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see flier for more details and the entry form: CAYS 2010 Art Contest Flier.pdf

Seeking 10-15 year old artists to create an original, creative, sports-themed logo for CAYS.

Guidelines:

You must be between the ages of 10 to 15

The design must be hand-drawn and hand-colored

(Sorry, no computer-generated or colored images!)

The design will be judged by:

Originality

Creativity

How well it represents the organization

DEADLINE: April 30, 2010

Community Alliance for Youth Sports seeks to help young people have the opportunity to participate in sports by aiding through financial scholarships.

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http://southernct.edu/pathways/links/

The PAcE scholarship program is for students studying in

  • Math
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Earth Science
  • Computer Science

Educators can sign up for classroom visits, math/science presentations and other

resources at the CRISP Education and Outreach site.

PAcE is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

http://southernct.edu/pathways/links/

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Register at www.techsoup.org for more information and details.

This refurbished desktop computer has a Pentium 4 processor, the Windows XP Professional operating system, and the Microsoft Office 2003 Standard office suite. The keyboard and mouse are new, not refurbished. A monitor is not included. Monitors must be obtained separately, either from RCI or from other sources.

The computer will meet or exceed these specifications:

Processor speed:
2.8 GHz to 3.0 GHz
RAM:
minimum of 512 MB
Hard disk:
minimum of 40 GB
Optical disk drive:
CD-ROM
Input devices:
keyboard with numeric keypad and mouse
Power cord:
standard
Interface ports:
Ethernet, USB (multiple), parallel

The operating system and Office 2003 Standard are preinstalled by the refurbisher.

This computer is covered by a 90-day warranty from the refurbisher.

Register at www.techsoup.org for more information and details.

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Nonprofit Coach - Temporary Position Available

Temporary position (20 to 25 hours per week)
Duration: April through October 2010

OBJECTIVE: To assist The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven in the comprehensive gathering and organization of detailed data on nonprofit organizations in the Foundation’s twenty town service area.

Job Requirements:
The position requires training and interviewing staff, directors and board members of nonprofits; assessing, analyzing and validating information; entering data and serving as the primary point of contact for nonprofit partners. This will require managing daily projects, ongoing communication with nonprofits to answer questions and to promote the effective use and implementation of this product.

The Skills Required:
Strong computer skills in Microsoft Office, desktop publishing, and database management concepts. Excellent interpersonal skills are required. Deep knowledge of nonprofit sector essential. In addition, there must be a demonstrated capacity for strong writing skills, problem solving and effectiveness with nonprofit management. A Bachelor’s degree is required.

Inquiries with respect to this opportunity should be directed to:

Leon Bailey
Vice President, Human Resources
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
70 Audubon Street
New Haven, CT 06510
203-777-7094
lbailey@cfgnh.org

The application deadline is Friday, April 9th, 2010
.

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Nonprofit Organizations Respond to Form 990's New Governance Questions

It is probably no surprise that 2009 saw an extraordinary increase in nonprofit organizations that adopted or changed their organizational policies. According to Grant Thorton’s 2009 National Board Governance Survey for Not-for-Profit Organizations, this change is a direct result of the new Form 990 that questions nonprofits’ governance policies and practices. Because the IRS has made transparency in nonprofit governance compulsory, 39% of organizations adopted investment policies, 32% record-retention policies, 26% have adopted whistleblower policies, and over half now have the board or a board committee review the Form 990 before it is filed. Nonprofit boards have also become more diligent about executive supervision, particularly, exercising oversight when it comes to monitoring executive compensation. These are all topics and issues that the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector® has encouraged organizations to give attention to for over 10 years.

If you are among the organizations dashing to implement new governance policies, the Standards for Excellence Institute® can keep you from reinventing the wheel, and more importantly, save you time and money. Institute’s educational resource packet, “IRS Form 990 Governance and Management Policy Compendium” provides an easily digested list of all policies that the IRS inquires about. The 22 other Educational Resources Packets include samples of all recommended policies. Institute members are encouraged to download these policies and adopt them to your particular circumstances.

inst.colormast-web.jpg

For more information on the best practices in nonprofit management and governance described in the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector®, click here.

To order copies of the Standards for Excellence® code, click here. Discounts are available for members and those who order in bulk.


Visit the Standards for Excellence Institute® Blog>>

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Community Mediation, Inc. needs to recruit two African American adults and two Spanish speaking bilingual adults to take the upcoming Facilitator Training April 12, 13, 24, from 5pm to 9pm. Collaborating with the Housing Authority, those having taken the training will provide facilitated dialogues for parents at two housing sites (Quinnipiac Terrace and Village West). A range of concerns will be addressed, including nurturing parenting, financial management, school-related advocacy, and health care to name a few.

