NonprofitMaine Blog

Reprinted with permission from The Maine Nonprofit Law E-Bulletin September 2020, by Robert H. Levin, Attorney-at-Law with the Law Office of Robert H. Levin. Paid Leave Under Maine’s New Law… Heads up to all Maine nonprofit employers having 11 or more employees: Maine’s earned paid leave law takes effect on January 1. I wrote about […]

With the only job board in Maine exclusively dedicated to nonprofit employment opportunities and over 16,000 visits per month, we recognize our unique position to influence more inclusive and equitable hiring processes in the sector. One step we’ve taken is requiring a salary or wage in job postings, which is a practice that models transparency […]

Last updated September 8, 2020. On August 20th, Governor Mills announced the release of the Maine Economic Recovery Grant Program. The program, backed by $200 million in Federal CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds, will “provide grants for businesses and non-profit organizations that demonstrate a need for financial relief based on lost revenues or expenses related […]

As part of our blog series focused on the theme How 501c3 Nonprofits Can Engage in Elections,today we’re highlighting Social Media Do’s and Don’ts. 501(c)3 Nonprofits should be careful with their use of social media during election season. Typically, questions arise when someone posts something electoral on a nonprofit’s social media channels and when trying to […]

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) program under the CARES Act states that the forgiveness of the PPP loans will not be taxable income.  However, shortly after the CARES Act passed, the IRS announced that they would not allow tax deductions for business expenses paid with PPP loan proceeds that were forgiven. In addition, Maine has […]

As part of our blog series focused on the theme How 501c3 Nonprofits Can Engage in Elections,we now focus on Issue Advocacy. 501(c)3 Nonprofits may legally engage in issue advocacy during election season but should be careful. Guidelines The fundamental consideration is whether the issue advocacy benefits or appears to benefit one candidate over another. The […]

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act, backed by Senate Republicans as their proposed follow-up relief legislation to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was enacted on March 27th. Majority Leader McConnell’s news release provides insights on how he plans to […]

As part of our blog series focused on the theme How 501c3 Nonprofits Can Engage in Elections, we’re highlighting Voter and Candidate Education. 501(c)3 Nonprofits may legally engage in voter and candidate education, such as through candidate forums and candidate questionnaires. While these are permissible to use, they need to be done carefully to avoid pitfalls. […]

This is part of our blog series focused on the theme How 501c3 Nonprofits Can Engage in Elections. In this blog, we turn to Election Law Basics for Nonprofits Election Law Basics for Nonprofits Federal tax law prohibits 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations from engaging in electoral activity. This includes: No support or opposition for candidates running […]

FEMA is distributing masks through the Southern Maine Community Organization Active in Disaster and the Maine Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster to be used by the staff and volunteers of nonprofit organizations in order to continue their work.  They are not intended for client distribution. About the masks: The masks are white, one size fits […]