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Updated March 14th, 2022

Dear President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Leaders Schumer, McCarthy, and McConnell:

The COVID-19 pandemic – extended and exacerbated by the Delta and Omicron variants of the disease – has ravaged our Nation’s health and economy far beyond anyone’s expectations. For every major natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina, Congress has approved relief packages – and extended additional relief – as the needs of the residents required. At this stage in the pandemic, more assistance is clearly needed, both to continue expired and expiring supports and incentives, and to address emerging challenges. One such new challenge, the nonprofit workforce shortage, demands your immediate attention. The undersigned organizations are united in our call for prompt legislative action to address the hardships of these dual problems charitable organizations are facing – the persistent pandemic and the community adversities caused by staffing shortages at charitable organizations. 

Throughout this global crisis, the public and policymakers at all levels have relied on the commitment, compassion, and endurance of charitable nonprofits to provide direct, immediate relief in communities throughout the country. By all accounts, the pandemic continues to disrupt lives and the economy, factors that normally and rightly motivate Congress to enact disaster relief that provides direct funding and tax relief to those most directly affected. Charitable organizations and the people we serve have utilized many forms of relief. While certainly appreciated, most of these policy supports crafted to help nonprofits help others have expired; yet the needs remain great as charitable organizations struggle to provide pandemic relief in the face of continuing health risks, lost revenues, and the lack of available staff.

 Further, once the pandemic is defeated and other sectors of the economy return to “normalcy,” the public will still turn to charitable organizations to help them recover through education and healthcare, social services designed to help rebuild lives and careers, and cultural and faith engagements dedicated to restoring hope, inspiration, and trust. Yet, many charitable entities are experiencing unprecedented workforce shortages that prevent them from addressing the current relief and future recovery functions they are called on to perform. Charitable organizations are also dealing with a drastic decline in volunteers who are unable or hesitant to provide their usual level of support for the missions they care about.

Dear: 

We trust you and your members will agree with the opening sentence from a new report on the American Rescue Plan funds made available to state, local, Tribal and territorial governments: "The COVID-19 pandemic resurfaced an undeniable truth; charitable nonprofits and governments are natural partners, serving the same constituents in the same communities." We write to share this vital resource from our colleagues at the National Council of Nonprofits because of its timeliness and to strengthen the partnership between our organizations. Read the report: "Strengthening State and Local Economies in Partnership with Nonprofits: Principles, Recommendations, and Models for Investing Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. 

As you know, Congress allocated $2.6 billion in COVID relief funds for governments in Kansas for use in providing "assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or to aid impacted industries." The federal government showed tremendous trust that governments closest to the people and their problems are best positioned to decide the best ways to spend their allocated resources to meet local needs. 

We believe nonprofits and governments are natural partners, serving the same constituents in the same communities. Partnership between our sectors allow for leveraging of resources, relationships, and strengths to serve those communities even better. The new report, Strengthening State and Local Economies with Nonprofits, shares the perspective the nonprofits have close relationships and high levels of trust with those we both serve. We are perfectly positioned to maximize public benefits flowing from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds due to our deep knowledge of community needs, reach, and existing relationships, particularly in low-income and underserved or hard to reach populations. We are stronger when we invest together. 

Three components of the report that were drafted to assist you and other government officials understand an operationalize the opportunities afforded by these ARPA funds:

Authorized Recipients and Uses of ARPA Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds- Addressing questions about whether and how governments can invest ARPA funds through charitable nonprofits. 

Guiding Principles for Identifying High-Impact Programs to Fund- overarching principles to help prioritize funding decisions. 

Recommendations for Designing and Managing Programs with Impact- eight recommendations, based on experience and lessons learned from successful as well as underperforming programs created and funded under the 2020 CARES Act, offered to assist in designing and managing relief and grant programs. 

The report also provides nearly four dozen examples of successful partnerships using COVID-related funds and extensive resources to further analysis. 

We encourage you to share Strengthening State and Local Economies in Partnership with Nonprofits with your members. 

Regards,

The Kansas Nonprofit Chamber