2021 has been another challenging year for many. With the pandemic still raging, a divided country met a new administration, and issues such as abortion access and climate change continued to be dire. Here is our list of 10 significant news events of 2021 affecting the nonprofit sector in the United States and a few links regarding each:

1) Covid-19 – COVID’s Economic Toll: “The Greatest Rise in Inequality Since Records Began” (Nonprofit Quarterly); Data on How the Pandemic and Economic Crises Are Affecting Nonprofits (National Council of Nonprofits)

2) Joe Biden Becomes President, Kamala Harris Becomes Vice President – Biden Victory Gives Nonprofits Cautious Optimism on Advancing Their Causes (Chronicle of Philanthropy); Kamala Harris Makes History as First Woman and Woman of Color as Vice President (NY Times); Nonprofits to President Biden and Congressional Leaders: Invest in Charities to Help Meet Community Recovery Needs (National Council of Nonprofits)

3) Capital Riot –  Nonprofit Leaders React To Rioting At The Capitol (The Nonprofit Times)

4) Taliban Retakes Afghanistan – Aid Groups Wonder Whether To Stay Or Go As The Taliban Take Over Afghanistan (NPR); A Dangerous Scramble to Evacuate Afghan Nonprofit Workers (NY Times); The Women Forgotten in the Wars We Started (Nonprofit Quarterly)

5) Texas Abortion Ban – Texas Abortion Ban Sends Women Out of State, Draining Aid Funds (Bloomberg Law);  Fundraising for Women’s Access Increases as Abortion Clinics Targeted and Closed (Nonprofit Quarterly) 

6) UN Climate Report – IPCC report: ‘Code red’ for human driven global heating, warns UN chief

7) Proposed DAF Legislation (ACE Act) – Summary of Accelerating Charitable Efforts Act (Council on Foundations); Will Congress Act to Reform Philanthropy?  (Nonprofit Quarterly)

8) Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta – The Impact of Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta on Donor Disclosure Laws (JD Supra)

9) The Great Resignation – Who Is Driving the Great Resignation? (Harvard Business Review); The “Great Resignation” Problem In The Nonprofit Sector (For Purpose Law Group)

10) Build Back Better Legislation (Dead or not?) – Nonprofit Advocates Praise House Passage of Build Back Better Legislation (Chronicle of Philanthropy); Biden’s Build Back Better plan is on ice. Here’s what that means for you (CNN)