Top takeaway: 2026 policy priorities include uphold and protect the role of the nonprofit sector; advance budget, tax, and economic policies that create a more equitable Minnesota; build a strong democracy and encourage civic participation.
Minnesota’s 2026 legislative session began Tuesday, February 17. MCN and the Minnesota Budget Project hit the ground running, ready to connect with lawmakers and coalitions, and advocate for policies that strengthen and protect our organizations and communities.
At a time when nonprofits are being asked to do more with limited or stagnant funding, it’s essential to invest in our work, find opportunities to expand our base, and strengthen long-term stability. That’s why we’re focused on building a future that strengthens nonprofits and the communities they serve, rather than relying on cuts that undermine both.”
– Halla Henderson, director of public policy & research
Our 2026 policy agenda is anchored in the perspectives of nonprofit partners whose work is directly informed by lower-income Minnesotans and/or people of color, and whose work is driven by the pursuit of racial justice. Many components of our policy agenda call for the State of Minnesota to stand up at a time that federal actions are making deep cuts to health care, food assistance, and other core public services and create more barriers to Minnesotans participating in our economy and democracy. These policy priorities would complement the amazing ways that Minnesota individuals and nonprofits have stood up to care for their neighbors in times of incredible hardship.
We are calling on policymakers to take bold action to prioritize Minnesotans’ health and economic well-being, including raising state revenues needed to preserve crucial public services and meet Minnesotans’ needs. Policymakers also should ensure that Minnesotans are not excluded from essential public services because of their immigration status or other identities or circumstances beyond their control.
– Nan Madden, director of Minnesota Budget Project
Thank you to our nonprofit members who trust us in representing our sector’s interest and priorities. This year’s policy priorities, as announced in our 2026 Policy Agenda, include:
Uphold and protect the role of the nonprofit sector.
- Work to ensure the nonprofit sector is adequately and fairly regulated and remove unnecessary burdens for funding and long-term success.
- Strengthen and protect tax policies that enhance the nonprofit sector’s ability to meet their missions and advance the goals of their communities.
- Protect Minnesota’s charitable assets and promote reforms that prioritize transparency in grantmaking and increase funding to working charities.
- Position the nonprofit sector as desirable and competitive employers in policy debates impacting employers.
- Oppose efforts to impede nonprofits’ work via regulatory agencies because of the services they provide, their funding sources, or the populations they serve.
Advance budget, tax, and economic policies that create a more equitable Minnesota.
- Advocate for a robust and fair state tax system that sustainably funds public investments in a more equitable future.
- Protect Minnesotans’ health and economic well-being as the state responds to massive federal funding cuts and policy changes to Medicaid, SNAP, and other basic needs services enacted in the 2025 federal budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 1).
- Protect immigrants’ access to public services and tax benefits, and their human rights. Address barriers that keep these Minnesotans from fully participating in our communities and economy.
- Protect and strengthen income-boosting tax credits for lower-income Minnesotans that advance economic well-being and narrow racial and income disparities.
- Improve wage and job quality standards that promote the economic security of lower-income Minnesotans and people of color.
- Expand and protect public investments so that more Minnesota families have the affordable child care that meets their needs, and to improve wages and job quality for child care workers (who are disproportionately women and people of color).
Build a strong democracy and encourage civic participation.
- Encourage improvements to systems of democracy to increase access to civic engagement opportunities.
- Promote the accessibility of publicly available data on the nonprofit sector akin to the corporate sector, including contributions to the workforce.
Did you know…
We also engage in public policy through the Minnesota Budget Project, a nonpartisan research and advocacy initiative of MCN that promotes policy solutions — particularly in the areas of tax, budget, and the economy — so that all Minnesotans have access to opportunity and economic well-being.