Nonprofit employees have three days left to take advantage of the temporary Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) waiver. This temporary waiver makes it possible for many nonprofit workers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for the PSLF program, thereby reducing or potentially eliminating student loan debt. The most important message that nonprofits can share with their employees with student debt is to apply for the PSLF by the end of the month, even if they have questions about details of their applications (which can be filled in after the October 31 deadline).

The PSLF program forgives the balance of most federal student loans after ten years working for charitable nonprofits and governments. Many nonprofit workers with student debt may not be aware of the benefits of the PSLF program or realize that the temporary waiver can provide immediate forgiveness for some borrowers. So far, about 5,300 borrowers from North Carolina (who work for either nonprofits or governments) have been approved for more than $333 million in student loan forgiveness under the waiver.

Here are three things your nonprofit can (and should) do today to help ensure your eligible employees take advantage of the temporary PSLF waiver:

1. Remind your employees about the temporary PSLF waiver and the October 31 deadline in any upcoming staff meetings or communications. Share the U.S. Department of Education’s free resources about the waiver, the recording of the National Council of Nonprofits' webinar on the PSLF waiver, and free information on all things student loans from The Institute of Student Loan Advisors.
2. Make sure your employees know your nonprofit’s employer identification number (EIN) and the contact information for the person on your staff to direct PSLF forms and related questions.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina State Treasurer and the State Health Plan released a report on Medicare profits and losses at nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina. The report is the latest in a series of reports from the State Treasurer questioning the finances of nonprofit hospitals. The reports emphasize the amount of state and local revenue forgone because of nonprofit hospitals’ tax exemption, and they hint at policy proposals ranging from greater pricing transparency for hospitals to potential limitations or elimination of state and local tax exemption for nonprofit hospitals.

While the report’s findings about medical bills for North Carolinians on Medicare are troubling, the Center is concerned that this series of reports misrepresents the community benefits provided by nonprofit hospitals and the challenges facing charitable nonprofits across North Carolina. Specifically:

1. The report does not address a variety of factors affecting hospitals’ finances like pricing set by private health insurers and the current nonprofit workforce shortage that is creating financial and operational challenges for nonprofits across North Carolina, including nonprofit hospitals. Most notably, the report does not mention that North Carolina remains one of 12 states that continues to opt out of Medicaid expansion. By declining Medicaid expansion, North Carolina policymakers have deprived more than half a million North Carolinians of adequate health coverage and eliminated a significant revenue stream for hospitals and other nonprofit health care providers. 
2. Nonprofit hospitals provide a wide variety of community benefits beyond charity care, including significant financial and in-kind support to other nonprofits in their communities. Policy decisions that create new taxes or other challenges for nonprofit hospitals will ultimately harm thousands of other nonprofits across the state by weakening hospitals’ ability to be effective partners with other community-based nonprofits.
3. Aside from the myriad community benefits they provide, nonprofits contribute significant tax revenue to the state. A 2020 analysis from the Center estimated that North Carolina nonprofits pay $1.1 billion to the state in taxes and fees each year, while receiving tax benefits valued at about $700 million in the form of tax exemptions, refunds, and tax-deductible contributions. 

The Center is particularly concerned that this series of reports from the State Treasurer could encourage policymakers to consider limiting or eliminating nonprofit sales tax refunds and/or property tax exemption. The Center has long held the position that all 501(c)(3) nonprofits should be exempt from these state and local taxes. As we noted in a 2019 blog post highlighting potential threats to nonprofit tax exemption, “it is essential for all 501(c)(3) nonprofits to work together as a sector to preserve – and improve upon – nonprofit tax exemption. New taxes and fees on nonprofits – even if they initially only apply to a few organizations – ultimately harm our communities by taking resources away from the work of charitable nonprofits throughout North Carolina.”

Early voting for the 2022 general election is open in all 100 counties of North Carolina. As friend of the Center Lisa Hazirjian explains in a new blog post (complete with horror stories about Election Day car troubles and foul weather), it is important for your nonprofit to encourage your staff, volunteers, and clients to vote early this year. The Early Voting period, which continues through Saturday, November 5, is the one time when everyone who is eligible to vote in North Carolina can register and vote at the same time, and can vote at ANY Early Voting location in their home county. Here are two questions your staff, volunteers, and the people your nonprofit serves may be asking (along with resources to help you answer):

• Looking for your county’s One-Stop Early Voting sites? Check the NC Board of Elections One-Stop Early Voting search tool to find locations and times of all the Early Voting sites in your county. If you plan to register and vote at the same time, be sure to bring accepted proof of residency, as explained here.  
• Want to find a sample ballot or check on your voter registration status? You can do both through the NC Board of Elections’ online Voter Search tool. Note that if you aren’t currently registered to vote in your county – or if your registration is at an old address – you can register or update your voter registration at a One-Stop Early Voting site, but you won’t be able to register and vote on Election Day. Tip: All registered voters can find a sample ballot by searching for themselves, clicking on their name, and scrolling down to a section titled “Your Sample Ballot.” From there, click on the entry near the middle of your screen (it might look something like B0002 or B0004). 

