Blogs

Peace On Earth Toward All Men

Patricia Illingworth

Grove Street Cemetery

Do you remember the 60's bumper sticker: It will be a great day when the schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a new bomber? Well this article suggests that's exactly what the folks in Charlotte are doing - holding bake sales (not literally) to raise money for pretty big-ticket items.

The following Charlotte Observer article not only challenges the methods Charlotte nonprofit boards are using to raise funds, but calls board members "too scared" more willing instead to do "back door" fundraising then ask directly.

Sadly in my opinion, this article starts with the core premise that asking for money is indeed the job of board members. I pose that the answer is maybe it is but certainly not if that's not what members agreed to when they came on board. This must be the conversation in order to have the expectation. Are there consequences for not having board members ask for money? Certainly. But we also know there are a number of ways to finance a nonprofit and we also know there are some equally important roles for board members in addition to asking for money.

I would suggest that boards first must clarify why they are at the table - for what purpose and then they can get to the methods. I'm not sure that telling board members they are just too scared to ask for money is a true enough assumption. But this is certainly a conversation starter.
Charlotte nonprofits too scared to ask for money
Libraries are wonderfully deserving of financial support. But they shouldn’t have to throw a great gala to get it. John D. Simmons jsimmons@charlotteobserver.com

BY CHRIS MCLEOD

Charlotte is the second-largest financial center in the country, so presumably we know something about money. We’re also home to Myers Park Presbyterian, Myers Park United Methodist and Christ Episcopal, among the largest congregations in their denominations, with budgets north of $5 million. And Elevation and Forest Hills Church, two of the fastest growing megachurches and Billy Graham Evangelical Association also call Charlotte home. Shalom Park, a nationally unique campus, is home to 14 nonprofits and two synagogues.

When I moved to Charlotte 12 years ago, this juxtaposition of big banks and big churches intrigued me. I was confident that I’d discover Charlotte was home to some of the nation’s most well-funded nonprofits. What I discovered surprised me.

Rather than a banking community that brought its penchant for capacity building to its nonprofits, I discovered a nonprofit community haunted by a narrative of scarcity and a shallow understanding of fundraising. We love to build shiny new buildings, but our nonprofits are starved for operating capital. Despite the community’s pressing needs, the majority of nonprofit boards would rather cut costs than raise money.

The reality is most of our board members find fundraising, well, somewhat distasteful. Many of our community leaders pretend to know very little about raising money, preferring to let Hugh McColl and Michael Marsicano do all the asking.

In Charlotte, we prefer to host galas to fund our low-income health clinic and homeless shelter and sell raffle tickets to support our public libraries rather than ask a donor face-to-face for a major gift to support the program costs and staff that make it possible. Given our financial institutions’ focus on efficiency and managing costs, one would think our board members would embrace the face to face major gift ask, since it is the most efficient and cost-effective fundraising strategy.

Our lack of fundraising leadership is forcing the hand of our nonprofits to adopt these desperate fundraising strategies. This trend of “lifestyle philanthropy” is not benign. If we are not careful, Charlotte will end up like many communities in Florida, where donors’ loyalty follows nonprofits hosting the most spectacular galas with little regard for the nonprofits’ mission. Today, nonprofits are training our donor community to give this way, with little appreciation that this is a losing game. While nonprofit leaders proudly announce their galas’ gross receipts, few understand that the actual net gain is dramatically less, often less than half of the gross receipts.

If we presume this “preference” is learned, we can hope that by providing opportunities for community leaders to learn the most efficient and cost-effective strategy for raising charitable capital, we can reverse this trend. If Charlotte is to respond to the incredible opportunities and challenges, we need to identify and teach the next generation of leaders how to raise money.

In 2016, Women’s Impact Fund and the Institute for Philanthropic Leadership will host educational programs that focus on fundraising leadership for board members.

The desire to make a difference is universal, regardless of one’s faith tradition. Fundraising is about inviting people to make a difference. What makes me hopeful about Charlotte is that it is a community of passionate people who dream big dreams and want to make a difference. Those who are going to make the greatest difference are those willing to learn how to invite others to make a difference.

Come join us. We can’t let Hugh and Michael have all the fun.

Chris McLeod is president of Giving Matters, Inc. chris@givingmatters

Summary:  The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center seeks a part-time Special Events Engagement Director to lead marketing and fundraising efforts for the fifth annual cycling event known as “The Ride for Veterans.” This third-party fundraiser scaled up significantly in 2015 thanks to its lead sponsor Point72 Asset Management, with about 80 people riding an estimated 3,000 miles and raising over $100,000. CVLC aspires to significantly expand ridership in 2016 and envisions The Ride becoming a popular event throughout Connecticut’s cycling and veteran communities. Hourly pay will be based on experience and qualifications and will be highly competitive. No benefits are provided with this position. 

Hours: 10 hours per week average, increasing as event approaches in June 2016.

Reports To: Executive Director

Works With: The Ride Event Committee and Event Planner

Performance Measures/Deliverables:

• • Meet specific targets for increased ridership
• • Meet specific targets for increased number of corporate, law firm and community-based sponsors and teams.

Responsibilities:

• Act as CVLC’s main liaison with law firms, corporate and community partners through in-person meetings, email and mail communications, and tabling and speaking events to encourage entities to form cycling teams and fundraise on behalf of CVLC.

• Lead the development of a marketing and communication plan to increase awareness of the event within CVLC’s network of law firms and corporations as well as new corporate and community partners.

• Create and maintain a list of potential event sponsors and development an engagement plan for each potential sponsor. 

• Develop and implement an online marketing strategy, promoting the event through websites and social media. 

• Develop marketing materials to promote the event.

• Work with event planner to incorporate sponsors and organizational message into the event.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of three years’ experience working in sales, non-profit development or another field with an emphasis on relationship management.

• Experience with event management, marketing and media campaigns and familiarity with donor relationship management.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills and an ability to connect with a range of potential partners in a variety of settings from pitching PR staff in corporate conference rooms to spaghetti dinners at American Legion halls. Must be comfortable soliciting potential corporate and individual donors.
• Must be organized, self-directed and results-oriented.
• Enthusiasm for cycling and a passion for veterans justice is a plus.
• Must have valid driver’s license and a vehicle in order to meet with sponsors throughout Connecticut.

About the CVLC:

The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) exists to support veterans in recovery by helping them overcome legal barriers to housing and income. CVLC and VA CT’s Errera Community Care Center created the country’s first VA medical-legal partnership to integrate legal help into VA mental health, housing and addiction services. CVLC leverages the generosity of Connecticut’s attorneys by connecting half of the veterans it serves with no-cost, high quality assistance. Since 2009, CVLC has helped almost 1500 veterans rebuild the fulfilling lives they deserve.

To Apply:

To apply please submit a cover letter, resume, two references, and a professional letter/email sample to the CVLC’s Executive Director Margaret Middleton at mmiddleton@ctveteranslegal.org. Please email with questions. The position is open until filled and will be filled quickly so please send your materials as soon as possible.

~~~Greetings To All~~~

May I thank everyone who visited and supported Grove Street Cemetery

this past season.

The visual selected is from Victorian Trading Co highlighting

this enchanting season.

~~~~~Happy Thanksgiving~~~~~

Patricia B. Illingworth 

The following LA Times story describes a nonprofit board that I believe has seriously lost its focus and the mission. The story is about the County Fair which has morphed into an entertainment venue (that's ok - it more than pays the rent) but doesn't even have 4H at the annual fair anymore. Imagine! And of course the other big news - pays just under $1 million to its CEO! (Note, I generally believe the media is misguided in its focus on executive salaries but this may be an exception for me. Anyway, everyone is up-in-arms over the situation where the primary income is from Raves (you know, those concerts where kids dance and do drugs (so I'm told).

But the real story is about a board that might once have smartly recognized there was income to be made to offset expenses but in the process, lost sight of the why for the income and during the process, managed to lose lots of money and offend its very sponsors, the County. For shame, for shame, for shame!

Here's the story with a nod to the LA Times staff for focusing on the correct issues.

