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January 22, 2015
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Final IM on CSBG Organizational Standards Coming Soon
As many of you saw in the December 19, 2014 OCS Dear Colleague Letter regarding the CSBG Performance Management Update, final guidance on CSBG Organizational Standards is coming out shortly. In addition, Jeannie Chaffin reinforced this at the Partnership's winter conference. Her conference slide presentation can be found here.
Late yesterday (1/21), the CSBG Working Group met with Jeannie Chaffin and Seth Hassett on the Organizational Standards to do a final review of modifications compiled after full OCS review. While most edits were stylistic in nature, the CSBG Working Group did discuss three modifications that were more substantive. These substantive changes will increase the number of Standards from 56 to 58 for private/nonprofit CAAs and from 48 to 50 for public CAAs. The CSBG Working Group reviewed, discussed, and agreed that the changes were in keeping with the spirit and intent of the CSBG Organizational Standards and reflected the core elements of being straightforward and measureable, respecting the balance of compliance with high performance expectations, and reflecting the vision and values of Community Action. The Final Informational Memorandum (IM) will include this final set of Center of Excellence (COE) Developed CSBG Organizational Standards.
As noted, the Final IM should be coming out very soon. You will likely receive notice of its release from multiple sources, including the Community Action Partnership and its Organizational Standards COE.
The Partnership will host a free national webinar once it is released to walk through the core elements and any final changes. Please keep an eye out for an eNews with the date, time, and registration information once the Final IM and Standards are released.
The Network has been waiting for this final release of Standards and we appreciate your patience and your ongoing work to prepare for their implementation. We have confidence in the Community Action Network's preparedness and we look forward to working with you to meet this challenge.
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 2015 POVERTY GUIDELINES RELEASED BY HHS | The Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2015 have been released. It is important to remember that these guidelines are different from the poverty threshold, which is used to determine poverty statistics by the US Census Bureau. Instead, the guidelines serve as the criteria for eligibility to participate in or receive assistance from federal programs.
In 2014, the poverty guideline for a household of one was $11, 670, while the 2015 guideline delineates an income of $11,770 for a one person household. The 2015 charts for the 48 contiguous states and the separate numbers for Alaska and Hawaii can be found here.
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BOLDER ADVOCACY'S TIPS HELPS ORGANIZATIONS KEEP IT LEGAL WHILE TWEETING | |
Social media is great for advocacy-just make sure you're following the "rules"
Many 501(c)(3) organizations-including CAAs-use social media to promote their programs, activities and success stories. And some use it for advocacy focused around special events such as the State of the Union address.
To ensure that you are "legally" using social media for advocacy, you know when social media needs to be counted as lobbying, and that your agency avoids posting partisan content, we recommend downloading this fact sheet from the Alliance for Justice's Bolder Advocacy project, "Legal Tips on Using Social Media for Advocacy." http://bolderadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Tips_on_Using_Social_Media_for_Advocacy.pdf
As the tip sheet states, " Although the IRS has not specifically said how the advocacy laws apply to social networking, its broader rules likely apply to social networking sites just as they do to other communications channels. While a charity is generally not responsible for the lobbying or partisan content of others, these lines can be somewhat blurred on social media platforms."
This is a great tool to help organizations stay within advocacy laws in the relatively new platform of social media.
And as always, CAPLAW is a great resource for Community Action on advocacy and other issues and has great resources on advocacy issues on their website. Visit them at www.caplaw.org.
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EITC AWARENESS DAY IS JANUARY 30 | |
Join the National Effort to Raise Awareness of the EITC
EITC Awareness Day (January 30, 2015) was created by the Internal Revenue Service to promote awareness of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) -a refundable federal tax credit for those who earn low-to-moderate incomes. Those eligible may qualify for up to $5,751through the EITC, which can be used to help pay for necessities and save for the future.
Increasing awareness is critical because in order to get the credit, people must file and claim it. According to the IRS, each year millions of eligible workers do not claim the EITC and Child Tax Credit (CTC), missing out on dollars they have earned.
Getting Your CAA Involved
Your Community Action Agency can help promote EITC Awareness Day in your community and ensure that millions of eligible people are aware of and claim this valuable tax credit.
Issue a news release, hold an event at your CAA, circulate information through your Facebook and Twitter pages websites, blogs, and newsletters.
Here are some examples of how CAAs and state associations commemorated EITC Awareness Day last year and promoted the EITC:
- Issued news releases underscoring the importance of eligible resident claiming the EITC.
- Hosted EITC Awareness Day events featuring EITC recipients and elected officials
- Supported state efforts to expand the EITC
- Participated in local EITC coalitions
Resources
For EITC Awareness Day tips and resources-including sample social media posts, news releases, and messages: http://www.eitc.irs.gov/Partner-Toolkit/awarenessday.
For general information on the EITC: http://www.eitc.irs.gov/central/main/
For EITC and CTC outreach strategies, download the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2015 Tax Credit Outreach Kit: http://eitcoutreach.org/home/eitc-outreach-kit-full-pdfs/
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PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATE OF THE UNION LAYS OUT PLAN TO HELP THE MIDDLE CLASS | Raising the Minimum Wage, Free Community College Highlighted During State of the Union
On January 20, President Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address. His speech covered a variety of topics. He opened the speech with the story of Rebekah and Ben Erler of Minneapolis, a couple who fell on hard times due to challenges in the housing and construction market-which impacted Ben's construction job. But due to hard work and supports, they have bounced back and made it through some "very, very hard times."
Rebekah and Ben's story set the backdrop for portions of the President speech that described initiatives aimed at helping the middle class and those trying to get there. He said that families like the Erlers may need help at times.
