Connection
OPPORTUNITIES | |
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; we typically don't include fundraisers.)
Training
OPPORTUNITIES
+ Appalachian State University to Offer NEW MPA Program at UNCSA Campus in Winston-Salem! ASU's Department of Government and Justice, in conjunction with the Office of Distance Education, will be offering this new Master's degree beginning in August 2012. They will be hosting a program and application information session on Thursday, November 10th at 6 pm at UNCSA. Faculty and staff will be present to answer questions about the program, course delivery, admission requirements, program costs and application process. All of the courses will be taught in the evening at UNC School of the Arts. For more information, contact Lisa Freeman at 1-800-484 or check out their website.
+ "Social Media for Non-for-Profit Organizations: Using Linked-In, Facebook and Twitter," NonProfit Director Teleseminar, Monday, November 7th, $15 for up to five people. Social media has become "de riguer" for progressive nonprofits wanting to establish a presence, and those looking to identify and communicate with donors, potential donors, clients and other nonprofit leadership. This teleseminar will provide an overview of how your nonprofit can join the virtual conversation taking place on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Renee Alfieri has 20+ years experience in the workplace- most recently as, Senior Vice President, Human Resources Generalis. Registration is online.
+ "Short Evaluations of Real Websites," TechSoup Webinar, Thursday, November 10th, 2 pm, FREE! Curious to see what website experts really think when they look at a website? This free one hour webinar is presented in cooperation with SAP, a donor partner of TechSoup. During the hour, web design experts Susanne Hempel and Steve Williams will take a look at a succession of real nonprofit and library websites. Registration is online.
Funding
OPPORTUNITIES
+ The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Releases New Submission Timelines!
Historically, the Trust's grant application deadlines for the Healthcare Division and the Poor and Needy Division have been on the 15th of January, March, July, and September, which meant that applicants from each Division applied at different times. Beginning in 2012, the Trust is combining the deadlines for the two divisions.
The new deadlines are:
- Second Tuesday in February (February 14, 2012)
- Second Tuesday in August
(August 14, 2012)
All submissions must be received online by 5:00 PM on the date listed above. Since the application process will remain the same, these deadline changes will impact when organizations complete other milestones throughout the process. More information about the new timeline can be found on their website.
+ "Serving Those Who Served" Grants Available to Programs Helping Veterans. Grants, up to $5,000, are available to nonprofit organizations, public schools or tax-exempt public service agencies that are using the power of volunteers to improve the physical health of their community. Grants are given in the form of The Home Depot gift cards for the purchase of tools, materials, or services. Home Depot will only accept grant proposals that specifically identify service projects that benefit veterans. Deadline for submission is November 11th! Learn more online.
+ State Farm™ Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants Supports Semester-Long Projects in Public Schools! State Farm™ is teaming up with Youth Service America to offer grants of up to $1,000 for service-learning projects in K-12 public schools, with semester-long projects encouraged. Up to 125 grants will be awarded; at least 10-15 grants will support projects addressing teen driver safety issues. Learn more online; deadline has been EXTENDED to November 15th!
+ Funds Available for Youth Gardens! The National Gardening Association is delighted to announce that
The Home Depot Garden Club continues as the Youth Garden Grants (YGG) sponsor. In its 29-year history, the YGG program has helped more than 1.3 million youngsters by supporting youth gardening programs. 5 grantees will receive gift cards valued at $1,000, and 95 grantees will receive $500 gift cards. These funds will be used to purchase gardening materials and supplies from a local Home Depot store. Further details are online. Deadline for applications is November 28th!
+ Whole Foods Also Supporting Youth Gardens! The mission of the Whole Kids Foundation is to improve children's nutrition and wellness with the goal of ending the childhood obesity epidemic. The Foundation's School Garden Grants are provided to K-12 schools and nonprofit organizations that are developing or currently maintaining a school garden project that will help children engage with fresh fruits and vegetables. Grants of $2,000 are provided for garden projects at any stage of development - planning, construction, or operation. The application deadline is December 31st! Visit the Foundation's website to complete the online application.
+ The Hispanic League is Seeking a New Executive Director! The Hispanic League, a HandsOn Supporting Partner and our across-the-hall neighbor, works to improve the quality of life for Hispanics/Latinos in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County by facilitating their inclusion, education and health while promoting multicultural understanding, dignity and respect. The Hispanic League is an organization whose work is executed through a dedicated cadre of volunteers and partnerships with other agencies. The Executive Director, currently the sole paid employee, champions the mission of the organization and leads and directs its two key events as well as the various ongoing activities of the Hispanic League. You can find a complete position description on their website. If you are interested in this position, please e-mail your resume and cover letter. Applications must be received by November 25th!
