LANDMARK LEGISLATION

The Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act, H.R. 5533, introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) on July 16th is one of the first federal initiatives to strengthen the partnership between government and nonprofits. This Act proposes integrating the nonprofit sector into the federal policymaking process. The purposes of the Act are the following:

- To strengthen interagency coordination and enhance transparency with respect to greater support for the work of nonprofit organizations.
- To enhance data collection, assemble and make available federal data and research on the nonprofit sector and generate new data and research where necessary to support the development of effective federal policy.
- To produce reports, make recommendations and convene summits to raise awareness of the nonprofit sector and the vital civic, social, and economic contributions nonprofit organizations make to the United States.

The bill would create a 16 member bi-partisan Council on Nonprofit Organizations and Community Solutions, as well as an Interagency Working Group on Nonprofit Organizations and the Federal Government. Members of the working group would include the head of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, head of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Internal Revenue Service commissioner, and chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the chairman of National Endowment for the Arts, director of the Census and the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The benefits of one federal agency tackling data collection on nonprofits and creating performance metrics would include establishing reporting requirements and expanding information to better inform Congress of the importance of the nonprofit sector to the United States economy and to the success of many federal, state, and local policy initiatives. The bill, if passed, will “…give the nonprofit sector a voice to raise concerns and propose solutions to our nation’s challenges,” Rep. McCollum said. The next step is to get a companion bill introduced in the Senate.