Newsbytes

Struggle ensues to recruit young diverse boards

Although 95% of nonprofits are actively recruiting to diversify their governing boards, 87% have struggled to find the right recruitment channels to do so. And more than half (51%) don’t think their boards reflect the communities they serve.

These are some of the more striking findings from an August 2020 survey conducted by New York City–based CariClub, which works as a matchmaker for young professionals and nonprofit boards of directors. It surveyed 1,000 nonprofits across the nation to better understand the lack of diverse representation on nonprofit boards.

Respondents also reported that the least represented groups on nonprofit boards are Hispanic or Latino (77% lacked representation on governing boards and 74% on associate boards), Black or African American (72% on governing boards and 68% on associate boards) and Asian (58% on governing boards and 50% on associate boards).

How many nonprofits benefited from the PPP?

Did your organization receive a loan through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)? If so, you’re one of many nonprofits that did.

The Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University crunched the numbers to determine how many eligible nonprofits benefited from the PPP. Among other things, the researchers found that nearly 182,000 nonprofits received a PPP loan, out of the nearly 4.9 million total loans made. But that figure represents only 40% of nonprofits that were eligible to receive loans.

That figure is a national average, though. Certain states fared better than others — for example, organizations in South Dakota, Alabama, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Mississippi. In each of those states, more than 55% of all eligible nonprofits received PPP loans. Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Montana and California ranked at the other end of the spectrum, with significantly fewer eligible nonprofits receiving funds.

Self-insured organizations get unemployment relief

A new law extends much-needed relief to those nonprofits that reimburse their states for unemployment benefits paid to former employees, rather than paying unemployment taxes. The Protecting Nonprofits from Catastrophic Cash Flow Strain Act amends the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Under the CARES Act, self-insured nonprofits qualify for reimbursement of 50% of the costs incurred from March 13, 2020, through December 31, 2020, to pay unemployment benefits to employees laid off or furloughed due to COVID-19. The U.S. Department of Labor had issued guidance that required self-insured nonprofits to immediately pay 100% of the costs of unemployment benefits and then wait to be repaid half.

The new law overrides that guidance. It provides that nonprofits are required to provide only 50% in upfront payments.