Action Alert: Sign on to the Fair Share Maryland Plan
Do you have sufficient resources to carry out your mission and meet community needs? Well, neither does the state of Maryland, and we need to take action to change that. Nonprofit resources and state budgets are closely linked. I am writing to urge you to become part of a growing coalition of nonprofit leaders calling for an increase in state revenues and tax relief for lower-income Marylanders.
Maryland’s budget has a significant structural deficit that will grow in coming years if we do not act now. This could have a devastating effect on communities and nonprofits.
Nonprofits and the communities we serve are deeply affected by the state budget – in housing, health, youth and education, childcare, arts, environmental justice, and the broader need for systems reform. We are forced to work with state agencies riddled with vacancies that are unable to meet basic requirements in timely contracts and payments with nonprofits. People we serve languish on waiting lists, can’t access services due to language, disability, or transportation barriers, and can’t make ends meet in their households with the high cost of housing and child care.
We cannot “go back” to pre-pandemic norms. Our economy was not working for everyone before the pandemic and it’s not working for everyone now. Budget cuts and austerity are not the path forward for a state that has the highest household income level in the country and yet has 12% of children in deep poverty and 38% of households not able to meet basic needs (https://uwcm.org/alice).
Act today to call on Maryland’s governor and legislature to take steps to raise the revenues needed to meet the many unmet needs that nonprofits address every day. The legislature’s committee hearings on House Bill 1007 and Senate Bill 766 (the Fair Share Maryland Plan) are coming next week, and we urge you to go on record by submitting written testimony in support. SB 766 is being heard on Feb. 21 and HB 1007 the following day Feb. 22. Testimony can be submitted through the MGA Website for both bills on Tuesday, February 20 from 8:00 am to 6 pm. If you want to testify in person at the hearings please contact Kali Schumitz at the MD Center on Economic Policy. Please make your voice heard. (information on creating an MGA account and using the website can be found here)
The Fair Share Maryland Plan creates a more equitable tax code where we close corporate tax loopholes, ask the wealthiest Marylanders to pay their fair share, and put more money into the pockets of Marylanders in need, including increasing the child tax credit. By working together, nonprofits in Maryland are advancing and protecting the public interest of the people and communities we serve.
Sign On
