MCN’s supports nonprofits through public policy advocacy. Our 2024 Public Policy Agenda outlines some of this year’s advocacy priorities, including increasing and improving nonprofits’ access to government funding, in part by promoting reforms to the state’s granting policies and procedures. We look forward to partnering with nonprofits across the state to move our collective priorities forward.
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.
Agenda Definitions:
Lead: MCN or Minnesota Budget Project is playing a leading role in advocacy for this proposal, and is allocating significant resources toward this policy campaign.
Support: MCN or Minnesota Budget Project is an active participant in the issue campaign to advance this policy, and is allocating analysis, advocacy, communications, and/or engagement capacity.
Monitor: MCN or Minnesota Budget Project is watching this issue and may weigh in with limited capacity.
2024 MCN Public Policy Agenda
Uphold and Advance the Role of the Nonprofit Sector
Increase and improve nonprofits’ access to government funding, with particular focus on small organizations, rural organizations, and organizations led by and serving communities of color.
- Lead: Promote inclusion of capital investment projects at community-based nonprofits led by and serving communities of color around the state in the state’s infrastructure bill.
- Lead: Promote policies that support state government in its grantmaking roles in order to advance equity, streamline systems, and improve access to state funding for nonprofits.
Ensure appropriate government oversight that supports nonprofits’ ability to fulfill their missions.
- Lead: Promote policies that support state government in its grantmaking roles in order to advance equity, streamline systems, and improve access to state funding for nonprofits.
Position the nonprofit sector as desirable and competitive employers in policy debates impacting employers.
- Lead: Ensure nonprofit employers have access to the same supports as other “small businesses” under the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program taking effect in 2026.
- Support: Employment policies that create a competitive and sustainable workforce.
Strengthen and maintain tax policies that enhance the nonprofit sector’s ability to meet their missions and advance the goals of their communities.
- Support: Tax incentives for charitable contributions that treat donors and types of giving equitably.
- Support: Simplify the process for nonprofits to access sales tax exemption for construction materials, allowing more funds to be spent on the nonprofits’ capital projects.
- Monitor: Tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations.
Protect Minnesota’s charitable assets and promote needed philanthropic reforms, focusing on reforms that advance racial equity, get more funds to working nonprofits, and promote transparency in philanthropy.
- Monitor: Respond to proposals that would change oversight or regulations of charitable assets in Minnesota.
- Monitor: Ensure that charitable assets held by nonprofit HMOs continue to benefit the public.
Advance Budget, Tax, and Economic Policies that Create a More Equitable Minnesota
Promote a fairer tax code and address racial and income disparities in economic well-being by strengthening tax credits for lower-income Minnesotans.
- Lead: Create a family-centered process for Minnesotans to receive a portion of their Minnesota Child Tax Credits sooner through advance payments.
- Support: Expand access to free tax preparation services, and support other policies that improve Minnesotans’ tax-filing experience.
Advocate for robust and fair revenue systems at the state and federal levels that sustainably fund public investments in a more equitable future.
- Support: Support progressive revenue-raising proposals to fund crucial public services for the long term.
- Support: Oppose expensive and unfair tax cut proposals that would erode funding for public services and give the largest tax cuts to high-income households.
Support: Expand access to affordable health care by addressing coverage and affordability gaps in public health care programs and the private market, and advance equitable health outcomes through policies such as:
- Expand the ability of Minnesotans to purchase affordable health insurance through a MinnesotaCare public option.
- Expand continuous eligibility for Medicaid coverage to include adults. This policy means that those who access affordable health care through Medicaid remain eligible for at least 12 months.
- Monitor: Address ways that the cost of health care and medical debt harms Minnesotans’ access to health care and economic well-being.
Support: Expand public investment so that more Minnesota families have the affordable child care that meets their needs, and improve wages and job quality for child care workers (who are disproportionately women and people of color).
- Expand access to affordable child care through creation of the Great Start Affordability Scholarship program, which will build toward a transformational, streamlined affordable child care system.
Improve wage and job quality standards that promote the economic security of lower-income Minnesotans and people of color.
- Monitor: Improve and modernize Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance system, including expanding access and reducing penalties facing those who make mistakes in their interactions with this system.
Support/Monitor: Enact economic policies so that immigrants and refugees can thrive and that address barriers that keep these Minnesotans from fully participating in our communities and economy.
Build a Strong Democracy and Encourage Civic Participation
Encourage improvements to systems of democracy in order to increase access to civic engagement opportunities.
- Support: Support preparations for the 2030 Census to ensure a proper count of all communities in Minnesota, with a focus on historically undercounted communities.
- Monitor: Support improvements to structures and systems of democracy in order to expand access to voting and civic engagement opportunities for all Minnesotans, especially in communities historically excluded from these activities.
- Support: Bolster access to policymaking processes, particularly for nonprofit organizations and communities historically excluded from these processes. Avoid negative impacts to participation and access to policymakers during renovation of the State Office Building.
- Monitor: Oppose reporting requirements for registered lobbyists that do not take into account the situations of “in house” lobbyists, which many nonprofits employ.
If you have questions or feedback regarding MCN’s 2024 Policy Agenda, or other issues you would like MCN to pay attention to, please connect with MCN’s public policy team:
- Marie Ellis, Public Policy Director, mellis@minnesotanonprofits.org
- Bailey Sutter, Public Policy Manager, bsutter@minnesotanonprofits.org