House Appropriations Committee to Hear Nonprofit Testimony

The 2009 Legislative Session has begun!

The House Appropriations Committee will be allowing public testimony from nonprofit organizations on Monday, May 4th at 9:00 am. If your organization is seeking funding from the state this session, this is your opportunity to let lawmakers know how vital your work is to the community you serve. If you cannot make it to Baton Rouge, please contact your Representatives about your requests for HB 1 funding. The best way to inform your elected officials about the value of your work is to share with them a written one page fact sheet.


We invite you to share the information you are sharing with your legislators with LANO as well. The more we know about your organization and your needs, the better we can advocate on your behalf. You can email me at ashley@lano.org.


The 2009 Legislative Session Convened on April 27th and will adjourn no later than June 25th at 6 pm. LANO will be sending weekly session updates on the bills we are tracking in order to keep you informed on proposed legislation that could impact the nonprofit sector and the communities we serve.


You can receive these updates by signing up to receive Public Policy emails on LANO's website.

Humana $100,000 Grant for Health Programs

Through the Louisiana Benefits program, Humana awards a one-time $100,000 grant to a Louisiana-based nonprofit organization focused on improving health experiences or building healthy communities in the areas of:

• Mind - projects or institutions that seek to improve the educational landscape resulting in higher levels of achievement
• Body - projects or human service agencies engaged in promoting healthy bodies and lifestyles
• Spirit - projects or civic and cultural development organizations that seek to inspire communities and enliven the human spirit

The goal of Humana's $100,000 donation to a single Louisiana nonprofit is to make a positive, transformational impact on an organization allowing them to reach greater milestone goals. The deadline is July 28, 2009.

For more information about applicant criteria and the process, visit Humana's Louisiana Benefits page.

Tax Deadline for Nonprofits is May 15th!

If your nonprofit tax year closed December 31, 2008, you must file the minimum of an e-Postcard (990) for 2008.

Beginning in 2008, small tax-exempt organizations whose gross receipts are normally $25,000 or less may be required to file an annual electronic notice, Form 990-N. Prior to 2008, these organizations were not required to file the longer Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.

This filing requirement applies to tax periods beginning after December 31, 2006. At minimum you must file for 2008. Organizations that do not file the notice will lose their tax-exempt status and be discarded from the IRS rolls. Exceptions to this requirement include organizations that are included in a group return, some private foundations and many church-related organizations.

The e-Postcard is due every year by the 15th day of the fifth month after the close of your organization’s tax year. For example, if your tax year closes December 31, the form is due the following May 15th.

The e-Postcard is a simple, Internet-based form that asks a few identifying questions about your organization. You can only file the e-Postcard online – there is no paper form. All you need is access to a computer and an e-mail address. No special software is necessary, and there is no cost to file an e-Postcard. It’s free!

To file the e-Postcard, go to http://www.irs.gov/ and click on “Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations – Form 990-N (e-Postcard),” where you’ll find a link to the e-Postcard filing system. You will file the e-Postcard through the Web site of the IRS’s trusted partner, the Urban Institute.

Please check the LANO events calendar for additional workshops about these new IRS regulations.

Swine Flu Resources for Nonprofits

As a member of the Louisiana Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (LaVOAD), LANO received information about the swine flu outbreak. We are posting information received from the Governor and listing websites so that you can keep your organization informed about these medical issues.

• Governor’s Office Press release


• CDC Swine Flu Information


• Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals: Extensive information on preparing for flu


• Location of Swine Flu cases in U.S.

LSU Extension provides free downloads on preparations for businessess and faith-based organizations previously developed for the CDC:

• "Pandemic Preparedness for Business"


• "Pandemic Influenza Preparedness for Faith Based Organizations"

FEMA Trailer Purchase & Donation Options for Nonprofits

On May 1st, FEMA will remove the remaining trailers in Louisiana. Trailer sales and donations programs may be an appealing option to citizens and nonprofit organizations.

• The Sales Program will be open to applicants through April 30. Applicants who are interested in purchasing their trailer must call 800-621-FEMA by April 30 to express interest in the program and to connect with FEMA’s Trailer Sales team. It is our understanding that the costs range from $8,000-12,000. If applicants do not have sufficient resources, they should NOT pursue this option, as it could make them ineligible for other programs.

• The Donations Program is up and running. Interested nonprofit organizations and units of local government are eligible to participate. Please contact Amanda Guma with the Louisiana Recovery Authority at Amanda.Guma@la.gov for more information if you are one of these organizations. This program will likely close to new applicants on April 30, as well, so please act quickly.

