Makayla is a shy, sweet two year old who loves to learn. “She likes to play tea party and read books,” her mother Katina tells me. “She’ll copy anything you say.” A few months ago, Katina and Makayla’s father Jeremy contacted All Our Kin about enrolling her in an Early Head Start (EHS) program. Katina had been staying home with her daughter for the first few years of her life, but now she wanted to go back to school. Were there any open spots for Makayla?

A grandmother’s legacy

Although it was Makayla’s first time enrolling in a child care program and she doesn’t have any older siblings, her parents Katina and Jeremy were already familiar with All Our Kin’s work. Jeremy’s mother Elizabeth Fain had been a beloved family child care provider in All Our Kin’s network until her death in 2013 after a long battle with cancer. Ms. Fain participated in All Our Kin’s associate credential classes and the New Teacher Mentor program, and when our Early Head Start program got off the ground, she was one of the first providers to apply. “Even though she knew that Early Head Start had high standards and required a big commitment, she was determined to give kids the best start possible,” said Paula, All Our Kin’s senior educational consultant. “She worked tirelessly; she always went the extra mile.”

Ms. Fain was a source of wisdom and guidance for many in her community. Other providers looked to her for advice on running their own child care programs, and parents relied on her whenever they had questions about their children’s health and development. “We all admired her completely at All Our Kin,” Paula told me. “She taught the kids in her program to be good listeners, respectful, ready for school. She was a kind, wonderful person.”

To continue reading, click here.

Good Day To All!!!!!

Just a quick reminder - the cemetery in the autumn is just a splendor to view. To take a lovely stroll around and breath in the fresh cool breezes and admiring the array of colors is just wonderful.

Public Tours will still be given until the end of November - if you would like a private tour please call me at 203.389.5303 or email at p.b.i.newhaven@att.net.

All the very best,

Patricia Illingworth

Chief Docent 

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has introduced to the ALS board a challenge: more money that it dreamed of. Now, the board must, in accordance with its fiduciary duty of care, determine by policy or strategy, what it must do with its newfound wealth.

I believe that the Wall Street Journal did a fine job describing the choices unexpected prosperity introduces.

As far as challenges go, too much cash is a good one to have. But small organizations that land big money face a host of pitfalls, say charity watchdogs and management researchers. Those who ramp up hiring too quickly or spend the new funds without a clear strategy can risk their long-term financial health. And a rush of capital brings new stakeholders and higher scrutiny, ratcheting up expectations and putting a premium on communication and transparency. That is especially true when negative news can travel just as fast as ice-bucket challenges.

In August, Facebook FB -0.13% feeds were filled with people dumping buckets of ice water over their heads, and challenging others to do the same, or else donate to an ALS charity. Many people did both. The level of participation in the Ice Bucket Challenge has been staggering to charity watchers, not least the ALS Association itself, which didn't originate the challenge, but was the chief beneficiary of its popularity.

"It just became craziness. Good craziness, but craziness," said Barbara Newhouse, president and chief executive of the ALS Association since June, of the flood of financing. Revenues last fiscal year for the ALS Association's national office and its 38 affiliated chapters around the country were $64 million, far less than this summer's haul.

Such a large influx of cash can easily overwhelm an organization, said Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, which rates charities on their financial health, accountability and transparency. The jump in wealth often casts a brighter spotlight on the organization and tests the experience of the management, he said.

It can also bring conflicting opinions about how to spend it. Poetry Magazine in 2002 received some $200 million from an heiress to the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical fortune. At the time the literary magazine had an annual budget of less than $500,000. Several years after the gift, the Poetry Foundation, which was set up to help manage the donation, faced board discord over the future of the organization, such as investment in a new website, with several trustees resigning.

Today the foundation has an annual operating budget of more than $9 million and the group's $21.5 million new headquarters opened in Chicago in 2011. Caren Skoulas, its chief financial officer, said that the group's board and staff have been committed to using the gift to bringing poetry to a wide audience, including a website that now reaches 36 million visitors a year.

Management experts recommend taking time to create a strategic plan before rushing into spending or hiring, especially for groups that don't face the urgent time clock of a disaster-relief charity.

The ALS Association's goal is to spend the money carefully, not just quickly. "The possibility of spending $100 million by end of January [the firm's end of fiscal year] is slim to none," said Carrie Munk, the group's chief communications and marketing officer.

Because the annual budget, which includes staffing, requires approval from the group's 23-member board, the ALS Association has relied on a handful of temps and a crew of volunteers from a senior center to help handle call volume and donations. Some of the nonprofit's 54 staffers have been pulling 14-hour days and working on weekends, according to Ms. Munk and Ms. Newhouse, who count themselves among those ranks.

Even before the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral, the association's board had planned to meet in Denver in October to plan for next fiscal year. But given the extra work the group now faces allocating the funds, it set up an extra teleconference on Monday to get a head start formulating a plan. Out of last year's budget, 32% went to education and public policy, 28% to research, 19% to patient services and 21% to fundraising and administration, a breakdown lauded by charity watchdog groups.

Meanwhile, it is important to let donors know what's going on, said Thad Calabrese, assistant professor of public and nonprofit financial management at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Press releases and direct outreach will help maintain ties with contributors and spur them to keep giving, he said.

Once the ice-bucket effort started picking up steam, the group very quickly created an ice-bucket information site on its main website, with lots of details and press releases. It also deployed its social-media manager to help defuse false information about its operations on Facebook and other sites, since there were various rumors circulating around about the group's operations.