With the basic facts and an opportunity to share their struggles and concerns about parenting, these mothers and fathers will have a better understanding of the needs and abilities of their children; an opportunity to feel heard and create connections that can become future support systems; and the skills to act on the behalf of their children and themselves.

This initiative is not yet funded, so trained individuals may be called upon for other dialogues. Pending funding the timeline would be (all or part of) a commitment of once or twice a month on a weeknight from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. beginning in July/August of 2010 and ending July/August of 2012.

If you are interested in putting your leadership skills to work in the community, please contact Susan Spight, Community Mediation, Inc., at skspight@gmail.com to find out more information. Your help is appreciated. Thank you.

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Another Social Service Agency Hit By Budget Bomb - Courant.com http://shar.es/mWzlb

Hartford Courant

Helen Ubiñas

March 18, 2010

I probably should have done what a colleague suggested and asked Dr.Mark Mitchell if he had an inhaler handy.

But I figured it was best to just break the bad news to him.

"You're not getting the money," I told the president of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice.

"Oh my God," Mitchell said after a long moment of stunned silence. "I don't know what we're going to do."

A day earlier, Mitchell and I talked about a $130,000 grant for an asthma outreach and education program which — after surviving a line-item veto by Gov. M. Jodi Rell — was approved by the legislature in August.

Seven months later, this week, they were still waiting for the money.

Figuring they were just another organization whose funds were stuck in political limbo, I made a few calls. Doug Whiting, spokesman for House Speaker Christopher Donovan, said the holdup seemed to be with the
state Department of Public Health, which administers the contract. Calls to DPH went nowhere fast, but Mitchell said they told him the funds were stalled at Rell's budget office.

And then late in the day Wednesday, the Office of Policy and Management finally dropped the bomb.

"We're denying the contract," OPM spokesman Jeffrey Beckham told me.

And then I got a crash course in Rell budgeting that boiled down to: Don't blame the governor. Not her fault.

The legislature may have approved funds for programs like these, Beckham said. But in the same budget, they demanded $95 million in cuts in non-direct-care contracts.

OK, but why did they leave an organization twisting in the wind for seven months before finally pulling the plug on the very day a reporter called about the long overdue money? That's seven months the coalition could have used to find another source of funding.

And why was I the one breaking the news to the poor guy?

Beckham said OPM received the contract in late January. He also said OPM advised state agencies months ago that the budget required administrative savings that would impact their own operations as well
as contracts that they administer. Apparently DPH forgot to tell the coalition that.

Continuing my Messenger of Doom duties, I called the speaker's spokesperson back. Whiting insisted the governor had other options. He said they are now questioning whether she has the authority to cut the
funds.

That's all fine and good. But meanwhile, the coalition is left reeling, and once again it's the poor and vulnerable paying the price. Asthma is a major health crisis in Connecticut — especially in urban areas.

It's the leading cause of kids missing school and their parents missing work, Mitchell said. And yes, I know — there are programs that work with people already seeking care. But this program targets low-income people, communities of color, people on Medicaid and the uninsured with a preventive program that wait for it saves money. And since this is all about money, consider this:

Millions in public money is spent each year in hospitalization and emergency room costs to treat asthma. In Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport, the number of hospitalization and emergency room visits are two to three times higher than the state average.

And here's the kicker, Mitchell said: If the coalition's outreach program reduces emergency room visits by only one-half of 1 percent, it will have saved the state the cost of the program.

Or put another way: For about what the state pays for a single deputy commissioner, they could improve the health and lives of thousands of its residents.

But then, this isn't just about one program. The coalition may now have to close its doors. In addition to outreach, the money also covers a third of the operating budget for a 12-year-old organization that helped pass Connecticut's first environmental justice law.

After composing himself, Mitchell called me back. "We're very shocked,'" he said. "We really believe we're saving the state money and we just don't understand." They're not the only ones.

Helen Ubiñas' column appears on Thursdays and Sundays. Read her blog at courant.com/helen.

Courant.com http://shar.es/mWzlb

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Youth Rights Media seeks an Executive Director.

The Executive Director must be a visionary and engaging leader, an experienced manager, and deeply committed to young people’s growth and development. YRM is a small, lean organization where all staff play a direct, hands-on role. The Executive Director must excel at balancing multiple tasks, including internal management of the staff and programs, external relationships with key stakeholders, collaborators, and allies, and the demands of working in a fluid, fast-paced youth-centered environment. The Executive Director will be responsible for ensuring that the organization is fiscally and programmatically sound, and must work to strategically advance YRM’s purpose and goals.

