Exploring a Nonprofit Modernization Act

Northwest Health Foundation and Nonprofit Association of Oregon interact with hundreds of nonprofit community-based organizations on a regular basis. We witness these organizations and their staff working hard every day to improve community health and quality of life, provide culturally-responsive services and advocate for equitable policies, and we have front row seats to nonprofit staff suffering burnout and leaving the sector.

Individuals leave the nonprofit sector for many reasons: understaffing and overwork, overly complicated contracting practices by public sector and philanthropic partners, the lure of higher wages and better benefits in other sectors. This burnout and churn reduce institutional memory and the capacity of organizations to tackle their missions. While these issues existed prior to the pandemic, these last two years have worsened them, crystallizing the need to act. 

This is why we are exploring the idea of a community-based nonprofit modernization act—a legislative path to systemically fix underpayment, reduce administrative burden and raise wages in community-based nonprofits.

As we begin this process, we’re looking to fill two contract roles: a Researcher to help us understand how other states have addressed this problem and what legal options we have within the state of Oregon, and a Project Manager to keep the project on task and partners engaged and accountable. Applications closed.