3 Ways the Nonprofit SEAT Act Could Benefit Your Clients
As an insurance broker with nonprofit clients, it’s important to understand key changes that can impact the sector and the organizations you insure.
One key change that could be in the pipeline is a bill recently proposed by the Senate called the Nonprofit Stakeholders Engaging and Advancing Together Act, also known as the Nonprofit SEAT Act.
According to the bill, “Nonprofits are a time-tested mechanism for delivering critical community services. [To] maximize the nonprofit sector’s ability to utilize Federal investments to respond to community needs, the Federal Government should take steps to encourage, support, and promote volunteerism and charitable giving.”
The purpose of the bill is to reinforce the working relationship between nonprofits and the federal government by:
- Identifying and aligning common goals
- Achieving common objectives
- Encouraging greater charitable giving and volunteerism
- Improving awareness about the nonprofit sector’s contributions to society
According to the bill, the SEAT Act would create beneficial structures that would:
- Create a federal office, council and advisory board that focus solely on the nonprofit sector. Unlike many for-profit business sectors, nonprofits have no outside agencies that they can lean on for support or to ensure their concerns are acknowledged and put into action at the federal level. The proposed bill would change that.
- Allow key federal agencies to collect and share data from the nonprofit sector. Currently, no federal agency collects critical employment data from the nonprofit sector. The SEAT Act would set in motion the ability to collect data and share it between certain federal agencies, which would help document the need for support in specific areas and for certain organizations. It would also help maximize federal investments aimed at addressing community needs.
- Give nonprofits a seat at the table for proposing initiatives for building relationships with national service programs. Larger national service programs have lacked the opportunity to connect with and provide support for other nonprofits. The bill would create a type of pipeline that connects emerging leaders from throughout the entire nonprofit sector, allowing organizations to work together in a more holistic manner and for the greater good across all service programs — local and national.
If passed, the proposed bill would provide $50 million in funds for each of the fiscal years from 2024 through 2028 to help create a more solid and beneficial working relationship between the federal government and nonprofit organizations.
As of May, supporters include more than 70 national organizations as well as nonprofits of all sizes that have endorsed it. Your nonprofit clients can support the bill by visiting the Independent Sector website to read and complete the online pledge form.
About Charity First
The incredible services that nonprofits provide come with unique and complex risks that are part of their everyday work in serving the elderly, children and other vulnerable populations.
This is why Charity First is committed to providing our retail partners across the country with best-in-class underwriting, consistent and responsive service, and risk management services and accident insurance for volunteers and participants.
To learn more, please contact us at 800-352-2761 or marketing@charityfirst.com.
Additional sources of information used in this blog include NonProfit PRO and the May 4 draft of the SEAT Act bill.