25 Random Great Things about Nonprofit Sector

Rebecca Post, Managing Editor, Fieldstone Alliance recently published 25 Random Things about the Nonprofit Sector that make it Great. The list is patterned after the Facebook tag of writing “25 Things About Yourself” and is designed to remind us what good there is about the sector even with all these challenges.

The list includes:

• 1. The sector is always coming up with innovative solutions to society’s problems. A great example is the Harlem Children’s Zone, with its holistic approach to community building, starting with The Baby College.
• 16. Nonprofits create jobs. More than 10 percent of American workers are employed by a nonprofit.
• 22. Nonprofits provide nonpartisan and in-depth information and research. Examples include League of Women Voters, Stateline.org, Public Television, and National Public Radio.

Foundations Not Rolling over in the Face of Adversity

"Foundations are not rolling over in the face of adversity," said Steven Lawrence, the Center's senior director of research and author of Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates. To provide an up-to-date assessment of how foundations are addressing today’s challenges, the Foundation Center surveyed more than 1,000 of the nation’s largest foundations in early 2009.

The new survey shows foundations being creative, strategic, and willing to dig deep to ensure that their agendas move forward while this crisis persists."

• Close to two-thirds of surveyed foundations, predict reductions in the number and/or size of their grants in 2009.


• Most respondents expect to maintain the number of program and geographic areas they currently support.


• Two out of five respondents expect to dip into their endowment principal to fund their 2009 grants budgets.


• Over half of respondents anticipate engaging in more non-grantmaking activities in response to the economic downturn.


• More than one-third of community foundation respondents are engaging in special initiatives in response to the economic crisis, compared to 14 percent of respondents overall.

Capitol Outlay Funding Update

In recent months, the Governor has been making recommendations about what he wants the Legislature to do with the $865 Million State Surplus Revenue remaining from the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2008.

This news article from the Shreveport Times provides a good summary of what the Governor has indicated about his plans for the Surplus. The Governor’s current recommendations include using some of the Surplus for highway and higher education projects in the Capital Outlay Budget, but his recommendations leave almost $160 Million available for other uses.

The allocation of approximately $160 Million has not been specified; therefore, now is a good time to convey the merits of any pending capital outlay project that will benefit your work. Contact the Governor and Legislators to share the value of your project and other Local Entity Capital Outlay projects.

Sign up for LANO's advocacy and public policy emails to receive updates on Capital Outlay Reform and ways in which your organizations can be involved in the process. For more information, download our PDF on Capital Outlay, how to apply for funding, and Capital Outlay Reform.

LANO has contracted with James Pupera to keep our members and future members informed on Capital Outlay Reform initiatives, the proposed changes to the Capital Outlay process and understanding how those changes will impact your interests. Mr. Purpera has extensive experience in the State Capital Outlay process having worked for the Division of Administration (Facility Planning & Control) as a Budget Analyst and Budget Manager in the Capital Outlay program, and then having worked for the Legislature as a Budget Analyst for the Ways and Means Committee and the Appropriations Committee.

LRA Approves Pilot Program to Fund Nonprofits to Execute Home Repairs

This week the Louisiana Recovery Authority approved a pilot program that would provide funds to nonprofit organizations within the state to execute home repair programs in communities still badly damaged from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The state will initially allocate $5 million to develop the Nonprofit Rebuilding Pilot Program to help homeowners get back into their homes – including both participants and non-participants in the Road Home program.

The program will be administered by the Louisiana Housing Finance Authority in coordination
with the Office of Community Development Disaster Recovery Unit and the Louisiana Recovery
Authority. This program will be a competitively awarded grant program that will provide grants to nonprofits and other organizations, including Local Governments, that have a proven track record in assisting homeowners to meet the gap in rebuilding their storm or flood damaged homes. Eligible homeowners will be limited to Louisiana residents at or below 80 percent AMI.

Funds are to be used by the nonprofit or contractor to provide construction financing to complete homeowner rehab. Funds can also be used to provide a 10-year forgivable deferred loan to the homeowner.

The RFP is expected to be released around early June so please stay tuned.

More information is available on the LRA's website.

