2022 September Pop-Up Workshops
August 10, 2022
Civic and Community Infrastructure
In 2020, Independent Sector and KABOOM! formed a coalition known as the Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advocacy Group (NIIAG) 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 ongoing racial injustice.
About the Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advocacy Group
The Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advocacy Group (NIIAG) includes about 50 national, regional, and local nonprofits and foundations.
NIIAG engages a diverse community of leaders from across the charitable, nonprofit sector to identify, and advocate for, the essential federal policies needed to provide the support and infrastructure necessary for nonprofits to advance their missions and enable thriving communities. We prioritize investments in and through nonprofit organizations that strengthen civic bonds across the country, enable people to work and play in healthy communities, and inform policy development and implementation.
NIIAG also prioritizes federal policies that lift women, the working class, Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other communities of color. We call upon policymakers to collaborate with these communities and the nonprofits that rely on and serve them to inform government processes and policy.
Interested in Joining NIIAG?
If you are interested in joining, please email jeffreym@independentsector.org.
Priority Investments
We have organized our priority policy requests into three categories: civic infrastructure, community infrastructure, and critical national infrastructure. As a coalition, we will seek to advance these funding priorities by attaching them to appropriate legislative vehicles as they become available. We are designing the work of the NIIAG so it provides a policy and investment roadmap that helps to shape the infrastructure conversation well into the future.
October 2021: Our most recent policy priorities are listed below and a full detailed list can be found here:
Civic Infrastructure
Infrastructure must be about the civic underpinnings of our society – charitable giving, volunteering, national service, advocacy and voting. These are the practices that knit the fabric of our communities and our nation and create the conditions for societal change.
Our priority policy requests in civic infrastructure are:
- Build the capacity and representation of nonprofit institutions
- Strengthen the capacity of the volunteer force in the United States to respond to national crises
- Ensure robust and reliable federal funding for an expanded vision of national service in the U.S.
- Improve access to, and oversight of, national fundraising by nonprofits
- Improve voter accessibility while maintaining secure elections
Community Infrastructure
Community infrastructure refers to the public assets that anchor strong, vibrant, resilient, and equitable communities. For example, while decades of research show how play is a developmental necessity for children and helps them deal with adversity and stress, community infrastructure like playgrounds are severely underfunded today, particularly in communities of color that have experienced significant disinvestment.
Our priority policy requests in community infrastructure are:
- Increase access to affordable childcare for working parents
- Rebuild a competitive and equitable workforce
- Invest in culture, arts, and humanities workers and programs
- Rehabilitate and improve access to community buildings and housing
- Increase investment in community development and resilience
- Expand access to 211 Health and Human Service Hub
- Ensure robust funding for more equitable access to parks and recreation
Critical National Infrastructure
The nation is dependent upon transportation and power systems, among others, that are critical to our daily lives and to the functioning of our economy. The charitable nonprofit sector is also dependent upon critical national infrastructure – such as information technology and the United States Postal Service – to advance its many missions. But, as we know, when federal legislators debate infrastructure spending, they are focused on roads and bridges, not on our sector. We know from experience that prioritizing nonprofit organizations in any future infrastructure package is a proven way to create jobs and strengthen our communities and our economy.
Our priority policy requests in critical national infrastructure are:
- Ensure digital access for all
- Build nonprofits’ technical and skill-based technology capacity
- Prioritize public and civil society interests in digital infrastructure
- Upgrade energy efficiency of homes and nonprofit buildings
- Support clean, healthy, and equitable transit
- Guarantee safe drinking water
- Invest in Conservation and Environmental Resilience Jobs
- Ensure environmentally sustainable infrastructure
Toolkit
A healthy nation requires a healthy civil society and policies that allow nonprofits to serve their communities’ needs. Independent Sector and the Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advocacy Group (NIIAG) are urging legislators to recognize the essential role community and civic infrastructure plays in meeting the challenges of the public health and economic crisis unleashed by COVID-19.
Use our advocacy toolkit resources to expand your organization’s mobilization efforts to help secure emergency funding that nonprofits need to fulfill our missions.
Latest News
2022 September Pop-Up Schedule
August 10, 2022
Announcing Our New Website, Logo, & Portal
August 10, 2022
Members of the Coalition
Interested in becoming a member? Get in touch with us.
ACCESS
American Heart Association
Americans for the Arts
The Aspen Institute
City Parks Alliance
Communities In Schools
Community Resource Center
Council of Michigan Foundations
Do Good Institute
Fund the People
George Mason University
Giving Tuesday
Goodwill Industries International Inc.
Habitat for Humanity
Independent Sector
The Jewish Federations of North America
KABOOM!
Leadership Roundtable
League of American Orchestras
League of United Latin American Citizens
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Living Cities
Maryland Philanthropy Network
MENTOR
Morgan Stanley
National Digital Inclusion Alliance
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
National Community Action Partnership
National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
National Indian Child Welfare Association
National League of Cities
National Recreation and Parks Association
National Urban Indian Family Coalition
Native Ways Federation
Nature Conservancy
OneStar Foundation
Orthodox Union Advocacy Center
Philanthropy West Virginia
PolicyLink
Raising A Village Foundation
Reinvigorating the Conversation
Service Year Alliance
Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society
StriveTogether
Technology Association of Grantmakers
TechSoup
The Henry Ford
United Philanthropy Forum
United Way Worldwide
Urban League
Volunteer Match
YWCA USA