Many donors were outraged after the Sept. 11 attacks, when the American Red Cross received over a billion dollars in donations for immediate disaster relief but diverted some funds for future reserves and other operational needs.

A Red Cross representative said all of the 9/11 funds have been spent, including $700 million in the first year, and provided relief to more than 59,000 families. The group now is rated highly by Charity Navigator on "accountability and transparency."

Lessons to be remembered if your nonprofit board is so challenged.

I frequently hear nonprofit board members express their frustration about their inability to attract new and maybe even different kinds of prospects to become board members. True, they may not actually have a recruitment plan and they don't have a governance committee whose job it might be to think very intentionally about what needs the board has and where individuals might be identified and wooed to joing and they may not even have opportunities for prospective board members to lend their skills and acquire an interest in being a board member (like working on a task force or volunteering) but all of these "lacks" doesn't mean the frustration isn't real.

Businesses apparently have their own challenges in recruiting new and younger talent (and I think "talent" is a good word to describe what nonprofit boards might be looking for) that's. A September 2, 2104 Wall Street Journal article indicated that some businesses are using charitable programs as recruitment tools. With millenials (1980-1995) as the target, the Journal states:

CFOs are finding that giving away money, time and products to charitable causes is a good way to attract young talent. Charitable programs, they say, can help lure job candidates away from high-tech startups with potentially lucrative stock options, and other socially minded entrepreneurs. At the same time, millennial workers and social media are forcing companies to rethink how and what they donate.

The shift in millennial thinking accelerated during the financial crisis. Companies fired thousands of workers and did meager college recruiting, which pushed many graduates to become entrepreneurs. Though the economy has recovered, that trend hasn’t reversed, according to Fiona Murray, associate dean at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Innovation Initiative.

“It challenges employers. When they recruit they have to have a very different message for our students,” Ms. Murray said.“We now see the world’s problems up close. There is a sense of impatience and a sense that we have a lot of tools at our disposal—not just software, but also hardware and access to funding through crowdfunding. They will build their own organization or work for an operation that is impacting the world.

Philanthropy is important to many nonmillennials too. Carolynne Borders, 43, said her desire to help underserved communities was “a big factor” in her decision almost two years ago to join Henry Schein Inc., a health-care and dental products and services company, which donates $10 million a year in cash, products and services.

The takeaway? Nonprofit boards that truly seek to attract "new and different" individuals to their boards to help ensure mission is accomplished, should first be clear about exactly what its needs are and equally important, utilize the basic marketing principle: know what your prospect wants and needs and offer that to them. Additionally, as this article suggests but does not specify, board service could well be the opportunity where corporate employees can gain experience, make a contribution of their time and energy and knowledge, and link a business closer to that nonprofit: win, win, win.

Milton Fisher Scholarship for Innovation and Creativity Awarded to 7 Students for Projects Involving Science, Health, Education, the Arts, and Social Action; 

Honorable Mention to 8

Next Deadline for Applications April 30, 2015

New Haven, CT (September 4, 2014)- The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the region’s largest grantmaker and charitable endowment, announces the winners of the Milton Fisher Scholarship for Innovation and Creativity.

A total of $84,000 in college scholarships (payable over four years of college) was awarded this year to six high school students and one college freshman who came up with distinctive solutions faced by their schools, their communities and the world. In addition a total of $4,000 was awarded to six high school students and two college freshmen receiving honorable mentions.  

A large number of extraordinary applications were received this year. While each application submitted for consideration highlighted a creative project, scholarships were awarded to the candidates who demonstrated the greatest innovation and whose projects had the greatest potential impact.  

The winners and honorable mentions were recognized for projects involving science, the arts and social action. All completed (or are currently enrolled in) high school in Connecticut or the New York metropolitan area or will be attending (or are currently attending) a college in Connecticut or the New York metropolitan area. 

The Milton Fisher Scholarship for Innovation and Creativity was established in 2003 at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven by the Reneé B. Fisher Foundation. This scholarship is not a traditional scholarship focused on rewarding academic achievement. Its specific goal is to reward and encourage innovative and creative problem solving. Financial need does not affect the judges’ decision about winning projects, but it does determine the amount of funds the winners of the four-year scholarship receive each year. High school juniors and seniors and college freshmen from Connecticut and the New York metropolitan area are eligible to apply, along with students from elsewhere who plan to attend colleges in the New York metropolitan area or Connecticut. The application deadline for 2015 is April 30th.

Applications and a complete of set of guidelines are available at www.rbffoundation.org. Applicants may apply online, but transcripts and letters of recommendation should be submitted in hard copy.  Further information about applying may be obtained by calling Jermell Knotts, Administrative Associate at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven at 203-777-7084.

Milton Fisher, born and educated in New York City, was a Connecticut resident from 1960 until his death in 2001. He was an attorney and an investment banker who also taught a unique course for adults called "Applied Creativity" for over 25 years. His deep interest in the roots of creativity, and the many the exercises he developed to help people become more innovative and creative in their lives also led him to write the book Intuition: How to Use it in your Life, which has been translated into several languages. Fisher also served on the boards of several public companies and wrote two books about Wall Street. 

Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven awarded $21 million in grants and distributions in 2013 from an endowment of approximately $430 million and comprising hundreds of individually named funds. In addition to its grant-making, The Community Foundation helps build a stronger community by taking measures to improve student achievement, reduce New Haven’s infant mortality rate, promote local philanthropy through www.giveGreater.org^® and encourage community awareness at www.cfgnh.org/learn. 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. 