2010 Federal Budget's Impact on Nonprofits Update

President Obama's 2010 Budget includes a number of provisions that could have an impact on nonprofits, most notably his proposal to offset the costs of his health care reform by limiting the level of charitable deductions for high-income households. This has generated much concern within the nonprofit community because of how much this proposal could reduce the amount of charitable contributions nonprofits receive.

A new analysis by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center shows that the proposal would affect only 1.2 percent of U.S. households: those in the top two tax brackets. The other 98.8 percent of households would not be affected.

Before Congress left for their recess, they voted on the FY2010 budget resolutions and the President’s proposal to lower the tax deductions for charitable contributions, mortgage interest, and state and local taxes to help pay for health care reforms is not specifically mentioned in either budget resolution – but neither is it prohibited.

Senator Bennett (R-UT) offered an amendment that was approved by voice vote requiring that health care provisions “would not result in diminishing a taxpayers' ability to deduct charitable contributions as an offset to pay” for them. But the President’s proposal affects the amount, not the ability to take such deductions.

Therefore it is likely that more discussion will take place around this issue when Congress returns from recess.

LANO will continue to monitor the FY2010 budget closely so that nonprofits are aware of any decisions made by Congress and the President that could impact their financial health.

LANO Offices Closed Friday, April 10

LANO offices statewide will be closed on Friday, April 10th, so that our employees can spend time with their families during Easter/Spring holidays. We will reopen for business at 8:30am on Monday, April 13th.

Tracking Volunteer Time to Boost Your Bottom Line

Tracking volunteer time is a critical issue for nonprofit organizations. Many grants and contracts will accept volunteer time as in-kind for a source of income. If you are faced with declining donations, grants and contracts, you should be making the best use of volunteers and that means their recorded and reported service as well.

This article by Dennis Walsh for Blue Avacado will help you develop forms and models for understanding how to turn volunteer resources into a budget item instead of an unrecorded and unreported service.

Foundation Center Resources Launched in Lafayette

LANO and the Community Foundation of Acadiana (CFA) are partnering to bring Foundation Center resources to the Acadiana community.

The Cooperative Collection at CFA will offer detailed information free of charge on foundation grants and how to apply for them, as well as training sessions on how to effectively use resources in the collection to identify potential funders. CFA will provide access to the Foundation Center’s core collection, including its database profiling more than 90,000 U.S. grantmakers, print directories, and proposal writing guidelines.

“We are thrilled to bring the Foundation Center resources to the Acadiana region,” said Raymond Hébert, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Acadiana. “Our collaboration with LANO and the Foundation Center allows us to offer an invaluable resource to local nonprofit organizations that they previously had to travel to Baton Rouge in order to access.”

The nation’s leading authority on philanthropy, the Foundation Center serves grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policy makers, the media, and the general public. Establishing new Cooperating Collections helps the center accomplish one of its key initiatives: to share knowledge with under-resourced and underserved populations in need of vital information and training to become successful grantseekers. Cooperating Collections are located at libraries, nonprofit resource centers, community foundations, and other agencies and organizations.

The online database is housed in the CFA office in downtown Lafayette and is open to the public four days a week.

For information about how your organization can take advantage of this resource or to schedule an appointment, call the office of Community Foundation of Acadiana at 337-266-2145.

Janet Woodka is New Gulf Coast Federal Coordinator

On March 31st, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the appointment of Janet Woodka as the new Gulf Coast Federal Coordinator.

Back in late February, a group of Gulf Coast advocates went to Washington, DC to advocate on behalf of affordable housing in the Gulf Coast and met with federal policymakers. One of those meetings was with Janet Woodka, so Louisiana nonprofit organizations have already begun establishing a relationship with her.

The mission of the office is to identify and help address the priority needs for long-term rebuilding by working with the people on the ground and with decision makers in Washington.

As Federal Coordinator, Ms. Woodka will be responsible for identifying long-term rebuilding needs by working directly with state and local authorities to communicate priorities to Washington. The office holds a wide range of charges, including supporting small business through disaster loans and other relief; rebuilding homes while creating safer, more responsible building codes; restoring and protecting the environment; and building better, stronger levees, among many others.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Woodka served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the two most recent Federal Coordinators and was the Legislative Director to Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA). She has been engaged in Gulf Coast recovery issues from the first days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, assisting on energy infrastructure projects.

The Federal Coordinator is independent from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and reports directly to Secretary Napolitano. Ms. Woodka will also have a direct line of communication to the White House.

LANO looks forward to working with Ms. Woodka to make sure that nonprofit organizations have a voice in the federal recovery process.