Hello Nonprofit Leaders and Supporters,
We are almost there folks! Almost at the end of 2021. Wow, it was another difficult year for many of us and I know that we are feeling stretched and overwhelmed. I really hope that you are going to take the time over the end-of-the-year holidays to rest and recuperate.
On December 16, 2021, our colleagues at Independent Sector released public polling results reflecting the views of registered voters on a wide range of topics related to nonprofits and public policy. The results provide valuable insight into the landscape of public opinion about charitable giving policy, federal representation of the nonprofit sector, and our sector’s role in the community.
Some of the findings that really jump out at me are:
- 88% of voters support making the universal charitable deduction permanent for all taxpayers, including 53% of voters who strongly support this giving incentive. With nearly three quarters of voters (74%) support raising the cap to $4,000 per person.
- 72% of voters believe the federal government could better solve challenges facing local communities if charities and nonprofits were officially represented within the Administration, including 74% of frequent churchgoers.
- Nearly 9 in 10 voters (87%) support local charities educating policymakers and businesses about the needs of the communities they serve.
It is something that those of us inside nonprofits see and hear all the time from our communities, but it is wonderful to see these findings, as they tell a very clear story. The public sees value in the nonprofit sector and the role it plays in society. People in America want to see nonprofits better resourced through charitable giving, more represented in policy conversations, and more actively engaged in the issues of the day. I hope you’ll take a moment and click through to the report. A big thanks to our friend at Independent Sector for making these findings available to all of us.
So, let’s close out this tough year on that high note: knowing that the public values what we do and wants to see a bigger role for our sector.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year!
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Jim White
NAO Executive Director
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Join Our team! NAO Seeks Nonprofit Education Specialist
Are you a nonprofit professional with experience in curriculum development and delivering high-impact experiential education? If you answered yes, you might be the ideal candidate to become a Nonprofit Education Specialist! This role plays a critical part in helping NAO to meet our mission by providing top-notch training to todays and tomorrow's nonprofit leaders. This position is based out of NAO’s office in Portland and requires some travel to provide on-site training mostly in the Portland Metropolitan area and occasionally in rural communities in Oregon. Applicants are encouraged to apply early – open until filled. Position details here.
Congratulations 2022 Nonprofit Reputation Program Winners!
This year, we are excited to offer not one, but two organizations with pro bono reputation management support! NAO nonprofit members Wind & Oar Boat School and Tucker Maxon School are the lucky recipients from yesterday's Nonprofit Reputation Program drawing. This is the third year in a row that ReputationUs, a communications and reputation management firm is providing this great pro bono work valued at $14,000. Thank you to everyone who applied. A big THANK YOU to Casey Boggs, President of ReputationUs and his team for their generosity!
Project Impact Lane County 2022
Over the last few years, NAO has partnered with Dialogues in Action to bring cohorts of nonprofits together to build the capacity to evaluate and communicate impact. Over the past decade over 300 nonprofits in eight states and provinces have been a part of this training. And in 2022, we’re excited to be co-sponsoring Project Impact in Lane County alongside the United Way of Lane County! To learn more, click here.
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COVID-19 Update
Oregon Health officials are preparing for another surge and urging one million Oregonians to get their booster shot by the end of January. Health officials from OHSU are forecasting that the Omicron variant could peak with between two and three times the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized during Oregon’s Delta surge.
Below is a summary of the Oregon Health Authority’s plan, provided by the agency:
1. Oregon will urge one million Oregonians to get boosters by the end of January:
- In coming weeks, we believe our 1 million booster goal is in line with the number of Oregonians who will be eligible to receive one, due to the time that’s passed since they completed their initial COVID-19 series.
To reach our 1 million booster goal, we will:
- Support our partners in the health care system and in local public health departments to at least double or triple their current weekly booster vaccinations for the next month.
- Add three new high-capacity vaccination sites (in addition to the 6 current ones operating around the state) and resume mobile vaccination clinics, with support from FEMA, our contract with Jogan Health, and local public health and community partners.
- Add and deploy contracted health care staff to vaccination clinics to expand appointments and clinic hours. The lack of staff to put shots in arms is our primary constraint that’s led to scarce appointments in some Oregon communities.
