NEWS FROM FUNDERS TOGETHER

>  Funders Together goes to Washington

>  You can help to ensure an accurate count of homeless youth in this year's PIT count

>  Funders Together to Host Connecticut funders forum on catalytic philanthropy

>  Funders Together Houston participates in charrette week with the Corporation for Supportive Housing 

> Materials from NAEH conference available free online

> Medicaid funding proposal in NY would invest $750 million toward expanding supportive housing over 5 years 

This October, Funders Together is partnering with the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy and Funders Together board member, the Melville Charitable Trust, to host How Catalytic Philanthropy is Aligning Resources to End Homelessness. The event will seek to answer the question: How can your grant dollars leverage the greatest benefits for Connecticut's most vulnerable citizens?

Funders Together board chair David Wertheimer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide the keynote on the catalytic role of philanthropy in aligning public and private resources to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, families, and individuals, with a focus on housing stability. Participants will hear from a panel of public and private funders, including Funders Together Executive Director, Anne Miskey, and Funders Together member, Janice Elliott of the Melville Charitable Trust, who have made a commitment to systems change that can end, rather than manage, homelessness in Connecticut. Participants will also learn more about Funders Together's commitment to best practices in ending homelessness in communities across the United States. 

PRESENTERS

• David Wertheimer, Deputy Director, Pacific Northwest Initiative, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Janice Elliott, Executive Director, the Melville Charitable Trust
• Merle Burke Schlessel, Executive Director, United Way of Coastal Fairfield County
• Nick Lundgren, Director of the Office of Housing and Community Development, Department of Economic and Community Development
• Maria Mojica, Vice President for Programs, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
• Anne Miskey, Executive Director, Funders Together to End Homelessness

Learn more about CSH's charrette process

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This July, Tricia Raikes of the Raikes Foundation, a Funders Together member, was honored by the White House and U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness for making a significant difference in the way her community addresses homelessness among children and youth. She was one of 13 leaders recognized at the Champions of Change in the Fight Against Youth Homelessness event. Tricia Raikes is co-president of the Raikes Foundation where she oversees the foundation's grantmaking to address homelessness. 

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Tell us your Story! Do you have news you'd like to share with other funders about your work in homelessness? Funding an innovative project? Looking to leverage funding? Your news could appear on our blog or in our bulletin. To share your news, contact Allison Silva. 

National Alliance to End Homelessness Offers Performance Improvement Clinics

This September, Massachusetts will partake in a National Alliance to End Homelessness Performance Improvement Clinic to help the community prepare for upcoming changes in shelter, prevention and re-housing programs resulting from the FY 13 state budget process as well as from the implementation of the HEARTH Act. Service providers, advocates, members of the public sector and private funders will participate. Scroll down to our Save the Date section for more information on the MA clinic. 

The Alliance's Center for Capacity Building offers these 1.5 day clinics to help communities reduce homelessness and perform better on outcomes included in the HEARTH Act. Clinics include group discussions, system design and modification planning sessions, and presentations on best practices. 

Medicaid Funding Proposal in NY Would Invest $750 million Toward Expanding Supportive Housing Over Five Years

In August, NY state submitted an application for a Medicaid waiver from the federal government that would allow the State to reinvest up to $10 billion in federal savings generated by the Medicaid Redesign Team. As part of the application, the State includes a $750 million investment in supportive housing, which would provide housing and centrally located health services to the most vulnerable people and as a result save money by preventing and shortening hospitalizations. 

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The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and the California Homeless Youth Project recently released A Toolkit for Counting Homeless Youth, a resource meant to bolster the efforts of Continuums of Care to better count and survey homeless youth. The toolkit includes principles and best practices for finding and counting homeless youth, explains how to plan a youth count and how to mobilize support. 

Download the Toolkit

The Alliance will host a webinar on implementing coordinated assessment under the new interim Continuum of Care (CoC) rule. The webinar will define coordinated assessment and discuss key aspects for communities to consider as they move toward implementation, including tips on remaining compliant with the regulation and general best practices. The Alliance will also highlight resources available to communities as they embark on the implementation process. The webinar will be recorded and made available through their website at a later date.

Register for the Webinar

Through Funders Together, you can connect with other funders like you, share lessons learned and promising practices, and help build the movement to end homelessness in America. Your voice can help make the difference in your community and across the country.