State government has become increasingly reliant on a partnership with the state’s extensive nonprofit sector to address many of the Commonwealth’s most important community needs and persistent challenges. However, the sector’s ability to continue to meet increasing demand is jeopardized by capacity and resource constraints, according to a recent study conducted by The Bridgespan Group.
The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network has filed legislation, sponsored by Senator Jennifer Flanagan and Representative Liz Malia, called An Act to Strengthen Impact, Efficiency and Accountability in the Government-Nonprofit Partnership. The legislation establishes a permanent Interagency Coordinating Group (“Coordinating Group”) to work collaboratively to identify and implement practices that improve the impact, efficiency, and accountability across the government-nonprofit partnership and to report on how those practices have increased the state’s ability to address important community needs and persistent challenges.
The Coordinating Group will also be charged with convening an ad hoc commission of leaders from the public, nonprofit and private sector to study, gather public input and make initial recommendations to the Coordinating Group. The fact-finding and recommendation will focus on best practices and innovative approaches used in the Commonwealth, and across the country, which can dramatically improve the social and economic outcomes of this partnership.
Click here to access a fact sheet about the legislation.
Take Action to Support this Legislation
We ask that you communicate to legislators your support for this legislation. You can call your legislator by dialing 617-722-2000 and asking for your legislator by name, or find their phone and email by going to www.malegislature.gov. If you don’t know your legislator, you can find out at www.wheredoivotema.com.
When you call, please consider saying something like the following:
I represent [NAME], a nonprofit organization in [CITY OR TOWN] that works on… Nonprofits are effective, efficient and essential partners to state government in tackling important community needs and persistent problems. However, our organizations are asked to shoulder an increasing amount of this burden and our capacity to do so well is being jeopardized by capacity and resource constraints. I hope you will co-sponsor An Act to Strengthen Impact, Efficiency and Accountability in the Government-Nonprofit Partnership, which will identify and put in places innovative solutions to improve the capacity of nonprofit organizations and better leverage the state’s investment in our organizations— all of which will result in stronger communities.