Head of money-losing L.A. County Fair Assn. made nearly $900,000 in total compensation
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Rong-Gong Lin II, Paul Pringle and Richard WintonContact Reporters

The Los Angeles County Fair Assn. was formed in 1940 to promote the region's then-booming agriculture industry. For generations, the nonprofit organization's annual fair crowned prize-winning hogs, taught children about crops and showcased thoroughbred racing.

But over the years, the association has morphed into something resembling a conglomerate, with little connection to farming or livestock. And its managers have become richly compensated even as the association loses money, a Times investigation has found.

The association controls a portfolio of enterprises that includes a hotel and conference center, a catering company and an equipment rental service. They are located on the county-owned fairgrounds in Pomona, sparing the association the obligation to pay property taxes. As a nonprofit, it also is exempt from taxes on most of its income.

Over the years, the Los Angeles County Fair Assn. has morphed into something resembling a conglomerate, with little connection to farming or livestock.

The organization has banked millions of dollars in government grants and received other support from taxpayers, according to its most recent federal tax filings. Despite the public subsidies, it lost a total of $6.25 million from 2010 through 2013 — though it rewarded its top executives with large bonuses and incentive pay in each of those years, the Internal Revenue Service records show.

The fair's chief executive, James Henwood Jr., 69, collected nearly $900,000 in total compensation in 2013, dwarfing that of other fair managers in California, according to the tax filings and state records. That same year, the association lost $3.4 million.

From 2010 through 2013, Henwood and four members of his executive team received a combined $2.8 million in bonuses and incentive pay, boosting their total compensation to $8.75 million, according to the tax filings. In those four years, Henwood averaged about $846,000 in annual compensation.
Los Angeles County Fair compensation

Other county fair compensation

"Running a fair is an executive position, and they should make some pretty good coin," said Michael O'Hare, a UC Berkeley public-policy professor who has studied the economics and management of fairs. "But this sounds to me totally crazy."
"Running a fair is an executive position, and they should make some pretty good coin. But this sounds to me totally crazy."- Michael O'Hare, UC Berkeley public-policy professor

As the association became more like a big business, it strayed further from its agrarian roots.

This shift came into stark focus in August, when the association booked a rave concert at the fairgrounds. Two young women who attended the rave were rushed to hospitals anddied of apparent overdoses. The deaths prompted the association and concert promoter Live Nation to cancel another rave that was scheduled for September's fair.

But a Halloween-themed rave Saturday and Sunday went on as scheduled. Police made more than 300 arrests, most for drug- and alcohol-related offenses.

A woman is arrested by California Highway Patrol officers at a security checkpoint for HARD Day of the Dead at the Pomona Fairplex on Oct. 31.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

Unlike most major fairs in California, L.A. County's is not run by a public agency. And although it works closely with county officials, the association has been free to compensate its executives as it sees fit and expand into other ventures.

In 2013, Henwood received more in bonuses and incentive pay than the association paid to the county for year-round use of the public fairgrounds, known as the Fairplex. A lease deal gives the association control of the nearly 500 acres in exchange for small shares of some of its revenues, such as 1.5% of the money generated by the fair and 5% of receipts from certain other events.

O'Hare and other experts say the association's current operations could jeopardize its tax exemption under IRS rules, especially because so little of the organization's business has to do with agriculture.

"It's so removed from agricultural pursuits that it calls into question whether it qualifies for a tax exemption," said Marcus Owens, a Washington attorney who once headed the IRS division on exempt organizations.

See the most-read stories this hour >>

The association's 244-room Sheraton Hotel and conference center are on county land, along with a number of for-profit companies it owns, including the Cornucopia catering firm that serves food at the fair and events such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.

"This isn't what you think of when you think of charity," said Rep. Norma Torres (D-Pomona), whose district includes the fairgrounds. "The government lands and subsidies are being used for the benefits of a few well-paid executives."

Torres said the raves are an example of how the association has lost its way.

"How many more liquor-licensed events is it going to run?" she said.

Henwood and the other managers declined to be interviewed.

In an email to The Times, association spokeswoman Renee Hernandez said the organization has embraced the "evolution" of Southern California agriculture, as represented by competitions for wine, craft beer, extra virgin olive oil and dairy products. She said the association has increased the number and variety of animals at the fair, although she did not provide details.