This is a full-time salaried position with benefits.

The Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate will posses business and financial management skills; youth development, criminal justice and education policy expertise; and experience leading and managing staff. The ideal candidate will also have a demonstrated commitment to social justice efforts. In addition, the ideal candidate will be:

• Familiar with youth media production, specifically as it relates to issues impacting young people in urban settings;

• Experienced in managing, developing, and leading youth programs that integrate youth development theory, and principles of youth organizing;

• Knowledgeable of the New Haven community, including specific policies and trends impacting youth in the educational and juvenile justice systems.

Responsibilities:

The Executive Director is responsible for:

• Supervising the organization’s staff and overseeing the development, implementation and evaluation of programming that advances vision and mission;

• Fostering and maintaining relationships with partner agencies, local government, educational and community organizations, and relevant partners that advance the mission of YRM;

• Maintaining a positive and strong organizational culture that prioritizes young people and helps attract and retain creative, competent, and committed staff;

• Working in partnership with the board of directors to address critical organizational needs and strategic priorities;

• Fundraising, including cultivating individual donors, obtaining support from foundations, and grant writing;

• Managing the organization’s finances and ensuring the organization maintains sound business practices and legal compliance

To Apply:

Submit a cover letter and resume, including employment history, professional qualifications, professional memberships, salary requirements, and references to Fahd Vahidy at yrmedsearch@gmail.com with Executive Director of Youth Rights Media in the subject heading or by mail to:

Youth Rights Media

c/o Public Allies CT

85 Willow Street, Building A, Suite 2-3

New Haven, CT 06511

Applications must be submitted by April 23, 2010.

Youth Rights Media is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate against any individual on account of that individual's sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran, or national or ethnic origin; nor does Youth Rights Media discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

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It has happen too many of us, you have a document -- picture(s) or a spreadsheet you would like to share over email and come to find out that the file(s) are too big and can not be emailed or they can not be downloading because of the size of the file(s).

Two solutions:

http://www.yousendit.com/ - Send, receive & track files up to 2GigaBytes

http://docs.google.com allows you to share documents; they can be viewed and edited without downloading them. Documents can be made open to the world or just viewed by people you select.

Resources contribute by Christina Ciociola and Tricia Caldwell of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

If you have a resource that you have found helpful post it. If enough people are interested we can start a group or a discussion just for useful resources for non-profits. Just let us know what YOU can contribute and what YOU need.

It sounds corny but it is true: there is a U in GNH CommUnity.

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My day job at CAHS is doing SNAP outreach in the GNH area. Part of what we do is hosting a quarterly meeting with DSS to get policy updates and talk with them about things are working (or not working).

Do you want to know what is going on? Have questions or complaints for DSS? Come to the next meeting! The good people at Junta are hosting us this time - we promise to have some pizza. Please RSVP here - or e-mail me any questions and/or complaints you want me to bring to the table.
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What is Google Fiber?
It is an project by Google that will make Internet access better and faster. You will have broadband internet at home and at work 100 times faster then what is available today. This will be done in an open network at competitive prices.
Why important to you?
Faster internet speed will increase your organization's productivity.
Lightning fast speed will make your organization more attractive to talent and customers.
If selected you will be among the first with access to the next generation of online applications from Google, these web applications would be impossible on today's infrastructure.

Why important to New Haven?
National recognition and association with Google Brand. This will establish New Haven's reputation as a destination for entrepreneurs, investors, and new businesses.
Puts in place the next generation infrastructure needed attract and support web companies; therefore bring new money and talent to the area.

What do we want you to do?
Part of the decision making process at Google is based on community support.
Have an authorized representative fill out this form demonstrating your organizations support for this initiative. Be sure to include who your constituents are and how it will be beneficial. (need a free Google Account to fill this out)https://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/user/launch_exhibit_b
Email to your constituents, staff, friends, customers this simple form that demonstrates individual support for this project athttp://www.highspeednewhaven.com

The due date for submissions is March 26.

We need your support. Thank You.
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A 90-Minute Audio Conference Scheduled for:

March 18, 2010, 2:00 - 3:30PM Eastern
http://www.professionaldevelopmentuniversity.com/product.sc?productId=116&categoryId=-1?sourceCode=HRTCTR

Options:

Audio Conference Only: $199.00
Audio Conference CD Only: $199.00
Audio Conference + CD: $289.00

Register or Learn More: http://www.professionaldevelopmentuniversity.com/product.sc?productId=116&categoryId=-1?sourceCode=HRTCTR

Call 1-877-535-2687

Even if your organization is fully staffed today, it's essential to consider what your staffing needs are likely to be in the future - particularly in terms of leadership.

