Connection
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We're happy to share these items of interest from around our local network. Please e-mail us any opportunities you would like to be featured in future editions! (The Nonprofit Connection usually goes out during the first ten days of the month.)
Training
OPPORTUNITIES
+ "Boost Your Brand: Improving Marketing and Fundraising Success," Philanthropy Journal webinar, Thursday, July 14th, 1 pm-2pm, $20-$99. This webinar, designed for small and mid-sized nonprofits, will show you how to build your brand and boost your nonprofit's visibility. Led by marketing expert Howard Levy, attendees will learn how to harness the power of a strong brand to boost visibility; best practices for effective websites; ways to integrate social media into your fundraising plan; and examples of effective campaigns. You'll also be able to ask personalized questions. For more information and to register, go online.
+ QuickBooks Beginner Class, Friday, July 15th ,9 am to 1 pm, Clemmons, $100. This Informal, yet informative class is limited to just 4 people to ensure a personalized learning experience and is being taught by Sherry Smith, a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor since 2003. This class will be held at 7880 N. NC Highway 150, Suite B, in Arcadia (Clemmons) - four miles south of Peters Creek Parkway. Light refreshments and bottled water are included. Topics include: Setting Up a Company File; Setting Up Chart of Accounts, Customers, Vendors, and Items; Creating Invoices; Paying Bills; Reconciling Bank Statements, and many other basics. Basic best practice bookkeeping procedures will also be covered. E-mail or call 336.764.3535 to make your reservation!
+ "The Power of Nonprofits," NC Center for Nonprofits Statewide Conference, Sept. 22-23rd, Grandover Resort & Conference Center in Greensboro, prices start at $129. This conference, which we here at HandsOn always consider to be one of the best training values in the state, features two days packed with new ideas, timely information, and great networking. Choose the full conference or just one day to stretch your training dollars. We hope, with the conference within commuting distance, that many of you will be able to attend this year. View the brochure and register online!
Funding
OPPORTUNITIES
+ Engage Teens As Volunteers with a Do Something Summer Jobless Grant! This summer's teen unemployment rate has been marked at a whopping 75% - compared to 2000 when it was 55%. DoSomething.org8 $2,000 grants and 18 $500 grants will be awarded! Check out their website for more information; application deadline is July 10th so don't delay!
+ Best Buy to Give $2 Million to Organizations That Support Teens! Through their Community Grants Program, Best Buy is seeking applications from organizations that are serving a diverse population of young teens in the areas of learning, life skills and leadership. Special consideration will be given to programs that provide youth with access to opportunity through technology. You'll find the full funding guidelines here;
applications are being accepted now through August 1st!
+STEMester of Service Grants Now Available! Funded by Learn and Serve America, STEMester of Service incorporates Youth Service America's Semester of Service framework to engage educators and students in addressing critical environmental and disaster preparedness needs and connecting them to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curricula. YSA is seeking middle schools with large populations of disadvantaged youth; due to our high drop out rate, NC is one of the eligible states. Afterschool programs with strong academic connections that engage middle school students are also eligible. The $5,000 grant supports teachers and afterschool program facilitators as they engage local partners and guide students in addressing local needs through planning and implementing sustainable service projects that launch on Martin Luther King, Jr Day of Service (January 16, 2012) and culminate on Global Youth Service Day (April 20-22, 2012) . Go online for more details and to take an eligibility quiz. Application deadline is August 8th!
+ Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Releases Revised Guidelines for Health Care Division Proposals for Fall, 2011! While the Trust says goodbye to program officers Susan Richardson and Edgar Villanueva, they are in the process of refining their funding priorities in the Health Care Division. This fall, the Division will consider applications for all of their Funding Interests and their related Impact Strategies, including access to primary care, community-centered prevention, diabetes, and mental health and substance abuse. Two special pools of grant dollars, of up to 15% of the fall cycle's awards, will be reserved for the following types of proposals: applications where traditional health care nonprofit organizations propose creative and meaningful work with non-health partners in Tier 1 counties, and applications that propose to work to impact the health status of Tier 1 counties through new delivery systems and structures. They are particularly interested in models that will leverage success in urban areas for dissemination or implementation in rural North Carolina with considerations for scale, travel, cost, local resources etc. As always, an advance consultation is required before submission of a proposal. If interested, please contact John Fulk, Program Associate, at 866-551-0690. The deadline for submissions is September 15th, but an advance consultation should be pursued well before that date. For further details, please see their website.
Employment
OPPORTUNITIES
+ Bethesda Center Seeks New Shelter Director! This full-time position will manage the emergency night and day shelter programs while ensuring a safe, nurturing environment for clients, visitors and staff. The position is responsible for facilitating and supervising daily operations and maintenance of the building and grounds. You can find the full position description and needed qualifications here; the position will remain available until filled. Resumes can be e-mailed to Peggy Galloway, Executive Director. Please, no phone calls!
