A new state law that took effect on January 1, 2022 requires local government elected officials who serve on nonprofit boards to recuse themselves from decisions to provide government funding to those organizations. The law means that many local officials who serve on nonprofit boards won’t be allowed to vote on local government budgets that include funding for the nonprofits on whose boards they serve. 

The Center has heard that a growing number of county commissioners and city council members are resigning from nonprofit boards because of the new law. It is important to note that nothing in the law prohibits local elected officials from serving on nonprofit boards, but some elected officials are resigning from nonprofit board service out of an abundance of caution.

To help nonprofits and policymakers better understand the impact of the new law on nonprofit boards, the Center has prepared a one-page information sheet.

The Center continues to work with lawmakers, state officials, and local government advocates to develop a solution to this issue. State legislators have asked the Center how many nonprofits have local elected officials (including county commissioners or city council members) on their boards of directors.

The Early Voting period for the 2022 primary election in North Carolina began yesterday and continues through Sunday, May 14. Early Voting – especially at an off-peak hour – is a great option for North Carolinians hoping to avoid large crowds on Election Day (although the last Saturday of Early Voting is usually very popular). Early Voting is available in all 100 counties – find your Early Voting sites. 

Eligible citizens can register to vote or update their address or partisan affiliation onsite at any Early Voting location in their county. During this year’s primary election, Early Voting is a particularly important option for people who have moved since the last election and need to update their address, or who have family or work commitments that would make it challenging to vote on Election Day on May 17. 

Before you vote in the primary election, take a few minutes to find out where the candidates on your ballot stand on issues of importance to nonprofits. The Center sent a questionnaire on nonprofit issues to all North Carolina candidates for Congress and the NC General Assembly and is posting candidates’ responses. Share these candidate responses with your staff, board, volunteers, donors, and clients.

If some of the candidates on your ballot have not yet completed the questionnaire, we encourage you to ask them to complete it. The Center has tips and a short sample email for how to invite candidates to complete the questionnaire.

We all have busy lives; even if we’re aware of the 2022 primary election and have researched the candidates on our ballot, it’s easy to forget to actually vote! People are more likely to participate in an election if they have a plan for when and where they will be voting. Friend of the Center Lisa Hazirjian has written a blog post with tips to help you make your plan for voting, including easy-to-use printable voting planners to share with your nonprofit’s staff, board, volunteers, and clients to help them make their own voting plans.

One of the easiest ways nonprofits can help promote the 2022 primary election is by giving your staff time off to vote during Early Voting or on Election Day. The Center is sharing its policy (below) allowing staff to take time off to vote or to volunteer as nonpartisan poll workers. Feel free to borrow this language and adapt it to fit into your organization’s personnel policies. 

Have you been wondering what types of election-related activities your nonprofit can and can’t do between now and the May 17 election? You’re not alone. The Center has been fielding many questions about what’s legal and what’s advisable, and posted answers to some of the most common questions we’re hearing. Let us know of other questions you have about your nonprofit’s engagement in the 2022 election.

As North Carolina recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, public funding for the public good provides critical support to protect families and communities and advance more equitable outcomes. This makes state budget and tax policy important for the work of every charitable nonprofit, even those that don’t typically receive state funding.

The Center is offering an online policy briefing on May 2 at 10:30 a.m. to help you learn more about the state budget and how nonprofits can help make the case for ensuring adequate state revenue to support public investments. In this webinar, experts from the NC Budget & Tax Center will share the latest trends in state budgets, and provide analysis of the long-term impact of tax choices, and an overview of the budget process and how to engage and lift up the important complementary role that federal and local budget processes play as we recover from the pandemic. Register today!

This week, NC Child released County Data Cards with information on education, health, and economic security of children in all 100 counties of North Carolina. Most of the data is broken down by race and ethnicity. The data cards can be helpful to a wide range of nonprofits in promoting health and well-being for children and families across the state.

Last week, the National Council of Nonprofits released an updated and expanded report on the ways state and local governments can partner with nonprofits on investment of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Although the state of North Carolina has already appropriated all of its ARPA funds (including some investment in nonprofits’ programs and facilities), most counties and municipalities in the state are still in the process of allocating their ARPA funds.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced action that will help many nonprofit employees move closer to student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. By addressing a variety of longstanding failures in the administration of student loan programs, the Department estimates that 40,000 borrowers (including many nonprofit employees) will receive immediate loan cancellation through the PSLF program and that 3.6 million borrowers will move closer to loan forgiveness through income-driven repayment.

Last week, the Biden administration released plans by all federal agencies to eliminate systemic racism from the way they operate. The plans follow an executive order that President Biden signed his first day in office instructing agencies to “recognize and work to redress inequities in their policies and programs that serve as barriers to equal opportunity.” The action plans of the various departments and agencies include delivering equity through grantmaking, reducing administrative burdens and simplifying government services, and narrowing wealth gaps through federal contracting and procurement.

On Tuesday, two members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Nonprofit Sector Strength and Partnership Act. The goal of the bill is to amplify the voice of the charitable nonprofit sector with federal policy makers. The North Carolina Center for Nonprofits has endorsed this bill.

The bill would establish several structures through which the federal government could engage with nonprofits, including a nonprofit-focused office in the White House with a commission on federal grants reforms, an interagency council to promote government/nonprofit partnerships, and an advisory board on the nonprofit sector. The bill also would direct federal agencies to provide better and more regular data on nonprofit jobs and volunteers and for the Internal Revenue Service to provide more clarity on the prohibition on political campaign intervention by 501(c)(3) nonprofits. It is unlikely that Congress will take action on the bill this year.

The Center provides Nonprofit Policy Update each week as a benefit to its nonprofit members. However, to help all North Carolina nonprofits respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, we're temporarily providing this newsletter to non-member nonprofits. Don’t miss out – become a member to ensure you continue receiving these updates along with many other valuable benefits.