As the pandemic continues to put a damper on fundraising, Michigan nonprofits need support on GivingTuesday. “Nonprofits in general are always in need of donations and it’s certainly not at the level that it was pre-pandemic,” said Kelley Kuhn, vice president at Michigan Nonprofit Association. “Oftentimes, these are our grassroots organizations that are in our communities that may be of most need.”

Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) is proud to welcome Claire Horlings as the organization’s new Business Development Officer. In this role, Horlings is responsible for all business development activities which includes membership cultivation and retention, network growth, customer service strategy and sales. Serving on MNA’s senior leadership team, she will expand strategic partnerships and ignite membership growth.

Throughout the pandemic, nonprofits have been on the ground in communities solving issues, adapting programming and service models to meet the most critical needs.

Many have formed partnerships with one another and outside agencies in order to strengthen their impact and survive funding challenges. They've embraced innovation and leveraged technology to reach communities in new ways, providing food distribution, housing and healthcare to education and the arts. 

The Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) today announced the resignation of CEO Donna Murray-Brown, whose departure is prompted by a spousal job change that will take her family out of state. Murray-Brown will stay on through Dec. 31 and provide consulting services as needed through the first quarter of 2022.

Building stronger, more effective next generation leaders. That’s the goal of Independent Sector’s initiative, NGen: Moving Nonprofit Leaders from Next to Now. And as part of the initiative, we welcome our new 2021 cohort of the American Express NGen Fellows program, part of the American Express Leadership Academy.

One year ago today, people worldwide watched in horror as George Floyd, a Black man was murdered on the streets of Minneapolis, after an officer kneeled on his neck for over 9 minutes. Mr. Floyd’s dying words, “I can’t breathe,” became a rallying cry and sparked nationwide protests, and a racial reckoning against police brutality. He was cruelly robbed of years of life he might have spent with his daughter, family, and friends.

While Tuesday was a momentous and historic day, we cannot forget that true justice is a world where George Floyd is still alive. True justice is his daughter Gianna being able to hug her father, and Mr. Floyd laughing and talking with his siblings at a family reunion. The fact that millions of people around the country were on pins and needles about the outcome of the verdict tells us that we are far from the end of this fight against inequality. It took a recording, multiple witnesses, and the largest racial justice protests in history to shift public opinion about the true plight of Black people in America. What we got was not justice, it was accountability. Accountability shouldn’t be this hard or this uncertain.

DETROIT- Michigan Nonprofit Association joins Co.act Detroit in urging Michigan nonprofits to act now and apply for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The deadline for submitting PPP loans is May 31, but the program could run out of money before then. “Nonprofits are part of the economic piece of the fabric of this country and vital to Michigan’s economy,” said Kelley Kuhn, vice president, Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA). “We’re encouraging nonprofits to apply while the application window is still open.”

As of this morning, the death toll for Michiganders who have died from Covid-19 currently stands at 16,218. And for many of us, those statistics represent a loved one, friend or colleague taken from us far too soon.