+ Engage Winston-Salem State University Students As Volunteers By Participating in Their Fall Semester Service Fair! While I know it is hard to imagine, students will be arriving back on campus in just a few weeks! WSSU is now accepting registrations from organizations wanting to participate in The Office of Career Services' 2011 Fall Semester Volunteer Service Fair on Thursday, September 1st from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm in the Cleon F. Thompson Student Services Center Breezeway. This event will allow service organizations to share volunteer opportunities with members of the WSSU community for the forthcoming fall semester.
If you want to have a presence at the fair, please complete the registration form on the WSSU Career Services RamTrak website no later than August 18th! Only 40 spaces are available, so register now! For more information, contact Dana Walker at 336-750-2129.
+ Women's Fund of Winston-Salem Seeks Participant Scholarship Nominations & Applications! One way that The Fund demonstrates its commitment to diversity is by offering participant scholarships: need-based scholarships for women and girls without the financial means to participate financially in The Fund, yet whose civic, community or cultural work shows a commitment to issues greatly impacting women and girls.They need your help in identifying women of all ages in the community who would benefit from participant scholarships. Women and girls awarded scholarships will participate as group members of The Fund and will vote with other Women's Fund members on grant proposals to receive funding. Please note: The Participant Scholarship is not a monetary award given to recipients. It is a need-based scholarship that awards recipients membership in The Women's Fund. For more information and to nominate someone, go to their website. You can also contact Velvet Bryant (Women's Fund member and a HandsOn NWNC board member) or Tari Hanneman (Women's Fund director) with questions. Deadline for applications is Monday, August 1st; nominations should be made by July 22nd so that scholarship nominees have time to complete the application.
+ College of Charleston Needs YOUR Input on Nonprofit Budgeting Practices! Dr. Kendra Stewart, director of the Master of Public Administration Program, and her professional colleagues have compiled a short survey with the hope of ascertaining information about local nonprofit budgeting practices. The results will be presented at the SouthEastern Conference of Public Administration (SECOPA) this fall in New Orleans. The questions are not invasive, and can be answered with rounded estimates and ball park figures. The survey, only 9 questions long, should take less than ten minutes to fill out. Survey results will enhance their efforts in furthering nonprofit administrative studies in their MPA program and others like it in the southeast region. Please complete the survey by July 17th!
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HandsOn
JOIN / GIVE NOW
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HandsOn NWNC invites nonprofits to financially support our mission to build the capacity of local nonprofits and increase volunteerism. In exchange for a minimum $50 donation, our Supporting Partners receive a variety of discounts on our program offerings and other special opportunities, that can lead to savings as great as $800 per year! Vendors and consultants who work with nonprofits are also encouraged to become Supporting Partners. Join HandsOn and Become a Supporter
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July 2011- Vol 4, Issue 7
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| Greetings! |
I hope all of you had a wonderful July 4th weekend, and found a way to beat the heat! Long weekends give us a great chance to reconnect to family and friends, regain perspective and, hopefully, come back to our work with a renewed sense of both purpose and balance.
The turn of the calendar also means that it's time to apply for our 2011 Women's Emerging Leaders program! We know that many of you have been interested since we successfully piloted this program last spring, and now your chance to participate is here! Also, for the first time, the program is open to mid-level female staff serving not only in Forsyth County, but also Davidson, Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin Counties as well. Combining a two-day leadership intensive class based on a curriculum designed by the Center for Creative Leadership and our Nonprofit Essentials series, WEL is designed to prepare women to take on bigger roles within the nonprofit sector by developing both leadership skills as well as nuts and bolts management skills in areas critical to the success of nonprofits. For more details, please see the full program description. Applications are due July 28th, 2011! For questions or further details, please contact Kathy Davis or call 336-724-2866. We're excited to see your applications!
We're also excited to announce that we have successfully recruited a new VISTA AmeriCorps Member for our 2011-2012 Neighboring program year. Starting in August, Morgan Lee Smith will be working closely with Michelle Bennett, our current member, before Michelle leaves in November. A member of one of our collaborative partners, Anthony's Plot, Morgan is perfectly positioned to continue the strong work of the collaborative into
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L to R: Morgan Smith, Michelle Bennett, Chinessa Cooper
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the coming year. Combined with the efforts of Chinessa Cooper, our summer intern from Gardner-Webb University, our neighboring team's work is poised for even further growth. HandsOn has been very fortunate to be part of this strong collaborative effort and we look forward to another year of engaging students, parents and neighbors in service-based solutions to self-identified issues in and around Forest Park Elementary School.
Finally, I want to thank all of you who submitted a project in honor of the September 11th Day of Service and Remembrance. Approximately a dozen different service projects will happen in the days leading up to and including September 11th. All of our
volunteers, as well as volunteer and staff project leaders, will be invited to participate in a community-wide memorial service on September 11th at Winston-Salem State University. We're excited by how the plans have come together, and by the numbers of organizations, volunteer leaders and volunteers who have stepped up to participate. If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for one of these projects, please contact Michelle Bennett and she'll be happy to connect them!