2014 Winners

Paige Alenick (Woodcliff Lake, NJ): Aware of the fact that poor oral health leads to a range of serious medical problems that negatively impact the lives of more people around the world than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined, Paige created an organization to address this problem one toothbrush at a time. “Donate-a-Toothbrush” has collected donations of over 101,000 new toothbrushes from individuals and manufacturers that have been distributed by an NGO to over 60 countries. She is a freshman at New York University, where she plans to major in Cognitive Science.

Devin Gund (Ridgefield, Connecticut): Hurricanes and storms frequently cripple power lines and halt communication in Devin’s hometown, leaving students and their families literally in the dark about emergency measures and scheduling changes. Devin used his passion for programming to create a mobile application for the school system that provides families with a constant link to emergency alerts. The app he designed also provides access to teacher websites, student and sports schedules, grades, attendance, and homework, in addition to providing notifications of alerts and closings for every school. The software company he created is customizing the app for other school systems around the country. He is a recent graduate of Ridgefield High School and plans to study Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Janine Kerr (Danbury, CT): When Zebra Mussels began invading lakes in Connecticut, causing negative environmental and economic consequences, Janine was concerned, since the only method of controlling the infestation involved putting environmentally dangerous chemicals into the water. The independent research she undertook made her aware of a kind of sponge found off the coast of Indonesia on which mollusks didn’t grow, despite the fact that they grew on coral reefs and other sponges all around them. Janine designed a controlled experiment to test whether a chemical derived from the mollusk-free sponge could inhibit mollusk growth in Connecticut waters; she designed another experiment to determine whether the chemical was environmentally safe. Her positive results could serve as the basis for a plan to rid Connecticut lakes of this invasive species. A senior at Danbury High School, she plans to study Environmental Management in college.

Angus MacMullen (New Haven, CT): How do you get ten- to fourteen-year-olds excited about learning electronic circuitry? Angus met this challenge by designing a class at the Eli Whitney Museum around a creative project that captured their imaginations: building a simple modular analog synthesizer whose components could be randomly connected and knobs turned at whim to create some “wonderfully annoying sound effects.” He is a recent graduate of Hopkins School, and plans to study Electrical Engineering at MIT. 

Eve McNally (San Mateo, CA): As she walked home from school on a sunny California afternoon, Eve was struck by all the oranges and lemons lying in people’s yards, at the base of the trees from which they had fallen; she knew that much of this surplus fruit—more than the families could consume—would simply rot. She also knew first-hand how scarce fresh produce was at local food pantries. Eve founded “Picking for Hunger” to match people whose trees produced more fruit than they needed with high school students who would pick the fruit before it spoiled and deliver it to local food pantries. The idea took off and is spreading to other schools. A senior at Aragon High School, Eve has not decided yet on what her major in college will be.

Matthew O’Connell (Commack, NY): How does one communicate proper instructions for taking a medication to people who do not speak the language of the prescriber, or who are illiterate, visually-impaired or hearing-impaired? Matthew combined his interests in computer science, health, and medicine to address this problem. He developed an innovative computer program that utilizes translations, audio instruction, and pictograms to better relay medication instructions. The International Pharmaceutical Federation has put a link to it on their website, and hundreds of prescribers around the world have used it. A senior at Commack High School, Matthew plans to major in Software Engineering in college.

Brook Peters (New York, NY): Brook’s second day of kindergarten was in a school located near the Twin Towers on 9/11. Ten years later, he shot, edited and produced a compelling and creative film that conveyed with immediacy and sensitivity what it felt like for his peers and their teachers to bear witness to that awful chapter of history. He also shot, edited and produced a series of sensitive documentaries about veterans. All of his films inspire people to appreciate the resilience of which they are capable. A high school senior, he is undecided about what his college major will be.

Honorable Mentions

Ahmed Abdelqader (Brooklyn, NY):  While in high school, Ahmed recognized that many middle-school children are often scared of math or convinced that they are “bad at it.” To spark children’s interest in math, he and a friend created “MathMatters!”—a program in which high school students design creative lesson plans that introduce middle-school students to Game Theory, Graph Theory, and Combinatorics in simple, enjoyable and easy-to-understand ways. The program has spread to several middle schools in Brooklyn, and Ahmed continues to develop it while studying Electrical Engineering at City College of New York.

Saliyah George (Brooklyn, NY): Do Brooklyn establishments have sufficient accommodations for the disabled? Saliyah set out to find out by conducting a community-based, participatory research project entitled “Barrier Busters,” in which she developed an assessment tool listing some 20 accommodations that establishments should offer people with disabilities and rated over 60 local businesses. Her presentations about what she found have helped raise awareness about health disparities in her community. A recent graduate of Nazareth Regional High School, she plans to major in Public Health at Franklin and Marshall College.

Razieme Iborra (Masillon, Ohio): Razieme wanted to use her passion for filmmaking and editing to help teenagers in foster care deal with the challenges that they face. In consultation with a therapist, she developed “The Action/Cut Project,” a ten-week-long film program exposing teenagers at a local center for teens in foster care to all aspects of filmmaking. The young filmmakers found the opportunity to create films about their lives empowering and therapeutic. A recent graduate of Perry High School, she plans to study film and television at Tisch School for the Arts at NYU. 

Thomas Kazi (Wilton, CT): Recognizing that children with serious physical and mental disabilities in a special needs class in his school had few opportunities to interact with nature, Thomas built a hydroponic therapy center in their classroom. Planting seeds, nurturing them, and watching them sprout and grow turned out to be a good way for these students to reduce their stress. The parents group for a class of children with autism in his school decided to duplicate the “natural cure for stress” that Thomas came up with in their own children’s classroom. A recent graduate of Wilton High School, he plans to major in finance at Roger Williams University.

