Transforming Government to Support the Nonprofit Workforce - with Jennifer Geiling, Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, City of New York

Government contracts are a crucial revenue stream for large swaths of the nonprofit sector. In many organizations, employee wages and other compensation factors are based on the terms of government contracts. So there’s a close connection between government contracting practices and nonprofit workforce issues. In this episode, Rusty talks with Jennifer Geiling from the NYC Mayor’s Office about the City's efforts to create a more equitable, accessible, transparent, and standard process for nonprofits who deliver services to New Yorkers on behalf of the City government.

The reforms they’ve made recently include: a base-lined 25% advance on Human Services contracts and an Indirect Cost Rate Funding initiative to make sure that more money is allocated to the overall costs nonprofits have beyond specific service-related items. 

Other topics discussed:

• A Nonprofit Resiliency Committee that has brought together government and nonprofit representatives during the Administration and through the pandemic.
• “PASSPort” a centralized, digital procurement and sourcing portal for nonprofits, and Citywide contractors, working with agencies across the City government.
• The City's “Cost Manual,” a new tool that defines nonprofit direct and indirect costs in human services government contracts.
• The City's work to support nonprofits during the pandemic and the Covid-19 Human Service Recovery Task Force

For more information on Jennifer and links to the resources mentioned in this episode please go to fundthepeople.org/ftp_podcast/