Annie Wadleigh lives in Portland.
I was both shocked and deeply disturbed at the news that 17 of Portland’s nonprofits were found by the Portland tax assessor to not qualify for nonprofit status in Portland, meaning that they would need to pay property taxes.
Instead of the response from members of the Portland City Council that their hands are tied and they cannot intervene, I would like to know what they can do to help solve this crisis — and it is a crisis for the city of Portland.
I have lived in Maine all my life and in Portland for the last 45 years. I have worked for nonprofits for the past 27 years. I thought I’d seen just about everything, but I was wrong.
Nonprofits are just that: not for profit, and as such, they serve our community in deeply significant ways. Many of them contribute to Portland’s reputation as a vibrant arts and cultural destination, which has been a key driver to the creative economy, economic development and ultimately to the success of our city as a worldwide destination. The actions of this tax assessor’s narrow interpretation of tax law have crippled these nonprofits and cut off one of Portland’s greatest assets at the knees.
According to the Americans for the Arts 6th Arts & Economic Prosperity Survey, Portland’s nonprofit arts and culture industry “generated $86.0 million in economic activity in 2022. That economic activity — $58.2 million in spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and $27.8 million in event-related spending by their audiences — supported 1,872 jobs and generated $20.7 million in local, state and federal government revenue.”
I would wholeheartedly support any available action, referendum, legislation or other
method of addressing this issue to ensure that Portland nonprofits are never subject to this kind of betrayal again.
Asking other nonprofit organizations to voluntarily contribute property taxes is no solution to addressing the city’s budgetary needs. Asking nonprofits that have been able to purchase the very properties that assure their sustainability and represent strong leadership and a high degree of community support is highly punitive. They are being punished for their success!
As a former board member of Mayo Street Arts, I was particularly aggrieved by the burden that the lack of nonprofit status in Portland places on them and their ability to provide a rich and diverse array of artistic and cultural programming; they are located in East Bayside, one of the lowest income neighborhoods in the city.
I suspect that most people in this community would agree. The question now is what we can do and how we can best support these vital institutions that have paved the way for the quality of life that defines us. If any of these nonprofits fail or must reduce services due to the onerous financial hardship they are being subjected to, what good does that do to our community?
Nonprofits all over the country and the world rely on revenue from ticket and food and beverage sales to survive and thrive. I try to consider all perspectives of an issue, but the decision to revoke nonprofit status for these organizations and/or ask other nonprofits to voluntarily pay additional taxes makes no sense whatsoever to me. The lack of respect and support for our nonprofits this demonstrates is a grave injustice.