We kicked off on November 17th with a stirring keynote from Attorney General Xavier Becerra, followed by grounded, authentic panelists coming together to talk about how we'll shape the future. We ended on November 19th with an energetic and fun debate about tax policy (where else are you going to see that?)

Learn more about our speakers, see the agenda of sessions, and make sure to join our mailing list so we can let you know when the recordings are available.

And, a heartfelt thank you to our 2020 Convention Sponsors and the more than 600 participants who made the event a success. 

In this time of turmoil and difficult decisions, we are partnering with Public Counsel to bring you a series of four webinars to help you decide how to move forward on key legal issues nonprofits are facing. We’ll cover what you can and should be doing to protect your organization, as well as what you can’t legally do – in four compliance areas: 

1. Nonprofits as Commercial Property Tenants – Know Your Rights! (Get the recording here)
   Learn tips about how to manage rent payments and lease, respond to landlord communications, and make use of local protections for tenants. Note: this webinar was presented on July 29th, 2020 and may contain information that is outdated. 
2. Election Engagement the Right Way (Get the recording here) 
   Learn what nonprofits can and can’t do to help register new voters, provide public education about elections, engage candidates, and still stay safely within the limits allowed for tax-exempt organizations.
3. Implementing Assembly Bill 5: December 16 at 11am (register here)
   Learn when the law requires a nonprofit to convert independent contractors to employees, when it doesn’t, and how to do it when it does.
4. Tips for Downscaling Your Organization: Date/Time TBD (mid-fall)
   Learn about reallocating resources, laying off staff, providing severance, merging with another organization, and other tips for downscaling a nonprofit organization.

Registration fees:
All webinars are free for members! (Learn more about membership here.)
$39 each or all 4 for $125 (Not-yet-members)
Register here for any or all of the webinars

All webinars will be delivered on Zoom with opportunities for questions, and the recordings and slides will be emailed to all registrants a few days after the webinar.     

Thank you to our series sponsor!

More than 1,000 California nonprofits responded to our recent "We Ask the Community" survey.

TL;DR: Nonprofits are struggling, as are our communities. We are adapting with heroic energy and speed, and we are worried about the future. We aren't doing what we used to do, but we are prevailing: we are continuing to live our missions, lead with our hearts and values, and serve our communities well. And we're proud that we are doing so.

Your Stories

We expected to hear stories of financial fears, difficulties with government contracts, and deep suffering in communities. And we did hear those stories:

“Killed fundraising”
“Lost more than $100,000 in contracts due to crisis”
“PPE supplies are very difficult to obtain and cleaning services are very expensive”
“Reduced hours by more than 50% for 3 months with most staff on reduced time or furlough”
“More people needing services, however less capacity due to COVID restrictions/precautions”
"greatly reduced our ability to connect with clients in crisis”
“Our staff have been physically and emotionally taxed"

But we also heard pride in accomplishments and victories in the work, with many bright spots:

“Staff did not have the knowledge or resources needed to provide remote services, but for the most part, they have been willing to learn – despite their fears – because it's in the best interest of the clients with disabilities whom we serve"
“Moved 465 staff to remote work within two weeks. Continuing with all of our programming in a virtual environment”
“We found a solid partner, which will allow us to stream our fall dance film festival”
“We were able to place 90% of our animals in foster care within the first two weeks of shelter-at-home”
“We have quadrupled our senior meals from 60k per month to almost 240k per month”
“We have been able to combine Census outreach with COVID-19 Response Team efforts for our Pacific Islander communities”
"I'm proud of how creatively and energetically we adapted to pandemic restrictions"