Dear NPW Community:

Below you will find important updates and action items. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

With appreciation,
Jan

Jan Fisher, Executive Director
Nonprofit Westchester

In this Alert:

1. Rescheduled Budget Forum with the Board of Legislators
2. Take Action to Build the Housing We Need in Westchester
3. County and NPW Launch Nonprofit Taskforce
4. Take Action to Advance a Better Contracting Process with NY State
5. Take Action to Secure the Workforce Data Your Nonprofit Needs
6. Contracting with the Federal Government

RESCHEDULED BOL BUDGET FORUM

The Nonprofit Westchester’s Budget Forum with the Westchester County Board of Legislators originally scheduled for October 23^rd, has been rescheduled to Friday, October 25^th.  This is a NPW member’s only event. Please email us if you can no longer attend.

COUNTY

TAKE ACTION: Help Build the Housing We Need in Westchester

Nonprofit Westchester leadership joined Welcome Home Westchester on September 23rd in a press conference held in front of 70 Pier Street on, a multi-family transit-oriented development steps from the Ludlow Metro North Station. Campaign speakers, including Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg, challenged all city, town, and village elected officials throughout Westchester to not wait for state action but instead to commit to taking specific actions to address the housing shortage and an affordability crisis that threatens the health of the local economy and the vibrancy of Westchester County’s communities. They further called on residents and activists in every city, town, and village to insist that their communities be part of the housing solution, and neither to wait for action from Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature, nor to let only a dozen or so communities monopolize the economic benefits, the possibilities of infrastructure funding, and the moral imperative to make Westchester a welcoming community for all who wish to live and work here.

1. Read the “5 in 2025 Agenda: Options That Every Westchester City, Town, and Village Can Take to Address the Housing Shortage”.

2.Sign the online petition to urge local officials to take action on one of the “5 in 2025” housing policy solutions THIS YEAR. Your support can help ensure that everyone has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing in Westchester. Sign the online petition to urge local officials to take action on one of the “5 in 2025” housing policy solutions THIS YEAR. Your support can help ensure that everyone has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing in Westchester.

The Welcome Home Westchester campaign is a multi-stakeholder advocacy effort consisting of business and nonprofit leaders, academics, think tanks, faith leaders, and community advocates working together to drive a new public conversation around fixing the housing shortage in Westchester County.

County Board of Legislators and Westchester County Launch Nonprofit Task Force

Thank you to the nonprofit leaders who joined us on Wednesday, September 18th for the launch of the Westchester County Board of Legislators' Nonprofit Contracting Taskforce, chaired by Legislator Jewel Williams Johnson, in partnership with our Executive Director, Jan Fisher.

This committee is dedicated to strengthening the government-nonprofit partnership and streamlining the county’s contracting process with nonprofit organizations. The task force focuses on addressing challenges such as procurement and payment delays while providing much-needed education, technical support, and resources to help nonprofits navigate the contracting process more effectively.

During the launch meeting, nonprofits outlined their key challenges, which will guide future agendas as the committee, in partnership with the county, works to enhance the contracting process.

Thanks again to Legislator Jewel Williams Johnson and the Chair of the Board of Legislators Vedat Gashi for supporting this initiative. Stay tuned for upcoming committee dates and agendas. 

NEW YORK STATE

TAKE ACTION: Help Enact Legislation In Support of A Better Contracting Process with NY State

NPW’s lobbying efforts secured passage of nonprofit contracting legislation S.4877-B sponsored to Senate Shelley Mayer and A.2740-B sponsored by Assembly Member Amy Paulin  - a first for the Assembly.  Next step: engaging with Governor Kathy Hochul’s office to pass the legislation.  Nonprofit Westchester has been actively involved in meeting with the Governor’s representatives and requesting a meeting with the Governor to ensure these bills get signed into law.  

This important measure would provide much-needed reforms to the state’s process of contracting with not-for-profit organizations, holding government accountable for delays in the contracting process that costs nonprofits, government and taxpayers time and money.

1. If you have not done so already, please read the sign-on letter that was sent to the Governor in August and sign on by EOD Friday, September 27th. Share with your colleagues!

2. Read NPW’s Advocacy and Policy Agenda HERE.

FEDERAL

TAKE ACTION: Help Secure the Workforce Data Your Nonprofit Needs

The nonprofit sector is a significant part of our nation’s economy, comprising about 10% of the private sector workforce in our country. Yet, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not regularly report nonprofit employment and wage data. Join charitable organizations across the country in asking President Biden to take executive action to ensure that BLS includes nonprofit employment data in its quarterly reports. The deadline for signing on is October 2.

1. Sign the Letter to President Biden

Federal Office of Management and Budget Update

Governments at all levels – local, state, and federal – that hire nonprofits to deliver services are required to reimburse nonprofits for the reasonable indirect costs (sometimes called “overhead” or “administrative” costs and what Nonprofit Westchester refers to as core operating expenses) they incur on behalf of governments when federal dollars are part of the funding stream. The mandate is embedded in grantmaking rules that the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) updated in 2024 and effective Oct. 1, 2024.

The OMB Uniform Guidance is the common set of rules governing most federal grantmaking to charitable nonprofits, state, local, and Tribal governments, and others.  According to the National Council of Nonprofits,  “The revisions to the OMB Uniform Guidance, which becomes effective Oct. 1, 2024, address longstanding problems in recovering actual costs, advance equity by removing bureaucratic barriers, and make other significant reforms that will reduce burdens and costs of seeking, performing, and reporting on federal grants.”

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