Jeffrey Marano (Brewster, NY): The tremors that Jeffrey experienced as a result of a vitamin deficiency related to his Celiac Disease were successfully treated by a strict vitamin therapy; but he knew not all tremors could be treated or limited as easily. He developed an innovative brace for everyday use by patients suffering from essential tremors, the most commonly diagnosed neurological movement disorder. The distinctive mechanism of the brace he designed can provide effective and noninvasive relief. A recent graduate of Brewster High School, he plans to study Biomedical Engineering at Boston University.

Stefanos Tai (New York, NY):  Having witnessed the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Sandy and the ways in which it disrupted people’s lives, Stefanos was upset that people around him were not more concerned about the increasingly unpredictable weather New York suffered, and its connection to climate change. Stefanos wrote, shot and directed an imaginative film inspired by his concern about climate change and his desire to help people recognize themselves as the “vulnerable, dependent, and insignificant animals that we are”—a prerequisite in his view, for respecting the earth and ensuring our survival. It debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival. He is studying Filmmaking at Savannah College of Art and Design. 

Suge Zhang (New Haven, CT): Suge creatively combined traditional Chinese storytelling (Pingshu), a representative art form of Chinese street culture, and techniques of modern western theatre to bring a well-known early twentieth-century Chinese play (Thunderstorm by Cao Yu) alive for a contemporary American audience. Her original translation, adaptation and imaginative staging of the play – in which she artfully portrayed five different characters – captivated her audience.  A recent graduate of Wilbur Cross High School and ACES Educational Center for the Arts, she plans to study Social Work and Theatre Studies at NYU.

Rachel Zwick (New Haven, CT): Inspired by the memory of a friend who shared her love of theatre but who died of bone cancer before graduation, Rachel created, directed and produced dramatizations of a series of popular young children’s books for hospitalized children at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. The performance gave patients and their families a welcome respite from the strain of dealing with childhood illness. A recent graduate of Co-op High School, she plans to study Theatre at Southern Connecticut State University.

The Renée B. Fisher Foundation congratulates all of these students for their innovative solutions to individual and community problems, and for demonstrating their creativity in a broad range of fields.

- ### -

ChildSight® Connecticut is a school-based vision screening- eyeglass distribution program, which has been providing services to students within the New Haven schools since 2000.   Since our launch, we have received generous support from a local church through office space.  The church has provided our program with administrative space either as a donation ( free) or at a rate less than market value.  This has allowed our program to direct our resources to eye glasses for students as oppose to rent.  We are a locally supported program through the grants that we receive from community, family and/or corporate foundations.  

Recently, the rental fee for our space at the church as increased dramatically and while it is still less than market value- it is a great deal more than what we have budgeted for in our current grants.  This has led us to seek alternative space to support our ongoing work in the New Haven Schools. 

Please direct any suggestions or leads for office space to nprail@hki.org.

Thank you.

Housing and Donations Coordinator (Part Time)

This is a part-time position- averaging about 30 hours per week. 

IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (www.irisct.org), a dynamic nonprofit organization in New Haven CT, has an immediate opening for the part-time position of Housing & Donations Coordinator.  IRIS helps refugees—people fleeing persecution in their home countries who are invited to the US by the federal government—to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their communities. IRIS currently welcomes about 220 refugees each year, from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo, Eritrea, and Sudan.

Summary of Position Responsibilities:

IRIS is responsible for providing all newly arriving refugees with a furnished apartment on the day of their arrival.  The Housing & Donations Coordinator is responsible for acquiring safe, affordable, appropriate apartments for new arrivals; supervising the cleaning and furnishing of the apartment; and coordinating the pick-up and distribution of donated furniture and household goods.

Specific Duties:

 1.  Apartment Acquisition

• Liaise with local landlords, property managers, and real estate agents to identify apartment options for new refugee arrivals no later than 1.5 weeks prior to client’s arrival.
• Coordinate with case management department and others to select apartment.
• Conduct safety checklist to ensure home meets basic standards, and ensure that any outstanding issues are addressed.

 2.  Donations Coordination

• Encourage public donations of furniture and household items, either directly to IRIS or to an IRIS partner, a furniture bank/thrift store.
• Coordinate the collection and distribution of donations:  Respond to phone and email inquiries about donating furniture.  Schedule times when donors can drop off furniture, or when necessary, drive IRIS’s pick-up truck to homes around Greater New Haven to collect furniture from donors. 
• Manage the IRIS warehouse and storage spaces, and keep an inventory. 

  3.  Apartment Set-up

• Coordinate the housing preparation, and supervise volunteers who help with the process of cleaning the apartment, furnishing it, and supplying all necessary household goods. 

 4.  Program Administration

• Complete administrative paperwork necessary for IRIS compliance with funders and regulators- including safety checklist, checklist of the items provided in each apartment, and case notes documenting work performed. 
• Communicate needs for volunteer help to IRIS Volunteer Coordinator, and supervise a team of volunteers and interns.
• Arrange for maintenance of the IRIS pickup truck.

Position Requirements

1. Ability to multi-task and work on many priorities at once in a fast-paced environment.
2. Cultural competency and a desire to serve people of diverse backgrounds.
3. US driving license, and ability to drive IRIS’s pick-up truck around Greater New Haven.
4. Ability to lift and carry furniture and household goods. 
5. Polite, respectful communication (phone, email, in person) with many stakeholders including landlords, furniture donors, and clients.
6. Computer skills, including MS Office and email.
7. Superb organizational skills, and ability to anticipate needs and plan for them appropriately.
8. Ideal candidates will have experience supervising others. 

