July 22,  2009

For Immediate Release

CONTACT:
Valerie Venezia
Vice President, Membership and Marketing
Ph: (800) 515-5012, ext. 121
vvenezia@nycon.org

New York Council of Nonprofits Builds National Bridges of Partnership During Meetings at White House and on Capitol Hill

Albany, NY  (July 22^nd, 2009) Last  week marked a defining moment for New York State nonprofit organizations — and the communities they serve — as the New York Council of Nonprofits advocated for the state’s nonprofit sector at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

In an historic first, Doug Sauer, CEO of the New York Council of Nonprofits, along with 80 fellow leaders representing more than 20,000 nonprofit  members from across the country met Tuesday with a senior White House official to explore ways government and nonprofits can best partner to serve local communities.  

Meeting in the celebrated Indian Treaty Room, the White House was represented by Michele Jolin, Senior Advisor in the new Office of Social Innovation & Civic Participation. Jolin noted that the Office was created by a President who has an unprecedented commitment to and personal understanding of the vital role nonprofits play in their communities. Jolin and the nonprofit leaders discussed ways the National Council of Nonprofits, which includes the New York Council of Nonprofits can leverage its unique national/state/local network to help the Office of Social Innovation & Civic Participation connect to small and midsize nonprofits in local communities to identify, promote, and support innovative and scalable programs. The discussion also covered how to create a better policy environment for nonprofits so limited government and nonprofit resources can be leveraged for greater impact in local communities.

On Wednesday, July 15^th, the New York Council of Nonprofits leaders also participated in the second annual “Nonprofits Advocate!” Lobby Day.  The leaders were briefed by key senior staff members of Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) on the progress of legislation of concern to nonprofits. The New York Council of Nonprofits leaders then traversed Capitol Hill for meetings in the offices of Senators Gillibrand and Schumer as well as 10 other Representatives from across New York State. These visits focused on two core messages: (1) protecting the funding for the “Nonprofit Capacity Building Program” in the Serve America Act; and (2) ensuring that nonprofits – which employ about 10% of America’s workforce– are not forgotten in health care reform.

These discussions with Congress and the White House occurred as part of the annual Member Meeting of the National Council of Nonprofits, of which the New York Council of Nonprofits is a member. In addition to sharing innovative ideas and knowledge about best practices, nonprofit leaders heard evidence of the economic recession’s serious impact on nonprofits from Dr. Lester Salamon , a national expert on nonprofits and civil society who leads the Listening Post Project at Johns Hopkins University .

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NYCON is the premier governance, management and support service organization serving nonprofits and communities in New York State. NYCON has a membership of over 1,600 charities of all types and has offices in Albany, New York City, Buffalo, Poughkeepsie and Oneonta.