Attention Community Leaders!

Register now for the next Neighborhood Leadership Program Orientation session on Monday December 7th!

The Neighborhood Leadership Program is an eight month training and grant program that supports community leaders in imagining, developing, testing and realizing projects which build community and provide positive outcomes in New Haven neighborhoods and contiguous towns. Join us to learn more!

December 7, 2015

5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

Community Meeting Rm, 3rd Floor

70 Audubon Street, New Haven CT

Directions

Light dinner will be served.

If you are a resident of New Haven (or contiguous towns) who has demonstrated commitment to making a positive difference through resident engagement, and if you are eager to build skills, develop your capacity to increase your impact, and engage with other leaders in learning, practice, and project execution, you should apply to this program.

Click here for additional details about the eligibility criteria for participation in this program.

Please Register by December 5, 2015
  

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Lee Cruz at lcruz@cfgnh.org or call 203-777-7074.

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.

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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.

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"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.

THE "B" FOUNDATION

Now accepting grant applications from Internal Revenue

Service qualified 501 (C) (3) organizations which seek

assistance consistent with the goals of the "B" Foundation

to help feed, care, or educate society.  The grants will

range from $1,000 to $10,000 and will be awarded by the

end of the calendar year.

Please submit your written requests only by

November 29, 2015 to:

The "B" Foundation

P.O. Box 5073

Attn: Elad

Woodbridge, CT 06525

~~Cheers To All~~

We are moving into the time of year where we all count our blessings and are very grateful for many, many things. I would to point out another walk -

 The Walk for PKD

For

2016

PKD is Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) — one of the most common, life-threatening genetic diseases — strikes both adults and children. It often leads to the need for dialysis and a kidney transplant. It affects thousands in America and millions worldwide, who are in urgent need of treatments and a cure.

(Taken from the website)

PKD Foundation is striving for make their goal for this year...but there is a walk each year and if so inclined all the information is on their website. It is really a disease which needs all the help it can get to find some kind of a cure. And any type of help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you for your time in this matter and Happy Thanksgiving To All. 

All the best,

Patricia Illingworth

Grove Street Cemetery

In a little town south of Atlantic City there sits a six-story elephant Lucy is a National Historic Site (built in 1881) and she is in a bit of disrepair needing attention. But wait! PETA will help. PETA (the anti-cruelty-to-animals folks) has offered to throw-in some cash if they can also highlight, using Lucy, the plight of circus animals.

The Board of the organization that owns and is committed to the preservation of Lucy has however rejected PETA's offer saying that anything that might make the Lucy experience less than a happy experience is not acceptable. While the PETA money would certainly help the board address its duty of care needs, the board's perceived duty of obedience (to remain faithful to and pursue the goals of the organization and in particular, honor donor requests) would be violated.

This is a great lesson for nonprofit boards. There are those times when challenges may appear too great to handle while at the same time, not every resolutions is acceptable. Of course these situations may be as much about perception as reality. It's is Lucy's board that perceives PETA's offer "tainted" while we must recognize that PETA saw their offer as an opportunity to pursue their own mission. Of course the same might be said of the many institutions that accepted Coca-Cola money to do nutritional research and education. What is perceived as tainted and outside the box of "obedience" may not actually be.

Here's the NJ.com article.

By Don E. Woods | For NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on October 12, 2015 at 1:47 PM, updated October 12, 2015 at 3:04 PM

MARGATE — Jersey Shore landmark Lucy the Elephant may have painted toenails but she won't be getting a tattoo anytime soon.

The tattoo was one of the conditions set by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to donate money for Lucy the Elephant restoration efforts. The conditions were too depressing to consider, according to Lucy officials.

PETA requested that Lucy be fitted with a foam shackle, a teardrop tattoo and a banner promoting awareness of circus elephant abuse, according to an announcement by the Lucy Board of Trustees.

"Lucy is a happy place," said Richard Helfant, CEO of the Lucy the Elephant Team, in the annoucement. "We must always insure that children who visit Lucy have a happy experience and leave with smiles on their faces. Anything that could sadden a child is not acceptable here at Lucy."