- Expand our supply of mRNA vaccines – we’ve asked for and received a supplemental quantity of vaccine from the federal government, enough to administer 140,000 booster doses. They have also agreed to our request for increased doses on an ongoing basis because of high demand statewide.
2. Oregon will focus boosters on people who are most vulnerable to becoming hospitalized if they catch the Omicron variant:
- Deploying mobile vaccination teams to skilled nursing facilities and other long-term care facilities in the next two weeks.
- Working with long-term care facilities to implement their vaccination plans and provide staffing solutions.
- Providing incentives to get more residents and staff vaccinated.
- For under-vaccinated communities, we will:
- Augment staffing at Federally Qualified Health Centers and other clinics to help them vaccinate approximately 800-1,000 people per day.
- Work with community-based organizations and trusted community leaders to stand-up 35 vaccination events for communities of color around the state, with an additional 93 events scheduled in coming weeks.
3. Rapidly deliver new COVID-19 treatments and expand needed testing. New and coming monoclonal therapies and antiviral drugs offer the promise of protection against hospitalization. For some drugs, they are effective within a narrow window of time after infection. OHA is:
- Working to develop a high through-put site for Monoclonal antibody therapy in the Portland Metro area. This site will be open seven days a week, 11 hours a day and have the capacity to treat 350 people per week.
- Registering Oregon health care providers with federal agencies so they will be able to quickly receive newly approved antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19.
- Connect patients to treatment and testing to maximize the effectiveness of these new drugs.
4. Support health care workers and hospitals in the face of the coming omicron surge.
- We are extending our staffing contract to bring more nurses and other health care staff from out of state into Oregon’s already hard-pressed hospitals and vaccination clinics.
- We’ll continue to work with long-term care facilities to provide alternative step-down beds to move patients who can be safely discharged out of hospitals and free desperately needed beds.
- Before mid-January, we’ll provide hospitals an interim crisis care tool they can use to equitably prioritize care if doctors and nurses are forced to make heart-breaking decisions in the face of limited intensive care beds, ventilators and other life-saving resources.
5. Connect more people to boosters, treatments and testing.
- More outreach messages focused on boosters, from billboards to spots on social media.
- For example, next week we’ll begin running ads on social media aimed at informing Spanish-speaking older adults that they’re eligible for boosters and letting them know where they can get a shot.
Oregon Legislature’s Special Session
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Build Back Better
ERTC Update
On Tuesday, Bipartisan legislation to reinstated the ERTC was introduced in the House. The Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act (H.R. 6161) is a clean reinstatement of the ERTC for the fourth quarter of 2021 (October – December). The original sponsors are Representatives Miller (R-WV), Murphy (D-FL), Hern (R-OK), and Sewell (D-AL). Here’s a news release with quotes from several nonprofits. NAO is encouraging our Congressional delegation to sign on as co-sponsors.
Universal Charitable Deduction
Unfortunately, the Universal (or non-itemizer) Charitable Deduction expires at the end of this year. The Charitable Giving Coalition sent its letter calling for extension and improvement to the universal charitable deduction, signed by more than 400 charitable nonprofits, to congressional leaders this week.
The charitable deduction encourages Americans to give more to charity than they otherwise would. Increasing the cap on the temporary universal charitable deduction and making it available in 2022 will encourage Americans to give even more to important causes as the charitable sector continues to help the nation recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Please encourage our congressional representatives and Senators to take the important step of extending the Universal
Vaccination and Testing Requirements
CMS Interim Final Rule
The Fifth Circuit Cour of Appeals today narrowed the geographic application of an order blocking implementation of the vaccination mandate for staff of healthcare providers receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds. As a result, the mandate can go into effect in 26 states while the injunction against the CMS Interim Final Rule will continue in 24. The reason is that different states are covered by different lawsuits. This is an evolving situation and will continue to change as lawsuits are settled or dismissed.
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Two events shared by the Student Borrower Protection Center this coming Monday on student debt and PSLF:
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The first is a panel conversation about state policy agenda for the student debt crisis titled Cooperative Federalism: Critical Action for States to Tackle the Student Debt Crisis in 2022. The event is Monday, December 20, 2021 at 12:00 pm EST and focuses on what state legislators, regulators, and advocates must do to tackle the most pressing consumer protection issues facing student loan borrowers and help advance changes to fix our fundamentally broken student loan system. You can register through linked event title above.
