FEDERAL

What’s in The New COVID Relief Law for Nonprofits?  

Hosted by National Council of Nonprofits

Wednesday, January 13, 3:00 PM

Important COVID relief for individuals, nonprofits, businesses, and governments has been enacted. Some of the provisions will expire in just a few weeks, and others will last only a few months. Learn which provisions will help your nonprofit and what you need to do to take advantage of them by attending this Nonprofit Town Hall briefing.

Coronavirus Relief Fund

The new law extends through December 2021 the deadline for state and local governments to spend their Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) from the CARES Act, thus removing the risk that they would have had to return unspent money at the end of last year. Charitable organizations lobbied for this extension because numerous states and cities have used some of their Coronavirus Relief Funds to create grants programs for nonprofits and businesses and/or use the money to reduce the unemployment costs of nonprofits and others. 

Next Steps: Nonprofits need to make sure their state and local governments spend every dime of CRF monies, paying particular attention to nonprofit priorities.

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

The new law authorizes a Second Draw of PPP loans for qualified employers. Charitable nonprofits (as well as for-profit businesses) may qualify for a Second Draw loan of up to $2 million only if they a) employ 300 or fewer employees and b) experience a decline in gross receipts of 25% in one of the four quarters in 2020 compared to the same quarter in 2019.

PPP loan forgiveness legislation expands the types of expenses eligible for forgiveness to include the costs of personal protective equipment and workplace modifications. It also authorizes a short-form approval of forgiveness for loans of $150,000 or less. The law also reverses Small Business Administration policy by repealing retroactively a requirement that Economic Injury Disaster Loan Grants grant recipients must pay back $10,000 emergency grants even when PPP loans were forgiven.

Next Steps: The Small Business Administration will soon be issuing new forms and guidance that will enable nonprofits and others to take advantage of the new law.

State & Local Aid

Congress ultimately took no action on proposals to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency aid to state and local governments facing revenue shortfalls due to the pandemic.

Next Steps: Congress is expected to use negotiations over COVID relief to provide additional funds to help state and local governments weather the fiscal fallout of the COVID-related recession. Because states and localities must balance their budgets, nonprofits are girding for spending cuts, late payments on their grants and contracts, and imposition of new taxes, fees, and demands for payments from tax-exempt organizations.

A bill meant to aid local governments struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic was re-introduced on Tuesday in Congress by a bipartisan pair of lawmakers.
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Thanks to The National Council of Nonprofits for providing information in this section.

NEW YORK STATE

Support for Bill A11154 Sponsored by Assembly Member Amy Paulin

NPW supports A11154 (Paulin) because it would eliminate a burdensome, unnecessary filing requirement and protect the privacy of our donors.  

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: This legislation ensures that when certain sensitive data concerning 501(c)3 Not For Profits is reported to the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of State it shall be used solely for the purpose of enforcing existing laws-but constitutionally protected personal and private data such as names, addresses and telephone numbers of individual contributors shall not be part of the public record and shall remain private and not be subject to disclosure. NPW recommends that Westchester’s 501(c)3 Not for Profits:

Thanks to Nonprofit New York for providing information in this section.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY

Support Right to Counsel Legislation in Westchester

NPW supports efforts to pass a law ensuring that low-income tenants receive representation in eviction proceedings free of charge, including a study to quantify the economic impact, including costs and benefits.  

Tenants’ Rights During the COVID-19 Crisis

Hosted by Senator Shelley Mayer

Wednesday, January 13, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

Learn more at an informational presentation about residential tenants’ rights during the COVID-19 crisis. Attendees will hear from Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV), Hudson Valley Justice Center (HVJC), and Westchester County.

Tune in for the discussion live: Facebook.com/ShelleyMayerSD37. For the live simultaneous translation in Spanish, please join the Zoom Webinar: bit.ly/NYSTenantsRights. 

Attendees will hear about:

• COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020
• Current state of eviction moratoriums
• Westchester County Housing Court procedures
• Tenants’ rights and defenses in eviction proceedings
• Tenants’ right to heat, hot water, repairs
• How to get help with paying rent arrears and ongoing rent
• Help for undocumented immigrants
• Westchester Right to Counsel (R2C) Coalition

Opportunity for Q&A following the discussion. To submit questions in advance, please email smayer@nysenate.gov or call (914) 934-5250.