CONVENING: THE PRESIDENT'S EXECUTIVE ACTION ON IMMIGRATION

What It Can Mean for Greater New Haven

Join The Community Foundation for a discussion with Felicia Escobar, 
Special Assistant to the President for Immigration Policy

Monday, March 9th 

4:00 - 7:00 pm

Fair Haven K-8 School

164 Grand Avenue, New Haven

Register Here by Friday, March 6

President Obama’s Executive Action of November 2014 will offer the opportunity for undocumented immigrants to stay in the country temporarily, provided they have been living in the U.S. for more than five years, have children who are U.S. citizens and meet other requirements. It will deploy more resources to the southern border of the U.S. and prioritize deportation for criminals and undocumented immigrants who crossed the border recently. The Executive Action will also streamline the legal immigration process by expanding work authorization for high-skilled workers already in line for a green card.

Ms. Escobar develops the President’s strategy for building a 21st century immigration system. This work involves coordinating efforts across the Executive branch to strengthen the current system and working toward passage of meaningful, comprehensive immigration reform legislation. She previously served on U.S. Senator Ken Salazar’s legislative team, working with him to develop his legislative agenda on a host of issues including labor, civil rights, judicial nominations and immigration. She advised Sen. Salazar during the comprehensive immigration reform debates of 2006 and 2007 in which Sen. Salazar was a key member of the bipartisan group pressing for reform.

Prior to this, Ms. Escobar was Associate Director of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. In this role, she helped cultivate relationships between Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and key stakeholder groups, including Latino, immigration and education advocacy groups. Ms. Escobar started her career as a State Policy Analyst working for the National Council of La Raza. She represented NCLR and its network of affiliates in the Texas State Legislature, testifying before legislative committees to advocate for education, immigrant access to benefits, and hate crimes legislation. She is a native of San Antonio, TX. 

Ms. Escobar received an undergraduate degree from Yale University, a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and her J.D. from UCLA School of Law.

Immigrant integration is an important priority for The Community Foundation. In 2015, The Community Foundation’s work will include dedicated grantmaking and other support for nonprofits working in this area, including support for advocacy efforts on State and Federal immigration policy, efforts to identify and support emerging leaders in the immigrant community, and public education and other efforts to enhance the community’s understanding of the social, cultural and economic benefits of immigration for Greater New Haven.

Outstanding healthcare opportunity! Fair Haven Community Health Center is a leader in health care in Connecticut.  We are proud to have a diverse and motivated team of professionals who are constantly seeking ways to enhance and improve the health and well-being of all patients.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responsibilities include the overall administration of internal accounting and strategic overview of the financial management of the center. This includes ensuring maintenance of effective internal controls to safeguard the assets and guarantee the reliability of financial statements, compliance with all financial and contract reporting requirements for private, public and grant funding, overseeing payroll process and proper preparation and completion of the annual financial audit.

• The CFO oversees billing, information technology and finance departments.

• Responsible for preparation of cost studies required for the financial performance management and improvement of the center.

• The position of CFO is one of the most critical positions in the organization and is one of high visibility.

Requirements

• CPA or Bachelor’s Degree required with preference in finance or accounting. Masters degree or preparation preferred.

• 5-7 years of experience, or equivalent, in ambulatory care or practice management including experience in a supervisory capacity.

•  Knowledge and proven experience in non-profit and grants management experience in Federally Qualified Health Centers strongly preferred.

Please e-mail resume to b.pace@fhchc.org or fax to (203)777-8506 Attn: B. Pace

There are times when it can really matter that a nonprofit's board and staff step-out to support legislation that supports its mission. When nonprofits sit on the side-lines of political discussion, unlike the AARP or similar member organizations, bad things can result for nonprofits.