As a private nonprofit, the association is not subject to direct oversight by the Board of Supervisors or any other public body. It is governed by an 11-member board of directors. The panel is elected by the 60 voting members of the association, according to its media guide. The members, in turn, are selected by the board, whose president is former Cal Poly Pomona President J. Michael Ortiz.

In a telephone interview, Ortiz defended the fair executives' compensation, saying their pay was based on performance. He singled out Henwood's supervision of the construction of the conference center, which opened in 2012. Ortiz said the center has done well financially. Henwood, a former shopping mall manager from Orange County, has led the association for two decades.

Ortiz said Henwood has excelled at managing the association's Learning Centers programs. They provided vocational training to more than 600 students last year in auto mechanics, landscaping and other skills, according to the association's annual report.

Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >>

"We are training individuals in those areas to go out and do well in those fields," Ortiz said.

Asked why Henwood and his management staff were handed bonuses in years the association lost money, Ortiz said, "I don't think we have to explain." He declined to answer further questions and ended the interview.

Other board members did not respond to interview requests or declined to comment. They include local corporate executives, developers, an accountant and a fitness club owner, as well as Robert Dukes, an L.A. County Superior Court judge in Pomona, and University of the West President Stephen Morgan.

Some fairgrounds neighbors have called for a ban on the raves and restrictions on the number of other events, which they say bring noise, traffic and crime. Like Torres, the residents, who have formed a group called Protect Our Neighborhood, contend the association is a nonprofit in name only.

"They present themselves as people who run county fairs, where you milk cows and the kiddies can pet animals," said Jose M. Vadi, 71, a retired political science professor at Cal Poly Pomona. "Really, what they're doing is they're running a for-profit operation under the guise of being a nonprofit."

The association describes itself as "self-supporting," but it has turned to the government for financial assistance. Five years ago, the county issued $24 million in tax-exempt bonds that enabled the association to build the $28-million conference center at a reduced borrowing cost.

To help offset the cost of the center, the county gives the organization a discount on rent for the fairgrounds. The arrangement slashed the annual rent to an average of $200,000 from about $1 million in 2007.

County officials approved the rent rollback — it runs through 2022 — because they said the center would produce jobs and generate other "economic, social and public benefits." In 2009, as part of a finance agreement with Pomona, the association estimated the center would produce 280 full-time jobs.

Hernandez, the association spokeswoman, did not respond to a question about the number of jobs actually created. Based at the fairgrounds, the association employs more than 250 people year-round, not counting workers at the hotel, Cornucopia and other businesses, its media guide says. According to the guide, the hotel employs 115 people; no number is given for the conference center.

County Supervisor Hilda Solis, whose district includes the fairgrounds, declined to be interviewed about the association.
Hernandez said in an email that the county gets money from a tax that promoters pay to use the fairgrounds. She said the county also benefits from an agreement with the association that allows the Sheriff's Department to base its Emergency Vehicle Operations Center at the fairgrounds' motor racetrack. The center trains deputies to drive patrol cars and motorcycles.

"The use of the facility for EVOC is a much higher value than any property tax that would have been derived," Hernandez wrote.

The Sheriff's Department, however, has said that it does not get enough access to the fairgrounds because of the fair and other events held on the property. As a result, the Board of Supervisors has tentatively approved a plan to build a $10.5-million EVOC in Castaic.

A spokesman for the county assessor's office said the type of levy promoters pay at the fairgrounds — known as a possessory interest tax — often is significantly less than what property taxes would be for a similar property that is privately owned. Hernandez did not respond to a query of whether the association believes the county gets as much money from the fairgrounds as it would if it were taxed as private property.

Attendance at the fair has been seesawing. Once the largest county fair in the nation — it debuted in 1922, 18 years before the association was formed — the L.A. County event is now not even the biggest in California. It drew 1.2 million visitors last year, down from 1.49 million in 2011, state figures show. It reported 1.28 million visitors for this year's fair, which was four days shorter than 2014's.
LA County Fair loses attendance while others grow

According to the most recent tax records, the association was last in the black in 2009, when it had a net gain of $632,000 on revenue of $64.7 million.

It has reported different numbers to the state Department of Food and Agriculture, which collects financial information from most California fairs. In 2013, the association's filing with the department showed a gain of $4.2 million; on its IRS return, it reported a $3.4-million loss.