To apply, send an email to Deputy Director Kelly Hebrank, at humanresources@irisct.org by September 8^th with the following:

• A subject line that says “HOUSING & DONATIONS COORDINATOR: [Candidate first and last name]”
• A cover letter describing your relevant skills and experience, and why you are interested in this position
• An attached resume

**The article is from iMissionPartners

For those afraid to fly, a sometimes helpful piece of advice: the pilot has the same interest as you in arriving safely. Trust by passengers in the airline and pilot that all will be safe and secure and that both have the same interests is essential.

A recent contract agreement reached by the Metropolitan Opera raises for me the question: does the union (employees) not believe the board has the same interests as the employees? My initial answer: I don't think so. I should add, history would suggest that owners never really have the same interests as their employees but I sometimes like to hope that nonprofit owners (boards) are different.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a month of negotiations between the union and the management (representing the board) of the Metropolitan Opera will include lots of pay cuts AND "they stipulate that an independent financial analyst, paid jointly by the Met and its three largest unions, will observe the Met's spending in the future...and have full access to the Met's books and board members, and would oversee equal implementation of the cuts.."

Whew! Aren't nonprofit board members supposed to care about the welfare of their employees as much as the outcomes of their efforts? And isn't this "care" best demonstrated in the management they hire to implement mission? Did the Met's board hire managers whose job it was to not look-out for the interest of employees? If I were to wager, I might suggest that the corporate members of the board generally do have a different framing on how employees should be regarded and managed -- a framing that does not put employees at least equal in value to management. Thus, the need for a union and in the case, the need for an auditor who represents the interests of the employees.

This is about a social enterprise on a mission to reinvent the coffee supply chain, giving farmers a bigger and more equitable piece of the action.

Aimed at growers producing specialty-grade, premium, Fair Trade certified coffee, Vega hopes to enable farmers to roast and package their beans  and connect to customers directly via an online subscription marketplace.  As a result, they can make a lot more money than they normally do.

The company, which is based in Leon, Nicaragua, is launching a Kickstartercampaign today.

Eighty percent of coffee farmers- -or  20 million people– are trapped in a cycle of subsistence farming, according to co-founder Noushin Ketabi.  Often in remote areas, they have little access to markets and tend to rely on middlemen for exporting.  (The situation is similar to peanut farmers in Haiti. I recentlywrote about a supply-chain social enterprise aimed at them).

And we’re not talking about just a few middlemen.  As many as 20 may be involved in the coffee supply chain, according to Vega. In many cases, the farmers grow the beans, then sort, grade and polish them , among other steps. Then they take the  stuff to a cooperative, which sends it to a larger entity that’s an aggregation of cooperatives. It goes next to an exporter, various certification groups, coffee traders, and labelers, among many others. It takes six months to get coffee from the farm to the consumer.

So, even though advocates of Fair Trade and organic coffee are trying their best, because they work within the usual supply chain, small-scale farmers end up with a paltry share of the pie, according to Ketabi. Each small scale farmer produces about 500 pounds of Fair Trade organic coffee  a year and gets around $1.30 a pound, or $700 a year.  The upshot: Farmers of specialty grade coffee beans earn $1 a pound for a product costing U .S. consumers maybe $20.

Vega’s aim is to cut out most of those other players. To that end, it would set up a processing, packaging  and distribution center located 20 to 30 minutes from farmers. There the coffee would be loaded in pallets, shipped overseas via a U.S. carrier, then  broken down and mailed to consumers.  Farmers would be paid when the processing is done, so it’s not contingent on supply and demand fluctuations. The  founders are still working out the details, but, ”We’ll match the Fair Trade price and pay for the value of the processing on top of that,” says Ketabi. The result would allow farmers to earn up to four times what they typically receive.

The plan also is to train the first group of farmers in how to do the roasting  using special equipment designed by Vega and engineers at a local NGO that uses 90% less fuel than the usual  roaster, according to Ketabi.  Then that first wave would train the next group.

The online site will allow consumers to drill down and get all sorts of information about the product, searching, for example, for a region or even specific farmers.  Customers can curate the coffee themselves, receiving two eight-ounce bags a month, or leave that to Vega, since two of its founders also are certified coffee roasters.

How did this all get started?  In 2005, co-founder Rob Terenzi (who is also married to Ketabi) spent two years in Nicaragua working with a women’s coffee cooperative to develop roasting capacity and build a national market for their coffee. Then he came back to the U.S. and studied law and international development at Fordham University.  There he met Ketabi, who was studying the same thing. He also started a group that took trips to Nicaragua to see the coffee world there.  Ketabi got involved  and, in 2011, won a Fulbright scholarship  to work in renewable energy policy  in Nicaragua, focusing on the lack of electricity and potential for solar energy.  After that she came back to the U .S., getting a job with the state of California in energy policy. In the meantime, Terenzi went to work for Wilson, Sonsini, the famed San Francisco law firm to startup tech stars, where he ended up gaining a lot of helpful insights into how to found a company.

All the while, the two pondered how to make an impact on coffee farming in a way that would have a  long-term  effect.  They decided, whatever the answer was, the best, most sustainable route was a for-profit, one that “could serve as a model for the whole coffee industry,” says Ketabi.  Finally, they pinpointed an overhaul of the supply chain as the key and, with their own savings and relying on their many contacts, moved to Nicaragua to start Vega early this year, also enlisting another co-founder, friend Will Deluca, to design and run the web site and technology side of the operation.

