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501c3 To 501c4

A 501c3 organization has tax deduction benefits and as a result cannot engage in political activities. The 501c3 organization usually is in the front line to help out the community first-hand and knows the community’s needs. The organizations may do a great job in providing services but may lack the power to influence policies that directly affect the community they help.

Many 501c3 organizations may convert to a 501c4 because they have the freedom to engage in political activities that can address the issues affecting communities. A 501c4 can support lobbying if it meets the organization’s mission and goal. Switching to a 501c4 isn’t an easy decision to make but the benefits to help the community more effectively makes the decision to switch easier.

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501c4 Political Engagement 

A 501(c)4 organization is established to improve a community’s social welfare through political involvement and information. Contributions to a 501(c)4 are not tax deductible but can be considered a business expense. Because the contributions to 501(c)4 are not tax deductible these organizations can engage in political activities.

Political activities can range from publishing political informational literature to endorsing a political candidate. The objective of the 501(c)3 organization is to have a political influence of some sort in the political spectrum or public opinion. In many cases the 501(c)3 organization will advocate to pass a legislation bill that may favor their cause. Overall the organization’s political work should have a positive impact on the community’s welfare but sometimes there may be unforeseen consequences that may have to be addressed to ensure the outcome’s effectiveness.

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During our November 12, 2020 class we discussed that women volunteer at a higher rate than men for several reasons, whether it’s for altruistic, egoistic, or coercive reasons. In the end the individual gains something by volunteering. Organizations appreciate the people volunteering although it can be both voluntary and forced. Organizations in general look for a steady stream of volunteers to help with tasks to accomplish their goals.

Some organizations depend on volunteers more than others because of their design, which makes volunteers more vital to the organization’s effectiveness. During good economic times people are willing to volunteer more than when the economy is in a slump. These days many organizations are thriving because people still volunteer even though we’re in the middle of a pandemic.

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This year volunteering has changed dramatically from past years due to Covid-19. Before 2020 most volunteering was thought of as performing tasks in groups and in direct connection to the service recipients. Due to the pandemic, close contact has been discouraged as a result volunteers and organizations have found different ways to serve those in need remotely and virtually. Many may minimize the efforts of virtual volunteering because it doesn’t take a lot of effort to log onto a device and help, but every organizations appreciate all the help they get no matter how small the act of kindness can be because it makes a big difference.

Some volunteers can only volunteer remotely and having the remote option allows them to give back. Although volunteering looks different in 2020 it’s thriving and positively impacting the world. Volunteering virtually is a great way to explore new organizations and new roles so if anyone is interested in giving back to a good cause can try this method first.

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Social Capital Disadvantage

Social capital is a fantastic way to network and achieve goals but there are some negative dynamics. Some organizations or persons may not work with everyone equally but exclusively with specific parties. There are many reasons for collaboration exclusion that can range from participation inconsistency to personal disagreements. Social capital is an effective tool to execute projects and goals when the parties work together but the differences may be too great to allow the collaboration to flourish.

It’s a very interesting revelation to discover the reasons why collaboration don’t solidify because these reasons are the hurdles that prevent parties from collaborating and benefiting from social capital.

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Positive Social Capital

Social capital is a necessary function for organizations to flourish by accessing resources & information that in many cases can’t be purchased. Social capital can be contributed by volunteers, staff, and personnel to assist the organization flourish.

With social capital people, organizations, and companies work together to achieve a common purpose or goal. This is a great way for different parties to network and build relationships to promote common goals.

The benefits of using social capitals is that it makes accomplishing a goal easier and quicker. Which can make the collaborating parties more effective in executing their goals. In the end the targeted public can greatly benefit from the products and services provided.

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Working The Polls

Election day November 3, 2020 I worked the election poll for the first time. I arrived at my polling site at 5:00am to a group of people setting up tables, voting stations, posters, and placards. I jumped right in to help them set up because we only had one hour until the polling station opened. The polling station manager yelled out the time left to open every fifteen minutes to keep everyone on track to open on time.

At 6:00am on the dot people stormed into the polling station eager to cast their vote. The table I worked was the busiest table due to higher volume of voters and it was a challenge keeping up with all the tasks in a timely manner. The time felt like it was moving quickly because we were working so much fifteen minutes felt an hour, we were told the voting line was long. The 6:00am wave lasted until 7:15am and that time period felt like it lasted multiple hours.

Throughout the day we received multiple waves of twenty to thirty voters at a time. Throughout the day we experienced challenges in verifying voter information, voter registration, and voting locations amongst other unique situations. Overall this was a great experience and those interested in politics should work at an election polling site at least once.

