Raise Awareness of Critical Issues Local Communities Face;

Improving lives and creating solutions to community problems is the focus of 57 local United Ways in North Carolina. Through their efforts more than $100M is invested yearly to improve local North Carolina neighborhoods. As the state organization, United Way of North Carolina (UWNC) leads advocacy efforts to:

· raise awareness of critical issues local communities face;

· address and support the building blocks of a good life:

o a quality education that leads to a stable job

o financial security to support a family through retirement

o healthy living to provide a purposeful and productive way of life;

· support the NC statewide nonprofit sector to ensure that all North Carolinians can access the health and human services they need and that nonprofits are positioned to succeed in their efforts;

· build a strong and robust NC 2-1-1 system that:

o addresses community needs through health intervention programs;

o collaborates with innovative partners to leverage the NC 2-1-1 infrastructure to manage and share community-wide data;

o monitors community needs during a disaster;

o provides assistance with healthcare navigation and screening programs for government, health services and interventions; and,

o embodies the mission of United Way to extensively increase community impact efforts achieving positive change.

· increase understanding of the value of the non-profit network in North Carolina; and,

· champion support, with United Way Worldwide, for Federal policy impacting non-profit work and local community health and human service delivery.

UWNC is a non-partisan ally working with elected officials, policy advocates and statewide partners in making North Carolina stronger. Together with local United Ways, we can build on what is working and position our United Way statewide network to be an effective participant in government relations and public policy activities. Our vast network of knowledgeable and well-connected professional and volunteer community leaders can be mobilized to speak out on critical causes providing a local voice to policy decisions.

In 2016 UWNC will focus advocacy efforts to:

1. Continue the Development of the NC 2-1-1 system

United Way of North Carolina seeks to establish a robust statewide 2-1-1 System that links citizens to critical community resources.

o NC 2-1-1 actively seeks partnerships that will broaden access to services through the 2-1-1 system to residents in North Carolina.

o Work with various data partners to eliminate duplication in resource updating and creation of directories.

o Seek out technology solutions to streamline data partnership efforts.

o Use the 2-1-1 portal for targeted referrals, data collection, and engagement in initiatives.

o Use the 2-1-1 portal exclusively for access to serve, prescreen and follow-up offering a full service to callers that manages the experience from call to service delivery.

o Continue the development and usage of 211Counts, the online real-time dashboard indicating the needs of 2-1-1 callers.

Engage key legislators and community stakeholders to build support for how the 2-1-1 system can be integrated in support of:

o Emergency Management

o Healthcare Challenges

o Military Services

o Local United Way Community Impact initiatives

UWNC supports:

1. Opportunities to shift existing state or federal funds to streamline access to information and referral service and to bring efficient, quality driven alternatives to multiple 800 numbers;

2. A partnership with state government to ensure 100% of state government program information is available through the NC 2-1-1 database

2. UWNC will actively engage with local United Ways and their leaders to:

Inform and educate policymakers, organizational and corporate leaders, and North Carolina citizens on the proposed Taxpayer Protection Act (S.607) (TABOR), and the concern for nonprofits.

In the summer of 2015, the N.C. Senate passed TABOR. If TABOR passes the House by a supermajority vote in 2016, it would put a provision on the November 2016 ballot to make three major changes to the state constitution. Changes include:

1. Limiting growth of state spending to the total of inflation and population growth;

2. Lowering the cap on the state income tax rate at 5%; and

3. Growing the state's rainy day fund that would require a supermajority vote of the legislature to use these funds.

A similar constitutional amendment in Colorado has created significant challenges to the nonprofit sector there. The North Carolina version of TABOR could lead to:

· new taxes on nonprofits or increased taxes in other areas to bridge the revenue shortfall of reduced income tax revenue

· cuts to state grants and contracts with nonprofits

· threaten our ability as a state to make meaningful investments in education, early childhood programs, senior services, and the infrastructure of our cities and towns

· depress economic development, especially in rural areas, with cap on future investment

· offloading of state functions onto nonprofits because there are not enough dollars to support current services

3. UWNC will engage in community conversations, develop talking points, and prepare intentional steps to inform policy makers on the impact of the Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) Waiver ending March 31, 2016 in 23 NC Counties and on June 30, 2016 in the remainder of the state. This change removes SNAP benefits for those not meeting 80 hours per month of work, job training, or volunteer requirements.

· Nonprofits, churches, and other food security organizations will have an increase in requests and supply will most likely not meet demand. Food assistance programs need to be informed and prepared

· Based on continued SNAP benefit eligibility requirements, nonprofits could receive enormous requests for volunteer opportunities to meet the volunteer/work requirement. This could be cumbersome to manage and require time away from their primary mission.

· Vulnerable populations, who already struggle with making ends meet, may be forced to choose between food and other necessities such as medication, exacerbating their situation.

· Action step: Work with organizations to share facts, distribute informative resources, notify county DSS offices about volunteer opportunities at their nonprofit, and encourage those seeking food assistance to call 2-1-1.

4. Working with the NC Center for Nonprofits, UWNC will join and support efforts by engaging community, organizational and political leaders to advance the following core issues through a comprehensive communication strategy with our members and their local partners to:

· Strengthen the Nonprofit Sector and Support Policies that Address:

Ø Nonprofit Tax Exemption

All 501(c)(3) nonprofits should be fully exempt from state and local taxes – including sales, property, and business taxes – on activities related to their charitable missions.

Resources:

Advocacy Tools (National Council of Nonprofit)

2015 Public Policy Priorities for North Carolina’s Nonprofit Sector

Ø Incentives for Charitable Giving. Tax policies should encourage North Carolinians to give back generously to their communities by supporting the work of charitable nonprofits.

Resources:

2015 Public Policy Priorities for North Carolina’s Nonprofit Sector

Ø Education of elected and public officials on the benefits and efficiencies of nonprofits with a focus on positive program and community outcomes, strong partnerships and collaboration with accountability.

Resources:

Benefits of Nonprofits

Nonprofit Impact on NC

5. UWNC galvanizes people to speak out for change. Leading the way together, our voices are amplified on important community issues. UWNC will monitor and track concerns surrounding:

4 | United Way of North Carolina