Campaign 2010: Tom Foley, Republican, Connecticut

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Please describe any involvement you have had personally with nonprofits (as a board member, volunteer, staff member, etc.).

I have served as a trustee of the Kent School in Kent, Conn., and as a fund raiser and volunteer for numerous other nonprofit academic institutions. I served on the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. I have worked with ConnCan, Teach for America, and other nonprofits to promote educational reform in Connecticut. I am a significant contributor and have done fund raisers for numerous nonprofits supporting children and protecting the environment.

Please highlight those parts of your platform for governor that you think will most help nonprofits in your state.

The state needs to partner with nonprofits whenever such partnering provides better or lower-cost service than can be provided by state government agencies. The areas where this partnering is most likely to occur is in social services. In the area of our services for our elderly population, community-based care is better than institutional care when community-based care is an option. This is another area where state investment in community-based nonprofit providers makes sense for clients and taxpayers.

Does your state have a government position, office, or cabinet seat that is dedicated to helping nonprofits or promoting volunteerism? If yes, please describe it and say whether you would keep the office or position, or make changes to it. If no, would you consider creating such a position or office?

Several state agencies are responsible for the state government’s relationship with nonprofits. If I am elected governor, I intend to take a hands-on role in fostering that relationship. Several smaller units within at least two state agencies (social services and education) have a responsibility to promote volunteerism.

Many nonprofits have lost revenue because of state budget cuts during the recession. Do you have any proposals to help nonprofits that rely on state-government grants and contracts to weather the bad economic times?

For too long, state government has used cutbacks in social-service programs to balance the state budget. This must be brought to an end. It would be my intention to do more with nonprofits to help reduce the cost of providing services rather than cutting services. This should result in an increase, not a decrease, in the participation of nonprofits in providing state services.

Do you expect that as governor you will have to propose budget cuts to balance the state budget in 2011? If so, please explain.

The next governor’s primary job will be to bring the state budget back into balance without raising taxes on working families. This will mean a focus on reducing spending. I have said from the start of the campaign, however, that these cuts will not come at the expense of our young people, elderly, poor, or disadvantaged.

States are responsible for ensuring that nonprofits and fund raisers register before they solicit charitable contributions through such means as telemarketing and direct mail. Do your state regulators have an adequate budget to perform this task? Are there any areas where you think state regulation of charities needs to be strengthened?

I believe the regulations we have in place are adequate and do not have any plans to change them.

Please add any other observations you may have about the relationship between the state government and nonprofits in your state.

As previously stated, I think the relationship between state government and nonprofits needs to be stronger. There are many opportunities to have nonprofits play a larger role providing state services, both to improve care and lower costs.

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See responses from other candidates on our Campaign 2010 Web page.

If you have information about how the governor’s race could affect nonprofits in your state, or would like to encourage your state’s candidates to complete our survey, please contact Suzanne Perry at suzanne.perry@philanthropy.com or (202) 466-1228.