There is great concern amongst nonprofit organizations about funding cuts to the federal budget as recently presented by President Trump. Please take a few moments to read this article and take action as you see fit and wish to do.
Thank you in advance for your efforts to ensure that the important work done by our community can continue!
– Mary Weaver
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The federal budget blueprint released by President Trump yesterday raises serious concerns for California nonprofits and the communities we serve.
A core American tenet is that a purpose of government is to provide for and promote the general welfare of the people, and that the government’s budget and fiscal policies should strive to provide sufficient resources towards that end.
This budget moves in exactly the opposite direction. It eliminates an array of programs that support the common good and the well-being and sustainability of the public. These proposed cuts include:
- Community Development Block Grant program, which funds local governments and nonprofits in economic development and infrastructure
- Corporation for National and Community Service (the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps and SeniorCorps), providing thousands of people with job training through community service
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Legal Services Corporation
- National Endowment for the Arts
- National Endowment for the Humanities
- Senior Community Service Employment Program
A compelling and impassioned case can be made for each of these programs individually. As just a few examples, together the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities cost Americans just 92 cents each, yet spark the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs and are crucial to the world-class arts of which we are rightly proud.
The Legal Services Corporation gives poor Americans legal help without which they could easily be victimized. One of our members uses $60,000 in CDBG funds to pay the utility bills of very poor families in their rural community…what will happen to them if their lights go out?
In California, one in every 16 workers is employed by a nonprofit organization. Whether an orchestra, a museum, a legal aid clinic, a community center or a health clinic, the nonprofit sector is a crucial industry benefiting society economically as well as through its services.
California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), a statewide policy alliance of more than 10,000 organizations, is the voice for California’s nonprofit community. Through our advocacy work, we protect and enhance the ability of California’s nonprofits to serve — and lead in — our state, the nation and the world.
We urge our members of Congress to closely and carefully examine this proposed budget, and act to protect California’s residents and the nonprofits that serve them.
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Thank you. Nonprofits need to make our voices heard. Please go here to take our short survey about how the new administration is affecting us as nonprofits and pass it along to others you know in the nonprofit community.
The survey, “Government in Transition; Nonprofits in Transition,” asks what you as nonprofits are concerned about in this changing policy environment, what impacts you anticipate, and how you plan to respond. Your voice is crucial — please complete the survey today so that we can compile and publicize the results as soon as possible.
P.S. If you are not yet a CalNonprofits member, we need you now more than ever. Join now to increase the advocacy voice of nonprofits and benefit from exclusive and discounted goods and services. Sign up today.
Contact Info: KatieK@calnonprofits.org