H I G H HOPES

A new Johns Hopkins Listening Post Project survey done between September 8, 2008 and September 22, 2008 of over 1,000 nonprofit organizations working in areas of children and family services, elderly housing and services, community and economic development, and arts and culture asked nonprofit executives what a new national administration could do to equip nonprofits to help Americans deal with the economic crisis.

“Heading the list of priority measures identified by these executives were four specific measures:

• Restoration and/or growth of funds for their field in the federal budget;

• Reinstatement and expansion of tax incentives for individual charitable giving;

• Federal grant support for nonprofit training and capacity-building; and

• Reform of reimbursements under Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs to ensure that they cover the real cost of services.”

The vast majority of nonprofit executives reported little improvement in government policy toward their organizations in the recent past, and pin high hopes on the Obama Administration to establish a more supportive policy environment for their work during the worst recession since the Great Depression. Can member groups like the Alliance for Children and Families, the Alliance for Nonprofit Management and the National Council of Nonprofit Associations make those suggestions happen?