April 22, 2025
Yesterday we sent you an email reminding you and your staff of the critically important role you play as we continued to advocate with state and federal lawmakers, to protect Medicaid, SNAP and other essential entitlement programs that benefit the individuals and families we serve, and (here in NY) to send letters to your elected leaders urging them to ensure our state budget priorities are included in the final SFY26 enacted budget. We have updated the letters you can generate using our VoterVoice system. Use this link to send letters on the following topics https://nyscouncil.org/advocacy-action-center/
STATE BUDGET ADVOCACY
- 7.8% Flexible Targeted Inflationary Increase (TII) (new letter now available)
- OMIG Audit Reform (new letter now available)
- Investment in Children, Youth and Families (new letter now available)
- MCO Tax Set Aside for BH sector (letter will be added by end of day,4/22)
- Contingency Fund accounts to ensure continuity of care for individuals and families served by agencies that are experiencing a crisis as the result of federal funding terminations (letter will be added by end of day, 4/22)
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RESOURCES Attached please find two documents from the National Council of Nonprofits providing information and suggested actions your organization can take today to assess your risk given recent federal attacks on federal grant programs that impact provider funds, and sharing facts regarding the Executive’s authority to attack non-profit organizations.
myth-v-reality-executive-authority
Worth Reading
Kentucky nonprofits worried about their future as cuts continue to come from Washington D.C., Stan Ingold, WEKU, Apr. 16, 2025.
State-level DOGE work gather speed, Chris Teale, Route Fifty, Apr. 15, 2025.
The SAVE Act is the Wrong Solution for a Non-Problem, Nonprofit VOTE, Apr. 15, 2025.
Tax reform shouldn’t be a backdoor attack on nonprofits, The Minnesota Star Tribune, Apr. 12, 2025.
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Grant Administration Changes Affecting Nonprofit Partnerships
Nonprofits seeking to access or apply for grants may now be subjected to DOGE review and approval after it took control of the federal website www.grants.gov. The portal is the primary access point to find and apply for federal grants, estimated at more than 1,000 grants and more than $500 billion in awards. Additionally, earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services closed the Northeastern and Western CAS Field Offices, which help grantees, including nonprofits, with the negotiated indirect cost rate process and setting a rate for federal grants awarded. Only two offices now remain to review indirect cost rates. Charitable nonprofits seeking a higher rate than the de minimis can anticipate a longer process.
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Safeguarding Charity Act Reintroduced
Earlier this month, Sen. Lankford (R-OK) and Rep. Steube (R-FL) reintroduced the Safeguarding Charity Act (S.1428/H.R.2896) that would clarify that tax-exempt organizations should not be treated as recipients of federal financial assistance. The legislation follows recent lower court decisions – later overturned by an appeals court – that found that a nonprofit’s “tax exemption” is a form of “federal financial assistance,” which could trigger the application of several federal statutes. The bill codifies the appeals court decision that held that 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status did not constitute federal financial assistance for purposes of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and provides greater protections for nonprofit independence.