Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted down a new scaled-down COVID-19 relief bill. The Senate voted on the bill mostly along party lines, so the bill didn’t receive the 60 votes necessary to pass. Even though the Senate didn’t pass this proposal, it signals the next step in the (very slow moving) negotiations between the two major political parties over the next iteration of COVID-19 relief. Notable provisions in the bill for nonprofits include:

With the failure of this latest COVID-19 relief package in the Senate, it is unclear how leaders in Congress and the White House will move forward with negotiations on much-needed relief for nonprofits, individuals, and businesses that continue to struggle during the pandemic. After the Senate’s vote yesterday, the National Council of Nonprofits and other national organizations issued a statement explaining why it is essential to communities across the country for Congress to pass additional relief legislation soon. The statement concludes: “It is imperative that Congress enact significant bipartisan coronavirus relief legislation as soon as possible. Final legislation should include not only an increase to the universal charitable deduction and extend that deduction at least through 2021, but it should also extend a new round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to nonprofits of all sizes, expand refundable payroll tax credits, provide forgivable loans to mid-size and large nonprofits that have thus far been unable to access this necessary aid, provide full unemployment benefit reimbursement for nonprofits that self-insure, and continue emergency funding programs to provide nonprofits with financial support to maintain services protecting vulnerable families and frontline responders. These are all provisions with broad bipartisan support in both chambers.”

Last Friday, Governor Roy Cooper signed into law the Coronavirus Relief Act 3.0 (H.B. 1105), which appropriates the final $900 million of North Carolina’s COVID-19 relief funding from the federal CARES Act. More than $145 million of this funding was allocated to a wide range of nonprofits, including food banks, arts organizations, YMCAs, free and charitable clinics, nonprofit residential facilities, domestic violence agencies, and sexual assault centers. The Center has prepared a comprehensive list of nonprofit funding in the bill, including details on the process for disbursing funds to nonprofits and limitations on use of these funds. The appropriations to support the work of nonprofits are the result of months of effective advocacy by dozens of organizations across the state.

In addition to the significant funding for many nonprofits, the COVID-19 relief bill includes several provisions that could help nonprofits recover from the pandemic. These provisions include:

The U.S. Census Bureau is ending its in-person operations at the end of this month. September 30 will also be the deadline for households to self-respond to the Census by mail, email, or phone. As of Tuesday, 17.1% of North Carolina households still had not responded to the Census with just three weeks remaining in the Census count. A massive undercount could cost North Carolina billions of dollars in federal funding for public schools, childcare, health care, affordable housing, food assistance, and many other programs over the next decade. It also could cost North Carolina a 14^th seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next decade.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s decision to end the Census count on September 30 – a month earlier than its previous plan of continuing enumeration through October 31 – is one of the main reasons that North Carolina is at risk of a significant undercount. Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing to explore the importance of extending Census deadlines. Stacey Carless, executive director of the NC Counts Coalition, was one of the witnesses at the hearing and provided clear and convincing testimony explaining the status of the Census count in North Carolina, the potential harm to North Carolina communities of an undercount, and the importance of Congress extending the enumeration period through October 31. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Congress will be able to pass legislation to extend deadlines – and have the President sign it – in time to extend the Census another month.

With so many North Carolina households still uncounted in the Census, it is critical that nonprofits do everything in their power to get a complete and accurate count in the next three weeks. The call to action for nonprofit staff, volunteers, and board members is simple: Make sure that everyone with whom your nonprofit engages completes the Census questionnaire. To help with last-minute get-out-the count efforts, the NC Counts Coalition has a new toolkit with sample messaging, social media posts and graphics, and outreach ideas.

For households that have not yet completed the Census questionnaire, there is still time to respond online, by mail, by phone, or through an in-person visit from a Census Bureau representative. 

Last week, the NC State Board of Elections opened its online portal for requesting absentee ballots online. The online application process only takes about three minutes to complete. Voters who request an absentee ballot will receive one by mail and can still choose to vote in person during the Early Voting period or on Election Day instead of submitting their absentee ballot. The online portal for absentee voting also allows voters to check on the status of their absentee ballots.

The Center encourages nonprofits to urge their staff, board members, volunteers, and those they serve to request an absentee ballot now. This will ensure that they receive their absentee ballots with plenty of time to vote by mail before Election Day.

National Voter Registration Day (September 22) is less than two weeks away! National Voter Registration Day is a great opportunity for nonprofits to ensure that their staff, volunteers, and community members are registered to vote. Sign up to join the nationwide effort to register hundreds of thousands of voters on September 22. As an official partner, your nonprofit will receive a free voter registration kit and access to other opportunities to support your nonpartisan voter registration work.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many nonprofits to rethink their plans for in-person voter registration and voter education work this year. To help North Carolina nonprofits navigate the changing landscape of nonpartisan voter registration and voter education, You Can Vote launched its Voting Rights Champion program to provide accurate, easy-to-read, bilingual resources on voter registration and the election process in North Carolina. Become a Voting Rights Champion to get access to free resources and support to ensure that voters in your nonprofit’s community can successfully cast their ballots this fall.

You Can Vote also provides Voter FAQs with clear, accurate, and nonpartisan answers to a variety of common questions about the 2020 election process in North Carolina, including absentee voting by mail (it will be very popular this year), the process for requesting an absentee ballot (it’s best to start the process sooner rather than later), photo ID (not required this year), and voter fraud (it’s extremely rare). The Center encourages all nonprofits to read these FAQs and share them with their staff, boards, volunteers, and the people they serve.