Kimmy Barclay: SVCN Hosts 7th Annual Health and Housing Summit
Over the past few weeks, Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits has been working tirelessly in preparation for the seventh annual Health and Housing Summit. This event brings together our member non-profits, local and state representatives, and other leaders in the areas of health services and housing. Panels and discussions are facilitated in an effort to address the concerns of those in direct contact with our community, as well as, provide an opportunity for our non-profits to learn from each other so they can prepare for what lies ahead of them.
This past Friday, February 2, the Health and Housing Summit welcomed over 180 attendees, its biggest turnout to date. Among those in attendance were California Senate President pro Tempore, Kevin De Leon, Santa Clara County Supervisor, Mike Wasserman, and California State Assembly member, Ash Kalra. These government representatives were part of a panel that allowed our community leaders to ask questions regarding what our government is doing to address issues such as rising housing costs and the anticipated cut to healthcare funding in Washington. Two more panels also ensued which focused more heavily on healthcare concerns and how our nonprofits can more effectively accomplish their goals.
One hot topic at the summit surrounded the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Under this recent tax reform, charitable tax deductions will become much less common due to the increased standard deduction and stricter rules regarding what can go towards that deduction. Obviously, this is a pertinent piece of legislation for SVCN and its members since it will affect their already-limited funding. At the summit, California Senate President pro Tempore, Kevin De Leon, discussed his senate bill which would help counteract the effects of the TCJA. Essentially, it would create a fund that people could donate to in exchange for a tax credit. This workaround would help re-establish the incentive for taxpayers to use some of their discretionary income to help fund the important work that nonprofits do.
As the event came to an end, nearly everyone gave SVCN praise for an extremely successful event. Personally, it was great for me to hear some of the questions the members asked because it gave me an idea as to what their most pressing concerns are. Also, hearing what our government representatives had to say about what they were doing to address community concerns and what members could do to further those efforts showed how important collaboration and communication between these two groups are. That is why I think this event is such a success for SVCN and I’m sure it will continue to draw larger and larger crowds.