October 21, 2010 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Independent Sector annual meeting kicked off in Atlanta on Wednesday, with a sober opening session about how gridlock in Washington is stymieing progress on social issues.
Norman J. Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said the inability of Democrats and Republicans in Congress to agree on a common set of facts was making progress difficult and that expected gains by Republicans in the November elections would make the situation worse.
“I’ve been in Washington for 41 years and I’ve never seen it this dysfunctional,” he said. “The next two years are going to be even more nasty and brutish.”
Gara LaMarche, president of Atlantic Philanthropies, said conservatives, including those in the Tea Party, have done a better job of motivating their supporters on issues like lower taxes and smaller government than progressive Democrats have in pushing their agenda. He said that President Obama’s approach to the health-care overhaul was “wonkish” and may not be as successful on other issues, such as immigration and climate change.
“We need a strong moral narrative for the issues that concern us,” Mr. LaMarche said.
The session, titled “Democracy at a Crossroads,” included several short performances by Anna Deavere Smith, an actress, playwright, and professor at New York University, including an impression of a highly educated medical resident working in a New Orleans hospital that served residents of the beleaguered Ninth Ward immediately following Hurricane Katrina. The resident expected quick government assistance to arrive; the black nurses correctly assumed that help would come only after people at more-affluent hospitals were rescued.
Ms. Smith said she hoped her performances would illuminate problems faced by lower-income people for the charity and foundation leaders in the audience.
“I leave it to you to apply your thought and will,” she said.
The opening session had relatively little discussion about the role for charities at a time of deep political rifts, but a breakout session later in the day looked at where charity leaders should focus their advocacy efforts.
Participants split into small groups to discuss topics such as increasing broadband access to needy communities and making sure low-income people aren’t hurt as states begin to enact the new federal health-care law.
Jon Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, told the group that the charities need to rally behind the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act in much the same way that they successfully advocated for legislation to expand community service 18 months ago.
The new bill, introduced in June and expected to be re-introduced after the November elections, would create two new bodies to make recommendations about federal policy affecting charities and require federal agencies to step up their collection of data about such organizations.
Mr. Pratt said charities would be wise to push for what some are describing as a nonprofit version of the Small Business Administration, which helps for-profit groups.
“If you’re not at the table, you’ll be on the menu,” Mr. Pratt said.
