Month: November 2018

Public Policy Update
Action Alerts

ACTION ALERT: Significant change to labor law under review

November 26, 2018 David Streeter

Do you have salaried staff making under $70,000 per year?  The state is proposing a change that affects how you do business.  Washington State’s Department of Labor and Industries released a new draft proposal that could make any employee earning under $70,200 per year entitled to overtime pay. Read on to learn more. Additionally, please make sure to share this with your nonprofit’s finance and budgeting staff. According to the Department’s latest pre-draft overtime pay rules, Washington State’s overtime pay exemption threshold could be set at 2X or 2.5X the state minimum wage beginning January 1, 2020. This effectively means the […]

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Central Washington Conference for the Greater Good

November 16, 2018 Nancy Bacon

The Central Washington Conference for the Greater Good creates the space in which nonprofit leaders and volunteers learn, connect, and get inspired. It brings together experts and colleagues from across the region, philanthropy, resource providers, and state agencies to ensure that nonprofits have what they need to succeed. Learn more on the conference website: centralwanonprofitconference.org              

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Member Spotlight: West Seattle Timebank – Going Beyond Volunteering

November 16, 2018 Julia Hunter

Would you be willing to drive a neighbor to the airport? What if you could exchange that hour of driving with an hour of guitar lessons, or help fixing up your bicycle, or for a neighbor to feed your chickens while you’re out of town? Nonprofits depend on volunteers to provide services and promote their mission. But it can be difficult to recruit potential volunteers who feel like they don’t have enough time to contribute to the cause. In West Seattle, a nonprofit organization is re-writing this dynamic, honoring the value of volunteer time in a community culture that exchanges […]

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Effective Trainers Lead to Strong Nonprofits

November 16, 2018 Nancy Bacon

Strong nonprofits are vital to healthy communities. To stay strong, nonprofit leaders need opportunities to learn new skills and integrate new ideas into their daily practice. Those who teach nonprofit leaders need to be skilled instructors as much as content experts because nonprofits don’t have time or money to waste. This is why Washington Nonprofits launched last November its “Train the Trainer” initiative. Inspired by the idea that every nonprofit learning experience in Washington should be excellent and action-focused, Washington Nonprofits Associate Director Nancy Bacon works closely with two local adult learning experts, Guila Muir and Tracy Flynn, to provide […]

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Central Washington Conference for the Greater Good – April 24

November 15, 2018 Nancy Bacon

All roads lead to Yakima, Washington on April 24, 2019! The Central Washington Conference for the Greater Good is where nonprofit leaders, philanthropy, and others working in the public space come together to learn, connect, and imagine new solutions to opportunities and challenges within our communities. Now in its sixth year, this Conference represents a partnership between Washington Nonprofits, the Central Washington Nonprofit Network, the Yakima Valley Community Foundation and many others. Akaya Windwood will keynote the Conference, speaking on the topic, “People Matter.” Based in Oakland, California, she is a partner at WiseBridge, a global transformative advising, training and […]

Public Policy Update
Action Alerts

New Overtime Pay Rules May Be Coming in 2019

November 14, 2018 David Streeter

Remember when the Obama administration proposed a rule that people making less than $47,500 per year had to be paid overtime? That rule got held up in court and never implemented, but now Washington State is considering raising the state overtime threshold.  If this change goes through, it will affect many nonprofit employees. Washington State’s Department of Labor and Industries is currently conducting rulemaking to expand overtime pay to more workers in our state. The proposed changes have the potential to impact your nonprofit’s services and employees, so now is the time to start planning for changes. There are two […]

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Washington State Nonprofit Conference

November 14, 2018 Nancy Bacon

The 2019 Washington State Nonprofit Conference will be celebrating its 25th anniversary, and, in looking back and learning forward, will give special attention to connecting the dots, across time, geography, and organizational focus.   Learn more on the conference website: wastatenonprofitconference.org          

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Courage to Solve Big Programs

November 9, 2018 Nancy Bacon

It takes courage for a community to address the big issues in front of it. It takes courage to reach out to someone you don’t know and ask if they would work with you. It takes courage to become vulnerable about the challenges holding you back. It takes courage to imagine a solution and step forward towards it without really knowing it will work. Courage was on full display at “Next Steps for Network Leadership” in Yakima on November 2, 2018. Fifty-nine leaders from across Central Washington came together to dive deeper in the idea of network leadership, first introduced […]

Public Policy Update
Action Alerts

Overtime Pay Listening Sessions Coming to Seattle, Yakima, and Vancouver

November 7, 2018 David Streeter

Washington State’s Department of Labor and Industries is engaged in rulemaking intended to expand overtime pay to workers in our state. There are two important items for consideration in the latest pre-draft rules: The current draft lists a salary range pegged at 1.5x-3x Washington State’s minimum wage ($37,440 per year-$74,880 per year) as the salary exemption threshold. The Department is proposing changes to the duty criteria for exempting an employee from overtime pay. Washington Nonprofits submitted comments to the Department in response to its latest comment round that closed October 26th that can be downloaded here. However, the Department announced that […]