Personally, I cannot believe that summer is already half over, and we're actively planning September, October and November events! Enjoy it while you can, and remember that summer's heat makes us slow down for a reason.
Take care,  Executive Director |
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Nonprofit Essentials: Grant Writing
RESCHEDULED: NOTE NEW DATE!
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Thursday, July 21st, Noon to 4:00 pm
Location: WFU campus, Benson University Center, Room 401-C. Parking is available on campus in areas not restricted for facilities, security or disabled persons. (see map)
We're happy to announce that the last Nonprofit Essentials class for the 2010-2011 year has been rescheduled with Calvin Patterson leading the seminar. This extremely practical course is designed for those seeking to further develop their grant proposal writing skills. Participants will learn how to research potential funding sources and strategies on approaching funders. They'll also discover best practices for developing successful proposals and letters of inquiry.
Due to the rescheduled date, we still have a few slots remaining, but be sure to register soon!
Cost: $35 per person for Supporting Partners/ $45 all others. $300 for all nine classes! (This is the last class of the series; you may begin at any point. The series will begin again in September and the fall schedule will be released in August. Learn more about our Nonprofit Essentials series here.) The cost includes take-home materials and a networking lunch with your peers.
(Not sure if you're a Supporting Partner? You can view the list on our website.)
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Information Session: Action Learning Projects with Leadership Winston-Salem!
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Monday, July 25th, Noon to 1:30 pm
Location: Senior Services, 2895 Shorefair Drive
Spend your lunch learning about how Leadership Winston-Salem's Action Learning Projects can benefit your nonprofit and expand your current capacity--for free! 
Leadership Winston-Salem, a HandsOn NWNC Supporting Partner, is a community program designed to "ignite community leadership." During this intensive, nine-month program, participants undertake Action Learning Projects that address challenges faced by local nonprofits. Classmates transform into pro-bono volunteer teams that help nonprofits tackle current challenges as well as respond to new opportunities.
Action learning brings together a diverse team of "untainted" non-experts to explore a complex problem through a fresh set of eyes. With the projects designed by you--local nonprofits--teams of 5-7 leaders focus on both a deliverable and the leadership learning process itself. A team coach works with each team to ensure that the leadership learning takes place along with the work on the projects' deliverables.
Class participants invest themselves in these projects, often experiencing a personal connection with their partner agency that extends beyond the end of the project. Partner agencies reap valuable benefits from this process - not only in the formal results of the project team's work but also in the increased personal investment in the agency's work by the project team and the increased visibility of the agency among all members of the class.
This session is designed for you to learn more about how your nonprofit can benefit by designing and submitting a project for consideration by an Action Learning Team. Past nonprofit partners will be on hand to share how the experience has helped their organization, and will help answer all of your questions!
Cost: FREE! Just bring your own lunch and we'll provide the drinks and dessert. For planning purposes, please register below.
Register Now!
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
IRS Raises Mileage Rate Starting July 1st!
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We've all noticed that price jump at the gas pump, and now the IRS has taken note as well. The standard business mileage rate increased to 55½ cents per mile effective July 1st. HandsOn NWNC, along with many of you, use this rate when directly reimbursing employees and some volunteers. The volunteer mileage rate (what volunteers themselves can claim if they are not reimbursed by the organization) remains at 14 cents per mile--it would literally take an act of Congress to get this changed (although many people are trying!) (Thanks again to our statewide partner, NC Center for Nonprofits, for this head's up!)
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
Save On Your Mailings In July and August!
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If you have a large mailing going out this summer, or are debating the cost of doing one, this might be some good news. Putting a QR code on the piece might significantly reduce your mailing cost--this summer only! The US Postal Service is offering a 3% discount on first-class mail and standard mail letters and flats July 1 - Aug 31, 2011, when the mail piece has a QR code printed on it. The code can be either on the outside or inside of the piece.
Don't know what a QR code is? It's those funky black and white squares that can be ready by smartphones - it usually takes people to a website, or has information about a special offer. To learn more about creating and deploying QR codes, check out this great article from Mashable.com
The USPS promotion is officially called "The Mobile Barcode Promotion". You can find more details on their website; it's also got some great how-to tips. Many thanks to Linda Hutchinson for the head's up!
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
IRS Posts List of 501(c)3 Revocations
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As many of you know, in the past few years the IRS has changed its rules about who is required to file 990s, and in what form. Congress imposed an annual filing requirement for all nonprofits and an automatic revocation penalty for those that do not file for three years in a row. The clocked finally chimed for many nonprofits earlier this year, and in early June, the IRS released the full list of nonprofits whose federal tax-exempt status had been automatically revoked. It includes about 4,200 501(c)(3) nonprofits in North Carolina. According to GuideStar, more than 75% of the revoked organizations nationwide had revenues of less than $25,000. The states with the most revocations were California, Texas and New York. You can view the full, NC state-wide list on the NC Center for Nonprofits website. If you see a nonprofit you care about on the list, the Council of Nonprofits has a great resource guide for them.
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