Paul Revere made his living as a silversmith, but everyone remembers him for what he did as a volunteer (thank you Susan Ellis).

It’s National Volunteer Month and most Americans agree: volunteers are priceless, whether mobilizing the Americans against the British Redcoats in 1772, comforting the dying, mentoring traumatized children, or risking their lives to stop toxic dumping. So much of the work that nonprofits do in our communities is done by volunteers: volunteers outnumber staff at nonprofits of all sizes, and an amazing 70% of California nonprofits are all-volunteer organizations.  In 2017 nearly 77.4 million Americans donated 6.9 billion volunteer hours.

Return on investment (ROI) and a rate you can use

A 2013 report by economists at Columbia University demonstrated that for every dollar invested in national service, almost $4 is returned to society in higher earnings, increased output, and other community-wide benefits. And every year Independent Sector calculates the average value of one volunteer hour and publishes a national average as well as state-specific averages. This year the national average is $25.43 and California’s average is $29.95 per hour. Nonprofits can use this information to demonstrate community support for their work. 

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

In spite of the popularity of volunteering and the vital work that volunteers do, for the last three years, the Trump Administration has proposed budgets that would eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service, AmeriCorps, and Senior Corps. Fortunately, Congress disagrees with the Trump administration and last year added $13 million to AmeriCorps’ budget and $6 million to the budget for Senior Corps, bringing the budget for CNCS to just over $1 billion.

CNCS is now focused on a new Transformation and Sustainability Plan that includes closing all the state AmeriCorps offices and consolidating them into one office for each of the nine federal regions (that means one office for Region IX which includes California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada.) It remains to be seen if this is an improvement that will streamline the program and make it more effective, or if it will create bottlenecks that make it more difficult for volunteers and nonprofits both.

California funding now available for volunteering in disaster preparedness

The AmeriCorps and emergency preparedness volunteer programs in California are overseen by California Volunteers within the Office of the Governor, supported by a 25-member bipartisan Commission. On April 15th Governor Newsom announced California For All Emergency Preparedness Campaign grants to empower communities and engage one million vulnerable Californians around emergency preparedness.

The joint campaign between California Volunteers and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) will invest $50 million directly into the community to bolster local resiliency and connect one million diverse and vulnerable Californians to culturally and linguistically competent support.

“The worst of our reality spurred by growing threats of disaster brings out the best of who we are as Californians: Rising to serve. And, the governor’s strategy builds upon this truth,” said Karen Baker, California’s Chief Service Officer and head of California Volunteers.

In disasters -- whether natural or manmade -- nonprofits are always first and second responders. This funding can help your nonprofit strengthen networks in your community to make those responses even stronger. Grants are available now on California Volunteers’ website.

P.S. Financial accounting for volunteer time and non-cash donations are still a matter of dispute and occasionally proposed legislation. For more information on how to include volunteer time in your financial statements, see this article by CPA Dennis Walsh. 

And to stay on top of policy matters related to volunteerism and non-cash donations, join our mailing list. 

The Census starts one year from this month! And as you know, nonprofits will be crucial in making sure that all Californians are counted in next year's Census -- to ensure our fair share of federal funding and of members of the House of Representatives. Many California foundations have already started funding nonprofits, and now government funding is becoming available.

While funding levels remain uncertain at the federal level, California has stepped up to ensure adequate funding for a full count. Thanks to nonprofit advocacy led by Census Policy Advocacy Network (of which CalNonprofits is a member), California has allocated $90 million to ensure that all Californians are counted in the upcoming Census, of which about $30 million is going to nonprofit outreach.

Here's a summary of ways to connect in your community:

Contact the designated Administrative Community-Based Organization (ACBO) in your region
The State grouped California’s 58 counties into 10 regions and has designated a funding amount for each region based on their hard-to-count populations. In a competitive process, the state selected one nonprofit in each region, called ACBOs, that will give out grants to local nonprofits to carry out Census outreach and coordinate efforts as well. This link shows the ten regions, the ACBO in each one, and how to contact them.

In addition to the regional structure, the state also chose 13 community-based organizations to focus their statewide outreach and grantmaking on specific demographic groups that are considered particularly hard to count.

Local government connections
Many local governments, such as cities and counties, will receive outreach funds from the state, and it is up to each jurisdiction to decide how to use those funds. In addition, many counties and cities are allocating their own funds for Census outreach. They know that the wellbeing of their communities depends on a full count, and increasingly they know that nonprofits are well-positioned to reach hard-to-count people.

If you already work with your County Office of Education, the state is also partnering with 30 of the 58 county offices to reach Title I schools and Title III students and their parents, and grants to nonprofits may be available there as well.

Some local governments have formed Complete Count Committees. Check with your ACBO or a local elected official to get connected to yours and to be sure that nonprofits are involved. If your community doesn’t yet have a Complete Count Committee, help get one started. If you're wondering what a Complete Committee looks like and how it can involve nonprofits, here's one example: Los Angeles Regional Census Table

For more information
The California Census Office has a great deal of info, including funding opportunities, maps, and timelines. https://census.ca.gov/ 

It's so hard to try to sum up a tumultuous year like 2018 in just a few dot points. California's nonprofits stood up to manage the impact of wildfires, floods, policies that targeted immigrant and other communities of color, and most recently the government shutdown. Sometimes it's hard to remember that big events like the 2018 election took place only a few months ago! The good news: we nonprofits are getting faster and better at adapting, turning around, morphing, and maintaining our balance in the changing windstorms. Click here to read more of CEO Jan Masaoka's letter to members and friends.

What else will you find in the Annual Report?

• Three cornerstone insurance policies you need
• Public policy update and looking ahead, plus a letter to California's Members of Congress
• Exciting changes at GrantAdvisor
• The latest on nonprofit student debt and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program
• Photos from California Nonprofits Day and the 2018 Convention (video of some sessions are now available!)
• CalNonprofits finances at the end of the year
• and more!

Learn more about our work through our partnerships with members and allies around the state in our 2018 Annual Report.