Take for example the bins that are used by Salvation Army and Goodwill. These recycling collectors have pretty much defined the industry where folks can donate their goods for cause. Well, the for-profit sector thinks there's may be opportunity here and have set-up competing bins in New York and Philadelphia and elsewhere. The unknowing public, trusting what Salvation Army and Goodwill have established might just presume their "contributions" follow the same path. But, as the following Philadelphia Inquirer article illustrates, not so.

But the point of today's blog: nonprofits don't have to sit by when threats reduce mission effectiveness. The boards and staff can legitimately take action to educate the public and speak actively to their legislators about rules that can support them and the public.
TRICIA L. NADOLNY, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
POSTED: Monday, February 16, 2015, 1:07 AM

The clothing donation bin appeared on the North Philadelphia street corner without warning, a metal box caked with bubble-gum pink paint and rust.

Stenciled on the side in small blue letters was this message: "Through your donations we provide money to charities & give employees occupation."

Jay Butler, who owns the adjacent property near Erie Avenue and 21st Street, didn't think much of it. Until the bin filled up, and clothing - along with a mattress, a broken television, and an empty bottle of brandy - littered the sidewalk. He went to the police station.

"They told me that I can get rid of it," Butler said. "Well, what am I going to do with it?"

What he didn't know was that a half-mile away was a nearly identical bin. And another one a block from that. And one about 500 feet from there. And a half-dozen more along nearby Broad Street.

All have appeared within the last six months.

All bear a New Jersey phone number connected not to a charity, but to a for-profit company. That company, Viltex USA, is causing a headache in New York City, where officials are scrambling to push the bins out.

Viltex, it seems, is pushing south and finding a new market in Philadelphia. It's one of several for-profit textile-recycling companies expanding in the city.

"These recyclers are aggressive," said Mark Boyd, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia. "They are, as far as I'm concerned, taking revenue from Goodwill."

Textile recycling is a nearly billion-dollar worldwide business, industry officials say. Of the clothing discarded in donation bins, much is resold in bulk, often overseas, where used wares are at a premium because consumers can't afford new items. The rest is recycled into wiping rags, carpet padding, even car-door insulation.

Donations left in Goodwill or Salvation Army bins are often sold to fund services such as employment training and alcohol-treatment programs.

Donations left in Viltex's bins? No one really knows.

Viltex's sparse website says the company is a for-profit entity "that works hand in hand" with nonprofits and charities. None are identified by name.

The company's phone number goes to voice mail; Viltex officials could not be reached for comment. Viltex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, saying in court filings that its liabilities were equal to its assets, about $550,000.

Viltex's attorney, David Stevens, did not return a call or e-mail seeking comment.

The company's presence in Philadelphia is unavoidable. A quick drive through the neighborhoods of Nicetown, Logan, Hunting Park, and North Philadelphia turns up scores of blue and pink Viltex bins, many tagged with graffiti and surrounded by trash. Nearly all are in poor areas and set in front of vacant lots.

Councilwoman Cindy Bass, whose district encompasses those neighborhoods, noticed the trend.

"You begin to wonder about the predatory nature of what these bins really are," she said.

This month, she introduced a bill to ban for-profit donation bins and require all bins to be licensed. Separately, Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. last month revived a bill he introduced in 2013 that would require bins to be licensed. (Bass said the two measures would likely be combined.)

Jones and Councilman Bobby Henon, whose districts cover much of Northeast and Northwest Philadelphia, said they had seen an influx of bins, including some installed without the permission of property owners.

Many of those, unlike Viltex's, identify a benefiting charity on the bin. But they operate under a hybrid nonprofit/for-profit model that has come under fire from groups like Goodwill.

For example, several bins operated by A&E Clothing indicate proceeds benefit the Retired Peace Officers, a New Jersey nonprofit. That's true. But the nonprofit gets a flat $25,000 check each year and A&E Clothing keeps the rest, according to Anna Jaruga, an A&E employee.

Boyd, of Goodwill, said most people who throw used clothes into a donation bin assume the charity is the only benefactor. He and Maj. Kevin Schoch, who oversees the local Salvation Army's donation bins, said the influx of for-profit bins was cutting into their donations.

