MPC Policy Agenda

The complex issues that currently impact or threaten our quality of life require multi-dimensional solutions and many partners. It will take government, philanthropy, nonprofits, and business all working in alignment to achieve this mission sooner and better. Funders already play an integral role in shaping public life through their funding, capacity building initiatives, data collection/evaluation and mission investing. Public policy work is another important and essential tool for philanthropy to add to this repertoire.

We also believe that we have an important voice to add to the policy arena and an obligation to model what we ask others to do. To that end, in September of 2024 the MPC board approved our first ever policy priority agenda that was honed and developed with our advocacy committee. We will use these priorities to guide us as we engage with state and federal lawmakers and welcome you to engage with this living document.

We are still developing what this means in action for us, but we know that for the policy priorities below, MPC will employ the following tactics:

MPC will influence regulatory processes by educating and engaging with appropriate bodies to advocate for the perspective of our membership; and,
Take positions on key legislation, including providing testimony, endorsements of issues/policies, and lobbying (within the capacity of the organization);

This is a small part of our advocacy work that primarily consists of mobilizing funders and their resources toward supporting systemic change.

For more information on this process, please reach out to Jeannette at jeannette@mainephilanthropy.org.

Priority 1: Enhancing Charitable Giving & Tracking Reforms

MPC supports the role that tax policy plays in encouraging and structuring gifts that support nonprofit organizations and communities and maintain a vibrant philanthropic sector. This includes tax incentives, credits, and other vehicles that help spur more charitable giving.

Charitable reform

MPC recognizes the important role the charitable sector plays in creating a more vibrant, just, and equitable Maine.

We encourage and support tax policies that encourage charitable giving across socioeconomic class. We support the universal charitable deduction as a mechanism for this.

Previous Actions: MPC supported advocacy for an increase in the charitable deduction.
Future Actions: in 2025, the tax cuts under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will expire. MPC anticipates monitoring this legislation for any impacts it will have on charitable giving.

DAFs

Donor Advised Funds can be an important vehicle for advancing charitable giving, providing more organized, guided giving for those with more modest means. Through the leadership of Maine Senator Angus King, a national conversation has started on how we can accelerate giving by mobilizing DAF funds. MPC will elevate this national conversation, provide Maine context, and explore reforms that unlocks untapped resources, so communities are more supported.

We monitor federal regulatory and legislative changes that would impact DAFs and engage our membership to better understand what these changes mean so they can be better advocates for themselves and their work.

Past & Ongoing Actions: This year we followed research coming from national research arms to better understand the impact of DAFs. We also incorporated a more detailed DAFs call out to better understand how DAF money moves in ME through our Giving in Maine Report (2020 & 2021). MPC also encouraged our membership to comment on IRS proposed DAF reforms but did not take a stance on the reforms itself.
Future Actions: We are unsure what will happen in this space but will continue to stay connected to Senator King’s office, who continues to lead in this realm and build better relationships with Maine Community Foundation, who are the primary DAF managers in Maine. If new DAF legislation is proposed, we plan on providing education on the impacts of the DAF legislation and opportunity to connect with lawmakers to express their own stance on the reforms.

Priority 2: Advocate alongside the nonprofit and philanthropic community to address emerging opportunities and threats to the vibrancy of the sector.

MPC serves as the voice for the philanthropic sector in Maine. To that end, we monitor and advocate for policies that work toward strengthening the sector. We also know that a vibrant philanthropic sector needs a vibrant, and well-resourced nonprofit sector. We align our nonprofit priorities with Maine Association of Nonprofits. Generally:

We support policies that protect the tax-exempt status of funders and nonprofits.

We support tax policies that increase charitable support for the sector.

We support legislation that gives the sector a permanent voice in the federal government, makes the sector stronger, and enables nonprofits to better serve communities.

We support policies and efforts to create stronger data to better understand the impact of nonprofits and funders.

A special focus in 2025 of this priority is contracting improvement (see below).

Contracting Improvement

State and federal contracts can be a significant and reliable source of funding for nonprofits. MPC is committed to working alongside MANP and the nonprofit community to advance reforms and systems improvements that reduce barriers to accessing these funds including application and reimbursement process improvements.

We support policies that create systems and process improvements for more equitable and accessible state and federal contracts for 501c3 charitable nonprofits.

Past & Ongoing Action: This year we connected with MANP and philanthropic leaders to understand interest and assess opportunity. There is a lot of energy in building a mechanism for gap funding due to state and federal contracts across our network while at the same time supporting efforts for contract/procurement reforms. We also encouraged nonprofit and funder members to provide comment to the treasury as they were exploring changes in contracting and federal grant processes.
Future Actions:
- with MANP as lead, and in partnership with MeHAF, Sewall Foundation, and others, explore areas of strategic advocacy and funder collaboration to develop solutions to nonprofit contracting payment challenges.
- Participate in policy coalitions and alliances to amplify the collective voice of the philanthropic sector.

Priority 3: Advocate for equitable access to state and federal resources for historically excluded groups and communities.

