Advocacy Alert from ASAE – Climbing the Hill: New Op-ed from ASAE President & CEO, Susan Robertson, CAE…

[from ASAE’s Public Policy Department]

Dear Members and Advocates:

We are pleased to share a recent op-ed in The Hill from ASAE’s president and CEO, Susan Robertson, CAE.

It is not news to our community that we need relief now, but Susan makes the case:

“America’s nonprofit associations are struggling in a big way. The pandemic has virtually wiped out in-person meetings and conferences, sources of industry innovation and collaboration, as well as the largest source of revenue for these groups. Membership dues, also a major source of revenue for these groups, is ailing. While many associations have ramped up their work to serve their members during the pandemic crisis, without the PPP lifeline, the concern is that many could fail.”

Please give a read, and we hope you enjoy.

REMINDER: New Sign-On Opportunity

Photo by Yannik Mika on Unsplash

Thank you to the more than 500 organizations that have thus far joined our new community sign-on letter. As a reminder, the deadline to join the letter is this Monday, September 14.

If you are comfortable, please don’t hesitate to share this letter with your member companies, organizations and professionals. Nonprofit associations and other 501(c)(6)s exist to support industries and professionals – if any of our collective members want to voice support, we want to highlight that.

In addition to providing for 501(c)(6) eligibility on equitable terms, the letter calls on Congress to enact the following PPP-related provisions:

  1. Reauthorize until at least March 31, 2021;
  2. Include 501(c)(6) nonprofits in the so-called “second draw” program;
  3. Expand the definition for eligible “receipts” within the “second draw” program to include in-person event cancellations and lost revenue from certification programs and other education; and
  4. Apply lobbying language as outlined in Section 90001 of the HEROES Act and included in the broadly bipartisan Local Chamber, Tourism, and 501(c)(6) Protection Act of 2020 (H.R. 6697).

As a reminder, the lobbying language referenced in #4 above would prohibit borrowers from including salaries of all federally registered lobbyists on staff in PPP loan term calculations. We reported last month on alternative and harmful lobbying restrictions presented in the Senate.

Thank you for your time. Have a great week – and be on the lookout for more reminders about the community sign-on letter!

Sincerely,

Mary Kate Cunningham, CAE
Vice President of Public Policy

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For more information, visit ASAE’s Coronavirus Advocacy and Resources page or email publicpolicy@asaecenter.org with questions.

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