Nonprofit Policy Priorities

Reprinted with permission from the National Council of Nonprofits  Feb 7, 2022 Nonprofit Advocacy Updates

As the pandemic has dragged on beyond all expectations, charitable nonprofits of all types report at least three areas of challenges that must be addressed by policymakers.

The first is resources; charitable giving is down and giving incentives enacted by Congress have expired. Nonprofits are ramping up to call on Congress and the Administration to restore the universal charitable (non-itemizer) deduction, the 100% AGI cap on individual donations and the 25% income tax cap on corporate donations.

Charitable organizations are also calling for action to help remedy the devastating and well-documented nonprofit workforce shortage. Solutions include extending and improving the Employee Retention Tax Credit, investing significantly in high-quality, affordable and available child care options, enacting the WORK NOW Act nonprofit grants and jobs program, and making essential reforms to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to make it more accessible for nonprofit employees.

Finally, lawmakers must help address the precipitous decline in volunteerism, both to ensure organizations can continue to provide pandemic relief and recovery to communities and to promote civic engagement and healing. Specifically, nonprofits are seeking capacity-building grants to assist in volunteer generation and management and relief for volunteer drivers. Soon, nonprofits throughout the country will be asked to engage in advocacy efforts to advance these priorities.

Learn More

• Employee Retention Tax Credit background and ongoing advocacy efforts.
• Nonprofit Workforce Shortage: The Scope and Impact of Nonprofit Workforce Shortages, National Council of Nonprofits, Dec. 13, 2021, using responses and comments from nonprofits throughout the country to explain the causes and impacts of nonprofit workforce shortages and lay out solutions nonprofits can pursue at the local, state, and federal levels.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and Recent Improvements that can help employees of charitable nonprofits and many public employers secure forgiveness of their federal student loans. View the recent webinar (Jan. 27) hosted by the National Council of Nonprofits and the Student Borrower Protection Center.