But without a crystal ball, how do you look within your ranks to identify those individuals with the potential to lead, and provide them with opportunities to develop the leadership skills that will enable them to step into positions of increasing responsibility as they become available?

Learning Objectives:

This audio conference will help you to identify the traits that indicate that whetehr leadership may or may not be the right choice for a particular individual.

You'll also learn why and how to involve current management in this important long term staffing planning process and start laying the groundwork for creating a formal leadership development program in your organization.

By attending, you will be able to:

- Explain why succession planning is essential to any comprehensive staffing plan.
- Recognize the most desirable traits in leaders as well as the traits that should not be present in leaders, and will learn how to use this knowledge to identify employees with the potential to step up to leadership roles.
- Convey to current managers the importance of the role they play in (a) identifying future leaders and (b) setting an appropriate examples for the organization's future generation of leaders.
- Describe the benefits of establishing a formal mentoring and training program for developing future leaders.

Presented by:

Mary G. White, M.A., SPHR, is co-founder and managing director of MTI Business Solutions, where she oversees the organization's corporate training and Human Resources consulting functions.

Why a PDU Audio Conference Is Right For You:

- Fast, convenient learning without any out-of-office time lost.
- No travel-related expenses or complications.
- The perfect way to train as many employees as you like.
- 100% Guarantee: If you are dissatisfied, you are entitled to a complete refund.

Product Options:

Audio Conference Only: $199.00
Audio Conference CD Only: $199.00
Audio Conference + CD: $289.00

Register or Learn More: http://www.professionaldevelopmentuniversity.com/product.sc?productId=116&categoryId=-1?sourceCode=HRTCTR


2807 North Parham Road, Suite 200, Richmond, VA 23294

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UWGNH Furniture Donations.xls

Greater New Haven Nonprofits-

In two weeks, United Way of Greater New Haven will be relocating to its new 900 Chapel Street, 10th floor office. As a result of our move, we are able to offer area nonprofits an assortment of gently used office furniture at no cost to them.

Available items include U, L, regular and table desks; credenzas; coffee, end, meeting and folding tables; wood and metal file cabinets; assorted chairs; AV equipment; white/corkboards; a small TV; and other miscellaneous office furniture and supplies. Attached is a complete itemized list of the items available. If your organization is interested in claiming an item for your use please attend our “Furniture Tagging” Party on Friday, March 19th from 11am-3pm at our 71 Orange Street offices. (Furniture will be donated to nonprofits on a “first come, first serve” basis.) All furniture must be picked up on Friday, March 26th from 9am-2pm (at the cost of your organization).

Contact Jan McCray with questions regarding this event.

Please feel free to share this announcement with your contacts.

Jan McCray

Community Impact Associate

United Way of Greater New Haven

71 Orange Street

New Haven, CT 06510

(203)772-2010x216

Direct Dial: (203)691-4216

Fax: (203)789-8167

jmccray@uwgnh.org

GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER.

LIVE UNITED

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'Take 10' Challenge CENSUS 2010


"Take 10 Minutes" to complete and mail back the 2010 Census Forms. Partners are asked to motivate your constituents, clients and customers to do just that. Your support of the 2010 Census is instrumental in inspiring people to fill out and mail back their census forms in a timely manner.

Here is THE TOOL to motivate your constituents an interactive, map-based, http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/

"Take 10" Web site that allows local areas to track and compare their 2010 Census mail back participation rates, which will be updated on a daily basis at http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/, and to look up their 2000 Census participation rates.

THANK YOU FOR PARTNERING WITH THE CENSUS BUREAU.

TOGETHER WE CAN INSPIRE EVERYONE TO "TAKE 10" FOR AN ACCURATE 2010 CENSUS.

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The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (The Foundation) is launching a multi-pronged, multi-year initiative designed to enhance levels of student achievement in the New Haven Public Schools. The Foundation is seeking to hire an individual with the knowledge, experience, leadership potential and skills to conceive, design, implement and lead this initiative.

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, founded in 1928, is the charitable endowment for a twenty-town region in South Central Connecticut. Governed by a board of eleven community leaders, The Foundation is comprised of more than 700 separate philanthropic funds and manages total philanthropic assets of almost $290 million as of the end of 2009. The Foundation is the region’s largest grantmaker, making approximately $14 million in grants in 2009. The Foundation raises substantial new philanthropic resources each year as well, with new gifts to The Foundation averaging almost $10 million annually over the last five years.