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First Time Voting Early

On Thursday, October 29, 2020 I casted an election vote for the first time in New York City. I woke up early to a rainy, chilly, and windy day. My plan was to start my walk to the early polling site at 9:00am, I dressed my myself in my rain gear and walked out the door at 9:15am. I made it to the poll site entrance at 9:40am and took a place holder number from the poll worker that stated, “there isn’t a line, we will be called by our number.” I found a place to stand away from other twenty feet from the entrance and waited patiently in the rain to cast my vote. At 9:55am another poll worker opened the door and yelled out “get in line!”, we were all shocked that she yelled this out and we all scrambled to get in numeric order. I was fairly satisfied with my number, 47, because the number wasn’t too high.

At 10:00am the doors opened, in an organized manner, voters entered the building and made their way to their assigned voting district table. I made it to my appropriate table, provided my information, and obtained my voting ballot. To my surprise to I was given an actual voting paper ballot, in New Jersey I never had to fill out a paper ballot, I voted in a machine. The poll worker instructed me to fill out my paper ballot in an empty booth.

I found an empty booth and carefully read the instructions, filled out my ballot, then took my paper ballot the scanning machine. I inserted my paper ballot into the machine and saw my “vote counted” on the monitor screen. Upon seeing that message I felt better about the challenging experience that led me to cast my vote. Because this was my first time voting in New York City I compared it to my voting experience in New Jersey and there were many pros and cons that both states can possibly adopt.

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Newark Council Meeting “Slip Up”

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/newark/articles/zoom-captures-city-director-s-disparaging-remarks (Must Watch)

On October 23, 2020, the website www.tapinto.com published a news article by reporter M.E. Cagnassola entitled “Zoom Captures City Director’s Disparaging Remarks”. The article reported that “Incendiary comments from a city director accidentally broadcast” during the Zoom Newark city council meeting on Wednesday October 21,2020.During the council meeting someone said “I don’t give a F about no North Ward, this is what M&M said…" The clerk asked the people to mute themselves and other members responded. A member asked if the comments can be extracted, another member chuckled.

Councilman-at-Large Louis Quintana responded quick to disapprove of the comments and language used during the council meeting. Council President Mildred Crump, upset by the comments, continuously asked which director made those comments and every city council member was quiet after recognizing the voice of whom made the comments. The council members’ silence appeared as if they didn’t want to tell on one another, which shows that there’s an invisible wall they placed to protect one another. The comments were allegedly made by Patrick Council, director of Recreation, Cultural Affairs and Senior Services

The article continued stating that the city press office attributed the comments to a “misunderstanding” and that Mr Council was interrupted by a staffer to discuss the Mars Wrigley Halloween Truck Tour and was simultaneously addressing multiple issues. On October 23, 2020 Mr Council apologize to all that heard his remarks during the city council Zoom

In attempts to cover up and protect the incident the live broadcast recording “was not made available to the public via Internet stream, nor did the city post a recording of the meeting on its website.” TAPinto Newark publication was successful in obtaining a copy of the recording from the city clerk’s office through OPRA request. Although TAPinto obtained the recording, I agree that the cable company shouldn’t be the only city council meeting distributor and there should be more distribution outlets for the public to watch the city council meetings.

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Paricipation And Support For La Costeña TV

La Costeña TV provides a variety of information in an entertaining manner to encourage & inform the viewers to explore and acclimate themselves this new country. La Costeña Tv is produced and developed by community members that recognize the importance of this show in the Spanish speaking community.

The Costeña TV is continuously looking for help with every aspect of show production such as topic development, hosts, cameramen, and video editors. All monetary contributions to  La Costeña TV goes a long way to further the cause, it’s greatly appreciated and is tax-deductible.

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Connecting the Spanish Speaking Community To The U.S.

The Wire, NJ is a 501(c)3 nonprofit media organization whose mission is to bridge the information gap between Spanish speaking immigrants and their new environment. As a result, The Wire NJ created La Costeña TV, a Spanish language lifestyle show, airing weekly every Sunday at 1:00pm in Newark, NJ. Host Tony "Uniko" Allen hits the streets to introduce the viewer to stories of technology, health, travel, art exhibits, outdoor displays, cultural events, and a variety of interviews from the tri-state area and beyond. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic La Costeña TV is proactively practicing social distancing and all members actively wearing masks, they’re taking every precaution to protect each other and other show participants. Until it’s safe enough to hit the road La Costeña TV will continue to improvise producing quality programs.

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Rewarding Nonprofit Employees

Nonprofit employees are special in the sense that they chose to work in that sector opposed to working in the private sector when monetarily they can be rewarded more. Because nonprofit organizations rely heavily on employee participation to meet their goals. There are many forms of recognitions from Galas to award templates. This form of recognition is fun because it recognizes the organization members.

