On June 15, 2010 Congresswoman Betty McCollum introduced a federal legislation titled the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act in the House of Representatives. The purpose of the proposed Act is to strengthen the partnership between nonprofit organizations and the Federal Government.
The listed purposes of the Act are:
- To enhance the ability of the nonprofit sector to address public challenges and maximize opportunities to improve quality of life in the communities where nonprofit organizations work.
- To strengthen communities across the United States by making the Federal Government a more productive partner with nonprofit organizations through the establishment of better Federal coordination with respect to, enhanced transparency with respect to, and greater support for the work of nonprofit organizations,
- To collect, assemble, and make available Federal data and research on the nonprofit sector and to generate new data and research where necessary to support the development of effective Federal policy, and
- To raise awareness of the nonprofit sector and the vital civic, social, and economic contributions nonprofit organizations make to the United States.
The Act would create a United States Council on the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions in order to advise the President and Congress about how the federal government can work more effectively with nonprofit organizations. The Act lists in detail the duties and powers of the Council. The Act would also create an Interagency Working Group on Nonprofits and the Federal Government to coordinate administrative policies regarding contracting with, supporting, and managing relationships with nonprofits. The Act empowers the Secretary of Commerce to collect and assemble all data relating to nonprofit organizations from federal agencies. The Act also provides for establishing research programs in the filed of nonprofit.
Sources:
Text of Bill
Independent Sector
National Council of Nonprofits
