Next Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee will hold a markup (a meeting where a congressional committee reviews and revises legislation) of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package that President Biden has proposed. Last week, several House committees approved various portions of the bill, which the House Budget Committee will compile before its vote next Monday. Some highlights of the American Rescue Plan Act for nonprofits include:

Many of these important provisions are included in the American Rescue Plan Act because of the persistent advocacy of nonprofits. The full House is expected to vote on the American Rescue Plan Act by the end of next week. President Biden hopes to sign it into law before unemployment benefits expire on March 14. Because Congress is using the budget reconciliation process for this COVID relief plan, it only needs 50 votes to pass the Senate (most bills require 60 votes for Senate approval).

With the full House taking up the American Rescue Plan Act next week, it is important that nonprofits continue to ask members of Congress to help charitable organizations maintain their operations by including four important policy solutions in the final COVID relief bill. Over the past three weeks, more than 3,000 nonprofits from all 50 states (including 230 from North Carolina) have signed onto a letter asking President Biden and leaders in Congress to:

If your nonprofit hasn’t already done so, please take one minute to add your nonprofit’s name to this national sign-on letter urging federal policymakers to include these provisions in the next COVID relief legislation. We know from experience that policy proposals like these have a much greater chance of adoption when the constituents they’re meant to help show their support by contacting their lawmakers. With your help, we can show every member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation that nonprofits in their districts want these measures. Thank you if your nonprofit is one of the more than 200 from North Carolina that has already joined in this letter.

A recent report from the NC Office of State Budget and Management and nonpartisan legislative staff estimates that state revenue over the next two years will be about $4 billion higher than budgeted. With significant revenue available now – and possibly more coming once Congress passes the American Rescue Plan Act - the NC General Assembly has resources to provide additional COVID relief for North Carolina individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and communities. As legislators develop a COVID relief bill, they will likely seek bipartisan legislation. This means that your legislators’ voices will matter, regardless of their political parties. This also means that your voice matters since you are their constituent! 

Now is a great time to find your state legislators and write to let them know what support the state can provide that would help your community. Before you get started, take a few minutes to read this blog post from friend of the Center Lisa Hazirjian with tips on how to write an effective letter to your elected officials – complete with an easy-to-use worksheet and samples of effective letters.

Nonprofits are trusted messengers, and many North Carolinians are more likely to take important public health actions if the message comes from a familiar nonprofit organization rather than a government official. Your nonprofit can make a big difference in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic by spreading information about the availability, safety, and importance of vaccines and about the continuing importance of wearing masks and social distancing when in public. 

Last week, the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced that North Carolina will be opening vaccines to educators, school personnel, and child care workers beginning on February 24. Right now, North Carolina is vaccinating health care workers, long-term care staff and residents, and people 65 and older.

DHHS tools that can help nonprofits spread the word about vaccines include:

Also last week, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control released updated guidance on the most effective ways to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The latest CDC guidance includes tips on the layering of two masks and on wearing masks snugly so they fully and securely cover the mouth and nose. Nonprofits can share this information with their staffs, volunteers, and the people they serve to help ensure that everyone wears masks in a way that minimizes the spread of COVID-19.

Identical bills filed this week in the NC Senate (S.114) and NC House of Representatives (H.B. 107) would prevent increases in unemployment insurance (UI) costs for virtually all North Carolina nonprofits this year. The legislation was filed based on the recommendation of the Division of Employment Security at the NC Department of Commerce. Two parts of the bill are particularly noteworthy for nonprofits:

The Joint Legislative Unemployment Insurance Oversight Committee unanimously recommended this legislation on Wednesday. The General Assembly will likely take it up in the next couple of weeks. 

Now that the NC General Assembly is beginning to take up legislation, the Center is talking with legislators from both parties about policy solutions that would help nonprofits operate more effectively. These ideas include:

Throughout the legislative session, the Center will keep you posted when legislators introduce bills to help nonprofits operate more effectively to provide essential services in our communities. We’ll also let you know when there is a need for your nonprofit to take action to advocate for legislators to help nonprofits.

The Center’s legislative priorities are based on input from charitable nonprofits. Let us know if our 2021 Public Policy Agenda for North Carolina’s Nonprofit Sector is missing something important that would help your nonprofit and other organizations throughout North Carolina.

This week, state legislative leadership dissolved the NC General Assembly’s nonpartisan Program Evaluation Division. In its 14 years of existence, the Program Evaluation Division has conducted dozens of comprehensive studies of the effectiveness and efficiency of state programs. Several of these studies have evaluated the ways that state agencies partner with nonprofits to provide important programs and services for North Carolina’s communities and have recommended policy solutions that have led to less red tape for – and more meaningful and appropriate oversight of – nonprofits that provide public services through state grants and contracts.

On Sunday, President Biden signed an Executive Order re-establishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. According to a Fact Sheet, the priority areas of the Office are: COVID relief; combatting systemic racism; increasing opportunity and mobility for historically disadvantaged communities; advancing international development and global humanitarian work; and strengthening pluralism and respect for constitutional guarantees. The National Council of Nonprofits sent a letter supporting this Executive Order, which should strengthen the partnership between charitable nonprofits and the federal government in developing policy solutions to help improve communities across the country.

Nonprofit employment has declined by 7.7% since February 2020, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University. The report estimates that it will take nearly two years for nonprofit employment to return to pre-pandemic levels. Arts and educational nonprofits have sustained the greatest job losses during the pandemic.

The decline in nonprofit employment highlights the need for more federal and state investment in the sustainability of nonprofits through additional emergency grants and forgivable loans. The Center continues to advocate for Congress and the state legislature to help protect and restore jobs in the nonprofit sector during and after the pandemic. 

Two bills filed this week in the NC Senate (S.104 and S.112) would ensure that North Carolina businesses do not have to pay state income tax on the forgivable amounts of their PPP loans. Nonprofits are generally exempt from paying state corporate income tax but some organizations pay state tax on unrelated business income. Based on the Center’s analysis, the forgivable portion of PPP loans should generally not be taxable for charitable nonprofits, but these bills would provide greater certainty to nonprofits that received PPP loans.

You’ve made it to the end of this update – thank you! Before you move onto your next email, please click FORWARD and send this to a few colleagues at other nonprofits who you feel would value this information. And please let them know to read to the end for the link to sign up to receive weekly policy updates directly to their inbox for the duration of the pandemic or better yet to join the Center as a member to receive these and other updates, along with many more valuable resources.