Schoch said the Salvation Army had only 20 bins in the region, but he was looking to add 200 more.

"It's about the visibility," he said. "We, for lack of a better way to say it, need to be competitive."

Others believe there is no need for a rivalry.

More than 80 percent of fabrics end up in a landfill, according to Jackie King, executive director of the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association, an international trade group for the for-profit sector. For-profit companies are diverting that waste, she said.

King, who has asked Bass to reconsider her legislation, said her association's 160 members all pledge to clearly state their relationship with any charity on each bin.

"It's a matter of making it convenient for people to recycle," King said. "There's plenty of clothing and textiles to go around."

Forcing for-profit bins out of Philadelphia may be easier said than done.

In New York City, where it is illegal to put donation bins on the sidewalk, the city handed out 2,093 citations in fiscal year 2014, up from about 600 the year before. Officials said many companies remove bins within the 30-day warning period, only to drop them elsewhere, restarting the clock.

The City Council there recently passed legislation allowing the Sanitation Department to remove bins immediately.

When Butler asked Philadelphia's Sanitation Department to clean up the mess around the bin at 21st and Erie, he said a crew hauled away the mattress and the television but left the rest. Last week, he contacted Bass' office. On Wednesday, a city crew cleared away the rest of the debris.

But not the bin.

"I'm just a little concerned that it's only going to continue," Butler said. "Until they get rid of this stupid thing."

In March 2010, Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven (NHS) launched its first annual Resident Leadership Program.

Based on a curriculum developed in conjunction with our national partner, NeighborWorks^® America, the program consists of five units. The primary goals of this program are to transfer concrete leadership skills to residents, create a space for participants to share their experiences with one another, and increase residents’ sense of being agents of change. One key to achieving these goals starts with the fundamental belief that participants and the communities they represent are assets.

Too often, leadership programs are built to fill in the “missing gaps” in emerging leaders, rather than hone the skills they already possess or allow time to build confidence and skills. This program aims to change that paradigm.

NHS is pleased to announce that registration is now open for our 2015 Resident Leadership Program. We are featuring a fresh lineup of workshops for this year’s program, but they continue to focus on helping resident leaders to build tangible skills and effect positive change in their communities.

This year's classes are:
March 31 - Building Winning Teams
April 7 - Tips for Effective Communication
April 21 - Staying Strong through Recruitment and Retention
May 5 - Using Planning to Create Action
May 19 - Effectively Using Community Resources

Registration deadline is Tuesday, March 17. A $25 registration fee is required upon acceptance into the program.

The 2015 Resident Leadership Program Application can be found here.

To read more about our program, including past facilitators and workshop topics, please click here.

2015 RLP Flyer 

About Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven:

Incorporated in 1979, Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven, Inc. (NHS) positions neighborhoods to succeed by increasing homeownership; providing pre- and post-purchase homebuyer education and financial coaching; making homes beautiful, energy-efficient, and affordable; and helping residents take charge of their neighborhoods. In 2001, NHS opened the New Haven HomeOwnership Center, which provides homebuyer education and financial assistance to individuals and families who are purchasing and rehabilitating homes throughout the Greater New Haven area. The HomeOwnership Center is also a leading provider of foreclosure intervention services to clients throughout Connecticut. NHS is a chartered member of the NeighborWorks^® America network. (www.nhsofnewhaven.org)

I think it can be safely said that nonprofits that have revenues and equally important, savings, have an enhanced ability to pursue mission. It of course is worth saying that volunteers and donated goods and services matter and matter a lot, but unrestricted assets and income equally matters and often are a game changer for a nonprofit's pursuit of ission.

