Nonprofit leaders in the Washington area will seek to place political advocacy near the top of their local — and hopefully national — agendas, said delegates to this region’s first-ever philanthropic town hall meeting.
Despite its size and potential clout, the nonprofit industry has yet to come together behind a national political or legislative plan. Representatives will meet this fall in Washington at the inaugural Non-profit Congress to try to develop a consensus for the first time.
A not-for-profit town hall meeting — one of over 100 being held across the country in preparation for the October conclave — was held here Wednesday. It was the first such gathering ever held in the D.C. region.
Robert Egger of the D.C. Central Kitchen told the group alack of political muscle has an immediate impact on the sector. He pointed to efforts by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, to regulate the nonprofit industry.
“It’s not that we don’t need to be regulated. It’s that we need to have active participation, a place at the table if that is going to be done,” Egger said. “Otherwise we are going to be regulated without our say.”
Some attendees said the sector’s concerns were overlooked by politicians because their input was not organized, and thus lacked a central message on which they could all agree.
“We need to have a political impact that’s commensurate with our size and importance to the greater good,” said W. Ross Ashley III, CEO of National Children’s Center of D.C.
Egger and Chuck Bean of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington expect the October delegates to develop a final proposal with clearly defined steps toward political participation.
One suggestion has been to form a trade association. Planning has also begun for a very different type of town hall for 2008.
“We are hoping to assemble a Presidential forum, beginning in New Hampshire, to get all of the presidential candidates to address the needs of the sector,” said Audrey Alvarado, executive director of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations.
Many attendees and delegates to the fall meeting want presidential candidates to think of ways federal policies can help — or hinder — the philanthropic industry.
“It’s time we had a seat at the table” of American politics, said Slobhan Canty, president and CEO of Greater DC Cares.
Have information about area nonprofits? Contact Frank Sietzen at [email protected].
