In This Newsletter:

  • Have Your Voices Heard
  • County Update
  • State Update
  • Federal Update
  • Upcoming NPW Events
  • Member Events
  • NPW Program Wrap Up
 

HAVE YOUR VOICES HEARD

 

Please join us this Thursday, March 24 for a Nonprofit Town Hall with Senator GillibrandBe sure to register and send proposed questions in advance.

Please also join us on Wednesday, March 30th for an Overview of the Charities Bureau and the Westchester Regional Office and to learn about the new upcoming electronic filling requirement related to the form 990.

 

COUNTY UPDATE

 

Westchester County Business First Grant Program for Nonprofits and Religious Institutions - Applications due March 25th. Learn More HERE. Questions: email BusinessFirst@npwestchester.org

 

STATE UPDATE

 

Governor Hochul: $500 Million for Small Business – Nonprofit Businesses Not Included

Governor Hochul announced $500 million in grant funding through the Empire State Development COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program that will go to nearly 29,000 small businesses throughout New York State. The program was created to provide flexible grant assistance to small businesses, micro-businesses and for-profit independent arts and cultural organizations in the State of New York who have experienced economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nonprofit organizations employ 20% of the workforce statewide. NPW will continue to advocate for similar funding to support nonprofit 501c3 that have experienced economic hardship as a result of the pandemic. As a reminder, this is a separate issue from efforts that seek to adequately fund nonprofit organizations that deliver government mandated and other critical services to all New Yorkers.

NY State Legislation and Related Items

Newly Signed Bills to Address Workplace Harassment and Discrimination. On March 16, Governor Hochul signed three bills to address workplace harassment and discrimination:

  • S.812B (Biaggi)/A.2035B (Niou) establishes a confidential hotline for complaints of workplace sexual harassment
  • S.3395B (Gounardes)/A.2483B (Niou) includes the state and all public employers as subject to the human rights law
  • S.5870 (Gounardes)/A.7101 (González-Rojas) prohibits release of personnel records as a retaliatory action against employees

HERO Act New Model Template

Effective February 10, 2022, consistent with the Governor lifting the indoor mask mandate, the New York State Department of Labor updated its model template for the airborne infectious disease exposure prevention control plan for all private sector workers. 

The New York Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO Act) was signed into law on May 5, 2021. The law mandates extensive new workplace health and safety protections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the NY HERO Act is to protect employees against exposure and disease during a future airborne infectious disease outbreak. 

Under this law, the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL), in consultation with the NYS Department of Health, has developed an Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard, a Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan, and various industry-specific model plans for the prevention of airborne infectious disease. Employers can choose to adopt the applicable policy template/plan provided by NYS DOL or establish an alternative plan that meets or exceeds the standard's minimum requirements.

The airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plans must go into effect when an airborne infectious disease is designated by the New York State Commissioner of Health as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health. When designated, employers are required to provide a copy of the adopted airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plan and post the same in a visible and prominent location within each worksite. Templates and resources are available below.

On March 17, 2022, the designation of COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health under the HERO Act ended. Private sector employers are no longer required to implement their workforce safety plans. Inquiries about the HERO Act can be emailed to Airborne.Infectious.Diseases@labor.ny.govFor more information: https://dol.ny.gov/ny-hero-act

NY State Senate and Assembly One House Budgets

One House Budget Legislation: On March 14 the State Senate and State Assembly released their one house budget legislation in response to Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget. You can review the Senate's resolution here, and the Assembly's summary here. The legislature and governor will need to negotiate a final budget for the state by April 1, 2022.  

NYS Assembly One-House Budget: The Assembly released their FY 2023 Budget Proposal of $226.4 billion including budget priorities such as:

  • $3 Billion for Childcare
  • $150 Million Included to Support and Expand Universal Pre-K
  • Aid for Rent Relief and Paths to Homeownership
  • Mental Health Services for New Yorkers
  • Eliminating the Medicaid Global Cap
  • Increasing Wages for Home Care Workers 

NYS Senate One-House Budget: The NYS Senate announced a $229 billion FY 2023 spending plan that included priorities such as:

  • A commitment to Climate Action
  • Property Tax Relief for Homeowners
  • Rent Relief for Tenants
  • A Suspension of the State’s Tax on Gasoline
  • Funding for caregivers, Infrastructure at the Local Level, and Investments in Mental Health Services alongside Investments in Community Violence Prevention
  • Eliminating the Medicaid Global Cap
  • Increasing Wages for Home Care Workers

Take Action 

The State Senate and State Assembly removed ethics reforms from their one house budget legislation. However, there is still time to advocate for A Place at the Table  and replacing the Joint Commission on Public Ethics with an independent commission before the final budget is passed! The state must pass a final budget by April 1, 2022.
Support a Place at The Table

Support an Independent Ethics Commission

FEDERAL UPDATES

 

Senate Hearing on Charitable Giving and Nonprofit Trends

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on Thursday, March 17, Examining Charitable Giving and Trends in the Nonprofit Sector. The hearing focused mostly on the challenges nonprofits have faced during the pandemic and charitable giving. Various committee members expressed support for and discussed restoring and increasing the universal charitable deduction, Employee Retention Tax Credit, Universally Giving Pandemic Recovery Act, WORK NOW Act, and Accelerating Charitable Efforts (ACE) Act. Prior to the hearing, the National Council of Nonprofits and 15 state associations with Senators on the Committee submitted statements or written letters promoting the nonprofit policy priorities. You can go here to watch the hearing video

Omnibus Spending Bill

On March 15, 2022 President Biden signed H.R. 2471, a $1.5 trillion government funding package to fund the federal government through September, 2022. The omnibus spending package does not include policy priorities for nonprofits. 

Nonprofit Sector Strength and Partnership Act of 2022

Independent Sector is championing a draft bill intended to strengthen nonprofits, scale effective solutions, reduce bureaucracy, and support the nonprofit workforce.  The Nonprofit Sector Strength and Partnership Act of 2022 would release quarterly economic data on the nonprofit sector, reduce paperwork for nonprofits to register and fundraise in multiple states, streamline grant and contracting processes, and provide clearer rules on nonprofit civic engagement.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Webinar April 5

The Department of Education is reforming the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to provide a better path to relief for millions of nonprofit and other public service workers struggling under the weight of student loan debt. The National Council of Nonprofits and Student Borrower Protection Center will host a webinar on the program, Accessing Public Service Loan Forgiveness, on Tuesday, April 5 at 1:00 p.m. ET. You can register here.

 

UPCOMING NPW EVENTS

 
 
Register for All NPW Events Here
 

MEMBER EVENTS 

 
 
See All Member Events Here
 
 

NPW PROGRAM WRAP UP

 

Enormous thanks to Adam Gaynor, Evan Kingsley, and Melissa Biffert of Plan A Advisors for expertly leading an engaging and informative program on March 16th focused on Program Portfolio Analysis. The session offered tools for assessing your program portfolio and demonstrated steps for determining impact and profitability so participants can make smart decisions on what programs to keep.

 

We are stronger together. 

Become a member or renew today. Join other organizations and businesses dedicated to building a stronger nonprofit sector. Benefit from professional development opportunities, resources, individualized consultation, connections, and collaborations to advance your mission.

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