Courtesy / Maine Association of Nonprofits
The 2019 impact report of the Maine Association of Nonprofits shows some telling figures.
Updated: April 21, 2020
Maine nonprofits demand more federal relief under CARES Act
Courtesy / Maine Association of Nonprofits
Jennifer Hutchins, executive director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits, told Mainebiz that while the CARES Act was an essential first step for some nonprofits in Maine, it's not adequate to meet the pressing needs of others.
As many Maine nonprofits struggle for survival during the COVID-19 crisis, they're banding together to demand more financial relief from the federal government.
In a letter to the state's congressional delegation, the Maine Association of Nonprofits and 100 of its member organizations are calling for major changes to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act so the groups can provide essential services.
Demands include expanding nonprofit eligibility for forgivable loans under the Paycheck Protection Program as well as extending charitable deductions for taxpayers and funding unemployment claims for employees of non-insured nonprofits.
The April 16 letter, three pages long, is addressed to U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, and Jared Golden, R-Maine 2nd District.
The groups are also calling for increasing emergency funding for nonprofits, in order to help them work with state and local government agencies to help vulnerable families and front-line responders to the COVID-19 crisis.
The demands come as talks among continued negotiations on Capitol Hill over extending the Paycheck Protection Program, which ran out of money last week after more than 1.6 million U.S. businesses were granted $342 billion in loans.
Lawmakers are reportedly close to a deal to add $310 billion to the program, which provides small businesses with funds to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs including benefits as part of the $2 trillion federal CARES Act.
"The CARES Act was an essential first step in relief for some nonprofits in Maine, but was not adequate to meet the pressing needs of others that want to keep people employed and pay their bills — all while responding to increasing demands and adhering to social distancing rules," MANP Executive Director Jennifer Hutchins told Mainebiz on Monday.
"More support is necessary to keep even the bare bones of our cherished community infrastructure intact with some semblance of what we had grown to rely on."
Asked what she's recommending for nonprofits who were shut out of the Paycheck Protection Program in the first round, she said: "We are hopeful that additional support will be coming from Congress soon, but of course we will have to wait and see.
"In the meantime, we would suggest that any eligible nonprofit get ready to respond quickly if more funding does become available by contacting their bank and begin collecting the information they will need to send in with the application."
She also noted that while her organization is flagging all the funding opportunities it knows of online, that list is not necessarily exhaustive.
"Organizations are encouraged to be checking in with their philanthropic funders to explore funding opportunities that may be unique to their mission and circumstances," she said.
Hutchins told Mainebiz in a recent interview that she is concerned about the long-term sustainability of Maine nonprofits, many of which don't have reserve funds and whose safety-net role is now in jeopardy.
The sector employs one out of six people in Maine.
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