Where We Are Now or, more precisely, Where Are We Now?
Honestly, it’s hard to keep track. Even if we at Ultra were only, and manically, concerned with the well-being of our so-called third sector, even if only what is happening to nonprofits mattered to us and we had no concern for, say, human survival, war, famine, the environment, or any of the other crises in our world, it would be hard to keep track of everything that is happening to and within the field. But, of course, we are concerned with all of the above…which makes it really hard to keep track of all the things happening related to the long- and short-term well-being of nonprofits right now.
Even the Council on Nonprofits, which is pretty much only concerned with the nonprofit sector, is having trouble keeping track — but they are doing their best with an oft-updated chart, coming in at eight pages and counting, related to the Big Bullying Bill HERE. NYCON follows only the really clear and immediate federal moves impacting nonprofits while also analyzing what is happening with New York State and its mechanisms and funding on their newspage HERE. Both are really worth following, even if they, like everyone else, are imperfectly predictive of what will land hardest where. We recommend following them both as well as a selection of other state nonprofit hubs, like Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, or Vermont Common Good. They each have their own way of tracking and analyzing the assaults on nonprofits, to the best of their abilities, and they each offer their own resources. It’s like an anxious nonprofit roadtrip. There is also the good old Nonprofit AF, which is always right on. And best of all is the capacious Nonprofit Quarterly, which offers so much insight, analysis, and conern that it feels like talking to an old friend about all the things that worry you professionally — which also, in this era at least, means personally. When reading NPQ, the importance of our sector and the work we are all doing really stands out , even now.
Meanwhile, a few observations from the (our) trenches that we wanted to share. They may or may not be relevant:
A few of our clients have current grants through various NYS agencies/entities (including NYSCA, the NYS Assembly, the Environmental Protection Fund, etc) and we ourselves are registered with the State Attorney General’s office. We observed, across all of this, a great flurry of activity — for example: page 57 of your pre-contract approval package has one line incorrectly filled out, or the sixth CHAR 16 B document that you submitted needs a box checked, or a receipt for tracking that EPF grant was somewhat unclear in the scan, please resubmit — across agencies in May and June. There were also more than a few grant application deadlines landing in June. All of this was then followed by a vaguely eerie slowing or cessation of activity on July 1 and ever since. The State’s fiscal year is July 1 to June 30, fyi. What does this mean, what might it portend? Maybe that State agencies were trying to get a lot done and in place before the new fiscal year started, given all the vulnerability a blue state and its agencies and staff, has right now with the current White House…? Maybe.
Why do we think that some ostensibly progressive nonprofits are applying for NEA grants and signing that horrible letter of compliance? Yes, the NEA = our tax dollars at work, and we have a right to apply but and those still on staff are smart, decent folks who know their fields and care about them well. But still. Really? That letter is a binding legal commitment to agree to executive orders that, to date (and, really who knows what is yet to come) take aim at LGBTQA communities, immigrants, “DEI,” and more…a lot of people, a lot of communities. We consider the NEA letter a test of sorts. How much is are otherwise marvelous organizations willing to contractually commit to the exclusion of and attacks on specific communities, including many that are ostensibly their own constituents? Apparently, more than a few.
House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to rename the Kennedy Center Opera House the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.” What do you make of that? We need more esteemed spaces named after women, for sure, including women who have modeled nude. But Ultra Advising would prefer to see the Annie Sprinkle Opera House. Wouldn’t you?
Remember all the artists who made the Degenerate Art Show assembled by the Nazis in 1937? Georg Grosz, Paul Klee, Emil Nolde, Otto Dix, Kurt Schwitters, Pablo Picasso, Jean Metzinger, Piet Mondrian, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky and other assorted geniuses.
Speaking of funding, how does one see philanthropists being of the most use for democracy, for the nonprofit sector, for those under threat, right now? During the COVID-19 pandemic, foundations, as well as State and local agencies, increased their giving to meet the crisis and help nonprofits survive. This worked. That is not happening on the same level now, even as many nonprofits lose funding and struggle to make it up elsewhere. Even before this DOGER moment, nonprofits increasingly provided basic services that had once been covered by government. Many nonprofits are on the front lines of education, health and human services, conservation and environmentalism and more.… In fact, nonprofits get little credit for just how much of the fab ric of daily life comes from our efforts, often for little pay and without much fanfare. It’s overwhelming. Now, with the elimination of sources of core funding, nonprofits are incredibly vulnerable — and foundations have the ability to help. They are required, but should NOT be satisfied to, donate 5% of their fortunes per the IRS. Foundations exist to be of service, for which they are a tax haven. They need to live up to their mandates and not their haven-ing. This is the time for increased unrestricted and longterm support. Let your funders know what we need from them, desperately. We know they are all reevaluating their priorities or developing new programs or otherwise retreating to the proverbial smoky backrooms of their largesse. We need to ask them — kindly and patiently — to step up.
We should all sign this letter protecting the Johnson Amendment and nonpartisanship in the sector. This amendment is named after Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson developed the amendment to address concerns surrounding the Facts Forum and the Committee for Constitutional Government, tax-exempt organizations that campaigned viciously against their (liberal) opponents.
HERE is a cool interactive map of resources by state “where nonprofit advocates, grantees, and funders can hover over each state to access free resources tailored to their needs.”
We’ll keep on posting information, observations, recommendations, hopes, disappointments, and questing here. We’re doing our best, like all of us, to sift through what can only be described as an onslaught of action & information directly and/or indirectly relevant to our sector. It’s a lot. Hang in there, friends. We’re here for you! info@ultraadvisig.com
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