Blogs

In light of the June 23rd decision of the US Supreme Court regarding immigration and Monday's rally in Hartford by members of the Connecticut Immigrant Rights Alliance, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven reaffirmed today its commitment to the work in support of immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, in Greater New Haven.

Immigrant integration is a major strategic priority of The Foundation. Through community partnerships, grantmaking and public education, The Foundation is ensuring that the community as a whole is more informed about the economic and cultural value of immigrants in our region and the unique barriers that undocumented immigrants face. It strives to create a more welcoming community in which immigrants are fully integrated members who are achieving greater civic and economic participation and success.

In addition, The Foundation is the convener of the statewide Immigration Strategic Funders Collaborative, a consortium of funders, service providers and advocacy organizations throughout Connecticut.

“Because we believe the current and future prosperity of our region is tightly linked to the success of immigrants, including those who may be undocumented, The Foundation will continue its work to support the families and individuals in our community and in Connecticut who would have benefited from the President’s executive actions,” says William W. Ginsberg, President & CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. “The need for immigrant families and children to have access to critical services continues and our work in support for them will continue, too."

The Immigrant Strategic Funders Collaborative of Connecticut was formed in 2015 in response to the Obama Administration’s 2014 immigration executive actions to enhance statewide efforts and local work to help Connecticut’s immigrant families. Its work is funded through the institutional grantmaking processes of the following: The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Fairfield County's Community Foundation, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Hispanic Federation, Perrin Family Foundation, and the Progreso Latino Fund (a committee-advised fund at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven). For more information about The Collaborative, visitwww.cfgnh.org/ISFCCT.org.

The Supreme Court ruling creates uncertainty for many immigrant families with strong ties to the region, says Sister Mary Ellen Burns, the executive director of  Apostle Immigrant Services, a service provider in the Collaborative. A couple, who visited her office last week, has lived in New Haven for more than a decade and would have qualified for protection under President Obama’s executive orders from 2014, Burns said.

“Their children are excellent students; one has a scholarship at a private college. They have a long history of employment. They are involved in their community and their church. And, by the way, they have learned English,” said Burns. “There was no way and there was never a way for them to have legal status. They didn’t cut in front of a line. There was no line. And it’s people like this who are reviving the business district in Fair Haven. They are keeping housing prices up. They pay taxes. This is just one story. I have dozens.”

Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven awarded over $24 million in grants and distributions in 2015 from an endowment of more than $500 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, visit www.cfgnh.org or follow The Foundation on Facebook (www.facebook.org/cfgnh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/cfgnh). 

- ### - 

Tricia Caldwell
tcaldwell@cfgnh.org
203-777-7090

Kitchen at CitySeed is open! It's great new resource for cooking classes, community events, food business incubation and more. Read all about it here.

Philanthropy has long played a major role in the search for cures to deadly and debilitating diseases.  From the dawn of modern medicine until World War II, philanthropists were the primary sources of funding for medical research. That role changed after the war, when science and technology became a national priority and the government began making massive investments in scientific and medical research.

For most of the past decade, however, the budget for the National Institutes of Health, the national funding source for medical research, has stagnated. While philanthropy cannot replace government funding, its importance has grown. From early stage research projects to efforts that turn basic findings into cures to studies that test whether treatments are effective, philanthropy plays a vital role in supporting the advancement of medicine. Read more here.

Talk about a life lesson in fulfilling one's duty of care AND addressing personal risks, the NC New Schools board is a case example that couldn't be better. Simple lessons: one of the first questions a nonprofit board member should ask: do you have Directors & Officer's Insurance? Another question each year: has our D&O Insurance been paid?

Of course, the board should have been asking a lot more questions to understand first, how the organization was doing that it was heading for bankruptcy and then, as bankruptcy was at the door, understanding "what next". And, as the News Observer article notes, the folks where served as board members should have known better.

