The Honorable Joe Biden Presidential Transition Office 1401 Constitution Ave NW Washington, DC 20230 November 9, 2020 Dear President-Elect Biden: On behalf of more than 4,000 charitable organizations from all 50 states, we share the Nonprofit Community Letter highlighting the urgent federal legislative priorities of organizations serving on the frontlines dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in every community in America. We encourage you to address both the vital services provided by nonprofits and the need for targeted relief as soon as possible The nonprofit sector is the backbone of many of our communities. Before the pandemic, nonprofits collectively employed over 12.3 million Americans --- more than were employed in the construction, financial services, or manufacturing sector. Nonprofit health and human services providers are on the front lines, directly serving people impacted by COVID-19 or actively working to prevent further transmission. Cultural institutions are providing online educational programs for children, teachers, and families. You have seen the work of many other charitable organizations, helping with food and housing insecurity as job losses and evictions mount. Demand for these services has skyrocketed as donations have plummeted or failed to keep pace, and nonprofits have reason to fear additional cuts on their grants and contracts with government agencies at all levels. As other industries forecast the layoff of thousands in the weeks leading up to the election, charitable nonprofits have already lost nearly 1 million jobs due to the economic impact of COVID-19. More nonprofit job losses are on the way as the funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans run out, unemployment bills come due, emergency federal funding streams have not been replenished, and charitable giving continues to decline. Larger nonprofits, completely shut out of the job-saving programs contained in the CARES Act, are similarly running out of time and money. The attached letter provides details on specific relief pertaining to unemployment reimbursement, Paycheck Protection Program expansion, support for midsize organizations, and charitable giving expansion. Those solutions, which will save thousands of jobs, are readily available and have strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. We ask that you embrace these policy solutions to provide the urgently needed relief and recovery for the nonprofit sector nationwide. We look forward to continuing this discussion with you. Laura Walling from Goodwill Industries International, Inc. ([email protected]) can serve as a point of contact for you. Sincerely, Alliance for Strong Families and Communities American Alliance of Museums American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network American Heart Association American Lung Association Americans for the Arts Association of Art Museum Directors Boys & Girls Clubs of America Catholic Charities USA Communities in Schools Council for Advancement and Support of Education Council on Foundations Covenant House International Dance/USA Epilepsy Foundation ETS Faith & Giving Coalition Futures Without Violence Girl Scouts of the USA Girls Inc. Goodwill Industries International Habitat for Humanity International Independent Sector Jewish Federation of North America Leadership 18 League of American Orchestras Lutheran Services in America March of Dimes Meals on Wheels America Mental Health America National Council of Nonprofits OPERA America The Arc of the United States The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society The Nonprofit Alliance United Philanthropy Forum United Way Worldwide Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Volunteers of America YMCA of the USA YWCA USA Urgent Nonprofit Policy Priorities in Reforms to CARES Act July 13, 2020 Updated November 9, 2020 Urgent Nonprofit Policy Priorities in Reforms to CARES Act July 13, 2020 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi The Honorable Mitch McConnell Speaker Majority Leader U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Kevin McCarthy The Honorable Chuck Schumer Minority Leader Minority Leader U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20510 Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Leader McCarthy, and Leader Schumer: The charitable nonprofit community appreciates that several key relief programs in the various COVID-19 relief laws enacted by Congress extend eligibility to some nonprofit organizations. These bipartisan efforts recognize both that the American people rely extensively on charitable nonprofits for important services and supports and that charitable nonprofits play a significant role in our nation’s economy as the third largest employer. These programs have been a lifeline for many nonprofits during this difficult time and it is clear that every dollar granted, donated, or earned has been leveraged immediately to address clear and present challenges. However, nonprofits – like the people we serve throughout the country – still face significant challenges. As we continue to provide relief and begin the process of reopening, these challenges will only grow. As you work on the next COVID-19 relief package this month, the charitable nonprofit sector urges you to address four specific issues to ensure we can continue to provide frontline services to those in need, and are able to help our communities recover. The following key areas have garnered widespread bipartisan support in both the House and Senate and will be covered in depth at virtual briefings during the #Relief4Charities “week of action” beginning July 13: 1. Continue Emergency Funding Programs that provide nonprofits with financial support enabling them to continue and expand services protecting vulnerable families and frontline responders. Charitable organizations must have additional resources to provide vital services essential to individual and community wellbeing, both during the pandemic and to support recovery and rebuilding efforts. Our requests: (1) Extend and expand the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) by enabling a second round of funding for all nonprofits and modifying the eligibility criteria pertaining to 500 employees; (2) Enact and expand grant and funding programs, such as the proposed WORK NOW Act or the Employee Retention Tax Credit, to help nonprofits retain employees, scale service delivery, and create new jobs; and (3) Appropriate funds for federal grant programs that enable nonprofits to advance their missions of serving communities. 2. Provide Low-Cost Loans to Mid-Size and Larger Nonprofits which have not been able to access government funding. Nonprofits with 500 or more employees are currently completely shut out of the two most important sources of COVID-19 financial support: the PPP and the Federal Reserve Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”). The recently proposed “nonprofit” MSLP contains numerous financial restrictions and lacks the forgivable feature of PPP that make it unattractive to most organizations that are targeted for the support. Our requests: (1) Authorize and require the Federal Reserve to quickly finalize a nonprofit lending facility under MSLP that is tailored to accommodate mid-size nonprofits including language similar to H.R. 6800 Updated November 9, 2020 Nonprofit Community Letter Page 2 of 37 that offers a loan forgiveness option; and (2) Extend eligibility of PPP to all nonprofits of all sizes similar to H.R. 6800 and lift the loan cap to appropriately reflect the operational needs of these nonprofits. 3. Strengthen Charitable Giving Incentives to encourage all Americans to help their communities during these challenging times through charitable donations. Donations are especially needed today as nonprofits respond to the current health and economic crisis and will be critical in the future as nonprofits play an essential role in recovery efforts when the pandemic ends. Our requests: (1) Expand the above-the-line or universal charitable deduction in the CARES Act by enacting the provisions in S. 4032/H.R. 7324 increasing the amount to one-third of the standard deduction; and (2) Extend this and the giving incentives enacted in the CARES Act through 2021. 4. Provide Full Unemployment Benefit Reimbursement to nonprofits that self-insure these benefits. Federal and state laws give nonprofits the option of operating as self-insured (“reimbursing”) employers that make payments to their state unemployment insurance systems for benefits attributable to them in lieu of advance contributions. Shut-down orders by government officials and program cancellations have forced nonprofits to furlough or layoff staff, triggering immediate, catastrophic unemployment payment bills that are due this month in most states. Compounding the problem has been a Labor Department ruling that requires nonprofits to pay 100% of unemployment costs upfront. These challenges are exacerbating cash flow difficulties at a time when other employers will likely experience little or no additional costs resulting from COVID-19-related layoffs and are diverting valuable funds from mission services. Our request: Increase the federal unemployment insurance reimbursement for self-insured (reimbursing) nonprofits to 100% of costs. We thank you, once again, for your leadership in crafting and passing COVID-19 related relief legislation. We hope that nonprofits can count on your continued leadership, and your insistence that the needs of nonprofits, and the indispensable role they play, are at the center of upcoming relief