Copy
An important survey and an update on Treasury's final rule on ARPA spending.  Forward this message to the people in your organization that solicit or manage government contracts or grants.

What needs to change in government contracting?

Help us understand your experience with government contracting and how we can advocate for meaningful reform.

Help us understand how government contract reforms needs to change (photo of people signing a contract with the text, "Survey: Government Contracting Reform").
Dear Friends,
 
We have been hearing from so many of our members and nonprofits that government contracting needs serious reform.

Many nonprofits receive revenue from government contracts, and there are problems with the way these contracts are administered. Let’s come together to change some of the rules and advocate for fair rate increases and contract terms. 

Washington Nonprofits wants to understand your experience with government contracts in Washington and what policy solutions we can move forward to support you and make nonprofit work easier. We have a short survey that will take less than 10 minutes to complete and will help us to work towards real reform of our government contracting in Washington.

We have heard from so many nonprofits about problems related to contracting with federal, state, and local governments. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey and help us to understand how to make a difference for you!
TAKE THE SURVEY

ARPA Spending Clarified

We'd like to share some important updates about the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and how it can be spent.  These changes are a result of the advocacy we do in coalition with other state associations through the National Council on Nonprofits – your membership dues at work!

The Key Documents  
The SLFRF program, enacted as a part of the American Rescue Plan, promises $350 billion to state, local, and Tribal governments to support their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The 437-page final rule updates the interim final rule published in May. A first scan of the final rule finds that Treasury fixed our overriding concern by including reference to nonprofits everywhere reference is made to small businesses. This is important because some governments misread the interim final rule narrowly to exclude nonprofits due to this omission. The final rule also includes nonprofit examples (e.g., food assistance to low-income families), further clarifying that nonprofits are truly eligible recipients of these funds.
 
Nonprofit Focus: Accompanying Treasury’s final rule today is an Overview of the Final Rule that provides a page (p. 23) dedicated to Assistance to Nonprofits. It highlights eligibility based on things like decreased revenue (e.g., from donations and fees), financial insecurity, increased costs, capacity issues, and challenges to covering operating costs. A longer version of the explanation appears in the final rule at pages 153-161; it can be a tedious read, but provides valuable insights that will help you explain the program to your folks at the state and local levels.
 
Nonprofits as Beneficiaries AND Providers: A key correction in the final rule deals with which types of relief nonprofits are eligible to seek. The interim final rule had given some governments the impression that charitable nonprofits could only receive SLFRF funds as recipients of assistance and not as providers of assistance to others. This misperception is corrected in several places, including at page 171 of the final rule
Distinguishing Subrecipients versus Beneficiaries, which describes the differences between these two categories. Recipient governments responding to the public health and negative economic impacts of the pandemic may provide assistance to beneficiaries or execute an eligible use of funds through a subrecipient; some types of entities (e.g., nonprofits) could fit into either category depending on the specific purpose of the use of funds.” Emphasis added.
See also pages 27-28 for more examples and pages 208-211 for more technical details. 
 
The Overview of the Final Rule is even clearer at footnote 2: 
“Recipients should also be aware of the difference between ‘beneficiaries’ and ‘sub-recipients.’ Beneficiaries are households, small businesses, or nonprofits that can receive assistance based on impacts of the pandemic that they experienced. On the other hand, sub-recipients are organizations that carry out eligible uses on behalf of a government, often through grants or contracts. Sub-recipients do not need to have experienced a negative economic impact of the pandemic; rather, they are providing services to beneficiaries that experienced an impact.” Emphasis added.
In short, governments can use SLFRF money to support nonprofits directly and can hire nonprofits to provided services to others.

Treasury Outreach/Webinars: Treasury will host live webinars with recipients and stakeholders to brief and answer questions about the Final Rule at the following times: 
  • Friday, January 7, 2022 at 1:00pm ET. Register here. This webinar will be recorded and shared within a few business days.
  • Monday, January 10, 2022 at 4:00pm ET. Register here.
  • Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 1:00pm ET. Register here.
If you would like to know more about ARPA in Washington State, and what ARPA funding opportunities are available, we are continuing to update our webpage and spreadsheet dedicated to ARPA and nonprofits. 
ARPA & WASHINGTON
Take care,


Daniel Parkhurst
Director of Policy & Communications
Washington Nonprofits


 
We are your nonprofit state association.

Washington Nonprofits is your state association! We are here to connect you to the people and resources that you need to succeed. We help nonprofits learn and increase their influence. We close the gaps that hold nonprofits back. 

Now is the time for us to come together, learn from each other, and lift our collective voice. Our members are the foundation of our organization. By joining together, nonprofits in Washington are strong, effective, and heard. 
Facebook
Twitter
Link
Website
Copyright © 2020 Washington Nonprofits, All rights reserved.
 
Washington Nonprofits makes sure nonprofits have what they need to succeed. We help nonprofits learn, increase their influence, and connect to people and resources. For more information, please visit our website and our calendar of events. 

info@washingtonnonprofits.org
www.washingtonnonprofits.org
(855) 299-2922
 


Our mailing address is:
Washington Nonprofits
1265 South Main Street
Suite #206
Seattle, WA 98144

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.