Advocacy

Advocacy Updates

2022-02-11T09:38:46-05:00February 11th, 2022|Advocacy|

Nonprofit Montgomery is hard at work with our advocacy initiatives. Along with our Advocacy Committee, we are keeping track of what’s happening in the state legislative session. We testified on behalf of increasing funding to NIMBL, the short term no interest loan fund for nonprofits, and will be providing written testimony on other bills mentioned below.

We encourage our members to: take a position on these bills by reading up on these issues. You can also follow us on Twitter and reach out to us. See below for updates on General Assembly bills as well as other advocacy actions and resources.

Click here to read out full advocacy update email.

Member Exclusive: Candidate Conversations

2022-02-09T11:11:37-05:00February 9th, 2022|Advocacy, Events|

Member Exclusive: Candidate Conversations

Next up in our Candidate Conversations is current County Executive Marc Elrich who is running for re-election. We’ll gather a small group to talk to him about nonprofit concerns and challenges.

When: February 14, 4:30-5:30pm
Where: On Zoom. Once you register and are approved, we’ll send you an email with the details.
Who: Nonprofit Montgomery members only. We ask that only one person from your organization register since seats are limited.
Click here here to save your spot.

Time to Care Act: Paid Family and Medical Leave Info.

2022-01-27T11:46:48-05:00January 27th, 2022|Advocacy|

The “Time to Care Act” establishes a Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program through which employees may take up to 12 weeks of paid leave from their jobs to care for new children, other family members with serious health conditions or disabilities, or themselves. Click here to see MD Center for Economic Policy’s business impact one-pager. For more information and to learn more, please visit timetocare.net.

Governor Hogan Declares 30-Day State of Emergency

2022-01-07T17:26:53-05:00January 5th, 2022|Advocacy, Nonprofit Resources, Uncategorized|

Governor Larry Hogan just declared a 30-day state of emergency to take urgent short-term actions to combat the current COVID-19 surge and mobilized 1,000 members of the Maryland National Guard to assist state and local health officials with the ongoing pandemic response.

From MD Nonprofits: The covid surge has increased the demand for nonprofit services, and at the same time many organizations are struggling to manage covid infections and risks in their own staff.  How do the Governor’s recent actions help or hinder you from providing crucial support? Please reach out to us with information about how the Governor’s decision impacts your services and any other support you may need. We’ll collect your feedback and send it to MD Nonprofits.

Advocacy Opportunities

2021-12-17T21:31:45-05:00December 16th, 2021|Advocacy|

Pandemic Impact on Nonprofits in Maryland
MD Nonprofits’ final COVID-19 and Racial Equity Survey is now available. Nonprofit Montgomery partnered with MD Nonprofits to collect this data in 2020, and Montgomery County tied with Baltimore for the county with the highest number of respondents. The data highlights the impact of covid on the nonprofit sector and the disproportionate impact on smaller nonprofits and nonprofits led by people of color.

Sign on to Letter to Governor Hogan
MD Nonprofits is calling on the state to devote at least $1 billion of the $4 billion projected budget state surplus to services for families and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic effects. That sign-on letter is here. Nonprofit Montgomery has signed on, as have over 215 other organizations. We encourage all Maryland nonprofits to sign on to the letter.

Nonprofit ERTC Relief
The National Council of Nonprofits is leading the action to Restore the ERTC, which was eliminated for the fourth quarter of 2021, and is helping nonprofits that reduced their payments to the IRS in anticipation of these credits avoid having to pay back amounts owed due to the repeal. Click here for more information and  to learn how to get involved. If you were directly affected by the repeal, please reach out to Henry Bogdan, Maryland Nonprofits, who is collecting this information for an advocacy effort.

Nonprofit Montgomery: Candidate Conversations

2021-10-06T09:15:07-04:00October 7th, 2021|Advocacy, Events|

We’ll be organizing small groups of nonprofit leaders to talk to candidates about nonprofit concerns and more.

Our first candidate running for County Executive is David Blair. We’ll be scheduling more conversations with candidates soon. So stay tuned!