The reason for the gap in figures was not clear, and state officials said they did not know why the numbers varied so much. The experts on nonprofits said a possible explanation is that the state and federal reports might follow different accounting rules.

In recent years, other leading fairs have performed better financially than L.A. County's, according to state and county records. The San Diego County Fair brought in about as much total revenue in 2013, $66 million, as L.A. County's, at $68 million, and has long been profitable, according to state records. Timothy Fennell, CEO of the Del Mar Fairgrounds, where the San Diego County Fair is held, had a salary-and-benefit package that year of about $184,000, roughly a fifth of Henwood's compensation. The other four executives for the L.A. association also made more than Fennell.
Surpluses turn to deficits at L.A.County Fair Association

Like the fair in San Diego County, Orange County's event drew more visitors than L.A. County's this year and in 2014. The Orange County Fair regularly posts a profit, state records show. Its CEO made about $212,000 in 2014. Both the San Diego County and Orange County fairs are run by state agencies.

Given the experiences of the other counties, experts say, it is difficult to see the benefit to L.A. County taxpayers in having the association, instead of the government, operate their fair. When government turns over management functions to private entities, they said, the public is supposed to get more for its money.

"There should be efficiencies," said Rob Reich, co-director of Stanford University's Center on Philanthropy & Civil Society. "But it sounds like there is no evidence here that there are any."

"This has public subsidies of various kinds," Reich said of the association. "It gives all citizens an interest in the healthy management of the entity."

Because it is a nonprofit, the association does not produce earnings for investors, but it is expected to be fiscally sound and avoid losses, Reich said.

The association obtained its nonprofit status under the IRS code that exempts labor unions and certain agricultural organizations from taxes. Such an organization "must have as its primary purpose the betterment of the conditions of those engaged in agricultural pursuits," an IRS publication states.

"Activities that only remotely promote the interests of those engaged in agricultural pursuits will not qualify an organization for exemption."

NEWSLETTER: Get the day's top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

The experts say the association's nonagricultural businesses push the boundaries of its tax exemption. In 2013, it reported to the IRS about $25.6 million in total business revenue from the hotel and conference center, Cornucopia and other firms — taxable receipts unrelated to its nonprofit purposes to advance agriculture. The business proceeds were about equal to the association's revenue from the fair.

"The fact that the organization is operating a hotel 24/7, 365 days a year, that pattern is suggestive of an organization that is no longer being operated to further agriculture," said Owens, the former IRS official.

O'Hare, the Berkeley professor, said the association's exemption gives it a leg up over marketplace competitors that do pay taxes, such as nearby hotels and music venues.

"It's unfair to merchants who do not get the same tax exemption," O'Hare said.

Mario Ramos, 53, a member of Protect Our Neighborhood, agreed, saying the association functions like "a monopoly that's being subsidized by the government," squeezing out local businesses.

"I make the argument that it actually hurts us by them being there," said Ramos, a healthcare consultant.

The fair has stopped inviting the young people who belong to 4-H clubs to display their animals. The thoroughbred meets — once a staple of the event — have been moved to the Los Alamitos racetrack in Orange County.

Association spokeswoman Hernandez said the organization has expanded the acreage and programming dedicated to agriculture, including through classes at the Learning Centers. She did not respond to requests for information on how much it spends on those programs.

Hernandez said the association eliminated 4-H clubs from the fair because fewer children were showing their animals.

The fair's website says the event has gone "back to our agricultural roots." There were pens of cows, pigs and chickens at this year's fair, along with a petting zoo, a milking demonstration and an "urban garden" of fruit trees and vegetable patches, which is open throughout the year.

But most of the fair remained devoted to carnival rides, market pavilions for a constellation of nonfarm products — including hoodies, hot tubs, e-cigarettes and toe rings — and a concert series that featured ZZ Top and Patti LaBelle.

Joanne Kissling, 61, of Agoura Hills, said she and other 4-H leaders were stunned when the L.A. County Fair booted the clubs’ animals.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Joanne Kissling, 61, of Agoura Hills, said she and other 4-H leaders were stunned several years ago when the fair booted the clubs' animals. The 4-H exhibits are still welcome at other fairs, including Orange County's and San Diego County's.