Given The Foundation’s size, scope and deep long-standing relationships in the region’s philanthropic and non-profit communities, The Foundation has a long track record of leadership on important community issues. In 2009, The Foundation decided that it would focus significant effort, resources and attention in the coming years on enhancing student achievement in the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) through a new initiative (the Student Achievement Initiative). This decision was made in the context of the public commitment of the City of New Haven in 2009 to undertake its own comprehensive school reform initiative designed to achieve exponential progress in closing within five years the achievement gap between the academic performance of students in NHPS and the academic performance of students in Connecticut generally. The Foundation’s Student Achievement Initiative will be designed to be aligned with, supportive of and at the same time independent of school reform as it is taking place within NHPS.

The Student Achievement Initiative will encompass a comprehensive set of inter-related activities that will go far beyond The Foundation’s traditional education grantmaking. At the center of the Student Achievement Initiative will be a dedicated Foundation intervention strategy designed to achieve specific defined goals over a period of five years related to enhancing student achievement in NHPS. This strategy will have its own budget ($250,000 has been budgeted in 2010 for the first year of this strategy, which does not include funds budgeted for the director of the Student Achievement Initiative). The director of the Student Achievement Initiative will take the lead role in defining this strategy, including its long-term and annual goals, and in defining how it will be pursued. While no direction has yet been established, examples that have been mentioned as areas in which The Foundation might undertake this dedicated strategy include enhancing teacher quality, strengthening school administration through training of principals, and encouraging parental engagement in school reform.

Other elements of the Student Achievement Initiative will include:

· Grantmaking. Starting in 2010, The Foundation intends to undertake a dedicated competitive process to provide responsive grants to non-profits that are providing services that will enhance student achievement in NHPS (funding for these grants is over and above the budget for The Foundation’s dedicated strategy mentioned above). The Foundation expects to work with NHPS and the United Way of Greater New Haven regarding these grants. The director of the Student Achievement Initiative will work closely with The Foundation’s grantmaking staff in this process.

· Development. The Foundation will make a priority of raising funds for the Student Achievement Initiative. This will involve extensive work with corporate and institutional funders and with individual donors. In addition, The Foundation expects to play the role as needed of intermediary for governmental and private philanthropic grants to support elements of NHPS school reform. The director will work closely with The Foundation’s development and donor services staff in this work.

· Community Knowledge and Accountability. The Foundation, through its participation on the Regional Leadership Council, is involved in discussions with local private sector leaders as to establishment of an accountability mechanism that will be designed to track the progress of and keep the community’s leadership informed about the status of NHPS school reform. The director of the Student Achievement Initiative will work closely with the President of The Foundation in this work. In addition, the director will work closely with The Foundation’s communications staff and community knowledge staff on developing our strategy for keeping the broader community informed as to The Foundation’s Student Achievement Initiative.

· New Haven Promise. Building on The Foundation’s long-standing leadership in raising funds for and in administering local scholarships, The Foundation is likely to be the administrative home of New Haven Promise, which will be a comprehensive financial assistance program for higher education for graduates of NHPS. The Foundation will work closely with Yale and with the City of New Haven on New Haven Promise. While it is not yet clear how the Foundation’s work with respect to New Haven Promise will be staffed, the director of the Student Achievement Initiative will work with New Haven Promise staff as appropriate.

The Foundation is establishing a Student Achievement Task Force to guide, shape and oversee the Student Achievement Initiative and to act as the interface with The Foundation’s board on these matters. The task force will consist of Foundation board members as well as non-board members who have significant and varied experience in K-12 education, in school reform and in related educational issues. The director of the Student Achievement Initiative will work closely with the task force.

The director of the Student Achievement Initiative will report to the President and CEO of The Foundation.

The director will have a minimum of 5 years of experience in urban public education or related urban policy work with a graduate degree in a relevant discipline being desirable but not required. It will be important that the director of the Student Achievement Initiative has the following skills, experience and attributes:

· Experience in successfully managing people and projects;

· Deep knowledge of school reform best practices;

· Experience in translating programmatic goals into powerful and persuasive presentations to potential funders and partners;

· Experience in and commitment to working to address the challenges of inner-city communities;

· Creativity and experience in designing and implementing social change activities;

· A collaborative working style and experience working in situations demanding complex coalition-building; and

· The political savvy, stature and self-confidence to interact with the public and private sector leadership of Greater New Haven.

Inquiries with respect to this opportunity should be directed to:

Leon J. Bailey

Vice President, Human Resources

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

70 Audubon Street

New Haven, CT 06510

203-777-7094

lbailey@cfgnh.org

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