Representatives to promote the nonprofit policy priorities. Share the Nonprofit Community Letter and the nonprofit tax letter with you representatives and especially with:
There was some good news for responsible COVID-19 relief bill in statements made by the President and Representative Brady yesterday:
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President Trump: “Go for the much higher numbers, Republicans, it all comes back to the USA anyway (one way or another!),” Trump tweeted (according to The Hill). Not sure what the “back to the USA” means, but a higher top-line number on the ultimate COVID relief package would get us to a deal faster. In response, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Schumer said in a statement, “We look forward to hearing from the President’s negotiators that they will finally meet us halfway with a bill that is equal to the massive health and economic crises gripping our nation.”
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Representative Brady: “The lame duck (session) will be too late to save many people’s jobs that are at-risk by the pandemic. It’s crucially important for Congress to act now.” Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX), top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, was speaking to Bloomberg Tax. He blamed Speaker Pelosi for there not being a deal, and concluded, “A smart, targeted package could do a lot of good for workers and families, no doubt.”
2020 Census
Census Deadlines Legislation: On Tuesday, Senators Schatz (D-HI), Murkowski (R-AK), and Sullivan (R-AK) introduced the Census Deadline Extensions Act (S. 4571). See their news release. The House companion bill (H.R. 8250) was introduced by Representatives Young (R-AK) and Gallego (D-AZ). The bipartisan bill would extend two key statutory deadlines for the 2020 Census by four months and require the Census Bureau to continue field operations through October 31, 2020. Both Senators Wyden and Merkely support this bill and so does NAO. We hope that you’ll also endorse the important legislation to ensure an accurate census count.
Clarifications by DOL to FMLA
In response to a court ruling in early August that invalidated certain regulations by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) related to leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the DOL has released revised regulations. The changes, or lack of changes, are outlined below. The revisions took effect today.
The definition of health care provider for purposes of whom an employer can deny leave to is revised to include physicians and others who make medical diagnoses (the same as under traditional FMLA); employees who provide diagnostic services, preventive services, treatment services, or other services necessary for patient care; and employees who provide services that, if not provided, would adversely affect patient care.
This definition is narrower than in the previous rule. For example, nurse assistants and laboratory technicians who process test results are considered health care providers, but IT workers at a hospital and medical billers are not.
Additionally, DOL clarified and explained their rationale on earlier rules with no update to the rules themselves:
- Employers may require that employees provide documentation to support their need for leave as soon as practicable.
- The former rule said that employers could require documentation before the leave started, which isn’t always practical.
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Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Emergency FMLA (EFMLA) are still available only if an employer has work available for the employee during the time that they need the leave.
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Employees still must get approval from their employer to use intermittent leave. However, the DOL has made it clear that leave is not considered intermittent if a school or daycare is closed on certain days or half days. For example, if the employee’s child’s school has a hybrid schedule with in-person classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but remote learning on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, then the employee would need leave on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with each day being a separate leave event. In other words, the employee is not requesting intermittent leave in this scenario, so they do not need their employer’s consent.
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Upcoming Online Sessions
In case you missed our earlier announcement, NAO has made the decision, to hold off on convening our 20120-2021 in-person networks that we usually launch in the fall of each year. Instead, we will extend the strategy deployed in mid-March when COVID-19 restrictions were first put in place to hold online sessions – free of charge to participants - until such time that the State of Oregon and the Oregon Health Authority lift restrictions on in-person gatherings. We thank our supporting foundations, corporate sponsors and members for making this possible. Here is what we’ve got coming up over the next few weeks:
Collaborative Fundraising: Moving From Scarcity to Abundance, Wednesday, September 30, 9 – 10 a.m. PT: Fundraising doesn't have to be a competitive sport. There are times when multiple organizations, working together, can raise a lot more money collectively. Join Andy Robinson, Principal at Andy Robinson Consulting, who will dive into the specifics of shared fundraising, including: options for collaborative fundraising, why donors and funders appreciate this approach, sorting out the work, dividing up the money, and fundraising with unexpected partners. Register for the session here.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Oregon Charitable Nonprofits, Thursday, October 1, Noon – 1 p.m. PT: Grace L. Chikoto-Schultz, PhD, Assistant Professor at Portland State University and Jim White, Executive Director at NAO will share the findings of the COVID-19 Impacts on Oregon charitable nonprofits survey conducted in June. The survey was aimed at quantifying the challenges nonprofits are facing. The findings underscore not only the importance of the nonprofit sector at this time, but also the pain these organizations are feeling and the hope and concerns they have for the future. Join Grace and Jim for a discussion about what these findings mean for the sector as we chart a path forward through this uncertainty and COVID-19 crisis. Register for the session here.
