Nonprofit Groups Track Pain of Sequestration

Two nonprofit groups are trying to track the impact of federal sequestration spending cuts on nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve. The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) has launched the www.givevoice.org site as a "storytelling and data collection hub" to allow nonprofits to share their stories about sequestration. At the same time, The Center for Effective Government (CEG), formerly OMB Watch, had added a new page called "Sequestration Central" to its website www.foreffectivegov.org. The page will be dedicated to tracking "both projected and actual impacts on affected federal programs" through original reports and analyses by CEG, as well as links to media stories and other relevant organizations. Sequestration -- which will cut spending on education, national parks, air traffic control and consumer safety by about 5% and defense by almost 8% -- will put multiple new strains on charities. NCN President and CEO Tim Delaney explained to "NonProfit Times" recently that many nonprofits will be "hit by direct funding cuts to programs, hit again as state and local government cut their funding further to make up for their budgets being cut, and hit a third time as people who are furloughed or laid off as part of sequestration turn to nonprofits for help in unprecedented numbers." If your nonprofit is adversely affected, share the pain, urges Delaney, to push policymakers to fix the sequester and "stop hurting the American people." See the complete story at http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles/nonprofits-tracking-federal-sequestration-impact/