"We were there one year, and we were gone the next," Kissling said of the L.A. County Fair, where her daughters used to present their goats, rabbits and guinea pigs.

"They don't really have what I consider a fair. A fair to me means the animals."

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the permanent endowment and largest grantmaker to nonprofit organizations serving the Greater New Haven region, has awarded $2,522,265 in one-year and multi-year Responsive grants to 48 nonprofits serving its twenty-town region. These grants are the culmination of The Community Foundation’s largest, annual competitive grants process, which began in March. The competitive process is only one element of The Community Foundation’s yearly grantmaking, which is estimated to reach $23.9 million in total competitive and non-competitive grants by the end of 2015. 

“As is true each year, The Community Foundation’s 2015 grantmaking decisions reflect both our understanding of the key challenges and opportunities facing our community and our commitment to carry out the intent of generations of donors who have built the community’s endowment. The Community Foundation is privileged to support many great organizations doing great work in our community,” said William W. Ginsberg, President & CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. 

The Foundation’s Responsive grants come as a welcomed relief to some nonprofits impacted by recent budget rescissions in state funding. The rescissions are expected to curtail the services nonprofits are currently providing and thereby directly impact the region’s most vulnerable residents in the near future. In the first round of rescissions, human services took a disproportionately large hit. 

“Many of the 2015 grant applicants working in the social service and health sectors cited poor economic conditions affecting their organizations as well as the clients they serve. While the economy might appear to be improving, the nonprofit sector in our region and those served by the sector are not feeling the benefits of an improving economy. Most report high demand for services and inadequate sources of funding,” says Christina Ciociola, Senior Vice President of Grantmaking & Strategy.

As one example of The Community Foundation’s new grants, the Connecticut Food Bank received $80,000 toward the construction of a new food distribution center and headquarters.

“Over the past 10 years, the Connecticut Food Bank has experienced an 80% increase in the demand for emergency food assistance, and now nearly 500,000 Connecticut residents are food insecure,” says Paul O’Leary, Chief Operating Officer of the Connecticut Food Bank. “The need for support is especially acute within New Haven County, which has the highest food insecurity rate (14.4%) out of the state's eight counties.”

Another grant recipient, Liberty Community Services, was awarded $40,000 to support a joint strategic planning process with EMERGE CT to provide affordable housing for formerly incarcerated individuals also involved in a transitional employment program. The grant aligns with The Community Foundation’s reentry strategy aimed at creating a region where formerly-incarcerated individuals are empowered with opportunities so that they can successfully reintegrate, making them less likely to reoffend, and reducing the ripple effect on their children, family and the community as a whole.

“This grant will enable us to have a more holistic housing and employment program for individuals returning to this community from incarceration,” says John Bradley, Executive Director of Liberty Services. “It will also assist us in identifying best practices in this field of work so that returning citizens can become contributing members to the community.”

Women’s Health Research at Yale received a $150,000 multi-year grant to support its heart and cancer research. Funding for this grant was made possible by two Community Foundation funds: the John A. & Edna M. DeLeon Fund for cancer and heart disease research and the Nellie Ward and & Edith P. Rausch Fund for cancer research.

“Women remain underrepresented in clinical studies of cardiovascular disease and cancer,” says Dr. Carolyn M. Mazure, Director of Women’s Health Research at Yale. "Yet these disorders are the greatest cause of mortality in women. This grant will strengthen our infrastructure, allowing us to generate new research that advances treatments and provides new information on these disorders for the benefit of the community.”

As in years past, the responsive grant process was carried out collaboratively with The Community Foundation’s partner in philanthropy, the Valley Community Foundation, which serves the towns of Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton. The Community Foundation and Valley Community awarded three grants in partnership to BHcare, Healthy Eyes Alliance and Rape Crisis Center of Milford.

BHcare will use its funding to begin the planning and development of a Family Justice Center in New Haven that will serve as a safe location where survivors of domestic violence can receive the services they need in one setting.