+ We're Giving Away Printer Ink! Our original HP printer, which we've had since our office opened in 2007, finally died after a long, lingering illness. Our replacement printer takes a different kind of ink, which means we have quite a few brand-new HP 88 ink cartridges available for free! (We purchased in advance!) If your printer takes this kind of ink, please contact us. We'd love to see it go to a good home. First come, first served, of course!
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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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November 2011- Vol 4, Issue 11
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Greetings!
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The leaves on the large crape myrtle tree outside my office window are a gorgeous orange, and Halloween has come and gone. For HandsOn, this means that we're getting excited about our November Best Practice Breakfast Celebrating Nonprofit Awareness Month that will feature Bunkie Righter from GuideStar, one of the sector's premier national institutions. This is usually our second largest event of the year, and our conversations with Bunkie have whetted our appetite for the wisdom, experience and research that she'll be sharing with us. Remember, all of our Supporting Partners can send up to TEN people for FREE! to the breakfast, so we hope that we'll see a lot of you on November 15th at Wake Forest University.
I'm also excited to share some information from the HandsOn Network Regional Meeting that I just attended in Boston last week. HandsOn Network is part of the Reimagining Service coalition, which is a multi-sector effort that engages nonprofit organizations, government, education, faith-based organizations, funders, and corporations to seek new ways of addressing the challenges and opportunities of increasing social impact through volunteer engagement. Working with national research partners, TCC Group and Deloitte, the coalition is encouraging the transformation of organizations into service enterprises, which is any organization that fundamentally leverages volunteers and their skills to deliver on the organization's social mission. Their research has already demonstrated that nonprofits that engage volunteers well are significantly better led and managed: a fact which speaks directly to the promise of our own mission to increase the capacity of nonprofits while engaging volunteers. The research also shows that:
*Those organizations that engage 50+ volunteers via a strong volunteer management model have increased organizational capacity.
*Such organizations are more able to scale their operations.
*Nonprofits that engage at least 10 volunteers are as effective as their peers without volunteers, but at almost half the median budget.
*Yet, less than 15 percent of organizations nationwide can be characterized as service enterprises.
Clearly, we'll be following these efforts closely and communicating with you more about ways we can work together to build more service enterprises. In the meantime, I would encourage you to check out the Reimagining Service website to learn more, and to sign onto their basic principles.
Lastly, this is the month that we say goodbye to Michelle Bennett, who has served as an exemplary VISTA member with us for the past two years. She lauched our Days of Service prorgam and our Neighboring Collaborative, while developing and nurturing strong relationships with new partners that will outlive her time here with us. We were very lucky to engage Michelle in our work and it was a pleasure to have her as part of our team. We plan to maintain a relationship with her even as she leaves national service. If you've had the pleasure of working with Michelle, I'm sure she wouldn't mind hearing from you and keeping in touch. Her last official day is November 18th--a day that I'm denying is rapidly approaching!
Looking forward to seeing many of you on the 15th!
Stay warm,
 Executive Director |
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Nonprofit Essentials 2011-2012:
Budgeting and Finance
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Monday, November 7th, Noon to 4:30 pm
Location: WFU campus, Reynolda Hall, Room 301. Parking is available on Davis Field. For directions to the Reynolda Hall and to Davis Field (see map)
Our third Nonprofit Essentials class is designed to give an overview of nonprofit budgeting and finance, including financial terminology, the components of nonprofit financial statements, and a working understanding of an income statement and balance sheet. The course will also address how to build a budget, use performance standards to help make spending decisions, and address "red flag" issues.
The class will be taught by Dr. George Aldhizer III, PriceWaterhouseCoopers Associate Professor for Accountancy. (Click on his name for further biographical details.) Dr. Aldhizer's class was one of the most popular in the series last year, so even if the idea of budgets and finance don't normally excite you, you might want to check this class out!
Cost: $35 per person for Supporting Partners/ $45 all others. $300 for all nine classes! (This is the third class of the series; you may begin at any point. Signing up for the full series is a great option for organizations that have several employees who could benefit from taking different courses. 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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Celebrate Nonprofit Awareness Month!
Best Practice Breakfast and Workshop Featuring Bunkie Righter from Guidestar
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Tuesday, November 15th
Breakfast: 8:00 am to 10 am
Workshop: 10:30 am to Noon
Location: Wake Forest University, Benson University Center, Rm. 401. Parking is available on Davis Field. (see map)
We know that giving in this economy continues to remain flat at best, and at the same time there is a greater demand for services. We also know from experience that the most accurate predictors of charitable giving are such indexes as the stock market, the unemployment rate, and consumer confidence. If these are uncertain or declining, that will be reflected in charitable giving. And now we have a new factor: the sorry condition of state government budgets, which is putting enormous pressure on nonprofits that rely on fees for services. Join Bunkie Righter, Director of Business Development for GuideStar, as she talks about the "new normal" for the nonprofit sector--a period where the nonprofit sector will no longer experience the revenue growth (from foundations, individuals and government) we had become accustomed to over the last few decades. The "new normal" may not apply for certain subsectors of the nonprofit sector and for some regions of the country, but in general, the sector has a slow and painful recovery ahead. Bunkie will talk further about GuideStar's surveys and other national nonprofit trends, ultimately addressing why nonprofits must show their impact to achieve and sustain success. Bunkie will further drill down this topic in a break out session immediately following the breakfast as she walks through the five questions of Charting Impact -a standardized method for sharing concise information with key stakeholders and the public -with the goal of leaving this session with tangible evidence of how to show progress in today's uncertain climate.