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The second event is a broader webinar on the PSLF waiver and how to access it. The Student Borrower Protection Center is partnering with the Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid Federal Student Aid and UnidosUS to host a webinar on Monday, December 20 at 6pm ET.
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NAO's Upcoming Learning and Convening Opportunities |
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Virtual Networks
Due to the increasing COVID-19 cases and rise of the Omicron variant, NAO will be holding all upcoming programming virtually. You can access the network sessions you have come to rely on from the comfort of your home. With virtual access, you can participate any network session, from any network, from anywhere in the state! NAO will continue to watch the COVID-19 conditions and we hope to reconvene network sessions in-person as public health and safety protocols will allow. Stay tuned for more information.
Getting the Most Out of Meetings – Encouraging Participation and Addressing Challenging Behaviors
January 18, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Presenter: Jess Hampton, NAO
Many of us spend countless hours in meetings, whether at work or as volunteers. Mismanagement of our time in meetings saps our energy, retention of information and can lead to frustration and conflict. In this session, we’ll explore practical ways to organize efficient meetings using the BDA method – before, during and after the meeting. Participants in this session will leave with practical tools and templates to make your next meeting – and all the ones to come – successful, and group work more effective and fulfilling! More details and registration information here.
From Good to Great! Optimizing the Board-Executive Director Relationship
January 19, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Presenter: Jenn Clemo, NAO
The board/executive director relationship is among the most critical for an organization to be successful. This relationship is not effortless, but the reward is a results-driven partnership that is productive, enjoyable, and consistently in support of the organization’s mission. This session we’ll examine board/executive director roles and the division of labor between governing and managing. Participants will also learn about essential elements of a good board/executive director relationship as well as optimal elements of a great, high-performing leadership team. More details and registration information here.
Engaging and Empowering Stakeholders with Financial Statements
January 27, 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. | Presenter: Erin Zollenkopf, Susan Matlack Jones & Associates
Often times it can feel like financial and non-financial staff are speaking a different language. Similarly, board members with backgrounds in for-profit industries can struggle with the nuance of nonprofit financial statements. This session we’ll provide concrete examples of how to communicate your financial information with internal stakeholders – such as development or program staff, and members of the board. More details and registration information here.
Black Exclusion in Oregon
February 17, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Presenter: Zachary Stocks, Oregon Black Pioneers
Many know that Oregon is one of the whitest states in America, but fewer people are aware that this is by design. Zachary Stocks will reveal how the provisional, territorial, and state governments of Oregon created legal and social barriers to exclude Blacks from society, how Oregonians reinforced white supremacy with violence and intimidation, and how that history has been misunderstood over the subsequent decades. More details and registration information here.
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NAO Webinars
Board Bright: NAO's Quarterly Board Roles & Responsibilities Training
January 26, 3 – 4:30 p.m. | Presenter: Jess Hampton, NAO
In this 90-minute webinar, participants will learn about the fundamentals of nonprofit governance and gain an understanding of the board’s role in the management of the organization. This quarterly learning opportunity is designed for emerging and seasoned board members alike, and anyone else looking for a governance refresh! More details and registration information here.
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Virtual Convenings
NAO’s 2022 Annual Meeting
Save the date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Join your NAO network of colleagues from around the state as we talk about the impact that we have had in 2021 and outline the vision for NAO’s work to support you in 2022. You’ll meet NAO’s 2022 Board of Directors who provide leadership and guidance as well as NAO’s staff, who together are committed to serving all of YOU and Oregon’s nonprofit sector as a whole. NAO’s Annual Meeting is for NAO members only. More details to come!
Oregon Nonprofit Leaders Conference
Save the date: Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Over the past three decades, the ONLC has brought together over 350 nonprofits, funders, and thought leaders to explore the challenges and opportunities of nonprofit management today. With this conference now a program of NAO, we are thrilled to be working with ONLC’s Advisory Committee, who will continue to support the planning and delivery of this virtual conference. As we near April 12, NAO will share updates via email, social media, and on the ONLC webpage.
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Thank you to the following FUNDERS and SPONSORS who are supporting NAO’s online 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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