High-profile New Schools’ board, officers unprotected after insurance policy goes unpaid

After NC New Schools files for bankruptcy, directors learn their insurance lapsed

Expert says extremely rare for nonprofits to lack directors and officers policy

CEO and other officers more exposed than board of directors

The officers of NC New Schools, including CEO Tony Habit, are more exposed to liability under state law than the board of directors, and an insurance policy that would have protected them against lawsuits or legal claims was allowed to lapse. Chris Seward cseward@newsobserver.com

BY JOSEPH NEFF

jneff@newsobserver.com

After the nonprofit NC New Schools suddenly collapsed in April, its high-profile board of directors learned that the unpleasant news went beyond a bankruptcy filing.

The board’s insurance policy had lapsed, leaving the directors unprotected against lawsuits or legal claims.
It is extremely unusual for nonprofits to lack directors and officers insurance, commonly known as D&O insurance, according to UNC law professor Thomas Hazen, an expert on nonprofits.

“My basic advice is never serve on a board that doesn’t have insurance,” Hazen said. “Not even a neighborhood association.”
The organization’s top officers were also left unprotected.

NC New Schools made North Carolina the nation’s leader in early colleges, which provide college-level classes for high school students. The organization won $11 million in grants from Bill and Melinda Gates, more than $35 million in federal grants and more from North Carolina’s biggest businesses.

In April, New Schools abruptly shut down, giving its 80 employees less than 24 hours notice that their jobs had evaporated. It filed for bankruptcy, showing debts of $1.5 million more than its assets.

Bankruptcy trustee J.P. Cournoyer said the $1 million D&O policy lapsed sometime in 2015.

The board of directors includes a group of heavy hitters. The chairman was Jeffrey Corbett, a senior Duke Energy executive. Others include former BlueCross BlueShield executive Bob Greczyn, former Wake County manager and state senator Richard Stevens, two senior executives at the pharmaceutical giant GSK and others.

Corbett did not return calls about the lack of insurance.

“It’s not what I expected,” said board member Burley Mitchell, a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court. “I guess there were a lot of things I didn’t know.”

Mitchell, who said he had little interaction with NC New Schools over the past three years, said state law protects nonprofit board members more than those who sit on the boards of for-profit corporations.

Hazen agreed, saying state law grants nonprofit board members almost complete immunity from liability. But directors would be liable for legal fees, which are typically covered by insurance.

The court-appointed bankruptcy trustee will investigate NC New Schools’ finances and can seek to recover funds disbursed by the organization.

The News & Observer has reported how chief executive officer Tony Habit knew at least as early as June 2015 that New Schools could face a $2.1 million deficit. In the months before the collapse, emails showed that Habit told his staff to delay the disbursement of federal funds in violation of federal regulations.

When the N&O asked Habit about the lapsed insurance policy, he replied by email, “It was not my decision.” He said another employee allowed it to lapse.

Habit then sent an email saying he had replied by mistake and asked the newspaper to delete his original email.

Hazen, the law professor, said it seemed strange that the insurance policy was allowed to lapse as financial difficulties loomed. Officers, such as Habit and his senior staff, are more exposed to liability under state law than the board of directors.

“The insurance is primarily there to protect him,” Hazen said.

Joseph Neff: 919-829-4516 , @josephcneff

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article85962707.html#storylink=cpy

The Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Obama Administration’s immigration executive actions that would have expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and created Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA). Despite this setback to immigration reform, we would like to highlight the work of an organization in Greater New Haven that creates a welcoming community: Apostle Immigrant Services.

In 1906, a small congregation of nuns from the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus left their home in Tuscany to perform missionary work in New Haven. The United States was in the midst of a great wave of European immigration, and the Sacred Heart sisters were called to help other newly arrived Italians in need. They took in orphans, taught sewing classes, provided religious instruction to children, and assisted new arrivals with the difficult transition of starting over in a strange place. Read more here.

Dance party at True Colors annual conference. Image Source: True Colors.

