Impacts on nonprofits in WA

White House Vaccine Mandate & Nonprofits

Last Thursday, President Biden announced several new efforts to increase vaccination rates across the U.S. These efforts will likely have impacts for nonprofits in Washington State, though there are still a number of questions and details to learn.

The bulk of the efforts are covered by a new six-point plan to combat COVID-19:

  1. Vaccinating the Unvaccinated;

  2. Furthering Protection for the Vaccinated;

  3. Keeping Schools Safely Open;

  4. Increasing Testing and Requiring Masking;

  5. Protecting Our Economic Recovery; and

  6. Improving Care for Those with COVID-19.

 
From these points, “Vaccinating the Unvaccinated” and “Protecting Our Economic Recovery” are particularly relevant for nonprofits in our state.

Vaccinating the Unvaccinated

This effort to increase the vaccination rate in our country includes new requirements for employers. We do not yet have information about when these requirements would take effect and are waiting for additional information about a number of other specific details. The new requirements include:

  • Requiring All Employers with 100+ Employees to Ensure their Workers are Vaccinated or Tested Weekly (OSHA is currently developing an Emergency Temporary Standard).

  • Requiring Vaccinations for all Federal Workers and for Millions of Contractors that Do Business with the Federal Government.*

  • Requiring COVID-19 Vaccinations for Over 17 Million Health Care Workers at Medicare and Medicaid Participating Hospitals and Other Health Care Settings.

  • Requiring Employers to Provide Paid Time Off to Get Vaccinated.

*Although the regulations are not out yet, at this time, we do not anticipate that this mandate will apply to nonprofits receiving federal grants governed by OMB guidance.

Protecting Our Economic Recovery

Nonprofits are vital to our recovery from COVID-19, and this is especially true for our economic recovery. Nonprofits represent over 7% of the workforce in Washington. Yesterday’s announcement included these new provisions that will affect our nonprofit sector:

  • EIDL: Strengthening the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, for which nonprofits are eligible, by increasing the maximum amount of funding a small business can borrow through this program from $500,000 to $2 million, which can be used to hire and retain employees, purchase inventory and equipment, and pay off higher-interest debt. Nonprofits are typically hesitant to incur debt, however, getting a loan with favorable terms may make sense for organizations that have significant earned income and a clear plan for repaying the loan over time.

  • PPP: Streamlining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness by making it easier for more than 3.5 million PPP borrowers with loans of $150,000 or less to get their loans forgiven. Under the new streamlined approach initiated in August, SBA sends a pre-completed application form to the borrower who can review, sign, and send back to SBA, which then works with the lender to complete the forgiveness process. SBA expects more than 2.5 million additional small businesses to take advantage of this streamlined process in the months ahead. Most nonprofits are in this category and will benefit from streamlined loan forgiveness.

The summary above relates to Biden's Path out of the Pandemic. In addition, nonprofits need to be paying attention to Governor Inslee's announcements regarding state requirements related to vaccines and COVID safety.  On August 20, Governor Inslee issued Proclamation 21-14, which expanded the vaccine mandate to include all employees, on-site contractors and on-site volunteers at all public and private K-12 schools, public and private 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education, and early learning and child care programs serving children from multiple households. The current mask mandate calls for face coverings in virtually all publicly accessible places. 

There are still many details that have yet to be announced related to Biden's plan, and Washington state requirements will continue to evolve as well. As Washington Nonprofits becomes aware of more details, we will be sure to let you all know.

As you are there for your communities, so we are here for you. Do not hesitate to reach out and let us know how we can best be supporting you and your organization during this time.


CALL US: (855) 299-2922

EMAIL US: info@washingtonnonprofits.org

CHA Washington