Once you’re ready to vote, make an Early Voting plan and encourage others to do so, too!

Have you been wondering what types of election-related activities your nonprofit can and can’t do between now and the November 8 election? You’re not alone. The Center has been fielding many questions about what’s legal and what’s advisable, and posted updated answers to some of the most common questions we’re hearing. Let us know of other questions you have about your nonprofit’s engagement in the 2022 election.

The NC State Board of Elections (NCSBE) recently published guidance on assistance that nonprofits and others can provide to voters in care facilities. The guidance includes a helpful explanation of a federal court ruling from July that allows people with disabilities to get assistance from anyone they choose – including from nonprofit employees or volunteers – in completing applications for absentee ballots. The court found that a state law enacted in 2020 prohibiting people other than close relatives or legal guardians from helping people complete absentee ballot request forms violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Nonprofits serving seniors and people with disabilities – particularly those who are homebound or live in nonprofit residential facilities – had expressed concerns that this law might make it harder for people to vote, particularly if their primary caregivers are nonprofit staff and volunteers who are not their immediate family members or legal guardians. The NCSBE guidance notes that the court ruling only applies to people with disabilities, so nonprofits still can’t help people without disabilities complete absentee ballot request forms.

Earlier this year, the Center sent a candidate questionnaire on nonprofit issues to all North Carolina candidates for Congress and the NC General Assembly asking about their personal experience with nonprofits, their priorities if elected, and which nonprofit sector policy issues they would most enthusiastically support. The Center is pleased that more than a quarter of candidates on the ballot this fall have completed the questionnaire. 

It’s important to see what the candidates on your ballot said about nonprofits. Here are three things you can do today:

1. Take a few minutes to check out the interactive 100-county map of candidate responses to learn more about the candidates on your ballot. 
2. Share these responses (by sharing the link to the map) with your staff, board, volunteers, and the people you serve. 
3. If you see candidates in your county who haven’t responded, reach out and ask them to complete the questionnaire. We’ve made it easy with this template you can customize and send to candidates running in your county who haven’t yet replied – their names and email addresses can all be found with the 100-county map. The Center will continue to update the response page through Election Day in November.

A special thank you to all the nonprofits that have already reached out to their local candidates. As the National Council of Nonprofits noted in this recent article, your participation has been critical to the success of this project!

One of the easiest ways nonprofits can help promote elections is by giving your staff paid time off to vote during Early Voting or on Election Day. To help ensure that nonprofits show leadership when it comes to empowering the millions who work daily to create a more equitable society, Nonprofit VOTE, the National Council of Nonprofits, and several other national organizations launched the Nonprofit Staff Vote campaign.

The Center has proudly signed on to the Nonprofit Staff Vote campaign, and we encourage your nonprofit to join also. To model best practices, the Center is sharing its policy (below) allowing staff to take time off to vote or to volunteer as nonpartisan poll workers. Feel free to borrow and adapt this language to fit into your organization’s personnel policies. And let us know if your nonprofit is also giving staff time off to vote in this year’s election.

“Voting and Election Day. The Center encourages all employees who are eligible to vote to participate fully in the electoral process. Any Center employee may take paid time off work on Election Day or during the Early Voting period to vote in any primary, general, or run-off election. Employees should notify their supervisors of the time they plan to take off for voting.

“Center employees also may take up to one day per year of paid time off to volunteer in a nonpartisan role as a poll worker on Election Day or during the Early Voting period. Employees must get prior written approval of their supervisors (which shall not unreasonably be denied) before taking this paid time off. Employees volunteering for political parties or campaigns on Election Day or during the Early Voting period may not be paid for their time engaging in partisan political activities, but they may take annual leave for any time spent volunteering for candidates or political parties.

“Paid time off for voting and nonpartisan election volunteer work is in addition to annual leave, sick leave, and personal leave that employees have accrued. Employees are not required to use annual leave, sick leave, or personal leave when they take paid time off to vote or to volunteer as a nonpartisan poll worker pursuant to this policy.”

A new law that took effect on December 1, 2017 changed the way that businesses and nonprofits register their assumed business names (sometimes known as “doing business as” or “DBA” names) in North Carolina. As a result of this law, any assumed business names that were registered prior to December 1, 2017 will automatically expire on December 1, 2022. 

If your nonprofit operates under a name other than the name listed in your articles of incorporation AND you haven’t updated your assumed business name registration with your county register of deeds, you need to re-file before December 1 to avoid losing your assumed business name. Nonprofits that operate with assumed business names in multiple counties only need to file with the register of deeds in one county. For more information, including assumed business name filing forms and a searchable statewide database of assumed business names (in case you aren’t sure whether your nonprofit has filed for an assumed business name certificate), check out the NC Secretary of State’s resource page.

The Center provides Nonprofit Policy Update each week as a benefit to its nonprofit members. However, to help all North Carolina nonprofits respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, we're temporarily providing this newsletter to non-member nonprofits. Don’t miss out – become a member to ensure you continue receiving these updates along with many other valuable benefits.