Nonprofit organizations - you too could benefit

There's interesting news afoot in the world of nonprofit organizations, some of it specifically useful for nonprofit arts organizations, and some more general to nonprofits. Tax credits for healthcare insurance! New opportunities for developing arts spaces!

Here's information that's coming across IAC desks these days:

1.) ELIGIBLE NONPROFITS TO RECEIVE TWO NEW FEDERAL TAX CREDITS
(from Americans for the Arts' Monthly Wire)
Details on Job Creation and Healthcare Insurance Tax Credits for Nonprofits
The nonprofit community has two new federal tax credits to support it in healthcare coverage and hiring efforts. Last month, the health insurance reform bill was signed into law, and with it came a provision granting eligible nonprofit organizations a tax credit of up to 35 percent of health insurance premiums available to firms with 25 or fewer employees and with average wages below $50,000 that choose to offer coverage. Then, beginning in 2014, these small business tax credits will cover 50 percent of premiums. Another federal tax credit was approved through the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which states that through December 31, 2010, employers, including nonprofit employers, who hire individuals who have been unemployed for at least 60 days will not have to pay the employer's 6.2 percent share of the Social Security payroll tax for the new hires. For further information on these provisions, please contact Director of Federal Affairs Narric Rome at nrome@artsusa.org.

2.) FORD FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES MAJOR ART SPACE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
(Also from Americans for the Arts' Monthly Wire)
In a strategic overhaul of the Ford Foundation’s operation, President Luis A. Ubiñas has bundled its hundreds of millions of dollars in grants—which have traditionally varied widely in their focus—into large programs oriented toward specific issues. One such program, Supporting Diverse Art Spaces Initiative, will dedicate $100 million to the development of arts spaces nationwide including construction, maintenance, and enhancement of arts facilities. This program is accepting applications through May 28, 2010.

3.) Kresge Foundation Changes Arts and Culture Grantmaking Strategy
(From Philanthropy News Digest)
The Kresge Foundation in Troy, MI, has announced a new national strategy for its arts and culture program to help foster the long-term financial stability of arts groups. The foundation's arts and culture grantmaking is focused on three areas: institutional capitalization, artists' support services, and arts and community building. Under the new strategy, institutional capitalization activities will include investments in cultural facilities and building reserves funds, with a focus on renovation and repair projects. The foundation will no longer consider traditional facilities-capital challenge grants. The foundation is accepting pre-application e-mails for facility investments and building reserves grants, with a call for applications scheduled for the fall.