The President described what the country has done in the past to help people like the Erlers, such as establishing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. He also raised possible initiatives to help families in the future. These included:
- Lowering the taxes of working families - making quality childcare more accessible and affordable for low and middle income families with young children by creating more slots and a new tax credit of up to $3,000 per child, per year.
- Providing paid sick leave - 43 million workers have no paid sick leave, causing "too many parents to make the gut-wrenching choice between a paycheck and a sick kid at home." The President said he will help states create their own paid leave laws and that he wants "a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave."
- Offering free community college education - in order to earn more money, many Americans will need to enhance their skills through higher education. These same people may find college too expensive. The President said 40 percent of college students choose community college and that "this plan is your chance to graduate ready for the new economy without a load of debt."
- Wages-The President also called for a raise in the minimum wage, reiterated how important it is to ensure that women are paid the same as men for doing similar work, and called for employees to get the overtime they've earned.
For the text of the full speech, go to http://m.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/20/remarks-president-state-union-address-january-20-2015
To watch the speech and get other related information, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu
To view reactions on social media, follow the #SOTU hashtag. To view the Republican Response, click here.
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NEW AND IMPROVED COMMUNITY ACTION COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE NEEDS ASSESSMENT TOOL |
 Over the past few years, many CAAs have accessed the Partnership's online Comprehensive Community Assessment Tool to assist in the development of a comprehensive community needs assessment. They have emailed and told us that this tool is a valuable component of their toolbox, helping them get a jump on their assessment process. Developed in cooperation with the Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems (CARES) at the University of Missouri in cooperation with the Community Action Partnership's National Training Center, the Missouri Association for Community Action, and the New York State Community Action Association, this tool has been made available to Community Action Agencies over the past two years. We are now pleased to announce that we will be migrating this popular tool to the Community Commons platform which will allow for expanded data collection and mapping capacity. In addition, we are building a Community Action Hub through Community Commons that will allow the Network to share information and access data sets and maps that other CAAs have found helpful as well as share additional information.
The new tool will be released in January.
Register now to learn more about this improved capacity at two webinars this winter:
1. Accessing Community Commons and Using the Comprehensive Community Action Needs Assessment Tool EnhancementsJanuary 27th at 2:00 ET/1:00 CT/12:00 MT/11:00 PTFree but pre-registration is required by clicking here. 2. An In-Depth Look at the New and Improved Comprehensive Community Action Needs Assessment Tool and Using the Community Action Hub to Ramp up Your Community Planning EffortsFebruary 3rd at 2:00 ET/1:00 CT/12:00 MT/11:00 PTFree but pre-registration is required by clicking here.
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UPCOMING TRAINING FROM WIPFLI
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In-Depth Review of OMB's NEW "Super Circular" (2 CFR, Part 200) Neighborhood House Association 5660 Copley Drive San Diego, CA 92111 Registration Fee Early-bird rate: $625 per person if registered by January 5, 2015 Regular rate: $775 per person if registered after January 5, 2015 For more information, go to: wipfliconference2014.com
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BE FEATURED IN THE PROMISE MAGAZINE WINTER ISSUE!
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Have a success story you want to share or a program participant to acknowledge? Send us your news by February 6 for the next magazine. The Partnership's magazine, The Promise, showcases how Community Action Agencies are helping people and changing lives in communities across the country. If you'd like to highlight your agency's success stories and accomplishments, please send us submissions for our Winter 2015 issue. Deadline for submissions is Friday, February 6, 2015. Email submissions to magazine@communityactionpartnership.com Here's what we're looking for: General topicsNews on new staff appointments and board elections, awards/acknowledgements, best practices, success stories, positive news coverage. Specific topicsTell us about how your CAA is involved in one or more of the programs/initiatives below (and include 1-2 related photos and photo IDs):
- Two-Generation Approaches - Recently, there have been reports and articles about helping low-income families through a two-generation approach. How is your CAA working together with parents and their children help them escape poverty? For example - does your CAA offer child care service for adults enrolled in job training programs? Or is your agency involved in efforts to provide diapers and other supplies to families that can't afford them?
- Making Higher Education Accessible- President Obama has proposed making community college free for students so they can enhance their skills without going into debt. Does your CAA have linkages with community colleges-especially to help people enter lucrative fields such as technology? Do you offer financial assistance or scholarships for individuals who want to attend college?
- Affordable Housing/Decreasing Homelessness- housing is one of the centerpieces of the American Dream, but foreclosures are still very common as the economy remains weak and many families are experience homelessness. Does your CAA have any new or existing housing projects? How are you helping to alleviate homelessness in your community?
Deadline: Friday, February 6, 2015 Email submissions to magazine@communityactionpartnership.com SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES Submissions/Photos Guidelines and ProceduresPlease email a news release or similar document (such as a newsletter article) that provides a brief and concise description of the topic(s) above. Please include your submission in the body of the email or attach it as a Word or PDF document. Please do not include a link to a document on a file sharing website. Also, please only include or attach your submission, please do not include any additional items. Photos- If available, please email 1-2 photos that directly relate to your submission. We need hi-resolution photos in JPG format at 300 dpi - file size should be a minimum of 500 kb and emailed as separate attachments, please do not cut and paste them inside of your submission document(s). Include photo IDs/captions, and if needed, the photo credit information. Please do not email more than two photos. Please send your magazine submissions and photos (and all magazine-related correspondence) to magazine@communityactionpartnership.com. In the email subject line, please describe the topic of your submission, i.e. "CAA tax program" or "housing assistance and job training programs." Editorial PolicyThe Partnership reserves the right to edit all submissions for space, length, clarity, and grammar. The Partnership will also have final editorial authority on placement, content, article titles (if applicable), and photo captions (if applicable) of all submissions.
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