Campaign Urges Obama to Include Nonprofits in Jobs Plan

Many people will be listening next Thursday when President Obama presents a plan to Congress aimed at creating new jobs. But some will be listening for one word in particular: “nonprofit.”

Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofits and foundations, has started a petition campaign to persuade the president to include measures that would increase nonprofit employment as part of his proposal to boost the economy.

The campaign encourages supporters to post messages on Twitter using the hashtag “#nonprofits.” The goal is to persuade the White House to make sure that nonprofit groups receive the same federal incentives as businesses for creating new jobs.

“Ask that any provisions that encourage job creation by for-profit companies be made available to nonprofit employers—including new-hire tax credits, tax credits for hiring veterans, government-backed loans, subsidies for particular investments, or other opportunities,” the petition says.

The organization is also asking its network of advocates to contact Mr. Obama the old-fashioned way—by phone or on the White House Web site.

While they’re at it, the group says, supporters should also tell the president to drop his idea of limiting the value of the charitable deduction for high-income donors.