To help your nonprofit keep up with ever-changing federal and state laws and regulations affecting nonprofits, the Center is offering a half-day Nonprofit Legal Compliance Workshop next Wednesday, September 15. The workshop will include an overview of basic legal and accounting compliance issues for 501(c)(3) nonprofits and provide in-depth sessions on topics including COVID-19 legal considerations (e.g. vaccination requirements and returning to in-person operations), nonprofit accounting trends, insurance basics for nonprofits, board governance, and creative fundraising considerations. During the final hour of the workshop, presenters will provide insights (and perhaps even a few answers) to any questions that participants may have about legal or accounting issues for nonprofits.

As an added bonus, participants will get a sneak preview of the Center’s popular 2021 Legal Compliance Checklist. And as an even bigger added bonus for some, participants who are attorneys will receive four hours of continuing legal education credit. Register today.

Yesterday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order requiring all federal contractors and subcontractors – including nonprofits that contract with the federal government – to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The executive order only applies to nonprofits that are federal contractors or subcontractors, not those that receive federal grants. President Biden also announced yesterday that:

With these new federal requirements, more nonprofits are asking whether they can or should require their staff to get vaccinations. To answer the first question: It is legal for nonprofits to require their employees be vaccinated. To help with the second question, the Center posted an analysis of pros and cons of nonprofit vaccination requirements (spoiler alert: the pros probably outweigh the cons for most nonprofits). We have also included tips for your organization to implement an employee vaccination requirement in a way that is fair and effective and that minimizes potential liability for your nonprofit.

This week, a conference committee of members of the NC Senate and NC House of Representatives continued negotiating a final version of the state budget for FY2021-23 (S.105). Leaders in both chambers indicated this week that they have made progress on agreements on some of the bigger issues in the budget, including tax cuts and total capital spending. Negotiators are now trying to find common ground on dozens of differences between the budget approved by the Senate in June and the version the House passed last month. Legislators hope to approve a final version of the budget later this month so they can send it to Governor Cooper for his consideration.

Both chambers’ budgets included significant new funding for nonprofits (about $701 million in the House budget, and about $300 million in the Senate budget), and a variety of other provisions that would affect the work of some or all charitable nonprofits in North Carolina. To help your nonprofit understand the differences between the two versions of the budget, the Center has prepared a chart comparing various appropriations and provisions affecting nonprofits in the House-approved budget and the Senate-approved version.

The Center continues to advocate with legislators and the Governor’s Office to include favorable nonprofit provisions in the final version of the budget. Specifically, the Center is asking that the final budget include:

With legislators negotiating the details of the final state budget, now is a great time to find your state House and Senate members and call them to let them know what types of state funding would help your organization and your community. Before you get started, take a few minutes to read a new blog post from friend of the Center Lisa Hazirjian with tips on how to call your elected officials with confidence – complete with an easy-to-use worksheet to ensure that your call is effective and relatively stress-free.

Last week, the Center offered a free webinar on ways that local governments across North Carolina can partner with nonprofits to use ARP funds to assist communities in their continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar includes information from the NC Pandemic Recovery Office as well as insights on nonprofit-local government partnerships from a county official, NC Child, and the Center. If you missed the webinar, check out the recording and materials that were shared during the presentations.

On Wednesday, the NC Senate unanimously approved a bill (H.B 320) that would make several changes to the NC Nonprofit Corporation Act to make it easier for nonprofits with members to conduct meetings remotely and for nonprofit board members to use email to take action by unanimous written consent. Under current law, nonprofits with members must conduct meetings in person, and nonprofits need board approval (typically in a provision in the nonprofit’s bylaws) to use email or other means of electronic communication for unanimous written consent votes of boards. The bill would enable nonprofits to hold membership meetings remotely and would create a default rule that nonprofit boards can use email to take action by unanimous consent outside of a meeting.

The proposed changes are based on recommendations from the Center, thanks to input we received from nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Center is appreciative of Senator Amy Galey (R-Alamance) for her leadership on this bill and for working with the Center and other nonprofits on legislative language that will be helpful for a wide range of nonprofit organizations.

The House approved a slightly different version of the bill in March, so it will need to vote on the bill one more time before sending it to Governor Cooper for his consideration.

Last Friday, Governor Cooper vetoed a bill (S.636) designed to create limits on the disclosure of donors to nonprofits. Governor Cooper vetoed the bill because it “is unnecessary and may limit transparency with political contributions.” The bill essentially would have done two things:

The original version of the bill included a problematic provision that would have limited the ability of many nonprofits to acknowledge individual and corporate donors at events, on their websites, and in annual reports and other publications. The Center worked with the bill sponsor and organizations advocating for the bill to remove this provision from the final version.

With dozens of cities and towns around North Carolina holding municipal elections this fall, now is a great time for nonprofits to help ensure that their staff, volunteers, and the people they serve are registered to vote and show up during Early Voting or on Election Day. Voter turnout is typically much lower in years when there are no national or statewide races on the ballot, so it is particularly important for nonprofits to promote the 2021 election (if there is one in the municipality where you provide services). Here are three easy (and nonpartisan) steps your nonprofit can take today:

This fall, state legislators must draw congressional and state legislative districts for elections between 2022 and 2030. As part of this redistricting process, the NC Senate and NC House of Representatives redistricting committees are holding a series of 13 public hearings around the state this month. These hearings are a good way for nonprofits to provide input on ways legislators can develop districts that provide fair representation for the communities they serve. If you can’t make it to one of the public hearings but would like to provide input on the redistricting process, you can also submit comments online.

On Wednesday, the NC Senate gave final approval to a bill (H.B. 91) that would impose strict governance and operations requirements on the nonprofit organization that administers interscholastic high school athletic activities in North Carolina. Specifically, the bill would require the nonprofit to agree to a unilateral memorandum of understanding that:

As part of its policy agenda to support and strengthen North Carolina’s nonprofit sector, the Center opposes government policies that limit nonprofits’ governance as independent, nongovernmental corporations with control over their own organizational policies and practices. The Center is concerned that this legislation would create a precedent of the state limiting the ability of a nonprofit organization to operate as an independent organization. Because the Senate made changes to the bill, the House must approve it one more time before it goes to Governor Cooper for his consideration.

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.