PETA offered a $2,000 donation for restoration efforts last week.

"Cruelty to animals is abhorrent, but given the divisive nature of some of PETA's campaigns, Lucy is much better off seeking 'no strings attached' donations," said Robert McGuigan, board member on the Save Lucy Committee, in the announcement.

Lucy is a 65-foot-tall wooden elephant in Margate. She was built in 1881 to attract people to Absecon Island to buy real estate. She was named a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

The Save Lucy Committee is raising money to fix railings on the top riding carriage, fix rust on her hide and repaint the elephant.

Restoration is estimated to cost $58,000.

Need funding for your environmental project or environmental organization?

The Greater New Haven Green Fund -- a small foundation that funds environmentally beneficial projects in the municipalities of New Haven, East Haven, Hamden, and Woodbridge -- solicits small and large grant applications once a year. Funding up to $10,000 is available. This year, grant applications are due on Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 6:00 PM. An electronic version of the Cover Letter, Application, Budget, and Attachments should be sent to grants@gnhgreenfund.org. Grant awards will be announced around February 2016.

See www.gnhgreenfund.org for more info.

The job opening for the newly-created New Haven Food System Policy Director has been posted.  

A detailed job description is available here. 
Submissions should be emailed to NHJobs@newhavenct.gov with the position title included in the subject line, and should include an application, which can be downloaded from cityofnewhaven.com/HumanResources. 
Submissions must be received by the posted deadline date of Friday, November 20, 2015, 5pm.  
General information on the application/testing process can be reviewed at

Thank you to the 100 plus individuals who braved the cold and wet weather to participate in the 5th Annual Walk Against Domestic Violence held on Saturday October 3 at East Rock Park.  

Why do we walk...Because every 9 seconds a woman in the US is assaulted or beaten. We walk because studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence. We walk because Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women. We walk to show our support.

Cheers to One and All,

Well, this is the "season of the witch" as the song goes.....but I am writing to give a brief notation on Ghost Stories from the Victorian Age.

Actually, Charles Dickens, (who visited New Haven several times) was the master of the ghost story. From his own periodical paper "Household Words" taken from Shakespeare's Henry V  "Familiar in his mouth as household words." he developed the interest in ghost stories. As a matter of interest, ghost stories were told at Christmas time, not at Halloween. And this type of story telling had a huge presence in the English home and a very powerful influence and effect upon reading and the interest for reading in Victorian England.

What is interesting to note is women loved to read and write about ghost stores. These various tales brought excitement into their dull lives. The stories were full of detail into another woman's home and her influence upon her family through the tragedy of the tale.

Where we see an explosion of this genre in 1860. One so noted female writer was Mary Elizabeth Braddon and her tale entitled "Eveline's Visitant" published in the Belgravia from 1866 to 1867.  Other famous women writer from this era are: Amelia Edwards, Mrs. Riddel, Rhoda Broughton dating from 1860 through the 1870's to name a few.

And ghost stories have vigorously continued on through the 19th century with great zeal and so continues today with as much, or even more zeal for the macabre for some.

Well, Happy Halloween to All!!!!!!

Al the best,

Patricia Illingworth

Grove Street Cemetery 

On one of the first days of class at Dos Puentes Elementary School in Upper Manhattan last month, a new student named Michelle peered up through pale blue glasses and took a deep breath.

“Can I drink water?” Michelle, 6, said.

“Diga en Español,” her first-grade teacher, Rebeca Madrigal, answered.

Michelle paused.

“Can I drink agua?” she replied.

It was a start...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/nyregion/dual-language-programs-are-on-the-rise-even-for-native-english-speakers.html?_r=1#story-continues-1

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the region's largest grantmaker and permanent charitable endowment, is seeking a qualified candidate for an entry level administrative assistant position in the Development, Stewardship, Donor Services and Communications (DSDSC) Department.   

Development Associate

Position Summary:
This position supports several development, donor service and communications processes, as well as other responsibilities as assigned. 

Core Responsibilities:

• The DA will be part of, and support, a team of DSDSC professionals in the execution of department goals

• The DA will provide service to multiple audiences of The Community Foundation and communicate through various methods, including phone, email and written communications

• The DA will support internal and external meetings and events, including scheduling, attending, providing logistics, managing reservations and recording, as required

• The DA will use state of the art technologies, including data entry into The Community Foundation’s relational database, FIMS

• The DA will be called upon for collaboration with all Foundation staff members

• The DA will support the reception area accountabilities, as needed

• The DA will be assigned special projects

• The DA will provide administrative duties, as needed

The Ideal Candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Demonstrated administrative and data entry skills and highly skilled in technology and office software including:  Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel

• College degree preferred

• Some experience organizing and operating efficient office processes and procedures

• Demonstrated experience working in a fast-paced environment, with high customer service expectations and with diverse populations

• Individual should be self-directed and a team player

• Attention to detail, ability to track schedules, organize meetings, generate reports and produce presentations

• Demonstrated ability to direct and participate in teams

• A commitment to an inclusive environment

• Excellent written and oral communication skills

• Superior organizational skills and eagerness to multitask

Please submit a letter of interest and résumé to Ms. Ellen Perrotti ateperrotti@cfgnh.org. No phone calls will be accepted.

Application deadline is October 23, 2015.  

The Community Foundation’s mission is to create positive and sustainable change in Greater New Haven by increasing the amount of and enhancing the impact of community philanthropy. 

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is an equal opportunity employer.

While there is no specific reference to governance in the following Philadelphia Inquirer article, I pose that the article is very much about nonprofit governance.  The topic: what to do when your whole sector is flailing.  The sector: volunteer ambulance services.  The issues are nicely summed-up as follows:

    Volunteers have dwindled as training costs and requirements have risen. The pay for professionals     lags, while calls have surged and stations fight to recoup insurance reimbursements. Mergers are up -     25 in Pennsylvania between 2008 and 2014, and four more this year. In New Jersey, 120 volunteer     ambulance companies have folded since the mid-1990s.

    If new business models aren't found, supporters say, more services could disappear, straining the     remaining ones and leaving some communities at risk.

    "The entire system is just about to collapse," said Scott Phelps, professor of ambulance science at the     Emergency Management Academy in New York. "There is not enough money to run the system the way     it operates."

Of course this set of variables could describe a number of sub-sectors within the nonprofit sector and the big issue: what steps should the nonprofit board take?  Of course the first step: recognize and acknowledge the problem.  Next: review the options and not singularly the short-term options but the long-term, multi-year options.  A good board takes these steps on a regular basis, every three-five years such that it can limit the surprises and be pro-active about its future.  Yes, the surprises may still arise, but good planning can reduce the impact.  

The following article also offers some of the range of options the ambulance folks have considered.  Nicely done piece.

 

Emergency: Volunteer ambulance corps fight for lives

 

MARI A. SCHAEFER, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

LAST UPDATED: Sunday, October 4, 2015, 1:09 AM

 

image: http://media.philly.com/designimages/partnerIcon-Inquirer-2014.jpg

 

Ruth von Minden's life revolves around family, church, and the Springfield Ambulance Corps.

At age 66, von Minden proudly shows off a "Dinosaur of EMS" T-shirt she wears under a comfortable blue long-sleeved overshirt. She started in the Delaware County community 41 years ago as a "swoop and scoop," when medics would grab the patient and rush to the hospital for any care, and through 4,000 runs, she's seen childbirths, deadly car crashes, heart attacks, and life-altering burns.

Now she's a veteran of the last all-volunteer ambulance company in Delaware County. Fewer stations than ever rely on volunteers such as von Minden.

For decades, volunteer ambulance companies were part of the fabric of community life. Generations of good Samaritans stepped up to donate their time, money, and skills to help their sick or injured neighbors. But the emergency-services landscape has changed, across the region and the country.

Volunteers have dwindled as training costs and requirements have risen. The pay for professionals lags, while calls have surged and stations fight to recoup insurance reimbursements. Mergers are up - 25 in Pennsylvania between 2008 and 2014, and four more this year. In New Jersey, 120 volunteer ambulance companies have folded since the mid-1990s.

If new business models aren't found, supporters say, more services could disappear, straining the remaining ones and leaving some communities at risk.