“Such a facility has the power to be transformative to our region’s domestic violence survivors, who are often in need of multiple services at one time. Coordinating and collaborating on services such as shelter, advocacy, medical and legal under one roof minimizes the need for survivors to repeat their story, which can further traumatize,” says Roberta J. Cook, President/CEO of BHcare. 

A complete list of grant recipients is available at www.cfgnh.org.

Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven awarded over $22 million in grants and distributions in 2014 from an endowment of more than $460 million and composed of hundreds of individually named funds. In addition to its grantmaking, The Community Foundation helps build a stronger community by taking measures to improve student achievement, create healthy families in New Haven, promote local philanthropy through www.giveGreater.org® and encourage better understanding of the region. The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s 20 town service area includes: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven, Woodbridge. For more information about The Community Foundation, visit www.cfgnh.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.org/cfgnh or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cfgnh.  

The Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) supports veterans in recovery by helping them overcome legal barriers to housing and income. CVLC and VA Connecticut’s Errera Community Care Center created the country’s first VA medical-legal partnership to integrate legal help into VA mental health, housing and addiction services. CVLC staff helps veterans resolve their legal issues through advice, representation and referral to a large number of volunteer attorneys. Since 2009, CVLC’s high quality legal services have helped over 1300 veterans rebuild the fulfilling lives they deserve.

Each year, the Department of Defense erroneously denies service members an “honorable” discharge, often because of behaviors symptomatic of PTSD. These “bad paper discharges” make veterans ineligible for VA educational, medical, or disability benefits and make it harder for them to get civilian jobs. These veterans, many of whom served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, are three times more likely to commit suicide than other veterans. This means we fail to care for and educate some of our country’s most wounded warriors when they need it most.

The Department of Defense (DoD) creates this problem by misusing the separation process to eliminate rather than counsel struggling soldiers, and the problem is growing with military budget cuts. According to the Colorado Gazette, Army “bad paper” discharges for “misconduct” were up 25% from 2009 to 2013. More disturbingly, the greatest increases are in the eight Army posts that house most of the services’ combat units, where misconduct discharges are up almost 70%.

CVLC seeks applicants to direct its military records corrections or “discharge upgrade” program. This position requires a range of skills including: representing individual veterans before DoD administrative boards and APA review of those decisions in federal court; training and assisting volunteer attorneys representing veterans in these venues; and implementing process improvements to CVLC’s discharge upgrade practice to improve outcomes.

This position offers the opportunity for an ambitious attorney to define this burgeoning social justice field by establishing best practices and achievement metrics for legal aid offices adopting discharge upgrade practices. CVLC envisions this attorney presenting progress and outcomes at national conferences to inspire, identify and recruit legal aid offices and attorneys interested in developing a discharge upgrade practice and collaborating with partner organizations on projects to reform the statutes and regulations governing discharge upgrades. This position is currently funded for one year, with funding for future years likely.

Familiarity with Department of Defense administrative law or an eagerness to learn it, admission and good standing to any bar, a willingness to take the CT bar, a valid drivers’ license and access to a vehicle in order to meet with clients across CT, are all required. 

The office environment is client-centered, hard-working, creative, democratic, outcome-oriented and collegial.  The ideal candidate is open, organized, collaborative, self-directed and comfortable working independently. Experience with landlord-tenant, consumer, foreclosure, criminal, benefits and/or other areas of poverty law, experience working with veterans, the homeless and/or the mentally ill, and/or experience with the military and/or military law would be beneficial. If you loathe the idea of addressing your own envelopes, faxing your own documents or folding chairs after an event, this is not the job for you; we all do windows here.

As physical space is tight and office amenities are sparse, someone with an easy-going, adventurous attitude towards work would be the best fit.  This job is for someone who enjoys learning and helping people, seeks meaningful work that involves widely different skills and is interested in taking on considerable responsibility at a young organization with an important mission. Salary is based on experience and is commensurate with other public interest law jobs. Benefits include health insurance, generous paid vacation and sick leave and a family friendly workplace.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, three references, a legal writing sample and a professional letter sample to the CVLC’s Executive Director Margaret Middleton at applicants@ctveteranslegal.org. Please do not hesitate to email with questions. The position is open until filled. We anticipate that it will be filled quickly, so please send your materials as soon as possible.