The effort is now in what Ketabi calls a “pre-pilot phase”, focused on Nicaragua, where the co-founders have deep ties; the pilot also will be in Nicaragua.  In its current ultra-early phase, the co-founders are working at 20 or so individual farms, where farmers sort the beans, then Vega packages them,  and sends out samples. The hope for the Kickstarter campaign is to raise $20,000 to buy coffee, install roasters, train farmers, and deliver a limited batch to customers—that is, test out the model  to see what works and needs to be improved in preparation for a full-fledged launch.

**The article is original from Forbes. Here is the link

4 Ways to Supercharge Your Social Enterprise Through Accountability

The social enterprise sector is hot—it may be worth well over $500 billion in the US alone. But if social business is to solve many of the world’s most pressing problems, we have to make sure it has both internal and external accountability systems in place to do so. What does that mean? It means, at its heart, getting the accountability relationships right between the people who make decisions — in governments, businesses, and all other relevant organizations — in order to ensure the outcomes are fair, inclusive, and sustainable.

Think of how we can best support governments in this, for example. At theAccountability Lab we are working with the government of Liberia to improve transparency through the simple tool of chalk billboards to convey critical information to its citizens (for example, how to register a business or get a passport). We’re also helping to build more effective justice systems throughcommunity mediation programs.

If people have information they can use to ask the right questions, and appropriate feedback mechanisms are in place, this process of external accountability of the government can unleash social, political and economic change to transform societies.

Read more: http://ow.ly/2KRx5z

What should nonprofits boards expect from foundations?

I propose: very little. There's a paradigm I recall hearing about the purpose of foundations: 1) identify "issues"; identify solutions to issues; test the solutions. Three years is a norm. After all this is done: the nonprofit should get supported by the public.

So, today's reality? Except for the public support, yes, I believe this is indeed what nonprofits who think foundation money is a great source, should expect. And of course, there are differences between community foundations, family foundations and private foundations but I think it's generally true that three years is a fair grant period length.

The lesson for nonrpofit boards: don't expect long-term support from foundations. More importantly, nonprofit boards, at any stage, would do well to always be thinking "beyond the foundation grant". This means thinking about what and how well their story is told and to who their story is distributed. This means providing lots of opportunity for the community, to become supporters, be it lemonade sales to big galas. This means that the full spectrum of sustainability sources should be annually examined with a three-to-five-to-fifteen year picture in mind.

Nonprofit sustainability is not achieved overnight and certainly not through foundation giving. Foundations kick-start. This is what should be expected of them.

When it comes to a nonprofit board's taking action (aka voting), numbers often matter. Most often a board's by-laws instruct how many board members need be present and what portion of that number needs to vote positively on an item.

I'm working with a team right now to update the organization's by-laws and during this process we came upon two questions: what happens when there is no quorum and equally important, what happens when quorum is lost during or more likely, toward the end of the meeting?

In my experience, most boards do not take action on items needing action until a quorum is reached. Often enough, as members leave the meeting, thus actually changing whether there is a quorum, the board just proceeds without noting the departures but applies the same rules the bylaws specify regarding what % of those present voting yes means a decision has been reached (positively and negatively).

After research from one of our team, it turns out that basically, if practicing using Roberts Rules of Order or as otherwise specified in the bylaws,once quorum has been lost, business decisions (action/voting) can no longer be made in the meeting.

Here's one source that clarifies Roberts Rules:

present at a meeting to transact business. While there are some exceptions (see below), no motions or votes should occur unless there is a quorum. As a result, if quorum is lost in a meeting without a statute or rule to the contrary, business stops.
Robert’s Rules Quorum Steps

For organizations that follow RONR due to statute or governing documents (such as some governmental bodies, homeowner and condominium associations, and nonprofits), there are several procedural steps that can be taken even in the absence of a quorum, including:

Setting a continued meeting through the motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn.
Ending the meeting through a motion to Adjourn.
Recessing the meeting, in efforts to obtain a quorum.
Taking measures to obtain a quorum, such as rounding up members in the hall or contacting members.

If some urgent matter can’t be delayed and must be acted upon, the members proceed at their own risk with the hope that a later meeting with quorum will ratify the action. There seems to be an urban legend that business at meetings can continue without a quorum so long as no one raises the issue. Not true! The general rule is that business transacted in the absence of a quorum is null and void. In fact, members who vote on motions at meetings without a quorum can at times be held personally liable for their actions. So don’t do it!

For organizations governed by state statutes (incorporated nonprofits, community associations, governmental bodies), the answer can be more complicated. For instance, the model acts for nonprofits, condominiums, community associations, and planned communities all provide that if a quorum is present at the beginning of a membership meeting, the quorum remains regardless of how many members leave. So, you could end up with only a few remaining members at the end of a meeting making decisions for the entire organization. There are both news accounts and lawsuits of such instances, with the general rule being that if you don’t want a small group of others to make decisions on your behalf, don’t leave the meeting! The rule is generally the opposite for board meetings, where a quorum must generally be present at all times during the meeting.
How to Raise the Issue of a Lost Quorum

In organizations that require a quorum at all times, what is the process for raising the issue that it has been lost? Under most parliamentary procedure manuals, the absence of a quorum is brought to the attention of the chair through a Point of Order (“I believe we no longer have a quorum”) or a question to the chair (“Do we still have a quorum?”). Even if no one raises the issue, the presiding officer has an obligation to make certain that enough members are present for a valid meeting. At the point where it is realized there is no quorum, business (other than the procedural motions discussed above) stops. A guest speaker or announcements might be allowed, but no further votes should be taken. In larger bodies, because no one knows exactly when the quorum was lost, Robert’s Rules of Order provides that prior action is still valid. However, when it can be shown that a quorum was missing for a prior vote by “clear and convincing proof” (such as the record of a roll call listing everyone present at the meeting at that moment), even past actions can be challenged. (For more details on the process, check out the “Quorum” chapter ofNotes and Comments on Robert’s Rules, Fourth Edition, or pages 96-98 of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Parliamentary Procedure Fast-Track.)