It’s a good feeling to be acknowledged for a job well done and helps with employee retention and recruiting new employees. Recognition in this form is a great way to keep an easy going environment and appealing to encourage employees to do a good job.

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Being A Councilman Is Risky

On 10/21/20 reporter Jerry DeMarco published an article entitled “Brick City Backhander: Feds Charge Newark Councilman With Taking Payoffs For Influence” where he reported that “federal agents caught a sitting Newark City Council member” Joseph A. McCallum Jr “pocketing payoffs in exchange for influence”. This is occurring while, Malik Frederick, a Newark city consultant has plead guilty to participating in the scheme.

McCallum, who’s on the Board of Directors of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC), receive concealed bribes and kickbacks from Frederick, to seek real estate construction contracts and approvals in Newark. Upon McCallum and Frederick using intercepted emails and phone calls the federal government got involved. Frederick was hoping to collect $40,000 in kickback to share with co-conspirators who referred him.

In the end, being a councilperson you’re very tempted by many exterior factors that can affect your reputation. But in the in the end you must you remember do the right thing.

https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/essex/news/brick-city-backhander-feds-charge-newark-councilman-with-taking-payoffs-for-influence/796391/

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https://www.npr.org/2019/01/23/687715869/should-young-americans-be-required-to-do-public-service-federal-panel-says-maybe

On January 23, 2019 NPR aired a radio news report entitled “Should Young Americans Be Required To Do Public Service? Federal Panel Says Maybe” This report states that young Americans are a vital part of the population and the interest in service is evident because more than 28% of millennials volunteered in 2017 and performed “roughly 1.5 billion hours of community service." This is great because the seniors are also volunteering.

Despite so many people volunteering in many ways there’s still a large amount of people that civically engaging. Joe Heck, chairman of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service said, this report is to "create a universal expectation of service" in which every American is "inspired and eager to serve." One way to implement this would be to require all Americans to choose how they can see fulfill the civic engagement requirement. Although this mandatory civic engagement policy is proposed it doesn’t lay the groundwork for an actual enactment. This point of view is out there and we will have to see if it will be forced onto the American population.

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Getting Involved

Many organizations need assistance to accomplish their mission and welcome people that share their vision. People join an organization due to personal and professional reasons in addition to how long and active one will be. The more someone is affected by their environment will determine their level of participation be it via donating money, time, & or energy.

On the opposite end of the spectrum there are those that don’t get involved in public service, and that’s ok because public service isn’t for everyone. Therefore, the appreciation from the organizations and volunteers for one another is greater. The volunteers contribute to something greater than themselves when performing invaluable tasks.

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To Where A Mask

2020 has been a very eventful year, the world has been affected by Corona Virus in addition to the US hosting presidential elections. The current president Donald Trump and challenging candidate Joe Biden are on opposite ends of a face wearing national policy. Many studies have proven that wearing face masks are be effective in combatting and slowing the spread of Corona Virus.

Donald Trump leaves it to the states to enact or not enact a face mask policy. He has continuously appeared not wearing a mask and in a recent debate event he mocked his opponent for wearing a mask. After that debate Trump was hospitalized because he contracted the Corona Virus. After receiving medical treatment he’s now wearing a mask but not as recommended by medical professionals.

Joe Biden on the other hand stated that he will implement a national mask mandate. He continuously appears wearing a mask and acknowledges the effectiveness of wearing a mask. Joe Biden has of yet to contract Corona virus and encourages everyone to wear a mask.

The general public is divided in the mask wearing policy because many people look at it as law imposing one’s freedom. As a result of one’s point of view the Corona virus containment has been challenging and many people have died and contracted the virus. The mask wearing theme continues to be a hot topic that doesn’t have a concrete consensus. Ideally government policies address issues that generally have a positive outcome to the public the mask wearing policy is an example that the policy making process may not address an issue effectively.

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Policy-making General Steps

Overall, the government needs to develop and implement policies to address specific issues that affect society. Via policy, the government demonstrates their priority because they decide on what to do or not to do. The approach to policy-making requires many steps to implement, but there’s an overall general template that a majority of policy making processes go through.

Identify the issue is the first step in the policy-making process. Upon identifying the issue, a plan is developed to allocate resources, time, and personnel. In this phase, if inaction or policy defeat the policy making process is still in action. Implementing the plan must take place to see how effective or ineffective the plan will resolve the community concerns. The final policy-making step is to assess the policy’s results.

The poiicy-making process is continuous because the public will always be affected by something that will require resolution. As these issues arise the resolution steps will be customized to make life better for those affected.