Klobuchar’s WORK NOW Act would provide funding to help nonprofits serve their communities, hire and retain employees

ST. CLOUD — Today U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar joined President and CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota Mary Swingle and Executive Director of Minnesota Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs Bryan Donaldson to highlight the critical need to support nonprofit organizations facing increased demand for their services during the coronavirus pandemic. 

At the Boys and Girls Clubs Of Central Minnesota, the group discussed how the organization has adapted amidst this unprecedented economic and public health crisis to continue meeting the needs of the children and families they serve and called for the passage of Klobuchar’s Work Opportunities and Resources to Keep Nonprofit Organizations Well (WORK NOW) Act.

“During this pandemic, nonprofits like the one right here at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota are helping to fill extraordinary needs, providing meals, supporting families of first responders, offering virtual programming to keep kids on track, and partnering with local school districts to make sure children’s needs are being met,” said Klobuchar. “We need to make sure nonprofits on the front lines of this unprecedented public health and economic crisis helping millions of Americans have the resources they need — and that starts with passing my WORK NOW Act.”

“We are incredibly thankful for the support of Senator Amy Klobuchar for drafting the bipartisan Work Opportunities and Resources to Keep Nonprofit Organizations Well (WORK NOW) Act (S. 3747) that would authorize funding to help nonprofit organizations — including afterschool and summer learning providers and other youth-serving organizations,” said Mary Swingle, President and CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota. “This funding is essential in ensuring that we can retain our employees, expand our in demand academic and developmental programs as we work to support our youth, local school districts, and communities.”  

“This pandemic has only increased the critical role nonprofits like the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota have in communities,” said Jim Clark, President and CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of America. “Now they need support more than ever. We are grateful for Senator Klobuchar’s commitment to the vital work nonprofits do as well as for her leadership on the WORK NOW Act, which would ensure nonprofits have the supports to do what they do best: serve their communities.”

In May, Klobuchar introduced the WORK NOW Act that would create a $50 billion grant program to help nonprofit organizations retain their employees, scale their service delivery, and provide unemployed Americans with new jobs serving their communities during this challenging time. The legislation has 13 cosponsors in the Senate and a companion bill has been introduced in the House by Representative Linda Sánchez. 

In addition to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the WORK NOW Act has been endorsed by over 100 organizations, including: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; Child Welfare League of America; Girls Inc.; Goodwill Industries; Habitat for Humanity; Independent Sector; Jewish Federations of North America; Lutheran Services in America; March of Dimes; MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership; Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC); National Coalition Against Domestic Violence; National Community Action Foundation; National Council of Nonprofits; Spina Bifida Association; Union of Orthodox Jewish; United Way; YMCA; YWCA USA; After-School All-Stars Hawai'i; Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawai'i; Ceeds of Peace; Hawai'i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations; Hawai'i Children's Action Network; Maui Economic Opportunity; Parents and Children Together; Aspire Minnesota; Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota; The North Carolina Center for Nonprofits; Momentum Nonprofit Partners; St. David’s Center for Child & Family Development; Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis; and Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

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