So what happens if, in a moment, assets dissapear? Impossible you say? Not really as I reagularly feature events when internal thefts wipe-out the short-term ability of some nonprofits to operate. Greenpeace India on the other hand has experienced a real stoppage of the use of its money. The India Reserve Bank put a freeze on Greenpeace's (and five other nonprofit's) financial assets. Greenpeace activities in the pursuit of mission have actually begun to do their job and the government has retaliated - pretty much a tit-for-tat event. The courts have told the India Reserve Bank it has to un-freeze the assets so Greenpeace's temporary crises is pretty much over.

I'm pretty confident that Greenpeace's board, like the other nonprofit boards, dedicated to what the believe is right for the public and the earth, knew what to expect from the government it was holding accountable. This board understood the financial risks but proceeded to act. I'm also believing that the board had a plan in the event of government action - use of media, other partners ready to jump-in, perhaps even other methods for paying for its expenses.

I offer that this is good and responsible governance. Noting that during this week we have recognized and honored the work of Martin Luther King and the nonprofit boards who stood beside him, kudos to Greenpeace and its sister organizations and to all nonprofit boards who have pursued mission regardless of the risks.

To learn a bit more about the Greenpeace situation, check here.

Until recently, the system for dealing with homelessness had been a patchwork of shelters and service agencies working independently to help people get back on their feet. Every agency had a different screening and application process that frequently required difficult to obtain documentation and confusing forms. That approach is changing. 

Continue reading: http://bit.ly/1HULXEj

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the region’s permanent endowment and largest grantmaker to local nonprofits, is accepting grant applications from eligible nonprofit organizations through March 27, 2015 for its Responsive Grants process. Responsive Grants are generally awarded to address operating, programmatic or capacity building needs. Amounts vary from $7,500 and up; eligibility restrictions apply, including adherence to The Community Foundation’s anti-discrimination policy. Applicants who are unfamiliar with the grant process are encouraged to register for an informational webinar on February 11, 2015 at 1:00 – 3:00 pm. For complete details and to apply online, visit www.cfgnh.org/grants.

Generally more than $2 million in multi-year grants is awarded through The Community Foundation’s Responsive Grant process, which occurs in two-stages and takes approximately six months to complete.  Responsive Grants represent only one element of The Foundation’s overall grantmaking, which has exceeded $20 million in recent years. 

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 and has an endowment of over $430 million comprising more than 830 individually named funds. In addition to its grantmaking, 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 on issues important to our region. For more information, visit our website at www.cfgnh.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cfgnh or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cfgnh. 

Nonprofit boards often establish committees to "take care of" tasks the whole board might not want to do or might need done on their behalf. Often enough these tasks embody what I refer to as "taking care of the homework" that can helpfully inform the full board when decisions are to be made.

Finance Committees are an excellent example of a small sub-body of a nonprofit that can take a magnifying look at the income and expense statement and the balance sheet to be sure the rest of the board understands the nonprofit's financial condition at a given point of time and most importantly, understand what if any action the board should take. Executive Committees can be helpful in organizing meeting agendas and provide support to the executive director. A strategic planning task force can do the support work in moving a planning process along. All of these committees and task forces have a common function of doing the homework of the board and making recommendations, not decisions.

Lately I've run across some boards that have established personnel committees. A personnel committee or task force (is established with a specific time-limited assignment) may make sense when it's time to ensure that personnel policies need an update to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations and laws (this is a fiduciary responsibility). A task force established for recruiting an executive director and maybe even managing the annual executive performance review likely also makes sense.

But what about a personnel committee that is involved in hiring personnel beyond the executive? I am a subscriber to the philosophy that the individual who supervises and evaluates, hires. This would mean to me that the only staff person "hired" by the board is the executive director. And subsequently, the only reason for a personnel task force: updating personnel policies.

Thoughts?

The family child care providers in All Our Kin’s network come from all walks of life. Some have been working with young children all their lives. Others, like Dionne Lamothe, an All Our Kin provider, have had long careers in other fields.