Here's an interesting set of thoughts from Dr. Eugene Fram who discusses nonprofit board roles "beyond the by-laws". I'm interesting in learning your takeaways. Also, as another thought, I propose that what's not contained in a board's by-laws might be contained in the board's governing policies. John Carver proposes that such policies be divided into those that are focused on mission (mission, purpose and values and strategic direction); those that are specific to the board; those that are the board's & exec's; and those that are the exec's. This is an acceptable framing in terms of pretty much convering indeed what is not in the by-laws and the process for deriving these ensures at least during the development stage, some consciousness of roles. The one exception I would pose to singularly using Carver's construct is his insistence on the limitations as the definers. I think these policies can be framed in the positive, for the most part.

Anyway, here's Dr. Fram's thoughts.

Beyond the Bylaws: A Clarification of Nonprofit Board Responsibilities

By: Eugene Fram

A nonprofit director’s duties may be much more difficult than those of a for-profit board member. Both types of directors have the same basic duties: fiduciary responsibilities; establishing, with staff input, mission vision and values; setting policies/strategies; over-viewing outcomes/impacts and conducting annual meetings.

I suggest nonprofit directors may not be fully addressing some duties specified in the bylaws and some which are culturally driven. This latter group might be called “latent duties.”

•Fundraising: Nonprofit bylaws can list fundraising as a board duty, but its execution is often left to the CEO and/or a development director. In a recent survey, 76% of 1,341 Nonprofit CEOs gave their boards academic grades of “C,” “D’ or “F’ for their fundraising efforts.* Depending on its status in the bylaws, fundraising can be an overt duty or a latent one. No matter which form it takes, in my opinion, fundraising has to be a partnership between the board and the CEO.

•Legal Requirements: Nonprofit directors have a set of legal requirements not incumbent on for-profit directors.
A nonprofit board is required to participate in development or review the IRS 990 form in detail before it is submitted each year. Nonprofit directors have more specific state regulation to which to adhere. In California for example, “ …a charity may sometimes be required to file a 990 with the Attorney General, even when there is no requirement that a 990 be filed with the IRS.” **

Additionally, I personally find it difficult to understand how so few nonprofit directors and managers are aware of IRS Intermediate Sanctions Act, related to excess benefits transactions. (Section 4958 – IRS Code). If directors or managers provide an excess benefit to themselves, an employee or even a volunteer, they can incur serious personal tax penalties!! Excess benefits might include providing above market salaries, selling something to a volunteer below market value.

•Board-Staff Relationships: As I have noted in other posts, most nonprofit organizations are relatively “flat organizations” and structurally the staff may only be one of two levels below the board. As a result, nonprofit staffs becomes well attuned to the actions of the board and the frequent rotations of board personnel. They know that these changes can have significant impacts on their work. In addition, unlike for-profit directors, they are well aware that board members rotate frequently, leaving the staff vulnerable to new influential directors wanting to make rapid emotionally charged changes.

As an example of what can happen, a friend reported that two new board members succeeded in initiating a board mandated bureaucratic Management by Objectives Program into a nonprofit’s operations. This resulted in staff spending hours completing and reviewing MBO forms, resulting in a disgruntled staff and a reduction in productivity.

To meet the requirements of this latent responsibility, boards need to seek greater contact with staffs at staff celebrations of success, on board-staff committees and at other appropriate occasions. This is a trust building requirement. Board members need to be aware, however, that these contacts can open the door to some staff making “end-runs” around management when a staff member is dissatisfied with a management decision. This problem can simply come with the territory in fulfilling this latent board duty. As a contingency, boards need to have a policy in a place for addressing the issue.

•Who Does The Board Represent? Nonprofit boards legally represent a community, professional or trade association. This allows them to function with tax-free status and acquire other benefits. Some directors can mistakenly assume their jobs are to represent the interests of the staff, not the groups that established the organization. In this instance, they misperceive a responsibility that does not exist.

Example: The field of “talk therapy” has been economically disrupted by the increased use of treatment via medications. The board of a nonprofit counseling organization attempted to keep the organization viable as client levels significantly declined because the board felt that the staff and board were part of a “family,” as one director described the board culture. The board finally closed the agency and transferred remaining staff and clients to a more economically viable agency.

I suggest nonprofit boards periodically need to review duties specified by the bylaws as well as current law to make certain they are in compliance. Gaps can arise because the bylaw duties are ignored or delegated. In addition boards need to be alert to latent duties, not readily overt, such as generating appropriate staff relationships.

* “Nonprofit Governance Index 2012, Data Report #1: CEO Survey of BoardSource Members.” BoardSource, Washington D.C.
**Kamla D. Harris (2008) “The New 990 and It’s Relationship to California Law,” Office of the Attorney General, State of California, Department of Justice.

