Nonprofits don’t only serve our clients and communities; we also represent them.
As an alliance of nonprofits, a crucial role for CalNonprofits is to advance public policies that support a healthy nonprofit ecosystem. We focus on elevating your voice to policy makers, philanthropy, and the public; and strengthening your ability to advocate on behalf of your community.
Ongoing advocacy and support
- Lobbyist in Sacramento - walking the halls and engaging legislators in Sacramento; guided by the Policy Framework that outlines our priorities and issue areas
- Legislation Tracker – the list of bills currently under consideration that affect nonprofits, who supports or opposes them, and their status
- Advocacy tools – engaging your legislators and advocating directly on behalf of your clients
- Advocacy resources - national organizations tracking issues and providing updates on federal matters
Current initiatives
- Vote With Your Mission - campaign to have 100% of eligible nonprofit staff, board members, and volunteers register and vote in elections
- California Teleconnect Fund Advocacy - advocating for expanded access by nonprofits to the Fund, opposing the current effort to shrink the Fund by severely restricting the types of nonprofits eligible to apply
- Nonprofit Overhead Project - it's time to change how we think about nonprofit overhead
- Nonprofit Student Debt Project - educating and advocating for nonprofits and their staff on the impact of student debt and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
CalNonprofits is available to visit your coalition meeting or other gathering of organizations to discuss relevant policy initiatives and help you understand and integrate advocacy into your current work. Contact CalNonprofits Policy Director Lucy Salcido Carter at lucyc[at]calnonprofits[dot]org for more information.
- COVID-19 Policy: Urgent Request for Support of California's Nonprofits
- Donor-Advised Funds Transparency (AB 2936)
- Census 2020: Additional Funding for Nonprofit Outreach for Census 2020
- Taxes and fees: Eliminating Franchise Tax Board (FTB) Filing Fees
- COVID-19 Policy: Support for the HEROES Act
- Student Debt: Support for What You Can Do for Your Country Act of 2019 (Fact Sheet)
- Tax Policy: Repeal of New Transportation Tax on Nonprofits
- Census 2020: Support for Census Questionnaire Assistance Centers, and Support for Full Year FY20 Funding
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Contact your elected representatives
Click the button below to locate your California representative's contact information.
Examples of CalNonprofits’ recent advocacy successes:
- We led the effort to stop AB 2855, a bill in the California legislature that would have required nonprofits to place unnecessary and burdensome notices on every document that included a fundraising message -- not just California nonprofits but any nonprofit that attempted to raise funds in California. In just two months, we mobilized more than 700 nonprofit organizations to speak up to oppose this bill, an unprecedented show of solidarity. This was truly a team effort that showed the power of the nonprofit community.
- We made it easier for nonprofits to do business. We championed AB 327 which extends for another seven years an exemption to state prevailing wage rules for work performed by volunteers and AB 556, which alters the definition and disclosure of commercial fundraisers in an effort to improve transparency for interested donors.
- We helped craft a motion, unanimously passed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, directing its county executive to develop recommendations on how county government will implement the provisions of the OMB Uniform Guidance related to paying reasonable indirect costs of nonprofit services with federal funds. This has led to a series of meetings between the county executive, nonprofits and philanthropic leaders to design effective implementation policies.
- We put nonprofits at the table by actively supporting Senator Leno’s bill to increase the minimum wage for all Californians, and by advocating and negotiating with local governments to win minimum wage increases in Los Angeles City and County.
- We work to ensure that Californians have full access to voting, and that's why we threw our support behind AB 1461, the California New Motor Voter Program to automatically register voters when they obtain or renew a drivers license or receive a state identification card.
