Blogs

Dear members,

Unfortunately, community nonprofits are facing another period of uncertainty as the federal government shut down at midnight yesterday after Congressional leaders failed to reach an agreement to continue funding it. The good news is that the executive branch has said there will not be hold-backs or reductions for things like Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and veterans benefits, which will insulate nonprofit organizations somewhat from direct impact on programs that largely fund their services. But other services, particularly some funded directly by the federal government could be affected. And for those of you who rely on federal employees to manage funding, their furlough may delay payments, even for programs with funding deemed "essential.”

Beyond that the impact is unclear.  The present administration has not acted like previous ones in other areas so it is hard to predict what programs will be affected this time, or by what degree.

You can take action now to encourage our federal officials to reopen the government. The National Council of Nonprofits has shared three ways nonprofits can learn more and push elected officials to reach a resolution:

• Register for NCN's National Webinar. NCN is hosting a national webinar on Monday, October 6 at 3:00pm to share more about what nonprofits need to know about the government shutdown and current federal grant landscape.
• Share Your Story. Use NCN's storytelling tool to share real examples of how the government shutdown is harming nonprofits and their communities. Sharing these stories is one of the most effective ways to make your voice heard.
• Contact Your Members of Congress. Use NCN's email template to send a message directly to your Senators and Representatives, urging them to work across the aisle to reopen the government.

We need your help in compiling the impact and the problems you face as a result of this shutdown.  With this information we can keep our federal delegation informed, get the word out through the media and advocate for the state to use its surpluses to keep you whole. Please email me at gcasa@ctnonprofitalliance.org and/or Ben Shaiken at bshaiken@ctnonprofitalliance.org if any of your funding has been delayed or eliminated due to the shutdown.

Please let us know if you have questions or ideas on how we can help.

Gian-Carl Casa

President & CEO

gcasa@ctnonprofitalliance.org