A social impact bond WAVE is building. Both sides of the political aisle are exploring.  It's all about pay-for-performance funding.  Like them or not, nonprofits need to surf this billion$ experiment. http://onforb.es/1lRmStP

Which of the following tool (s) has the best prospect of making your board meeting THE EVENT of the month or quarter or whatever:

*consent agenda
*planning and choreography (including food)

*actionable agenda items

board-driven conversations

*nonve of the above

*all of the above

I believe if you checked "all of the above" you would be correct. Each of these activities can contribute to making happier and productive board meetings. Without these activities: less happier and productive meetings. Really! Try them out and let me know what if any works for you.

FISH OF GREATER NEW HAVEN, INC. – JOB POSTING
for public dissemination
July 23, 2014

Position:  Executive Director

Overview: 

FISH of Greater New Haven, Inc., is seeking a self-motivated, highly organized, and ambitious Executive Director (ED).  The ED will administer and, in most cases, actively carry out operations of the organization, including program services, finances, development and fundraising, and public relations and communications.  The ED will oversee an extensive corps of volunteers and work closely with an active Board of Directors (BOD).

FISH of Greater New Haven is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit food pantry, delivering groceries and foodstuffs to low- and no-income households in New Haven, Connecticut.  FISH is the only food pantry in the area that delivers directly to clients’ doors and is staffed almost entirely by volunteers.  Additional information can be found at www.fishgnh.org.

Responsibilities:

Program Services: Coordinate acquisition of groceries and foodstuffs via Conn. Food Bank, local vendors, and food drives.  Coordinate packing and delivery of groceries, including determination of proper foods to be included.  Coordinate and supervise volunteers.  Maintain proper records and data on all clients for the purposes of both Quality Assurance and reporting. Prepare regular reports based on these records to deliver to the BOD. 

Finances:  Keep clear and well-organized records of all cash and in-kind revenue and expenses.  Work with BOD Treasurer to affect proper accounting, including a projected and year-to-date budget, updated monthly.  Administer all facilities-, utilities-, and service-related accounts. 

Development & Fundraising: Develop a clear plan-of-action for revenue, annually. Administer, manage, and execute all grant applications and grant reports. Organize and execute regular fundraising efforts and events (with BOD assistance). Solicit and cultivate relationships with individual donors (with BOD assistance). 

Public Relations & Communications: Administer and oversee production of quarterly newsletter/e-newsletter (with BOD assistance).  Communicate with the FISH network of volunteers, donors, etc., via social media, email, direct mail, and telephone, including maintenance of a network database.  Cultivate relationships with community partners (e.g., service organizations and religious congregations) and sister-organizations (e.g., Community Soup Kitchen, Loaves and Fishes). Represent FISH in the City’s Food Policy Council.  Conduct regular community outreach efforts (with BOD assistance) via speaking engagements, etc.

Qualifications: 

Bachelor’s degree plus at least 3 years of relevant experience in a nonprofit and/or human services setting.  Master’s degree in social services, social work, nutrition/health, public administration/policy or other related field preferred. 

Must possess excellent organizational skills.  Must possess strong communication skills, both written and verbal, including interpersonal skills and a basic knowledge of client and donor confidentiality and privacy practices.  Must be able to work both individually and collaboratively, as well as in a managerial capacity.  Experience overseeing volunteers and knowledge of nutritional standards are pluses.  Must possess excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Office suite, Adobe suite, web-based reporting programs, file management, social media, and mass-email communications.  Past experience working with low- or no-income households and/or food assistance is a plus.  Spanish proficiency is preferred.  Must have a valid Connecticut driver’s license.

Supervisory Relationships:  Reports to the Board of Directors.  Supervises all volunteers.

Salary Range:  $45,000 - $60,000 (commensurate with experience)

Schedule: 40 hours per week, regularly scheduled (TBD); occasional nights and weekends.

Application: Please submit a cover letter, résumé, and three references via email to Patrick Pearson (ppearson@fishofgreaternewhaven.org).

FISH of Greater New Haven, Inc., is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or unfavorable discharge from military service.

An editorial in today's New York Times discussed state and federal government crackdowns on private for-profit colleges and in particular, Corinthian College.

In the editorial, the paper notes:

Last year, the California attorney general, Kamala Harris, sued Corinthian, charging that it had lied to students and investors about job placement rates for its graduates. The company advertised job placement rates as high as 100 percent for certain programs, when, in some cases, there was no evidence that even a single student had secured a job within the prescribed period of time, according to the lawsuit, which is still pending. Furthermore, it charged that Corinthian deliberately singled out low-income single parents who lived near the poverty line, urging recruiters to focus on “isolated” people who had “low self-esteem.” It also asserted that the company advertised programs that it did not offer.

What I miss most from this editorial: what's the difference between these for-profits and their nonprofit and public sector counterparts. I think the difference important as a lesson for the future. That difference, two actually, is that nonprofit and public sector governance and ownership. Nonprofits and public sector colleges have for their oversight and direction, volunteer leaders committed to the goals of their institution and accountable with fiduciary responsibilities including a high bar in the area of care -- for mission and assets. And, these institutions are in effect, owned by the public, at least through the tax structure for the nonprofits and actual ownership for the public colleges. To me, both of these facts mean that the only reason at all to be engaged in education is for outcomes. Now, they may not always get this right and produce perfect outcomes, but the overseers are not personally profiting from the work and the mission inherently drives an intention to "do no harm".

For the for-profits, neither of these two fundamentals are present. Governance matters.

Happy July 4th To All,

I received a note from a friend of mine and I would like to share the message with all: