On Oct. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced a change to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program rules for a limited time as a result of the COVID-19 national emergency. Millions of non-profit and government employees have federal student loans and may now be eligible for loan forgiveness or additional credit through the Limited PSLF Waiver. Under normal PSLF rules, borrowers must make 120 payments on a Direct Loan while on a qualifying repayment plan and be employed by a qualifying public service employer. Now, for a limited period of time, federal student loan borrowers may receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. You can learn more about the waiver here.

The waiver will allow borrowers to gain additional PSLF credit, even if they had been told previously that they had the wrong loan type or the wrong repayment plan. The waiver ends October 31, 2022.

After that, normal PSLF rules will apply. This means that many borrowers need to submit a PSLF form and/or consolidate their non-Direct federal student loans by October 31, 2022, to get the benefit.

Last week, the White House unveiled their plan to cancel a significant portion of student debt for millions of Americans. The Department of Education will:

• Provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients with loans held by the Department of Education, and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients.
• Borrowers are eligible for this relief if their individual income is less than $125,000 ($250,000 for married couples). No high-income individual or high-income household – in the top 5% of incomes – will benefit from this action.
• To ensure a smooth transition to repayment and prevent unnecessary defaults, the pause on federal student loan repayment will be extended one final time through December 31, 2022. Borrowers should expect to resume payment in January 2023.

The Department of Education plans to release more details about the process for obtaining debt cancellation in the next few weeks. This debt cancellation program should help reduce financial burdens on many nonprofit employees and many Louisianians who receive services from nonprofits.

HOPE Ministries of Baton Rouge was founded in 2003. 

Mission: To prevent homelessness and promote self-sufficiency and dignity. 

Top Goal: To grow its workforce development program, The Way to Work, so that more people are able to gain a sense of dignity by becoming self-sufficient.

Although social media and a 24-hour news cycle certainly makes campaigning and political fundraising seem like a 24/7, 365-day event, Labor Day has still traditionally marked the official kickoff of the fall political season. Some new candidates have already started their Facebook and Twitter pages and incumbents are looking for opportunities to raise more money from their base. That said, this is the time to reach out and educate all of these political candidates. The open primary election date is Nov. 8 and the general election is Dec. 10.  You will have the ear of candidates more than ever from now until election day!

Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

To learn the names of all candidates who qualified for 2022 fall races, see here.

Elections Hotline Number is 1.800.883.2805. More Louisiana election information here.

All that remains is President Biden’s signature. The House passed the climate, health, and tax Inflation Reduction Act (H.R. 5376) passed by a party-line vote of 220 to 207, and Biden plans to sign it into law on Tuesday, August 16th (it will be signed by the time you read this). Below are a few new resources on the measure:

• Bill Text: Engrossed Amendment Senate (8/07/2022)
• Senate Democrats Resources page
• Tax Bill Tries to Make EVs More Affordable; May Do the Opposite, Lori Valigra, Bangor (ME) Daily News, Aug. 11, 2022.
• Inflation Reduction Act: What the Pending Act Means for Nonprofits, Kelsey Vatsaas, CliftonLarsonAllen, Aug. 11, 2022.
• What the Inflation Reduction Act does and doesn't do about rising prices, Juliana Kim, NPR, Aug. 11, 2022.

IRA2022 implements numerous federal environmental policy initiatives through direct funding programs rather than tax deductions or tax credits. Nonprofits are eligible to apply for several of these programs for use in program-related activities and impact investments. A detailed list of key takeaways of “Funding for Nonprofit Programs and Impact Investments can be found here.

On the chopping block in IRA2022 from the what was in the $1.7 billion Build Back Better legislation that the U.S. House of Representatives passed last November are universal pre-kindergarten, lower child care costs, paid family and sick leave and the enhanced child tax credit, among other provisions. 

One key early childhood provision from Biden’s original plan that could resurface in different legislation later this year is the expanded child tax credit, which expired in late 2021. It gave parents up to $300 a month per child for children under 6, and up to $250 a month for children from 6 to 17. It was widely credited with dramatically lowering the country’s child poverty rate while it was in place. The tax credit, which the American Rescue Plan made available to the nation’s lowest-income households for the first time, could still reappear in an end-of-year tax deal. Be sure to remind your congressional members (including state directors and legislative staffers) of the importance of each of the issues above and how funding these to appropriate levels strengthens Louisiana’s nonprofit sector and our communities.

The deadline to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply is August 21 at 4:00 PM. For more information about our Competitive Grants, click here. For specific questions, please email Liz LaBorde at laborde@cfnla.org.

CFNLA is offering a Grant Applicant Training Thursday, August 4. If you would like to participate please RSVP here. 

The Louisiana Alliance for Nonprofits is in the process of evaluating and expanding our member benefits.  Part of our evaluation is learning what types of insurance would be of benefit to Louisiana nonprofit organizations in the long term.  Please complete the survey and let us know what types of insurance your organization currently has and might be interested in pursuing no later than August 31, 2022.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY 

FIRST Chance was founded in 2015 after the loss of SPD officer Thomas LaValley. Their goal is to equip and train ALL law enforcement, especially in Shreveport, with belt trauma kits.

FIRST Chance has a trauma doctor, Dr. Patrick McGauly, who comes in and teaches classes. All participants are taught to use the kit on themselves and others in the case of traumatic bleeding. These kits are invaluable when first responders are awaiting the fire department. 

The Junior League of New Orleans is in the process of clearing out their headquarters building as they prepare for a renovation. The organization has several items to donate to nonprofits in our region. The nonprofit would have to pick up the items as the Junior League does not have the means to deliver them. The items we have are as follows:

• 10 foot conference table
• 6 upholstered chairs for table.
• 100+ auditorium or conference chairs - upholstered in gray fabric. 
• 6 foot folding table
• 5 foot narrow folding table
• desk chairs
• and many other items

For more information and to schedule a pick-up, contact Maria Huete
maria@jlno.org
504-891-5845

The next Competitive Grant Cycle opens on August 1. Community Foundation is offering two Grant Applicant Training sessions for all applicants. Trainings are optional but are highly encouraged for first-time applicants.

• Session 1 - July 21 at 11 a.m.
• Session 2 - August 4 at 11 a.m.

Reservations are required and can be made with the link below. Trainings will be held in Community Central at Community Foundation. 401 Edwards Street, Suite 125, Shreveport, LA 71101. 

SIGN UP TODAY 

IMPORTANT DATES

• Grant Applicant Training Session 1
• July 21 at 11 a.m.
• Competitive Grant Applications Open
• August 1 at 8 a.m.
• Grant Applicant Training Session 2
• August 4 at 11 a.m.
• Competitive Grant Applications Close
• August 21 at 4 p.m.

cfnla.org/grants