Dionne Lamothe was born in Saint Michel de l’Atalaye, a city located in the Central Plateau of Haiti, and she started singing when she was just four years old. “It is in my blood,” she told me at her home in December. “I was born with it, and nothing can stop that.” Even as a child, her talent was impossible to ignore.

By the time she was 20 years old, her voice was well known throughout Haiti, but as a woman singer, her path was limited. She wanted to perform with Haiti’s Big Bands – the most famous of which was called Bossa Combo – but at the time, “they never allowed a woman singer to do much.”

“I said, ‘Nuh, uh. That has to stop. I have this talent that God gave me.’ Other people didn’t like it, but then they heard me sing. They started saying, ‘this is great.’ I was one of the best in Haiti.” In the 1980s, Dionne became the first young woman singer to perform with Bossa Combo. “We went on tour all over. France, Canada, Florida, Chicago, New York, Canada, places with big Haitian communities. I sang in every language – English, French, Spanish, Creole.”

Click here to read the rest of Dionne's story at All Our Words, the blog of All Our Kin. 

Solar Youth has extended its deadline for Spring 2015 Environmental Educator Internship positions! Any teenager enrolled in a New Haven high school is eligible to apply. Please visit our website by clicking here and selecting the links in the "Youth Staff" section for applications and further interns

hip information. The deadline is this Friday, January 16th. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Solar Youth's office at (203)387-4189. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Happy, Happy New Year

May This Year be a Great Year for All.

Grove Street Cemetery will again be hosting Historical Walking tours for all public, private, schools, groups, etc.

So on May 2nd (EVERY Saturday) the tours will begin the season at 11:00am and will continue until November 21st.

Then May 3rd (EVERY Sunday) the tours will begin the season at Noon and will continue until November 22nd.

If you wish to schedule a tour, please call Patricia Illingworth at 203.389.5403 or email p.b.i.newhaven@att.net.  

Looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.....

Patricia Illingworth

Chief Docent 

Professor Walter Mischel, professor of psychology and the creator of the Marshmallow Test experiments about children and self-control, recently spoke at an All Our Kin event in Bridgeport. To read parts of his lecture and learn about early brain development, toxic stress, and the "biology of disadvantage," click here.

What constitutes meaningful nonprofit board conversation? I pose that meaningful nonprofit board conversation, (usually what goes on in a board meetingand/or board planning session informs and/or results in action around fiduciary and strategic policy, planning and evaluation.

One of the topics I believe should be on the table of many human service nonprofits: pay-for-success. PMany US state and federal legislators are considering payfor-success as an answer to both cost savings and accountability. Here's a description from the Wall Street Journal:

Historically, providers of social services to at-risk and vulnerable populations have been paid for their efforts rather than for the outcomes they effect. But the past four House budgets constructed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) have emphasized measuring the impact of federal funds spent on education, food security, and other social needs. Such programs typically reimburse operators for meeting specific benchmarks in their efforts to keepclients out of prison or end homelessness. These policy innovations could help improve outcomes for at-risk populations while stewarding scarce federal dollars.

Federal job training programs are one place to look. Traditionally, such programs have focused on training job seekers independent of whether the training results in people getting and keeping a job, leaving few ways to measure the effectiveness ofthe approximately $18 billion the government spends every year to train those who need work.

In pay-for-success job training programs, however, market forces are applied to the process of calibrating employer needs and trainee education levels, matching trained applicants to employers with job openings, and providing supports to help ensure long-term success on the job. The programs typically work by making a portion of a provider’s reimbursement contingent on meeting an initial benchmark—usually job placement in a sector for which the employee was trained—and paying the remainder of the fee when a second benchmark, such as continued employment for a full year, is met. The Australian Department of Employment reported this summer that the cost of placing jobseekers has plummeted from $16,000 to $3,500 per trainee, even as the number of trainees getting and keeping jobs has doubled.

