The California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits) held its Annual Policy Conference on November 20, 2024 at the Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles. Here are some of the highlights:

Welcoming Remarks

• While many will face very serious challenges with the political changes next year, nonprofits will continue to do the work they always do, particularly for vulnerable people
• Because the environment and context will change significantly, nonprofits’ approach must also change

The 2024 Election: What Happened, What it Means, and What’s Ahead for California’s Nonprofits

• People’s lived experience doesn’t tell them that the economy is getting better for them; this is difficult to address during elections because building an economy is slow and the benefits don’t accrue to people right away; there needs to be greater transparency and methods of communicating progress
• People are voting based on their pocketbook and with serious concern for their well-being (there is fear)
• Important to communicate that voters should vote for policy makers who are voting to support the rights they value and on how such support will also affect the economy
• Targeting younger people (18-35) to vote has been difficult because of their pessimism about politicians making big changes (remaking the type of economy) and focusing not just on small changes increasing the safety net by modest amounts; must overcome the scarcity mindset with the big changes needed to give younger people a chance to make a good living, afford housing, and live in a healthy environment
• “You can only vote for hype for so long”
• California as the state of resistance? – need to look more carefully at the numbers across the state (GOP support increased in various places and with various segments) – then determine what Californians should resist
• California: Most effective resistance may be building of an economy that works for all
• Immigration system is broken – great risk to undocumented persons – and great risk to areas (like food production) highly reliant on undocumented persons for labor, which means it’s a great risk to everyone (e.g., less food production, higher prices)
• Education system is broken – so many potential and actual voters are not aware of basic differences and implications of their votes on many issues that will impact their lives and their children’s lives
• “Misinformation is free” and accurately informed information is often behind paywalls
• Big threats: funding, climate change (which will also impact prices of food, housing, and other necessities)
• Big opportunities: communications (but must be able to take advantage of this)

The Nonprofit Newsroom and Public Policy in an Era of Deep Divisions and Eroding Trust

• Importance of independent journalism
• Nonprofit news organizations are growing in number
• But journalism (commercial and nonprofit) is a starved industry
• Nonprofit news organizations are highly dependent on high net worth donors and grantmakers
• Donors and grantmakers need to be educated about the need for funding nonprofit journalism (Tip: emphasize the importance of independent journalism on the key issue areas these persons and funders want to fund – e.g., environment, poverty, foster care)
• Unrestricted (general ops) funding is critically important but very difficult to get, but without it, very important issue areas may not receive needed coverage (e.g., K-12 education) and outreach to underserved communities may not be sufficient
• News organizations are highly reliant on tech platforms for distribution, which creates great fragility (e.g., Twitter/X)
• Important for nonprofit journalism to be innovative and adaptable (but this also makes it difficult to predict the future) – see, e.g., CalMatters Digital Democracy tool that makes it easier for people to do their own research and not just take the word of a specific news/media organization

The Momentum of the CA Nonprofit Equity Initiative: Next Steps for Building on Our Legislative Priorities

Improving how state government contracts with nonprofits is a question of equity – for our most vulnerable communities and for the nonprofits that serve them. Which is why CalNonprofits has been working with legislators and nonprofit leaders across the state to develop and sponsor bills that strengthen nonprofits’ essential partnership with the State of California and our mutual efforts to deliver the highest quality service to the people of California.

The state relies on hundreds of nonprofit organizations across California to deliver a wide range of programs and services, from sheltering unhoused individuals and feeding homebound seniors, to addressing the impacts of climate change and providing mental health services. But contracting practices have long been an issue for the state’s nonprofit partners.

In response, the California Nonprofit Equity Initiative, a package of seven bills, was introduced in 2023. A group of 22 nonprofits, organized under the banner of the California Contracting Coalition, worked with CalNonprofits on the initiative, and more than 550 nonprofits and foundations across the state signed on to support the effort.

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Advance payments for all passes in 2023: AB 590 (Hart) authorizes state agencies to provide nonprofits up to 25% of contracted funds up front, with a priority on nonprofits serving vulnerable communities or those with modest reserves.  The next step (a focus for 2024) is to work with the administration and the leadership of various state agencies to implement the law.

The California Nonprofit Equity Initiative continues into the second half of the 2023-2024 session with three active bills:

• Standardizes indirect cost coverage SB 336
• Streamlines small grant programs AB 2322
• Equity in prompt payments SB 1246

Fireside Chat with the Attorney General’s Office

• Go to the Attorney General’s Charities website – https://oag.ca.gov then hit the “Heart” for Charities
• Check an organization’s status with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers (the “Registry”) using the Registry Search Tool
• The Registry will move to all electronic forms and electronic payments by June 2025
• Delinquencies have become a significant operating issue for charities – the Registry has good resources available here and you can reach them by phone at 916.210.6607 (the Registry has allocated significant resources to helping organizations cure delinquency issues with an understanding that, under AB 488, a delinquency can stop an organization from receiving funds from charitable fundraising platforms)

Keynote: Anand Giridharadas / Closing

• It’s been 6 years since the publishing of Giridharadas’ book, Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World

In the book, Giridharadas argues that members of the global elite, though sometimes engaged in philanthropy, use their wealth and influence to preserve systems that concentrate wealth at the top at the expense of societal progress.

• Giridharadas said his explanation of this phenomenon is much clearer now with Elon Musk and some other high-profile oligarchs pillaging capitalism, buying conversation, and buying politicians
• He said this is unique to the United States; other countries do not understand how a tech billionaire with no experience in education can influence/dictate national educational policies
• The United States is great at guarding its citizens’ liberties against a King, but it’s not good at guarding against other threats to liberties, including from discriminatory practices, poisons, and data collection, where government can be a principal threat or can stand aside and allow others to take away peoples’ liberties
• The people must reclaim a broader definition of what freedom can be
• The best of Tocqueville: the greatness of American associations
• What Tocqueville missed: the buying of associations by the wealthy
• Nonprofits must decide who is their [most important] client: their beneficiaries or their donors
• Progressive nonprofits can live their values and provide benefits to all (addressing common pain points) while providing information and spurring conversations to bridge
• It’s a choppy and dangerous time with threats to nonprofits, journalists, undocumented persons, and other marginalized communities
• But it’s also dangerous if people treat the undesired dangers as a foregone conclusion
• Fortunately, the United States is a tough, resilient, difficult to subjugate country and the system mitigates some of the risk of big system changes
• “Let’s not obey in advance”
• “This insurgency is a revolt against the future … and generally, the future wins”