Serve America Act Update

The New York Council of Nonprofits (formerly the Council of Community Services of NYS, Inc.) is bringing you this Nonprofit Action Update, in partnership with the National Council of Nonprofits.

The ServeAmerica Act is on President Obama's Desk Because of You!

Thanks to your many calls to the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the White House, when President Obama returns from his European visit to the G-20 he will find the Serve America Act (HR 1388) on his desk awaiting his signature.

On March 26 the Senate passed (79-19) this historic expansion of national service programs, renaming it the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. Then Tuesday afternoon the House voted (275-149) to accept the Senate's amendments, including the addition of the Nonprofit Capacity Building Program that the National Council of Nonprofits and their extensive network (including the New York Council of Nonprofits) has been seeking for several years. You can learn how our state's congressional delegation voted by checking the House and Senate roll call votes.

We are proud to have been an active supporter of the ServeAmerica coalition and delighted to have helped insert the important Baucus-Grassley Nonprofit Capacity Building Program Amendment into the bill. Neither would have been possible without Americans speaking to their government officials through our nonprofits.

Nonprofits have a proud tradition of being the safe place for people to come together to share their concerns, develop solutions, and amplify their voices for the common good. Your recent actions of making the all-important calls to your elected officials put you in the footprints of others from America's past and shoulder-to-shoulder with your nonprofit colleagues from across the country today. By stepping forward, you have helped redefine the way our sector will look and function in the future.

Please take a moment to savor this mighty accomplishment that you helped to achieve. You did it. You helped make history. Congratulations! This victory now serves as Exhibit A proving this simple yet powerful fact: "Together, we can."


Sincerely,
Doug Sauer, CEONew York Council of Nonprofits, Inc.
http://www.nycon.org/