Cost: The breakfast is FREE!!! for Supporting Partners (up to TEN people per Partner!); $10 all others; the breakout workshop is $10 for Supporting Partners and $15 for all others. An extensive breakfast and handouts are included. Please call us if you're bringing a crowd and would like to reserve a full table.
During registration you'll be asked if you'll be attending the breakfast, the workshop, or both; we want to encourage you attend both to get the most out of Bunkie's expertise!
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Nonprofit Essentials 2011-2012:
Human Resources
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Thursday, December 8th, Noon to 4:30 pm
Location: WFU campus, Reynolda Hall, Room 301. Parking is available on Davis Field. For directions to the Reynolda Hall and to Davis Field (see map)
Whether board member, staff or volunteer, the most important asset of any organization is its people. This course will address key topics such as recruitment, retention, development, and evaluation of board members, staff and volunteers; the importance of diversity in the nonprofit workforce; and how to create a motivating and rewarding work environment. The course will also review the basics of human resource policies and procedures and provide examples of key resources such as: an employee handbook, volunteer guidelines and policies, and guidelines for hiring, discipline and termination.
The class will be taught by Doris McLaughlin, EEO Manager and Diversity & Compliance Director at WFU. Ms. McLaughlin is responsible for the University's compliance with rules, regulations, and laws related to HR Services. She is also responsible for the University's practices related to workforce diversity and works closely with HR Partners and HR Services on compliance and diversity matters. Doris McLaughlin joined Wake Forest University in April, 2000. She had previously served as the Assistant Director of Human Resources for Compliance and Employee Relations at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Doris holds an undergraduate degree in Accounting from North Carolina Central University and a graduate degree in Public Administration from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She also holds her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) Certification. She is a certified Workplace Diversity Trainer and is a 2004 graduate of Leadership Winston-Salem (a HandsOn Supporting Partner.) In addition to her roles within WFU, Doris is active as a community volunteer as well, serving on the boards of Goodwill Industries and The Centers for Exceptional Children among other activities.
Cost: $35 per person for Supporting Partners/ $45 all others. $300 for all nine classes! (This is the fourth class of the series; you may begin at any point. Signing up for the full series is a great option for organizations that have several employees who could benefit from taking different courses. 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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HANDSON ACTION ALERT!
Help Save National Service!
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As you may know, in early October, Congress passed a temporary funding measure to allow the government to continue operations through November 18th. Before this deadline, appropriations must be enacted to allow Corporation for National and Community Service programs to be maintained. HandsOn Network has been active in the Save Service coalition and provides these updates:
- The final FY2012 funding level for programs such as AmeriCorps, VISTA, and the Volunteer Generation Fund are still unclear. The bills pending in the House and Senate contain dramatically different funding levels for these programs.
- The House Appropriations bill includes $280 million for CNCS which is only enough to support the Senior Corps programs and to allow for "the orderly elimination of other programs" at CNCS, including the Social Innovation Fund, AmeriCorps, and the Volunteer Generation Fund.
- Senate Appropriations bill includes $1.09 billion for CNCS which essentially maintains most of their programs at their current funding levels. The legislation includes a $17 million increase for two accounts above FY2011 levels: $3 million for NCCC and $14 million for the National Service Trust. Neither bill restores funding for Learn & Serve America which was eliminated in FY2011.
For tools you can use, updates, and action steps, check out the Save Service website.
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
Become a Certified Volunteer Administrator!
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Are you looking for a way to strengthen your professional credibility? Already have your CAVNC credential offered by the North Carolina Association of Volunteer Administrators and looking to take the next step? Now is the time to consider earning the Certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA) credential. This unique program serves to recognize practitioners in the field of volunteer management who meet specified standards through an exam and a written portfolio.
Individuals with the equivalent of at least 3 years of experience leading and directing volunteers are eligible. Registration is now open and the deadline for registering for the next cycle is March 1st, 2012. Candidates who register for this cycle must take the exam via e-testing software in May 2012 and complete the written portfolio component by December 31, 2012. For more information, visit the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration or join them for an information webinar on Monday, November 21 at 1PM, hosted by the Points of Light Institute.
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We Make it Easy to Make a Difference!
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