As representatives of philanthropy, we care deeply about the flow of resources within our state. We recognize that we can only do so much with our philanthropic dollars so we must leverage state and federal resources to build capacity in communities that need it the most. These three areas are the primary focus of this priority:

Tribal Sovereignty

MPC stands with the Tribal nations in Maine and expresses our unwavering support for both recognizing the inherent sovereignty of the Wabanaki nations and restoring the same rights, privileges, and immunities as all other 570 federally recognized tribes across the country. MPC recognizes that our sector has a role in speaking out and righting this longstanding local injustice to be authentically committed to equity. This support is guided by our commitment to equity and our understanding of the role that philanthropy has and can play in advancing social justice and civil rights.

We believe that recognizing the inherent sovereignty of the tribes in Maine is a civil rights issue.

We strongly endorse legislation that recognizes the inherent tribal sovereignty of the Wabanaki nations.

We encourage federal congressionally directed spending processes to take an equity lens and prioritize organizations that are led-by and support historically excluded communities.

We oppose any policies that diminish tribal sovereignty or reinforce the patriarchal state-tribal nation relationship.

Past & Ongoing Actions: active participants with the Wabanaki Alliance. Convened the indigenous funders network to build a community of philanthropy committed to learning and acting in support of indigenous and tribal issues.
Future Actions: continue to partner with Wabanaki Alliance and follow their lead. Build and develop individual relationships with Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac, and Maliseet leaders to better understand issues and priorities and how they might intersect with MPC’s values and priorities.

Advancing Democracy

MPC believes in a strong and accessible democracy – to that end, we will focus our efforts on activities that encourage participation in the democratic process, protect citizens’ right to be counted, the right to vote, and advance fair representation, without restriction and interference.

We support proposals that encourage advocacy activities in our sector.

We encourage policies, regulations, and proposals that seek the advice and input of funders and nonprofits in important public policy issues.

We endorse the introduction and passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

We endorse the full resourcing of the census so that Maine can have accurate data and full access to the federal resources to which we are entitled. This includes advocating for state resources for census training and outreach.

Past & Ongoing Actions: hosted a convening with 20 attendees to explore the importance of democracy and civic engagement funding. Supported census funding efforts in 2020 with a pooled census fund. Active participant in the census funders collaborative. We also supported the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Future Actions: Create an education and action strategy, including a comprehensive census strategy that builds on the collective funding and organizing developed in the lead up of the 2020 census.

State Budgetary Issues

Government and philanthropic organizations have been long-standing partners in solving some of the nation’s most challenging issues. Government funding is crucial for the sustainability of many nonprofits and social support systems, while philanthropic funding is needed to supplement government funds when they may be too restrictive or don’t meet the extent of nonprofit expenses. Because of this mutual investment in the success of community-based organizations, foundations should pay close attention to the Governor’s budget and advocate that the state is allocating funds where they are needed most and in a way that promotes equitable access and positive outcomes.

We support activities that strengthen funder relationships with tribal, federal, state, county, & local governments and officials.

Past & Ongoing Actions: In the wake of the Lewiston shooting, we monitored the supplemental budget process to assess if gaps left by the shooting would be addressed through the process. We met with Sen. Rotundo to understand what was or wasn’t included and shared with her our understanding of community gaps left by the shooting that could and would not be filled only by philanthropy.
Future Actions:
- Continue to engage legislators related to the funding for Lewiston Auburn in the wake of the mass shooting.
- Build and develop individual relationships with Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac, and Maliseet leaders to better understand issues and priorities and how they might intersect with MPC’s values and priorities.
- Organize regular meetings and forums with policymakers and key stakeholders such as Office of Population Health Equity (OPHE) and Office of Policy Innovation & the Future (GOPIF).

Inspired by SoCal Grantmakers, https://socalgrantmakers.org/resources/governor-newsoms-2022-23-proposed-state-budget-three-focus-areas-philanthropy

Priority 4: Ally for advancing equity

We collaborate to create a vibrant, just, and equitable Maine.

A vibrant, just, and equitable Maine is built upon the acknowledgment of the deep, rich history and contributions of the Wabanaki peoples and works to be in a restorative relationship with Indigenous communities and the earth—so that the natural environment is stewarded sustainably and with care. It is a state that promotes and secures the health and wellbeing of all Maine people. In this Maine, all people are ensured, under the law and in practice, equal rights, protections, opportunities, and access to the resources they need regardless of race, gender identity and expression, age, ability, socio economic level, immigration status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

Even though we embed equity throughout the above policies, we also want to come out strongly as allies for policies that improve life for racially marginalized people in Maine, and for all people across the state. We are still exploring what this looks like in action, but this has looked like:

Supporting the establishment of the Office of New Americans including hosting a meeting between funders and the ONA planning team to shape the vision for the field and submitting testimony in support of the office.
Supporting the removal of racist place names
Signing onto an amicus brief in support of the Fearless Fund and providing tools and resources to our community to maintain commitment to their racial equity work in light of these attacks.

We oppose any policy that targets diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives with the intent to restrict or prohibit these initiatives.

We support policies that work toward racial healing.

We reject the movement and efforts to use the courts to equate racial equity work with discrimination.