We have joined with representatives of New York’s nonprofit sector, to sign an open letter to New York State with key recommendations for keeping New York’s nonprofits in operation while the State continues to navigate the ongoing pandemic crisis.
NY Funders Alliance is a collaborative community of nearly 100 grantmaking organizations who serve local regions across New York State from Jamestown to Lake Placid to Westchester. Our grantmakers have responded to the health and economic crises associated with the coronavirus pandemic by leading the way in creating, supporting, and continuing to grow emergency COVID-19 response funds to address needs in every county of New York State. Already, these funds alone have contributed more than $18 million to local nonprofits to address the immediate impacts of the pandemic.
These rapid response funds, most established during the very first days of the crisis, have assisted local nonprofits to secure PPE to stay open providing vital care, made sure childcare was available and safe for essential workers, that local food panties shelves had food for the influx of new clients in communities across the state, and supported nonprofits as they transitioned to serve clients remotely.
New York nonprofit and philanthropic organizations represent a vital link in our communities’ resiliency by mobilizing quickly when it was needed most and providing critical services in a time of crisis. Now, their continued existence is threatened by a significant loss in state revenue from unpaid contracts. We understand, completely, the perilous financial circumstances that New York State finds itself in. And we share your message that more must be done in Washington, D.C. to provide funding to our State and local governments who, themselves, have been on the front line of this crisis.
However, as we all begin to turn our attention to the breadth and depth of the health, economic and social crisis that we are facing, New York State’s nonprofit partners are essential to our ability to sustain our communities through this time of need. Therefore, our open letter, in partnership with representatives of New York’s nonprofit sector, we urge you to please consider the following:
- Fully implement the recommendations made by the State Comptroller in the 2019 report on state contracting and payments with not-for-profit organizations.
- Rescind Executive Order 202.48 which suspends prompt payment laws, and prioritize and payout invoices on existing contracts promptly and remove additional barriers.
- Register all pending contracts and do not impose retroactive cuts.
- End the policy and practice of financially penalizing nonprofits that have successfully secured bank loans from the Payroll Protection Program.
- Streamline executive branch process of mergers, acquisitions and dissolutions and commit to process applications within 90 days.
- Create a Nonprofit COVID-19 Recovery Advisory Committee and install a nonprofit representative agency as co-chair.
We realize that these are challenging times for New York State. However, our local communities will not come through this crisis without support from our front-line nonprofit partners.