Contact The White House and Your Senators to Support Stimulus Funds for Wingspan and other Nonprofits

For the last five years, the top federal legislative priority for the National Council of Nonprofits and their network of state nonprofit associations (including the Center for Nonprofit Advancement) has been for Congress to create a federal matching grant program for nonprofit capacity building. This kind of support can help fund Wingspan's infrastructure, in addition to numerous other vital non-profit organizations! Last week, Senator Max Baucus (Montana), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, filed S.609, the Nonprofit Capacity Building Act of 2009 ("NCBA"). The NCBA would allocate $25 million for the federal Corporation for National and Community Service to use as a matching fund pool. Nonprofits can then apply for a 50% federal match to go with funds raised locally for technical assistance and training. The goal is to get the NCBA written into a floor amendment to be offered in the Senate this week. We must "light up" the phone lines in the Senate and White House to let them know how important it is to support nonprofits today. Please call your Senators and the White House. The process is easy - simply take a few minutes TODAY and call the White House and your representatives. White House: 202-456-1414 Senators: McCain, John - (R - AZ) 241 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-2235 Web Form: mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm< Kyl, Jon - (R - AZ) 730 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-4521 Web Form: kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm For our out of state supporters: click here and select your state to find your Senators! The message is simple: For the calls to your Senators: Nonprofits in Arizona [or your state name] - that employ thousands of voters and involve thousands of volunteers - need Senator [name] to immediately co-sponsor S.609 to show bipartisan support for the Nonprofit Capacity Building Act which will help nonprofits as they struggle to deliver critical, life-saving services to our local communities in this brutal economy. This bill is nonpartisan and needed. For the call to the White House: Leave a message that you are calling to ask the Obama Administration to support adding S.609 (Nonprofit Capacity Building Act of 2009) as an amendment to S.277 (Serve America Act). Both are needed to ensure critical, life-saving services are delivered to local communities in this brutal economy. Jason Cianciotto Executive Director - Wingspan