Virtual Fundraising Events, Tuesday, October 6, 10 – 11 a.m. PT: Many organizations are reimagining their in-person fundraising events in amazing ways across digital platforms. Samantha Swaim. Principal at Swaim Strategies will guide you on virtual events, how they can support your organization’s mission and fundraising efforts, and what you need to put together for a successful and impactful event. Samantha will discuss virtual fundraising event how-tos, trends and what’s working in the virtual space, understand technology needs to go virtual; and looking ahead to how virtual events will change in the future. Register for the session here.
Upswell 2020, October 14-16, 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. PT: Independent Sector’s Upswell 2020 is about two most important things facing every changemaker in the U.S.: ending racism and recovering from the pandemic. How we deal with these monumental challenges – in this utterly urgent moment in our shared history – will determine nothing less than the future of our nation. It sure won’t be easy and it certainly won’t be perfect. But our efforts will be existentially necessary. So, we’re inviting you to show up! Claim your agency. Elevate your ideas. Amplify your voice. Get creative, innovative, passionate, and relentlessly determined. Because it’s going to take the very best you’ve got – and the very best the rest of us have got – to heal our nation and create a society where every person can thrive. To find out more about Upswell, click here. Register for Upswell here.
Wait, Now I’m Managing Remote Workers? Addressing Legal and Practical Realities of a Virtual Workforce, Thursday, October 15, 10 – 11 a.m. PT: Many nonprofits hastily converted to virtual work with the onset of COVID-19. Now, what started as a short-term solution has shifted to a permanent or long-term strategy to keep mission-critical work moving forward. Leaders are grappling with how to support their employees in this changed work environment, how to manage organizational risk around employee matters, and how to keep their teams safe, productive, and effective. P.K. Runkles-Pearson, Partner at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP will dive into the important legal and practical considerations nonprofit employers must consider and address as they adapt to the “new normal.” Register for the session here.
QuickBooks Made Easy Webinar: Desktop, November 10, 11, and 12, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. PT: Gregg S. Bossen, CPA of QuickBooks Made Easy, is partnering with NAO to offer an updated three-part QuickBooks® training webinar for nonprofits. This webinar is for the Desktop edition of QuickBooks. Gregg will cover the basics of setting up and entering transactions specifically for nonprofits, an overview of the software updates included in the QuickBooks® 2020 Desktop Edition, as well as advanced topics covering a host of specific processes that will help you do more helpful and amazing things! Register for the three-part webinar here.
QuickBooks Made Easy Webinar: Online, November 17, 18, and 19, 11 a.m. – 1 pm. PT: Gregg S. Bossen, CPA of QuickBooks Made Easy, is partnering with NAO to offer an updated three-part QuickBooks® training webinar for nonprofits. This webinar is for the Online edition of QuickBooks. Gregg will cover the basics of setting up and entering transactions specifically for nonprofits, an overview of the software updates included in the QuickBooks® 2020 Online Edition, as well as advanced topics covering a host of specific processes that will help you do more helpful and amazing things! Register for the three-part webinar here.
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I hope that you all stay safe and healthy!
Sincerely,
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Jim White
Executive Director
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Thank you to the following SUPPORTERS and SPONSORS who are supporting NAO’s online COVID-19 events and communications during these challenging times. Their support is vital in helping NAO to bring much-needed resources and information to Oregon’s nonprofits – thank you. |
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FRIEND PLUS PARTNER SPONSORS |
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FOLLOW NAO ON SOCIAL MEDIA |
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