Government Shutdown Impacts Non-Profits

The Federal Government shutdown is, and will have a major impact on USA charities that depend on a portion of their funding. Here is an insightful and informative update from the Alliance of Arizona Non-Profits.

We wanted to share this important information:

In the Alliance’s annual survey on the impact of the economy earlier this year, Arizona nonprofits reported that for the first time since the beginning of the Great Recession, they would not be able to meet the increased demand for their services. (This mirrored national data collected by Nonprofit Finance Fund.) That was before they knew that a government shutdown in the fall would increase demand for services yet further.

Daily headlines remind us of the impact of the federal government shutdown on real people. That includes the people served by nonprofits. But this impact is not moving Congress. We need to lift our voices on behalf of our communities and let lawmakers know how much our communities are hurting. The Alliance urges you to tell us and tell the members of Congress what this shutdown means in your community.

We know that the government shutdown does more than strain our nonprofits – real people are being hurt. Community and human needs do not stop just because the federal government is not functioning – they actually increase.

We know that dedicated, resilient nonprofit leaders are working on these issues, but the enormity of the challenges requires that they have equally strong leadership in the public sector. Every nonprofit leader I know stands ready to work hand in hand with public leaders to solve problems and fix systems. But we must be at the table, and we must activate our organizations to fully participate in the civic sphere.

These are trying times for our communities. Never has the need for leadership been more apparent. Rick Cohen at Nonprofit Quarterly reminded us this week that we have an important role to play as a nonprofit community to provide that leadership and remind elected officials who matters most.

I wish I had an easy solution that would make this go away. I hope that this can be a call to action for every nonprofit leader to get involved, advocate for your communities, and help lead us forward.

Patrick McWhortor
President & CEO

What You Can Do

• Take action today! Urge your Representatives in Washington to immediately end the government shutdown and to vote for a clean continuing budget resolution without other conditions in order to stop the current government shutdown as soon as possible.  Just click on link below and send a letter.  This alert is provided by PAFCO and NASWAZ
• Don't sit on the sidelines. Be informed about policy decisions that impact your nonprofit, and get involved through initiatives like voter engagement.
• How have you been impacted? Share your experiences so we can understand and tell your story
• Please share any resources that you have turned to during this time that might help other nonprofits
• Make the connection in your communications so that your supporters understand your increased demand for services, threatened budgets, or needs of their neighbors
• Raise your voice and protect the sector by becoming a member of the Alliance today.