(WASHINGTON, November 5, 2021) – Lysa Ratliff, CEO of KABOOM! and Daniel J. Cardinali, president and CEO of Independent Sector, issue the following statement about the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:
“The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is headed to the President’s desk, bringing with it generational investments in the civic and community infrastructure that nonprofits need in order to meet their missions. As co-chairs of the Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advocacy Group (NIIAG), we thank President Biden and the policymakers who supported this legislation and offer even deeper gratitude and congratulations to the advocates who fought to make it happen.
America needs roads and bridges, but they are not the only essential assets that bring our nation together. This is why we founded the NIIAG last summer: to lift up and marshal the nonprofit sector’s support for policies that knit society together and invest in assets that create vibrant communities. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act contains a remarkable breadth and depth of policy victories for civic infrastructure and the NIIAG policy agenda, including:
- $65 billion for broadband internet infrastructure and affordability
- $39 billion for clean transit, the largest public transit investment in our nation’s history
- $1 billion to create a first-ever program reconnecting communities – often communities of color – that were damaged or divided by the infrastructure of the past
- $50 million for a new program awarding energy-efficiency grants to nonprofits
Nonprofit organizations have played a critical role in responding to the health and economic crisis, and this legislation will help them further lift up their communities in the months and years to come. Members of the Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advocacy Group deserve an immense amount of credit for these victories, having deployed toolkits with their networks, activated grassroots advocates, and raised their collective voice with policymakers on these issues.
We are again grateful to the many bipartisan legislators who supported this legislation, and we look forward to working with them and others to advance our shared priorities.”
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About Independent Sector
Independent Sector is the only national membership organization that brings together a diverse community of changemakers, nonprofits, foundations, and corporations working to strengthen civil society and ensure all people in the United States thrive. Learn more at independentsector.org.
About KABOOM!
KABOOM! is the national nonprofit that works to achieve playspace equity. Kids who don’t have access to play miss out on childhood and are denied critical opportunities to build physical, social, and emotional health. And all too often, it more deeply affects communities of color. So, KABOOM! amplifies the power of communities to build inspiring playspaces that spark unlimited opportunities for every kid, everywhere. KABOOM! has teamed up with partners to build or improve more than 17,000 playspaces, engage more than 1.5 million community members and bring joy to more than 11 million kids. To learn about our goal to end playspace inequity for good, visit kaboom.org.
About NIIAG
In 2020, Independent Sector and IS member, KABOOM!, formed a coalition known as the Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advocacy Group (NIIAG), which now includes about 50 national, regional, and local nonprofits and foundations. NIIAG engages a community of diverse leaders from across the charitable, nonprofit sector to identify, and advocate for, the essential federal investments needed to rebuild the nation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis, and racial injustice reckoning of 2020. We prioritize investments in and through nonprofit organizations that strengthen civic bonds across the country, put people back to work rebuilding our communities, and provide – at a national scale — the critical resources and services nonprofits need to accomplish their missions. Learn more about NIIAG and becoming a member.
Media Contacts:
Bradley Wong
202-467-6122 or 206-321-0033 (cell)
media@independentsector.org
Tamara Grider
646-228-1469 (cell)
tgrider@kaboom.org
