CalNonprofits: Support Improved Government-Nonprofit Contracting in California

Below is a nonprofit call to action from California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits) CEO, Jan Masaoka. In her message Jan encourages nonprofits to come together to urge California to reform the way it contracts with nonprofits in way that is more equitable and fair.

We urge all IECC members and partners to take action by signing on to a letter that will go to Governor Newsom and other California state leaders requesting that they take action by implementing these reforms as soon as possible.

Please follow the links in Jan’s call to action below to learn more about the official letter, the reforms being asked for, and to submit your organization’s information to sign on to this important letter.

Thank you,

Susan Gómez
Chief Executive Officer
Inland Empire Community Collaborative

Friends –    With the recent approval of the state budget, the State of California will invest billions of dollars in the coming year to help improve the lives of residents across the state. New spending supports programs focused on affordable housing, homelessness, health, food access, senior nutrition, the arts, and so much more. We are pleased that COVID relief efforts – including new funding to help cover supplemental sick leave costs – will include nonprofits.    To accomplish their objectives, state agencies and local governments will continue to turn to nonprofit partners to deliver key services as efficiently as possible. To succeed, nonprofits need contracting terms that set us up to partner effectively. “As legislators we recognize that government alone cannot do it,” Senator Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), chair of the Senate Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector, told a gathering of nonprofit leaders and state representatives at the recent California Nonprofits Day celebration at the Capitol. “The pandemic proved what we already knew to be true: we must ensure the partnership between government and nonprofits, and that partnership must be strong.”    Following the recommendations made by panelists at a joint hearing of the legislative nonprofit select committees, CalNonprofits convened an informal statewide coalition on contracting. Together we drafted this letter to the Governor and legislative leaders to begin a new phase of collaborative discussion.  We write today to ask you to join us in seeking practical solutions that would strengthen our partnership with state and local governments, and ensure more fairness and equity for our organizations, communities, staff, and those we serve. Join Us! Read the full text HERE and then sign the form, or access the sign-on form directly HERE.   Thank-you! Every signature strengthens our voice in Sacramento. Jan Masaoka, CEO,  California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits)