National Survey

Nonprofits and National Tax Policies

The following message was circulated by OMBWatch and is reprinted here.

PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY

COMPLETE SURVEY: “WHAT WE STAND FOR ON TAX AND BUDGET ISSUES”

at

http://www.ombwatch.org/survey/index.phtml

Survey ends close of business on Feb. 4.

Over the past months, nonprofits from across the country have been telling us about the adverse consequences of federal and state budget cuts. OMB Watch (www.ombwatch.org) is issuing a call to action to nonprofits for a long-term campaign to take the offensive on tax and budget issues – a campaign about what we are for, not just what we are against. Three main elements of this campaign might include: 1) fair tax policies that provide adequate revenue, 2) support for vital government services and investments, and 3) a re-examination of the positive role of the federal government.

Now we want to hear from you. We are conducting an Internet survey at http://www.ombwatch.org/survey/index.phtml which which we hope you will take a few minutes to complete.

A successful campaign depends on the input and support of a variety of groups at the local, state, and national levels – from groups that work on state or federal budget and tax policy to groups who advocate around specific issues to groups who provide services. Tax and budget policy is the real reflection of our priorities as a nation, and matters to us all.

OMB Watch initially issued the call to action in the form of a paper (http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/1952/1/2/) that has benefited from the generous ideas of other, primarily nationally based, advocates. We are conducting this survey in order to get the broadest possible response to ideas about whether a long-term proactive tax and budget campaign makes sense and how to make it work.

Please complete the survey at http://www.ombwatch.org/survey/index.phtml

Please redistribute this email widely and encourage others to complete the survey. The survey should only take about 15 minutes to complete. There are three sections asking: 1) about you and your organization; 2) the extent of your current involvement in budget and tax issues; and 3) if we move forward with a long-term tax and budget offensive effort, how it might be done. The survey will be open through February 4.

We will summarize the findings, and circulate them widely. We will be happy to send you the results if you check the box in Question 30 on the survey and give us your contact information. The results of this survey will also be used as we move forward with implementation of a long-term agenda. For example, we will use the findings in regional meetings that are being organized to discuss these issues, and the ideas from the regional meetings will be used in a national retreat to develop strategies for a long-term plan.

This is a unique opportunity for those of us in the nonprofit sector to share ideas about whether to move forward with a campaign and, if we do, how it should be done. Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete the survey and participating in this exciting use of the Internet to get you more involved in building something for the future.

For questions or comments, or if you would like to speak with someone directly, please send an email to taxbudget@ombwatch.org.

Gary D. Bass
OMB Watch (CFC #1308)
1742 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009
TEL: (202) 234-8494 FAX: (202) 234-8584
http://www.ombwatch.org