When: October 14, 11am to noon
Where: On Zoom. Once you register and are approved, we’ll send you an email with the details.
Who: Nonprofit Montgomery members only. We ask that only one person from your organization register since seats are limited. Click here here to save your spot.

Questions? Contact us at connect@nonprofitmoco.org.

FY23 Operating Budget Forums…Speak up for the nonprofit sector!

2021-10-06T09:12:16-04:00October 6th, 2021|Advocacy, Events, MoCo Government News|

County Executive Elrich and the County’s regional services centers will host five hybrid forums in this month to seek input on the Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget. Residents can attend the forums in person or view them online.

These forums are important to nonprofits. If you’re able to please comment/question on how needs are still high and that funds still need to be available to nonprofits on the front lines of the crisis.

  • Oct. 6, 7-8:30 p.m. Silver Spring Civic Building, One Veterans Place, Silver Spring.
  • Oct. 13, 7-8:30 p.m. White Oak Community Recreation Center, 1700 April Lane, Silver Spring.
  • Oct. 18, 7-8:30 p.m. BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown.
  • Oct. 19. 7-8:30 p.m. Mid-County Regional Services Center, 2424 Reedie Drive, Park and Planning Board Room, Wheaton.

Survey of Nonprofit Organizations’ COVID Response for County’s After Action Report

2021-07-28T14:07:24-04:00July 28th, 2021|Advocacy, MoCo Government News|

The County’s nonprofits were an essential part of the pandemic response. Please help Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security capture what nonprofits did, and your lessons learned in terms of resources, staffing, communication, etc.

The information will be used by the County to develop an After Action Report that assesses the important role that nonprofit organizations played in the COVID response. Your responses will help inform the County and improve future emergency responses.

The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. Please take the time to document your essential role in the County’s pandemic response. The deadline is Monday, August 16.

FY22 Community Grants-FAQs

2021-04-07T19:16:07-04:00March 27th, 2021|Advocacy, Grants & Funding, MoCo Government News|

So if my program is listed the FY22 Recommended budget we are now guaranteed that we will get funding in FY22?

No, the County Council has the final say on the County budget, including Community Grants. They can make changes to this list and did last year.

Will there be other opportunities to apply for County grants?

For Community Grants in FY22, no.  However, during FY21 the County Executive and County Council launched numerous other grant programs targeting specific sectors and community needs.  Additional County grant programs may be launched in FY22 as well.

On the County Website there are Community Grants and Community Services Grants. What is the difference?

Both grants are exclusively for nonprofits and sit in the Community Grants NDA. Community Services Grants, administered by HHS, are one-time grants for training or infrastructure with a $10,000 limit. Community Grants fund any program or operating cost, have no funding limit, and can be multi-year.

My nonprofit received several County contracts last year but they do not appear on the FY22 list. Why did these get cut?

They probably weren’t cut. If your programs was funded directly by a department last year it would not appear in the list of Community Grants this year. Reach out to your department Contract Monitor to see your funding level in the FY22 Recommended budget since department programs are not detailed.

Do we need to submit paperwork to ensure we receive our FY22 Community Grant if we are on the list?

Not right now.  Once the County Council passes their FY22 Approved budget you will need to work quickly with your department Contract Monitor to submit updated documentation and renew your contract.

What if we applied for a New Program in FY20, can we get funding?

The FY22 Recommended budget did not include funding for any FY20 New Programs.  There may be additional grant programs in the future.

What does it mean to be moved into a department’s base budget?

For this program, you will in the future deal directly with the department for yearly funding and will not have to apply for Community Grants each year.  This allows the department to better align programs that are focused on the same goals and achieve better overall outcomes for the County.

If my program was not moved into a department’s base budget does it mean it is not important?

Your program is absolutely important.  The County relies on the NDA funded programs to meet unique community needs that are not covered by other County programs or efforts.  The Community Grant NDA provides more flexibility that allows your programs to serve these unique needs and achieve important outcomes.

Source: Rafael Murphy, OMB March 24, 2021

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