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Public Policy
Nonprofit Policy News The
health care debate matters to nonprofits
Under current versions of health care reform legislation in the U.S. House, millions of nonprofit organizations would be left out of protections aimed at helping employers afford health care coverage for their employees. Members of the Minnesota Congressional delegation, led by Rep. Betty McCollum, have signed onto a a joint letter to the House leadership which calls for the inclusion of nonprofits in such protections. What
your organization can do:
Read MCN's position statement on health care reform Read our sign-on letter to the Minnesota Congressional delegation Read MCN's October 28th press release, 'Health care matters to nonprofits' Get up-to-date information on the health care debate from the Minnesota Budget Bites Blog Notice of proposed annual street maintenance and street lighting fee assessment for nonprofits in Minneapolis (Update below November 11) If your organization owns property in Minneapolis, you may have recently received a notice from the City of Minneapolis regarding public hearings related to assessments on street maintenance and street lighting fees strictly aimed at nongovernmental tax exempt parcels. The Transportation and Public Works (TPW) Committee met on October 20, 2009 to discuss this and other issues. We are proud to report that sixteen tax-exempt organizations including service providers, arts groups, hospitals, churches and cemetery associations spoke up with the message that the cumulative effect of similar targeted fees and assessments is undercutting the very reason these organizations are exempt in the first place. Read
the compelling testimony from Peter Rodosovich, Vice President
of Operations for the YMCA of Metropolitan Minneapolis; also check
out coverage
of this important issue from Minnpost. The full council is to review these recommendations at their regularly scheduled meeting, Friday, November 13th at 9:30 a.m. in Room 317 of the City Hall building. You can follow this link to review the city staff presentations, including power points, and the minutes of the committee meeting. http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2009-meetings/20091113/tpw20091105agenda.asp MCN members in Minneapolis continue to express concern regarding the impact of further assessments diverting funds from community programs and services at a time when there is increased demand for the services nonprofits provide while at the same time they are experiencing decreased revenues from all sources.You can find the contact information for your Minneapolis city council member by following this link:http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ For more information, please contact MCN Deputy Public Policy Director Jeannie Fox at jeannie@mncn.org or 651-757-3083 MCN announces fall Nonprofit Advocacy Training Series Economic recession. Budget deficits. Unallotment. 2010 Elections. Rarely have we seen the kind of “perfect storm” that has resulted in record unemployment, record foreclosure rates, near national budget deficits, uncharted legislative and administrative maneuvering and dozens of Minnesota leaders running for Governor – all creating unprecedented levels of uncertainty for Minnesota’s future. Minnesota’s nonprofit sector needs to be a strong voice in the public dialogue. Increasing demand for the services that nonprofits provide while the sector is experiencing a period of retrenchment means that we need to ensure the state’s precious fiscal and policy resources are put to their best use. Those decisions can’t be made well without nonprofit voices at the table speaking from the front lines of Minnesota’s communities. Join us in sessions around the state as we explore basic advocacy rules, communications and social media, organizing and coalitions, legislative and local government processes and building for power! Check back to see selected repeats of these sessions scheduled in Greater Minnesota. See full list of training sessions with event details MMB releases list of Governor’s approved unallotments July 1st was the first day of Fiscal Year 2010 and the first day that the Governor’s $2.7 billion in unallotments take effect. For the most current list of unallotments, download this list of “Approved Unallotments and Administrative Actions,” released by Minnesota Management and Budget. As always, keep up-to-date on budget news from the Minnesota Budget Bites blog Nonprofit
property tax exemption bill signed into law Audit threshold raised to $750,000 for nonprofits The governor has signed a bill with a provision to increase the threshold at which organizations are required to obtain an audited financial statement that have been examined by an independent certified public accountant. The bill changes the threshold from $350,000, where it has sat for the last twelve years, to $750,000. Organizations with a fiscal year ending July 1, 2008 or later, fall under the new limit of $750,000 for 2008 reporting. MCN believes that for Minnesota, given the dramatically increased costs of audits and the filing of the new IRS form 990, along with the effects of inflation, this is an appropriate time to increase the threshold. Read the language of the bill, HF1298, that was included in the the tax policy bill. The provision is at section 191.34 in the bill. Public
Policy at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
Over
the past 20 years, MCN has advocated on issues that impact all
nonprofits, their constituents and communities and has succeeded
in a range of efforts to increase incentives to charitable giving
and protect nonprofit tax exemptions, lobbying rights and election
activity rights.
Preserve
Charitable Property Tax Exemption Campaign - Ever
since a 2007 court ruling jeopardized charitable property tax
exemptions, MCN has been advocating vigorously to clarify assessment
rules and preserve the charitable property tax exemption.
Invest in Minnesota Campaign - The Invest in Minnesota Campaign is a coalition of Minnesota’s nonprofit organizations, labor groups and religious communities organized around raising revenues fairly to address Minnesota's budget shortfall. Minnesota
Participation Project (MPP) - This is an exciting effort
to support and expand the capacity of Minnesota nonprofit 501(c)(3)
organizations to effectively engage in permissible nonpartisan voter
engagement efforts - registration, voter education and beyond. MPP
is also working with community partners to ensure a complete count
in the 2010 Census. National Voter Education Network (NVEN) - The Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network (NVEN) is a collaboration of statewide voter engagement initiatives anchored in the nonprofit sector. NVEN is dedicated to expanding the role of America’s nonprofits in voting and elections with the goal of increasing participation in the democratic process among all citizens with a focus on those with a history of lower voter participation. The initiative is a nonpartisan program of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, the largest statewide nonprofit association in the country.
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