A Year of Progress: MACC’s 2025-2026 Government Relations Recap

MACC just released its 2025-2026 Advocacy Debrief, showing a network learning to punch above its weight at the State Capitol. Here’s what MACC and its coalition partners accomplished — and where the work goes next.

Read the full debrief here: MACC Advocacy Debrief

Three Fights, One Cause

MACC’s advocacy rests on three connected commitments: Pay Justice (funding that works for organizations and their workers), Data Justice (less burdensome reporting), and Narrative Change (repositioning human services as essential infrastructure). The same systems that underfund the sector also bury it in reporting demands and reinforce a narrative that treats both as normal — so MACC tackles them together.

The scale of the problem: government grants typically cover about 70% of direct costs but less than half of indirect costs like admin, HR, and compliance — and none of the compliance burden funders themselves require. That gap drives duplicative reporting, unfunded admin labor, and staff burnout.

What Got Done This Year

Working through the Grant Reform Coalition (MACC, MCN, MCF, Propel, WorkWell, United Way, and others), MACC helped secure:

• Monthly legislator meetings with Rep. Klevorn and Sen. Marty on grantmaking reform
• A standing quarterly meeting with the Office of Grants Management (OGM) — a real shift for an office that has historically prioritized state agencies over nonprofit voices
• Nonprofit inclusion in OGM’s policy feedback process
• A passed bill requiring executive summaries on state grant/contract RFPs, cutting through 30-50 page documents that hit small and culturally specific organizations hardest — MACC testified in both House and Senate committees
• A legislative decision framework defending direct appropriations against a fraud-prevention narrative not actually linked to that funding mechanism
• Detailed policy comments to OGM on grant payment, reporting, and monitoring, drawn from years of member input

What’s Next

Looking to summer and fall 2026, MACC is tracking: feedback on OGM’s indirect cost policy (open through July 23), a legislative session wrap-up in June, interim coalition planning, and quarterly Government Relations Council meetings (next up: August 6 in-person, October 6 virtual). MACC is also encouraging members to connect with their legislators directly, with help scheduling and prepping those conversations.

Why It Matters

MACC is the only coalition speaking for human services as a whole sector, arguing that funding, data burdens, and narrative are one fight, not three. This year’s wins are procedural on their face — a meeting cadence, an executive summary requirement — but they’re the building blocks for bigger structural reform ahead.

Want to get involved? Reach out to info@macc-mn.org.