When a young person who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is rejected by family and friends, the toll can be devastating. Self-harm, drug abuse and homelessness become very real risks. For more than two decades, True Colors has supported LGBT youth to avoid such destructive outcomes.

"Things have come a long way in general, but it depends on who the kids are. The kids who have the support from their family and school do well. For the kids who are rejected, their entire world implodes,” said True Colors Executive Director Robin P. McHaelen. Read more here. 

In a Philadelphia Inquirer article, in a story about the purchase of Muhammad Ali's childhood/young adulthood home, the current owners stated:

The museum was not set up as a nonprofit. "I did not want anyone else to tell me how best to re-create the home or how to preserve Muhammad's most important legacy. This was to be the purest vision of the legacy of Muhammad Ali, without interference or baloney from committees," said Bochetto.

Neither he nor Weiss will get one red cent out of the project.

Bochetto serves (without pay) as managing director of the museum and has hired a program director, tour guides, and security. "My goal here is to get the entire setup to be self-sustaining in perpetuity and we will do this with ticket sales, gift-shop purchases, donations," said Bochetto, who's planning an annual black-tie dinner as a funding source. Admission prices are modest, $8 for adults, $5 for teens and seniors, children free.

Does this arrangement mean then that the basic governance difference between a for-profit "charity" and a nonprofit is that the former is owned and directed free and clear of community direction and the latter is directed by community members? Mr. Bochetto certainly appears to believe that a shared, community ownership can only mean he would not get his say about how Mr. Ali's legacy should be represented.

Too bad (although it doesn't seem to matter) in exchange for no shared governance, Mr. Bochetto must bear the possible tax burdens! There is no Lc3 tax structure in Kentucky to provide all the tax benefits of a nonprofit but the governance of an LLC. Oh well.

All Our Kin in New Haven seeks a bilingual (Spanish-English) Economic Development Consultant to support family child care providers in planning and running sustainable and profitable small child care businesses. We are searching for an enthusiastic team player who is looking to make a difference and is excited about being a part of a high-impact, growing and dynamic non-profit organization

All%20Our%20Kin%20Economic%20Development%20Consultant%202016.pdf

Band%20Practice%20with%20Glenn%20Miller%2006052016%20PBI.docx

Dear Friends,

Well, the baseball season is underway like it has been since C1850's. It was coined as the "national pastime" or the "national game." There were baseball players from all over the States. Since 1895 until approx. 1910 there were board games and we find "trading cards" to be found in cigarettes packs. The first fully professional baseball club formed was in 1869 - "The Cincinnati Red Stockings:. A quick history.....

In Grove Street, we have a wonderful memorial stone given to the cemetery by the Cofrancesco family to honor Mr. Miller his music and his giving to the US Military Troupes during World War  II. However, you ask and what does baseball have to do with that monumental musician from the 20th century. Well - I am attaching a file about a great story about Glenn, baseball and New Haven.

Please enjoy the story and then come for a visit to the cemetery to enjoy our summer garden.

Thank you......Happy Summer

Patricia Illingworth

CVLC seeks applicants to direct its development and communications work. This position requires a range of skills including:

• grant identification, writing, editing and reporting
• event management including sponsorship solicitation, event planning and execution
• overseeing external marketing communications such as email  and print newsletters, media and news pieces and annual report
• managing volunteers, interns and the Board of Directors in development and communications activities
• donor stewardship through public recognition and personal relationships
• attending and representing CVLC at conferences and events

This is a full time position that offers an ambitious applicant the opportunity to take on significant leadership and management responsibility in a dynamic and growing organization. Salary is based on experience and is commensurate with other non-profit development positions. Benefits include health insurance, generous paid vacation and sick leave, and a family-friendly work place. This position reports to and works closely with CVLC’s Executive Director.

For a full job description and directions on how to apply, please visit the idealist posting: http://www.idealist.org/step/discover/share/jr/view/job/zHkGJtB2SBJd/