WASHINGTON, DC – The Office of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced that Senators King and James Lankford (R-Okla.) led a bipartisan group of 24 Senators in a letter to Senate leadership, renewing the push for inclusion of aid for charitable nonprofits in upcoming coronavirus relief legislation. Charitable nonprofits have been essential partners in the fight against coronavirus and its economic effects. In the letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senators urge leadership to expand charitable nonprofit access to pandemic economic relief and support, increase the federal reimbursement of nonprofit unemployment insurance costs, and strengthen charitable giving incentives to help ease the shock to nonprofit revenues that the pandemic has caused. This support is critical to the long-term health of Maine nonprofits, many of which are facing increased need for services and decreased donations in light of the economic downturn.

“As the crisis continues, our constituents are increasingly turning to nonprofits now more than ever for the essential services that these organizations provide in local communities throughout the country,” wrote the Senators. “Yet, even as they face a tremendous increase in demand for their services, nonprofits have seen a troubling decline in resources available to advance their missions. We must commit to providing charitable nonprofits with the support that they need to continue serving our constituents and our communities.”

“Already, 1.6 million jobs in the nonprofit sector have been lost, and individual giving in the first quarter of the year was down six percent compared to last year—including an 11 percent decline in March alone,” the Senators continued. “We anticipate that this sharp decline in charitable giving will continue, starving nonprofits of vital revenue just as their services are most needed. These are our food banks, our shelters, our domestic violence services, our houses of worship, our early care and education centers, and more that are being called on to feed, house, and care for people whose lives have been disrupted by sickness, closures, and job losses. Congress must step up to support them.”

“Senator King is a champion to Maine's nonprofit sector, which employs more Mainers than key state industries like construction, fishing or agriculture,” said Jennifer Hutchins, Executive Director, Maine Association of Nonprofits. “We're thankful he is urging his colleagues in the Senate to support our work. His leadership is exactly what nonprofits need in Washington.”

“The coronavirus pandemic has created challenges for people in virtually every walk of life and every demographic, but none have been impacted more than those already living in society’s margins,” said Megan Hannan, Executive Director, Maine Community Action Partnership. “The depth and breadth of the need in Maine is reflected in the response to continue the work of local Community Action Agencies (CAAs) across the state, and we are serving people who have never used our programs and services before. We are so thankful that our Members of Congress, including Sen. King, fought to include funds that will allow us to serve more people as the fallout from the pandemic continues. From heating oil to weatherization, nutritious meals and continued early childhood education, our local CAAs are working hard every day to assure Maine families don’t fall further into the cracks as a result of losing their jobs or being furloughed.”

“As a community-based organization serving essential workers on the front-lines of COVID-19 by providing emergency childcare and meals for their young children, the Bangor Region YMCA  wholeheartedly supports Senator King’s request for support to America’s nonprofits,” said Diane Dickerson, CEO, Bangor Region YMCA. “Since the pandemic began, the YMCA has seen first-hand the devastation  COVID-19 has had on our entire state. Like many other organizations helping our essential workforce, the YMCA is struggling to fulfill a critical need for childcare while simultaneously facing the crippling financial impact on its bottom line from lost revenues due to this pandemic. Our communities and all the organizations like my YMCA who are working hard to help our frontline workers cannot continue without the economic aid recommended by Senator King.”

“As COVID-19 and the ensuing economic fallout continues to hurt Maine people, United Ways of Maine are finding ways to support our communities across the state on so many levels,” said Joleen Bedard, Executive Director of United Way of Androscoggin County. “We are particularly concerned about people who rely on nonprofits for help with basic needs, including food, health and mental health, shelter and child care. We recognize the impact that this pandemic has had on individuals and families – unpaid absences, illness, job loss and financial strain – related directly or indirectly to the virus. As we continue to serve Maine communities during this time of need, we are grateful for the leadership of Senator King and his colleagues in urging federal support for our nation’s nonprofits.”

Senators King and Lankford are joined on the letter by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.).

The full text of the letter can be found HERE or below.

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Dear Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer,

Thank you for your continued leadership as Congress acts to support millions of working families. As the crisis continues, our constituents are increasingly turning to nonprofits now more than ever for the essential services that these organizations provide in local communities throughout the country. Yet, even as they face a tremendous increase in demand for their services, nonprofits have seen a troubling decline in resources available to advance their missions. We must commit to providing charitable nonprofits with the support that they need to continue serving our constituents and our communities.

Already, 1.6 million jobs in the nonprofit sector have been lost, and individual giving in the first quarter of the year was down six percent compared to last year—including an 11 percent decline in March alone. We anticipate that this sharp decline in charitable giving will continue, starving nonprofits of vital revenue just as their services are most needed. These are our food banks, our shelters, our domestic violence services, our houses of worship, our early care and education centers, and more that are being called on to feed, house, and care for people whose lives have been disrupted by sickness, closures, and job losses. Congress must step up to support them.

As negotiations continue on the next COVID relief package, we urge you to include the following provisions to ensure that charitable nonprofits can continue to provide frontline services to those in need and remain in position to help our communities recover.

1.         Expand Charitable Nonprofit Access to Relief and Support: Expand the eligibility for charitable nonprofits to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by modifying the current 500-employee cap so that mid-size and larger nonprofits can participate, and modify the PPP so that charitable nonprofits can participate in a second round of funding. Enact and expand grant and funding programs to help nonprofits retain employees, scale service delivery, and create new jobs. Additionally, appropriate funds for federal grant programs that support nonprofits.

2.         Strengthen Charitable Giving Incentives: Encourage donations to the work of charitable organizations in their communities by expanding the above-the-line or universal charitable deduction in the CARES Act. Extend the giving incentives through at least 2021. Donations are especially necessary 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

3.         Increase Federal Unemployment Insurance Reimbursement for Self-Insured Nonprofits: 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 lay off staff, triggering immediate, catastrophic unemployment payment bills. These challenges are exacerbating cash flow difficulties, diverting valuable funds from mission services, and forcing even more layoffs at a time when other employers will likely experience little or no additional costs resulting from COVID-19-related layoffs. The federal unemployment insurance reimbursement for self-insured nonprofits should be increased to 100 percent of costs.

On behalf of the charitable nonprofit in each of our districts on which our constituents rely every day, we appreciate your attention to this request. We believe that the inclusion of these provisions in the next COVID package will directly help charitable nonprofits respond to the fallout from this pandemic and continue to serve our communities in its aftermath. We appreciate your full consideration of this request.