Last week, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) unveiled significant improvements to the grantmaking rules governing federal funding that many nonprofits earn. Noteworthy improvements in the newly updated OMB Uniform Guidance include that the de minimis indirect cost rate that all levels of governments using federal funds must pay to every grantee increase to 15% (up from 10%) unless the organization has a higher federally negotiated indirect cost rate, Notices of Funding Opportunities (requests for proposals) will be streamlined and simplified, the Single Audit threshold will increase to $1 million, and more. The reforms also promote equity through removing barriers and ensuring greater outreach to communities that have traditionally had limited access to grants programs. The changes go into effect on October 1, 2024. (Stay tuned, as we’re developing a free national webinar to share more details about and how these improvements can benefit your nonprofit.)

Cybersecurity is mission-critical for nonprofits. Cyber incidents can lead to exposure of sensitive information about a nonprofit’s employees and the people the nonprofit serves. They can also cripple an organization’s ability to carry out its core mission. With limited resources, many nonprofits are unable to hire information security professionals or implement costly enterprise-level cybersecurity solutions. To aid with those issues, the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, through the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), just released a series of materials that can help nonprofits with limited resources bolster their cybersecurity. These resources include:

• Project Upskill: A series of guides designed to empower non-technical staff with the knowledge and ability to protect themselves – and by extension, their organization – from cyber threats.

• Cybersecurity Resources for High-Risk Communities: A collection of tools and resources offered by JCDC and its partners to support cybersecurity for nonprofits.
  
  
• Cyber Volunteer Resource Center: A database of cyber volunteer programs that provides information on how qualifying organizations can seek cybersecurity assistance from their local cyber volunteer program.

Starting in 2020, the Federal Reserve System has conducted surveys to better understand the range of challenges facing low- and moderate-income communities resulting from COVID-19 pandemic. While we are no longer in the midst of the pandemic, lower income and under-resourced communities continue to face many obstacles. The need to better understand these challenges and those faced by organizations – like yours, or ones you may know – serving these communities is still crucial. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey for the Federal Reserve to help them better understand the challenges faced by your nonprofit and the community you serve.

For student loan borrowers with Family Federal Education Loans (FFEL) loans, time is running out to consolidate your loans into a Direct Loan to be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and the Income-Driven Repayment Account Adjustment. FFEL borrowers need to consolidate loans by April 30 to be eligible for past payments to be counted toward PSLF. Emma Crawford, a financial planner specializing in student loan repayment and a Certified Student Loan Professional^®, walks you through the steps to find out what kind of loans you have and the steps necessary to consolidate your loans before the April 30 deadline.

In our first episode, Tiffany Gourley Carter, Policy Counsel for the National Council of Nonprofits, talks with Tsiporah Nephesh, Executive Director at New Mexico Thrives.

Watch the full video (just 4 min, 40 secs) to learn:

• Why nonprofits should be involved in voter engagement activities.
• How to stay aware of changing election laws and requirements in the states.

Hundreds of people visit our job board each day, where they find thousands of nonprofit jobs across the country like those in this recent sampling. Browse jobs or list openings at your nonprofit.