May 3, 2022

Hello Nonprofit Leaders and Supporters,

Stay healthy and be safe,

On May 20, the Native Ways Federation (NWF) is launching their first Native Nonprofit Day – a giving initiative aimed at increasing support for Native-led organizations nationwide. This annual giving campaign seeks to reduce the funding inequities Native-led organizations face. We at NAO are encouraging foundations, individuals, and other allies to learn about groundbreaking work of local organizations such as the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), Warm Springs Community Action Team (WSCAT), Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), Wisdom of the Elders, and the Burns-Paiute Tribe Foundation. Support them directly through the organization’s donation pages or through their own fundraisers.  

  

The Native Nonprofit Day giving campaign began May 1 and ends on May 20. 

  

Visit the Native Nonprofit Day website to learn more and get involved! 

Value of Volunteer Time Estimated to Be $29.95/Hour 

The importance of volunteer work in the community is something that can't go unnoticed. New data released by our friends at Independent Sector announcing that the latest value of a volunteer hour is estimated to be $29.95 – a 4.9% increase from 2020 to 2021.

100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon: Survey is NOW OPEN! 

NAO has once again partnered with Oregon Business to launch the 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon survey for 2022. Oregon Business’ 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon survey is used to find out how satisfied your employees are and what their concerns might be – taking time to listen to your employees will set you up to be an even stronger organization. New option for 2022: Customized, supplemental 100 Best survey questions. This year’s survey will offer employers the opportunity to solicit additional feedback from employees. You can find additional information regarding this opportunity here.

Join our effort to support strong workplace culture and celebrate successful employers by participating in the 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon survey. The survey must be completed by July 20, 2022. As always, participation is at no cost to you. Participating organizations must have a minimum of 10 Oregon-based employees and/or volunteers who work at least 20 hours per month. For survey information, click here; to register for the survey, click here. 

Yesterday, the Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) published a draft Action Plan for a $422 million disaster recovery grant, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The effort, known as “ReOregon,” will support individuals, households, and communities that continue to recover from the 2020 Labor Day Fires. The assistance will primarily come in the form of new permanent housing in the areas most impacted by the disaster.   

Through June 1, OHCS is seeking public comment on the draft Action Plan for spending the funds. If you are a wildfire survivor or a community-based organization working with wildfire recovery, you can find out more about the plan and the in-person feedback sessions being held around the state: Oregon Housing and Community Services news via FlashAlert.Net

Strengthen Nonprofit Sector Bill Introduced 

We are very happy to report that last week, Reps. McCollum (DFP-MN) and Upton (R-MI) introduced the Nonprofit Sector Strength and Partnership Act (H.R. 7587). This is the bill that we have been asking Oregon nonprofits to sign-on to for several weeks now. The bill is designed to strengthen the nonprofit sector and its relationship with the federal government. The bipartisan bill would establish structures through which the federal government could engage with nonprofits, including a White House office of Nonprofit Partnerships 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 would also direct federal agencies to provide better and more regular data on nonprofit jobs and volunteers. See the legislative text, Fact Sheet, Section-by-Section Summary, and News Release. For additional views, read $50 Million NPO Bill Introduced In Congress and Independent Sector’s webpage on the bill. It is also not too late to sign on endorsing the bill. Please consider adding your organization's name to the many NAO members that have already signed it! Click here to sign on!  

Treasury FAQs Further Clarify Nonprofit Eligibility for ARPA Funds   

As many counties are currently considering requests from nonprofits for ARPA funds, these recently U.S. Department of Treasury updated guidance is important. The updated guidance reinforces and further clarifies that state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments have full authority to invest in charitable nonprofits when spending their allocations of federal funds made available under the American Rescue Plan Act. The new guidance, titled Final Rule: Frequently Asked Questions, updates answers to questions related to the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. Most notably, FAQ 1.8 expressly states that governments may devote their allocations of federal money to charitable nonprofits in two important ways: nonprofits as recipients of relief (beneficiaries) and nonprofits as providers of relief to others:  

Nonprofit as the Recipient of Relief: a government “recipient can provide funds to an entity, including a nonprofit organization, for the purpose of directly benefitting the entity as a result of the entity experiencing a public health impact or negative economic impact of the pandemic. In this instance, these entities will be considered beneficiaries, not subrecipients, and will not be expected to comply with subrecipient reporting requirements. Beneficiary reporting requirements will apply.” (Emphasis added.) 

Nonprofit as Provider of Relief to Others: “the final rule clarified that recipients may transfer funds to any entity to carry out, as a subrecipient, an eligible activity on behalf of the SLFRF recipient (transferor), as long as they comply with the SLFRF Award Terms and Conditions and other applicable requirements. A transferee receiving a transfer from a recipient under sections 602(c)(3) and 603(c)(3) will be considered a subrecipient and will be expected to comply with all subrecipient reporting requirements.” 

For further information on the use of ARPA funds see also, Treasury Final Rule, Overview of the Final Rule, and Governments Can Use ARPA Funds to Partner with Nonprofits in Two Broad Ways.

May 4, 11, 18, 15 and June 1 | Facilitator: Alexis Braly James, Construct the Present 

Equity and Inclusion is a journey that we all must take to make a more equitable and just society. As “public benefit” organizations, nonprofits are at the center of this work. An Equity and Inclusion lens is like a pair of glasses. It helps you see things from a new perspective. By always asking some intentional questions, we can thread equity and inclusion throughout our work. In this five-week cohort, we will support organizations at the beginning of their equity journey to collaborate on best practices and support your leadership through the newly released NAO E&I Lens course. This five-session interactive series will help you identify ways to further your mission through more equitable and inclusive practices. More details and registration information here. 

May 18, 25, June 1, 8, and 15| Facilitator: Michelle St. Romain Wilson, M.A., Wellspring Consulting 

The last two years have brought unprecedented changes to our world, bringing new challenges as we work to serve our communities. In this interactive cohort, we will explore the Recentering model to strengthen our personal resilience and create tools to bring back to our organizations. The model is based on principles of trauma-informed care and resiliency work; integrative health; positive psychology; and positive workforce engagement. By the end of this cohort participants will have created a personal plan and toolkit for recentering and building resiliency during times of challenge and change. More details and registration information here.

The team at NAO is excited to also welcome back in-person sessions! The welfare and safety of our staff, volunteers and guests remains a top priority. Masks are optional but not required. However, we ask that anyone feeling ill or COVID-like symptoms to please stay at home and contact us to issue a refund. At this time, in-person sessions will not be recorded.   

Nonprofit Advocacy: Why Nonprofits and Why Now?  

Presenter: Phillip Kennedy-Wong, NAO 

Managing Financials with an Operational Mindset 

May 26, 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. | Presenter: Megan Fries, Frenzy to Freedom 

Financial management is one of the key areas to gauge success, create plans for growth, and demonstrate our effectiveness as an organization—truly an area we can all use some support. This session walks you through financial aspects that will strengthen the operations of your organization. From division of accountabilities, internal controls, and documentation of policies and procedures, we will examine the core areas where intention can create a massive impact. More details and registration information here. 

May 17, 2 – 3:30 p.m. | Panel led by: Michael Jonas, Rational Unicorn Legal Services

Join Rational Unicorn Legal Services for a panel discussion with nonprofit leaders (DJ Ambush from The Numberz, Jim White from the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO), Amy Fazio of Magnify Your Mission, others TBD) about nonprofit law and compliance, building a board, creating bylaws, best practices, and other tips with time for Q&A. Tickets are sliding scale $5-$20. More details and registration information here.

May 24 – 26, 11 – 1:30 p.m. | Presenter: Gregg S. Bossen, QuickBooks Made Easy

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® Desktop Edition, as well as advanced topics covering a host of specific processes that will help you do more helpful and amazing things! Earn 7.5 hours of CPE credit. More details and registration information here.

May 31 – June 2, 11 – 1:30 p.m. | Presenter: Gregg S. Bossen, QuickBooks Made Easy

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® Online Edition, as well as advanced topics covering a host of specific processes that will help you do more helpful and amazing things! Earn 7.5 hours of CPE credit. More details and registration information here.

If you have any questions or difficulties registering, contact NAO's Training team at training@nonprofitoregon.org.