In response to the release of the latest COVID relief bill, National Council of Nonprofits President and CEO Tim Delaney released the following statement:
“This relief bill is a critical temporary measure, but it fails to do enough to protect the nation’s charitable nonprofits—the organizations that tens of millions of Americans have been relying on for essential supports such as shelter, food, mental health services, and childcare.
“Nonprofits can nod appreciation for the positive direction of some aspects. An extension of the Universal Charitable Deduction through 2021. An extension of the 50 percent coverage of unemployment costs for reimbursing employers until mid-March. Partial eligibility for another round of PPP funding. Funds for some of the arts groups that have been hit hard. And funds for nonprofits that provide much-needed childcare.
“But the bill is far from enough. PPP eligibility is more limited than the first round, continuing to deny mid-size and larger nonprofits any relief and turning away many organizations that remained open to deliver services only because of first-round PPP funding. The failure to provide full relief for unemployment costs will leave nonprofits with massive bills forcing them to lay off even more workers.
“Charitable nonprofits have already lost almost a million jobs since March, and thousands of nonprofits across the country have shut down permanently – unable to provide needed services anymore. Without further relief, tens of thousands more nonprofit workers will go from helping others to needing help themselves. More organizations will shut down entirely, just as the public’s need for their services peaks this winter. If nonprofits continue to go under from the crush of demands and lack of resources, where will tens of millions of Americans go for help?
“When members of Congress are home for the holidays, they need to look at how much their constituents have been depending on nonprofits for basic needs and how the dual crises of COVID-19 and the economy have ravaged the ability of nonprofits to serve their communities. Expecting charitable nonprofits to do so much more for so many more for so much longer with even less is a formula for disaster.
“Congress and the Administration have failed the American people by not acting early enough or doing enough. It took far too long to pass a bill that does not do enough for our communities. Congress must pass more comprehensive relief immediately upon returning to Washington in 2021."