The U.S. Supreme Court is set to issue decisions this week in its remaining cases of the 2022-2023 term. Those cases concern some of our country’s most controversial issues, such as race, religion, personal rights, student debt relief, and who holds political power. On race, two affirmative action cases involving institutions of higher education admissions, one a charitable nonprofit and the other a public university, challenge the practice long-approved by the Supreme Court of using race as a factor in admissions. Two separate cases challenge the authority of the Biden Administration to cancel federal student loan debt of $10,000 per borrower and up to $20,000 for borrowers with Pell Grants. [Read more]

• Why It Matters: Adverse rulings in the college admissions cases could result in widespread disruption of policies and practices that could extend to aspects of public and private employment matters relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. A decision blocking the debt cancellation plan would likely create confusion for charitable nonprofit employees who are relying on loan forgiveness under the separate Public Service Loan Forgiveness program not involved in these cases.
  

Total charitable giving from individuals, foundations, businesses, and bequests dropped by 3.4% in current dollars and 10.5% relative to inflation last year, according to the annual Giving USA report released last week. Donations from individuals fell even deeper, by 6.4 percent (a decline of 13.4 percent when adjusted for inflation). This news is especially troubling in light of the challenges nonprofits face that include workforce shortages and increasing demand for their services. [Read more]

• Why It Matters: The report highlights the critical importance of Congress passing the Charitable Act (S. 566/H.R. 3435), which would help offset the reductions in individual philanthropy by encouraging more people to give more generously to the work of charitable nonprofits.
  

States continue to pass laws this year to improve governmental grants and contracting practices, although some measures could make it more challenging for nonprofits to carry out their missions. The Oregon Legislature recently passed a bill to create a Task Force on Modernizing Grant Funding and Contracting aimed at addressing challenges imposed on charitable nonprofits. In response to a scandal in Florida, a new law requires nonprofits receiving state funds to make public certain documents detailing where and how state dollars will be used. North Carolina appears to be on the verge of overriding the Governor’s veto of a bill to prohibit state agencies from offering workplace trainings covering topics related to equity, diversity, and inclusion in these trainings. [Read more]

• Why It Matters: Governments rely heavily on charitable nonprofits to provide vital services to residents, yet legislative attention to government grants and contracting can either be productive or harmful to the ability of nonprofits to advance their missions.

Local governments around the country continue to release American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) spending plans and report on how they have used those funds to support or partner with nonprofits. Most recently, cities and counties in Florida, Illinois, and Massachusetts announced numerous investments in charitable organizations both to aid their recovery from the pandemic and to advance their missions of serving their communities.

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With the help of the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO), four lawmakers announced the re-launch of the Pennsylvania Charitable Nonprofit Caucus – a bicameral, bipartisan group formed to support and promote the commonwealth’s thousands of charitable nonprofit organizations. At the news conference, PANO Executive Director Anne Gingrich said, “This Nonprofit Caucus will provide a platform for all nonprofits – regardless of size – to be at the table to assist in developing solutions to the challenging issues we are all seeking to address.” [Read more]

Workers installed a massive pedestrian bridge this spring in Manhattan, the result of a public-nonprofit-business partnership that raised funds, navigated red tape, and promoted the public good, while also generating tax revenues and raising property values. The partnership that accomplished the project may be noteworthy more because of where it occurred than the fact that actors in the three distinct sectors – government, charitable nonprofits, and business – were able to work so effectively together. Yet, the news really is just the most recent example of a unique nonprofit superpower: the Power of Three. That is, nonprofits that collaborate with the other sectors of the economy can achieve things that no one entity or even sector can accomplish.