"The entire system is just about to collapse," said Scott Phelps, professor of ambulance science at the Emergency Management Academy in New York. "There is not enough money to run the system the way it operates."

In better times, the way it operated was simple: Often an outgrowth of local fire companies, ambulance corps relied largely on donations to train, equip and staff local paramedics and emergency medical techs. At any hour of the day or night, they dashed to reports of accidents, calamities, even heart attacks, to deliver immediate treatment or hospital transport.

Some were paid, but many - such as von Minden - were not.

These days, the data on volunteers is elusive; as the National Association of State EMS Officials points out, even the very definition of volunteerism is unclear.

But the signs of change are everywhere. On the outer edges of Chester County, two longtime corps merged. In Newtown Township, Delaware County, officials turned over their services to Riddle Hospital. On the Main Line, four fire and ambulance companies have allied with municipal officials to address money issues.

Eamon Brazunas, the Berwyn Fire Company chief, says that without a funding solution, the volunteer system will all but disappear in a decade.

"We can't just keep kicking the can down the road," he said.

Companies merging

The Elverson ambulance company had struggled financially. In 2009, it narrowly avoided bankruptcy. Twice in the last three years, it ran five-figure deficits.

So when another Chester County company - this one from Honey Brook Borough - approached it about a merger two years ago, Elverson jumped on board.

"It was the right thing to do," said Stephen Bobella, executive director of the Schuylkill Valley EMS and paramedic brought in to oversee the transition and manage the finances.

The new company will share about 60 paid and 10 volunteer members and cover 13 municipalities in Chester, Berks, and Lancaster Counties that pay $65,000 a year, combined.

Twenty years ago, 25 or so volunteers ran the ambulances. "It's been a gradual decline," said Joe Carmen, director of operations, echoing what's happened in other spots. Howard Meyer, president of the EMS Council of New Jersey, which represents about 80 percent of that state's volunteer squads, estimates it would take more than $500 million to replace the ones that have folded.

Pennsylvania officials have seen a decline in license applications for emergency medical responders and technicians, the lowest levels of medical workers in the field, according to the Department of Health.

One reason could be cost: The price tags - and total hours required for certifications or degrees - have increased dramatically since the days when only a basic first-aid class was required.

A 12-credit EMT certificate costs $3,000, and a 70-credit, six-semester associate of applied science degree to become a paramedic at Delaware County Community College, $7,500. Non-county residents pay more.

EMTs make between $16,000 and $19,000 a year; paramedics, who have higher certification, take in $25,000 to $33,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. To make ends meet at home, those incomes must be supplemented.

"Everyone works a part-time job," said Bill Downey, of the Marple Township Ambulance Corps.

Hospital alliance

Part of the funding quandary stems from a constant battle over insurance reimbursement, EMS supporters say. Often, insurance companies send payments directly to patients, who fail to pass them on to the ambulance crews that served them.

"Well over 30 percent" of the patients keep the funds, said State Rep. Bernie O'Neill (R., Bucks), who has sponsored a bill to force insurers to send reimbursements directly to ambulance companies.

Reimbursement was one of the issues that moved Newtown Township to take a second look at its emergency services this year. It had been budgeting $655,000 a year to maintain an ambulance and to contract with Riddle Hospital for staffing and a backup ambulance.

But given the cost, the reporting requirements, privacy regulations, and billing issues, township officials thought they might do better by getting out of the EMS business entirely.

"No one on staff is versed enough in the responsibilities of EMS," said Stephen Nease, the township manager.

So the township sought proposals in the winter, netting two bids. One, from the Volunteer Medical Service Corps in Narberth, offered to provide the service for $407,000. A second proposal, from Riddle Hospital, offered an ambulance and staff to take over billing and other services for the 12,300 residents in the 10-square-mile municipality.

It would cost the township about $50,000 - but the hospital sought to operate a resident-subscription service.

Nease had reservations about the idea of having residents - or anyone who needed an ambulance while in the township - pay a fee to a for-profit company to receive emergency services.

If they didn't subscribe, they could be billed by the hospital for the entire amount. An emergency-room trip could cost $1,500.

In the end, the supervisors voted to retain Riddle Hospital, which took over operations in August; however, a decision on subscription fees has been deferred, he said.

The township will still house the ambulance. The cost of the service is about $10,000 to cover fuel and housekeeping, Nease said.

"This is going to be a challenge for municipalities going forward," Nease said.

Narberth model

Amid the changes, some successful models have emerged. One is the 71-year-old Volunteer Medical Service Corps in Narberth, which has maintained a stream of paid staffers and volunteers.

The company now serves Lower Merion Township and Narberth, Conshohocken, and West Conshohocken Boroughs and responds to more than 6,000 calls a year.

With an annual budget of about $2.6 million, it employs a paid administrative staff of four that helps recoup more than $2 million in insurance claims. Fund-raising - including a subscription drive - and grants cover the rest of the expenses, along with $24,000 from Lower Merion, said Patrick Doyle, executive director.

"The success of this place, in a word, is the people," medical director Ben Usatch said. They "bleed maroon," the color of the corps, he said.

Usatch, who is also an emergency-room physician at Lankenau Hospital, is one of four doctors in the company who respond along with crews on certain calls. Narberth has about 92 active volunteers who work alongside 37 EMTs and paramedics.

A rigorous application and acceptance program ensures that new members are a good fit with the group, he said. Not everyone is accepted.

The equipment is state of the art, including seven ambulances, three command vehicles, and a large mobile bus and a smaller one for mass-casualty events. All have WiFi and act as mobile intensive-care units.

Inside the more than 10,000-square-foot, two-story station is a study room, pool table, full kitchen, workout rooms, and sleeping quarters for male and female volunteers and staff. In-house training is also a draw for members - many of whom go on to careers in the medical field, said Chief Christopher Flanagan.

"Training is absolutely a team effort," said Joe Sobol, 23, an EMT and nursing graduate of Villanova University, who during one recent session showed the crews how to properly deliver Narcan, an antidote used in heroin overdoses. "It is a great way to bring the squad together."

A last ride?

Von Minden knows the feeling. That closeness is what has kept her coming back to Springfield's volunteer crew for four decades, nearly all of them as a crew chief.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't have fun," she said.

When she started, the 50 or so men and women who volunteered all lived in the township and came from every walk of life; two-income households were the exception.

Volunteers would often congregate at one home with portable cribs and sleeping infants in tow, leaving behind a spouse to baby-sit as the others responded to calls.

Now they are dispatched from the same building that houses Springfield Fire Company 44 on Saxer Avenue.

The company has had its share of problems. In 2013, the township voiced concerns about whether volunteers could continue to maintain staffing levels needed and debated bringing in medics from Crozer Chester Medical Center during the day, said Kelly Sweeney, president. A big training push helped boost their numbers up to 92 volunteers, resulting in a new contract with the township, she said.

Over the years, von Minden has seen the transformations in the field - and in the volunteer community.

She remembers the tragic calls she'd prefer to forget, but smiles when she talks about the five babies she helped deliver and the time a former patient ran up to her in a parade and gave her a hug.

"It became a part of my life - every Saturday night was my night," von Minden said. "This place is a family."

A few years back, she renewed her EMT certification.

Probably, she said, for the last time.

New Haven, CT –Join us as a Walker or Volunteers on  October 3, 2015 for the 5^th Annual Walk Against Domestic Violence held at the East Rock Park Pavilion, New Haven,  CT.

Family Centered Services of CT will be hosting the 5^th Annual Walk Against Domestic Violence in East Rock Park in New Haven, CT.  Join over 200 people as we walk to support victims of Domestic Violence.  Volunteers are needed for all areas of the walk from registration to route marshal.  Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and opening ceremonies begin at 10:00 a.m. To volunteer contact: Family Centered Services of CT at 203-624-2600 or email info@familyct.org.

Family CT is committed to fostering hope and help to survivors of domestic abuse and empowering these individuals to heal and thrive.  Through the Walk, Family CT aims to raise awareness about domestic violence and to celebrate survivors.

For more information contact:  Susan D’Orvilliers at 203-624-2600 ext. 118.