March 13, 2009 — In a year when the work of Massachusetts nonprofits in ailing communities is increasingly critical, none of state’s representatives to the U.S. Congress have joined the 37-member House Philanthropy Caucus, a two-year-old bipartisan effort to inform fellow members of Congress about the important role the sector plays and to raise awareness about legislative issues affecting the sector.

Maine’s Olympia Snowe is the sole New Englander to join the six-member U.S. Senate Philanthropy Caucus, established only last July. None of the five other New England states is represented in the House Philanthropy Caucus.

But the people who helped found the caucuses, and those who currently helm the effort, agree that Massachusetts legislators haven’t shown any opposition to the idea of joining; rather, they say it’s simply hard to get the attention of busy legislators these days.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-4th) is aware of the Philanthropy Caucus, "but he has a blanket rule that he doesn't join caucuses unless there is a short-term reason for doing something specific," explained Frank's communications director, Harry Gural. "He feels there are other ways he can be more effective with his time. This means no less about his commitment to nonprofits."

Phone inquiries yielded no responses from the offices of five other Massachusetts congressmen: U.S. Reps. John Olver (D-1st), Jim McGovern (D-3rd), John Tierney (D-6th), Edward Markey (D-7th), and Michael Capuano (D-8th).

The press aide for Senator John Kerry, whose powerful position on the Senate Finance Committee would make him a particularly welcomed member of the Caucus, checked with other Kerry staff before determining that “we don’t know anything about it but we want to.” But, said Brigid O’Rourke, “This is something that is of real interest to us.”

That response is not surprising to Brenda Jones, a legislative aide for US Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), co-chair of the House Philanthropy Caucus. “So many other things are vying for a legislator’s attention, and there are lots of other caucuses wanting their participation. That’s just the way it is around here,” she observes.

Participation means helping to identify issues of mutual interest and then supporting them legislatively. To raise the Philanthropy Caucus’ profile and stand out from the dozens of other caucuses, Jones says Lewis’ group might consider working with a like- minded caucus, such as the Progressive Caucus, which “looks at issues in society and comes up with progressive solutions.”

With the Senate Caucus just getting off the ground and the House Philanthropy Caucus recently transferring the co-chair duties to Rep. Lewis, neither group has yet to identify their activities for 2009, explains Monica Wroblewski, director of public relations at the Council on Foundations in Washington, DC.

The Council, a 2000-member association of grantmakers, worked with U.S. Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R-OH) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) to establish the caucuses. Both legislators currently co-chair their respective Philanthropy Caucus.

A two-day advocacy effort by the Council’s member foundations, to take place on Capitol Hill in April, should raise awareness about the caucuses and prompt other legislators to join, Wroblewski predicts.

If some of the new recruits are New Englanders, that would be welcome news to the nonprofit sector in this state, says David Magnani, executive director of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network.

“We need to remember that nonprofits are public charities, highly and increasingly regulated by the federal government and, unlike their for-profit brethren, are highly transparent under the law,” Magnani says. “They are mission-driven to help others and they do just that. The Northeast, and Massachusetts, would be well served to have congressional representation in the Philanthropy Caucuses.”