A consensus is also developing in the GOP around an accountable, efficient approach to poverty alleviation. Rep. Ryan has visited nonprofits around the country helping those caught in the cycle of poverty and dependency, and he recently proposed a plan to address endemic poverty. Language in the recent Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, championed by Rep.Susan Brooks (R., Ind.) and Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio), allows governors to use as much as 10% of their federal job training funds for these types of pay-for-performance, outcome-based programs.

Incoming House Budget Chairman Tom Price has said that he wants the GOP budget to give “the greatest amount of opportunity to the greatest number of Americans.” Incorporating policy guidance in the budget resolution to build and test pay-for-success models would send a message.

Social programs have a contract to keep with those who fund them and those they serve. Pay-for-success policies update the conservative lexicon to re-emphasize focus on outcomes–and empathy. By incorporating such strategies into the next budget, Republicans could improve the economic prospects of those Americans who need help the most—and improve their own prospects for 2016.

Juleanna Glover is a corporate consultant and Republican policy and communications adviser. She is an adviser to America Forward, a nonprofit that advocates accountability in government spending on social programs. She is on Twitter: @juleannaglover.

But, while pay-for-success may be the right strategy for the government, nonprofit boards must really examine their core values and mission as well as business model to discern how pay-for-success would affect the institution and their clients. Perhaps a pay-for-success task force should be created to understand all the issues and impact and be called upon to lead a board conversation that results in a clear direction with parameters. And, once ready to adopt, imagine the many and varied internal policies, practices, training, and /reporting/evaluation activities that will need be put in place to achieve the pay-for-success goal. Note, pay-for-success may not be right for every nonprofit.

Chapel Haven's Admissions Office invites families to check out our award-winning postsecondary school and transition program for adults with a variety of disabilities.

Founded in 1972, Chapel Haven is a nationally accredited transitional living program and approved private special education school founded in 1972 in New Haven, Connecticut, with a mission of teaching adults with cognitive disabilities and social disabilities to live independent and productive lives. Chapel Haven has grown to serve more than 250 adults (18 years of age and older) in the residence and the community with three distinct programs; REACH, Asperger’s Syndrome Adult Transition (ASAT), and Chapel Haven West (Tucson, AZ).

Chapel Haven also offers classes, social communication therapy and supported living services for families living within the New Haven area. Information about extended services provided by Chapel Haven available upon request.

To learn more about our programs, please call the Admissions Office at (203) 397-1714, ext. 148. Watch for workshops and open houses this winter and spring. You also can learn more online at www.chapelhaven.org.

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Hello To All!!!!

May everyone enjoy the "MERRIEST" of holidays and then to have a wonderful New Year as well.

All the VERY Best,

Patricia Illingworth

Chief Docent

As part of its ongoing commitment to support and strengthen nonprofits serving the Greater New Haven region, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is once again offering a series of workshops and several competitive funding opportunities. Workshop topics, grant deadlines and detailed eligibility criteria for each grant process is available at www.cfgnh.org or by calling 203-777-2386.

Training Workshops and Online Resources for Nonprofits
In 2015, a series of monthly workshops are planned by The Community Foundation covering a range of topics to strengthen the infrastructure of local nonprofits and maximize their effectiveness in delivering important services to the people residing in Greater New Haven. Early workshop topics will cover grant application writing and how to apply for a competitive Responsive grant from The Community Foundation. Additional topics planned for the year include: social media marketing, general marketing and planning, fundraising, donor retention, major gift acquisition and retention, budgeting and financials and planned giving.

Also online at www.cfgnh.org, nonprofit executives and staff can learn about best practices, tips and tools for organizational operations and links to resources on a variety of topics at the Nonprofit Management Resource Center.

For more information about the training workshops, visit www.cfgnh.org or contact Jackie Downing at 203-777-7072.

Grant Opportunities for Nonprofits Serving Greater New Haven
Organizations defined as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) or any applicable statute of the Internal Revenue code and that provide services to one or more of the following towns are eligible to apply for a competitive grant from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, North Branford, North Haven, West Haven, Oxford, New Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, Orange and Woodbridge.

