Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Fwd: News From Agudas Yisroel 8 Teves 5781/December 23, 2020


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Agudath Israel of America <news@agudah.org>
Date: Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 4:09 PM
Subject: News From Agudas Yisroel 8 Teves 5781/December 23, 2020
To: <agentemes4@gmail.com>


Strengthening Torah Life. Advocating for the Community. Serving Each Individual.
December 23, 2020 - 8 Teves 5781
News from the Agudah:

  • Tomorrow! Thursday, December 24: The second webinar in our new series to help the public with practical advice as we continue to adjust to the changes brought about by COVID-19 will be Smart Selling in a COVID World. This webinar is for anyone who does sales, fundraising, or development and will take place on Thursday, at 12:00 PM EST. Registration is limited, so see below for information on how to register now - see below for details.

  • You ae certainly aware by now that Congress passed a COVID relief package yesterday. See below for more details on the legislation and certain provisions for which the Agudah advocated.

  • PCS is offering two courses starting on January 4, 2021. See below for more information on the courses and how you can register.

  • The special shiur series in preparation for Asarah B'Teves continues: Tomorrow, Thursday, December 24, Rabbi Shlomo Gottesman will be speaking on 'The Enigma of the Ninth of Teves.' See below for the entire schedule for this week's Iyunim B'Asarah B'Teves.

  • Finally, today we're highlighting the Agudah Convention's session titled 360 Degrees, 365 Days a Year: Chinuch in the Covid Era and Beyond. Click here to watch it. The session is also available to listen to over the phone - see below for instructions.

Tomorrow: Smart Selling in a COVID World
Agudath Israel of America is pleased to announce the second part of our webinar series to help the public with practical advice as we continue to adjust to the changes brought about by COVID-19. The first part of the webinar series, on the topic of 'End-of-year Tax Planning in the Covid Era' received a lot of positive feedback and was viewed by over 2,500 people. This webinar will be on the topic of selling under COVID conditions.  
 
The webinar will take place Thursday, December 24, at 12:00 PM EST, and will feature Marc Bodner, CEO at L&R Distributors, INC.; Naftali Horowitz, Managing Director at J.P.Morgan; Laibel Schwartz, founder of Laibel Schwartz Photography; and Steve Shain, COO at LTC Contracting. The webinar will cover how to reach the "unreachable" world of high-net-worth individuals; tips to inspire your clients; how you can replace in-person sales; how to engage new potential clients; and are there new opportunities for your sales to grow in a COVID environment. The webinar will be hosted by Agudah's Rabbi Naftali Miller, national director of development. There will also be an opportunity to have your questions answered by sending them in advance to questions@agudah.org. Click here or go to https://bit.ly/aiasaleswebinar to register. 
As Nation Awaits President's Decision, Agudath Israel Points to Important Provisions in Congress's COVID Relief Package
Photo Credits: Rohane Hamilton/Shutterstock.com
As President Trump has expressed displeasure with several aspects of the just-passed COVID relief package, the nation awaits its fate. What effect the President's surprise announcement will have on his possible veto, or his possible signature, remains uncertain. Agudath Israel of America is closely monitoring these developments.  
 
As the legislation currently stands, however, Agudath Israel is applauding several key provisions of enormous importance to the Orthodox Jewish community—individuals, shuls, schools and charitable institutions. For months, Agudath Israel has worked tirelessly with the Administration, congressional leaders and others in the nonprofit and private school communities to help achieve these vital goals.
 
"Like all Americans, our community has suffered the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic," stated Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudath Israel's Vice President for Government Affairs and Washington Director. "Many of our families and institutions continue to suffer, so we had to redouble our efforts during this critical second round of COVID assistance."
 
Agudath Israel worked on a number of the current bill's provisions.
 
For individuals, there will be a second round of direct payments to families of $600 per person, which will be tied to income. While this dollar amount remains the same for adults, it represents a boost in the benefit for children. Perhaps more significantly, in a change from earlier proposals, there is no limitation on the number of children that can receive the applicable benefit – particularly important for large families and a legislative priority of Agudath Israel, which has traditionally supported payments that take family size into consideration in determining receipt of these benefits.
 
Agudath Israel's attention was also centered on additional funding for private schools, including yeshivas. Because of problems experienced under the framework of the original CARES Act, "we pushed hard until the last minute for a dedicated set aside for nonpublic schools that would be as seamless as possible, so that meaningful funding will get to our schools as quickly as possible, without state or local bureaucratic hassles," noted Rabbi Cohen. The package reserves $2.75 billion for nonpublic schools for a variety of uses and sets forth the administrative guidelines states and schools have to follow to access these funds within a quick turn-around time. The Agudah will continue working with the U.S. Department of Education in working toward this goal.
 
A third area of Agudath Israel's focus was on provisions related to charitable giving. For the past several years, nonprofits, which have been called upon to expand services to meet the growing needs of their communities, have been working to strengthen the "charitable deduction" tax benefit to incentivize and increase donations to support their efforts. Under the original CARES Act, charitable deductions were authorized for non-itemizers and capped at $300 for both individual and joint filers. A step forward has been taken in the new COVID relief bill, which has now doubled the benefit for joint filers and extended the deduction through 2021.
 
Finally, as the CARES Act's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans proved so critical to the community, it became another legislative priority for Agudath Israel. A second round of PPP loans for small entities was authorized under this bill, and shuls and other religious nonprofits continue to be eligible for a loan, as Agudath Israel and others fought for under the original CARES Act. The targeting of smaller entities in this bill is the result of concerns the nonprofit sector expressed – including many in the Orthodox Jewish community -- that these entities were having a more difficult time and found themselves at a disadvantage in regard to PPP loans compared to their larger counterparts.
 
"The enactment of COVID relief legislation will be a significant achievement and will help our nation recover from the dire economic and financial fallout of the pandemic," observed Rabbi Cohen. "As existing community needs may continue, and new ones may arise, we will remain vigilant and seek solutions to address the hardships that face so many."
Upcoming PCS Courses
Agudath Israel's PCS division is offering two courses starting January 4, 2021.

The course on IT Desktop and Network Support offers hands-on training in computer hardware and configuration, operating systems and software, network hardware and technologies, active directory, and more. For more information or to register for this course email raizy@nj.pcsjobs.org or call 732-905-9700 x 606.

The Business Enrichment Course has been teaching valuable business skills for over 15 years and covers topics including Microsoft Office, Sales, Accounting, QuickBooks, Presentation Skills, Marketing, Investments, Real Estate, and Ecommerce. For more information or to register for this course email raizy@nj.pcsjobs.org.
Iyunim B'Asarah B'Teves
The shiurim will continue this week with the access information as follows:

The Zoom access link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83528677424 and the call in number is 1-646-558-8656, access code: 835-286-77424. 
Featured Convention Session:
360 Degrees, 365 Days a Year: Chinuch in the Covid Era and Beyond
To access the Agudah Convention sessions by phone call 718.298.2077 (USA) or 647.797.0056 (CA) and enter the ID number for the session. To listen to the session 360 Degrees, 365 Days a Year: Chinuch in the Covid Era and Beyond use ID: 9131446 #.
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