Tag: nonprofits

Many Groups Are Still Struggling But Federal Support Has Shored Up Nonprofits During The Coronavirus Pandemic
CULTURE

Many Groups Are Still Struggling But Federal Support Has Shored Up Nonprofits During The Coronavirus Pandemic

More than 60% of nonprofit social services, arts and culture organizations obtained Paycheck Protection Program loans during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic. These very low-interest loans for small businesses and nonprofits turn into grants that don’t need to be paid back as long as borrowers meet certain conditions, such as using at least 60% of the money to pay their employees. Even so, almost 50% of nonprofits providing social services, such as food banks and shelters for people experiencing homelessness, still had to scale back their work and cut staff because of inadequate funding. Almost 80% of arts and culture groups, including everything from big museums to small schools that teach children to speak Mongolian, faced the same problems. Also, about 15% of the nonprofi...
They Probably Won’t Suffer Any Consequences But Nonprofits Helped Organize The Pro-Trump Rally Before The Capitol Siege
POLITICS

They Probably Won’t Suffer Any Consequences But Nonprofits Helped Organize The Pro-Trump Rally Before The Capitol Siege

Some of the money used to organize the Jan. 6 pro-Trump “March to Save America” came from social welfare groups. One of them, Women for America First, notably obtained a permit from the National Park Service for the rally – which preceded an assault on the Capitol in which at least five people died. The Conversation U.S. asked nonprofit law scholar Ellen Aprill, who served in the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy in the late 1980s, about possible ramifications for these nonprofits. Can social welfare groups legally fund big protests? Social welfare groups, also known by the part of the tax code regulating them – section 501()(4) – “must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community (such as by bringing about civic betterment and so...
Donors And Volunteers Can Help Nonprofits Struggling To Do More With Less Money
Journalism

Donors And Volunteers Can Help Nonprofits Struggling To Do More With Less Money

Historically, nonprofits have gotten nearly a third of their charitable donations just during the month of December. In recent years, this flurry of giving has begun on #GivingTuesday, an online campaign that takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. We asked Erica Mills Barnhart, a University of Washington nonprofits scholar, to explain how nonprofits are holding up amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic distress it has caused, as well as why everyone with money to spare should consider giving some of it away now. 1. How are nonprofits faring? Many are in trouble. According to a study on how the pandemic is affecting nonprofits in Washington state, my colleagues and I found that demand for services is 10.2% higher, while funding has sunk by 29.5%. In addition, nonprofits...
Nonprofits that empower leaders of color are more apt to do something about racial inequality
Journalism

Nonprofits that empower leaders of color are more apt to do something about racial inequality

The U.S. is becoming more racially diverse. Since 2010, 96% of all U.S. counties registered an increase in their percentage of nonwhite residents. Yet the people who lead nonprofits in the U.S. remain disproportionately white. This mismatch can make it difficult for such organizations to understand and address racial inequality in their community and throughout the country. As a scholar of diversity, I know most nonprofits want to become more racially diverse. However, many struggle to achieve this goal. While researchers, funders and community leaders often highlight the dismal levels of racial diversity among nonprofit boards, an even greater disparity often goes overlooked. Not mentioned is the fact that scarcely 10% of nonprofit executive directors are people of color. Current reali...