Promise of a Malloy Administration For Nonprofits

[Karen Maciorowski]

This post is made on behalf of Ron Cretaro, Executive Director of Connecticut Association of Nonprofits, Inc. You may contact Ron at [e-mail] to discuss it further.

 

Nonprofits & the Promise of Dan Malloy

 

by Ron Cretaro

 

In  March, 2000, at the urging of Patrick McAuliffe*, then Executive Director of CT Renaissance, and the assistance of the office of then Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, more than 150 local nonprofits gathered at the Rich Forum in Stamford sponsored by CT Association of Nonprofits (CT Nonprofits) and the Fairfield County Community Foundation.  Mayor Malloy had invited the Mayors and First Selectmen from surrounding Fairfield County towns to join us as well as then Congressman Christopher Shays and Rick Hobish, CEO of Pro Bono Partnership.  For Connecticut Nonprofits, we had only recently changed our mission and name and were eager to introduce ourselves to a greater cross-section of nonprofits in Fairfield County.  While I do not specifically remember every word uttered that day, I do distinctly recall the genuine value and appreciation of nonprofits articulated by the Stamford Mayor.

 

In 2002, at the request the CT Nonprofits, Mayor Malloy joined Hartford Mayor Perez in issuing a joint Letter to the Editor during the holiday season lauding the efforts of nonprofits and the role they play in our communities.  The letter was published both in the Hartford Courant and Stamford Advocate.

 

Then in 2003, the CT Nonprofits Annual Conference featured James Carville, consultant and advisor to former President Bill Clinton.  Little noted was the afternoon speaker, Stamford’s Mayor who spoke on the relationship between nonprofits and municipalities. A number of towns under fiscal stress in Connecticut had attempted to compel nonprofits to pay property taxes where previously exempt. Mayor Malloy had held fast in Stamford on behalf of nonprofit organizations.

 

Fast forward to 2008, again Ct Nonprofits Annual Conference was keynoted once more by Stamford’s longest serving Mayor Dan Malloy. Mayor Malloy had established an impressive record of making Stamford into a flourishing city while engaging nonprofits in the process. Among the initiatives nonprofits found themselves partnering with local government included affordable housing, charter schools, early childhood education, senior/elderly services, substance abuse treatment & prevention, the arts and culture, among others.

 

So what can nonprofits expect from a Malloy administration One of the first policy statements issued by the Governor-Elect, even prior to his official campaign announcement for Governor in 2009, was related to health & human service nonprofits and particularly those that contract with State government. Recently, six nonprofit & philantrhopic leaders, all but one a member of CT Nonprofits, were appointed to either the Transition team or Policy Work Group chairs. In addition, all of CT Nonprofits member Executives have been sent an invitation to the Swearing In Ceremony of our new Governor at the State Armory on Wednesday by the Malloy Inaugural Committee. Further, within the past week two nonprofit Executives have been selected to be Commissioners in the newly formed Cabinet.  We may see others.

 

The Malloy family including the Governor-Elect’s brother, a local insurance agent, sister-in-law and other family members have been or continue to be either employees or board members of local nonprofits. The First Lady-in-waiting has been an Executive of a nonprofit sexual assault crisis & counseling program for more than a decade.

 

The challenges facing a new Malloy administration are daunting, not withstanding having to balance a budget projected to be $3.5 billion out of balance.  Connecticut is the state with the highest per capita budget deficit in the nation. Governor-Elect Malloy has promised that he will protect the safety net and he has mentioned that all tax expenditures or exemptions are on the table except for charities and education. He has also stated that the budget will not be balanced solely on spending cuts and that he will entertain new revenues. Yet, invariably with expectations held high by the nonprofit community, there will be disappointment. Yet, if the past is prologue, nonprofits will have a prominent role in creating solutions.

 

Nonprofits, regardless, will continue to do the heavy lifting in keeping our communities safe, healthy, and whole.  They will do more with less for a while longer but not indefinitely. Nonetheless, nonprofits will feel like there will be someone in the Governor’s office who will be attentive to their issues and concerns.  Someone who has spent a career learning about them, understanding them and supporting them.

 

*Patrick McAulliffe, the Executive Director of Connecticut Renaissance died in 2008.

 

 

Thank You New CT Nonprofits Members

 

New members joined between Jan 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010

 

A Better Way Foundation ● Achieve Hartford! ● Ash Creek Conservation Association, Inc. ● Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition ● Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust, Inc. ● Children's Educational Opportunity Foundation of Connecticut, Inc. ● Community Action Agency of New Haven ● Connecticut Bar Association ● Creative Living Community of Connecticut ● CT News Project, Inc. ● Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County ● Durham Volunteer Ambulance Corp ● East Haddam Youth & Family Services ● Fairfield County Chorale, Inc. ● Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools ● Generations Family Health Center, Inc. ● Green Street Arts Center of Wesleyan University ● Greenwoods Counseling Referrals, Inc. ● Hartford Communities That Care ● Hartford Food System ● Hartford Stage Company, Inc. ● Home To Home Foundation Inc ● Horizons National Student Enrichment Program ● Hudson Country Montessori School ● Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk, Inc ● Justice Resource Institute ● Klingberg Family Centers ● Little Hearts, Inc. ● Love146, Inc. ● May Institute, Inc. ● NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut Foundation ● New Connections, Inc. ● Public Library of New London ● S.W.E.E.T Potato Society, Inc ● The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling & Education ● The Exchange Club Center for Prevention of Child Abuse of Southern CT, Inc. ● The Intensive Education Academy, Inc. ● United Action Connecticut, Inc. ● Vision of Faith Outreach Ministry Inc ● West Haven Emergency Assistance  Taskforce ● Women's Mentoring Network, Inc.

 

 

Balancing budget, meeting needs of poor will tax Malloy

Read a recent New London Day article by Ted Mann

 

http://www.theday.com/article/20101226/NWS12/312269860/1018

 

 

 

 “What we have before us are some breathtaking opportunities disguised as insoluble problems”.

                     John W. Gardner

 

Welcome 2011!