What about that election last week?

I generally try to keep politics out of this blog (not always successful), but I thought this was an interesting short article in the Philanthropy News Digest: Nonprofit Leaders Weigh Impact of Election.

The article tackles the question of whether or not the incoming Democratic Congress would be "better for the nonprofit sector" than the exiting Republicans. The short answer is, "marginally."

In the Senate, where the Finance Committee chairmanship will go from from Charles Grassley (R-IA) to Max Baucus (D-MT), no change in direction is expected. Grassley and Baucus have a close working relationship and have traded this position back and forth before.

In the House of Representatives, however, Charles Rangel (D-NY) will take over the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee from Bill Thomas (R-CA). This leadership change does make the committee more receptive to some our issues.

But...

Perry Wasserman, managing director of 501(c) Strategies, a D.C.-based lobbying group, cautioned nonprofits not to expect too much of the Democrats. "[It's] important to have realistic expectations of the next two years," he said. Although Democrats have articulated an agenda for the next session, "they're focusing on 2008, so not everything is on the table."

Will things be better for nonprofits under the new Democratic Congress? Well, at least they won't be any worse.

By the way... This is posting number 100 at the Nonprofit Consultant Blog. In a minor technical note, this posting also marks a change from the "old Blogger" to the "new Blogger beta." Please excuse any glitches as I transition to the new platform.