Grant amounts range from several hundred dollars to thousands of dollars depending on the grant process; funding is available for event sponsorships, general operating support, immediate needs, specific programs and special areas of interest. For greater detail on each competitive grant process and deadline dates to apply online, visit The Community Foundation’s website at www.cfgnh.org/grants.
Scholarships are also available and distributed throughout the year from approximately 100 funds at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven; scholarship grants are awarded to individual students and paid directly to the student’s school. The majority of Foundation scholarship funds are designated to be awarded to students attending specific schools; applications and deadline dates vary. Scholarship seekers are encouraged to talk to their school Guidance counselors about funding opportunities. Visit www.cfgnh.org/scholarships to access online applications, deadline dates and other helpful resources.

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.

New Haven, CT (December 17, 2014) - The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the region’s charitable endowment and largest grantmaker, announces that Carlton L. Highsmith of Middlebury, CT and Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean of New Haven, Associate Professor of Political Science at Quinnpiac University in Hamden, have been appointed to the Board of Directors. Both will begin seven-year terms on January 1, 2015, taking the seats of David I. Newton and Rolan Young Smith, whose terms expire at the end of 2014.

”Khalilah Brown-Dean is a nationally known and well-respected voice on issues of great importance to our community who is also a committed and accomplished community leader, and Carlton Highsmith’s record of business leadership, community leadership and philanthropic leadership over many years is second to none in Greater New Haven,” says William Ginsberg, president and CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. “They will both make outstanding board members for The Community Foundation, and we are thrilled that they will be joining us in 2015.”

Mr. Highsmith was founder of Specialized Packaging Group, 

recognized as the largest minority-owned firm in the State of Connecticut prior to its merger with PaperWorks Industries. He served as vice chair of the Board at SPG PaperWorks Inc. until his 

retirement in 2010.

Mr. Highsmith is founding Chairman of the Board of the Connecticut Center for Arts & Technology (ConnCAT), a New Haven nonprofit organization providing market relevant and career-focused technical skills training and job placement services to underemployed and unemployed adults in the New Haven area. He also serves on the Boards of First Niagara Bank, Quinnipiac University and the Yale-New Haven Health System.

Mr. Highsmith has received many honors for his long-time community leadership. In 2014, he was the recipient of both the Greater New Haven Torch of Liberty Award from the Anti-Defamation League and the John H. Filer Award from the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy. In 2011 Gov. Dannel Malloy appointed Mr. Highsmith to the Connecticut Employment & Training Commission (CETC), where he currently chairs its Career Advancement Committee. Mr. Highsmith earned a BA in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds Honorary Doctorate degrees from Quinnipiac University and Albertus Magnus College.

Dr. Brown-Dean’s current research focuses on the political dynamics surrounding the American criminal justice system. Her book Once Convicted, Forever Doomed: Race, Punishment, and Governance explores how mass incarceration impairs both the strength and function of American governance. Her research on the criminal justice system and voting rights policy have garnered international attention, and she was recently appointed as a Director of the Prison Policy Initiative, a national nonprofit organization working to understand the impact of mass incarceration on local communities across America.

Dr. Brown-Dean is a frequent contributor to the Washington Post, CNN, Ebony.com, Fox News Radio, WNPR, AURN, CTV, and other outlets regarding issues such as American politics, mass political behavior, crime and punishment and political psychology. In 2014, Connecticut Magazinenamed Dr. Brown-Dean one of its “Forty Under Forty,” citing her as one of the best and brightest among Connecticut’s Generation Next. Dr. Brown-Dean attended the University of Virginia, where she received a BA in Political Science. She has a Masters Degree and a PhD from The Ohio State University, where she was the recipient of the Henry R. Spencer Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Graduate Associate Teaching Award.

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 atwww.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. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.org/cfgnh or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cfgnh.