www.TechSoup.org Can Help Your Nonprofit with Technical Assistance, Software and Hardware

Posted by Lee Cruz on February 11, 2010 at 5:29pm

If you would like to learn more please email me and I will forward a link where you can download the Techsoup presentation to view or to share with the tech folks that work with your organization.

COTR Classes Open to the Public

Posted by Todd Foster on February 11, 2010 at 5:20pm

Winter Session 2010
Feb. 8th - Mar. 19st
Obviously, we're not doing it for the money!

First come, first serve; Space is limited.

Contact: Todd Foster cotr@snet.net

DRAMA
Instructor - Loretta Lawson
Group Lesson
Ages: 14 - 99
Monday Evenings starting at 7:00pm
Six Weeks - $50 (one time fee)
Description: Using theater games, Improv, warm ups and monologues each student will learn to think on your feet, learn to listen and respond in the moment. You will learn to express yourself creatively, improve your public speaking skills, and have fun all in a safe non-judgmental environment.
This class is for people who would like to:
* Socialize and Network with new interesting people
* * Build self-confidence and discover new talent
* * Explore and develop your creative side
* * Want to learn to be more outgoing
* * Decrease Stress

Visioneering - PUTTING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN ON PAPER AND INTO ACTION!
Instructor - Ann-Marie Brungard- Knight
Group Lesson - 10 Max.
Ages: High School Jrs/ Srs - Adults
Tuesday Evenings 6 - 8pm
Six Weeks - $60.00
Description: This course is designed to inspire participants to dream, provide lots of important information, and explore ideas and techniques that will broaden thinking and assist with developing a business plan. During this process participants will document what they have learned. We will be using spiritual applications to develop a business plan outline and lay the foundation for building a small business.

GET READY TO WORK; PREPARING TO GET YOUR DREAM JOB
Instructors - Lerone Holloway & Anne-Marie Brungard Knight
Group Lesson - 10 Max.
Ages: High School Jrs/ Srs - Adults
Friday Evenings 7 - 8pm
CLASS IS FREE!
Description: The course is designed to make job seeking more efficient by sharpening job searching, resume writing, and interviewing skills and introducing participant to resources available to them. Each skill area will have a session devoted to discussion and practical skills.

BRASS & WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS
Instructors - Arthur and Stefanie Boles
Individual & Group Lessons
Ages 12 & up
Thursday Evenings 6 - 8:00 pm
Six Weeks - $60.00
Description: Basic music theory,
instrument foundation and
personal instruction.
Instruments include: Trumpet,
Trombone, French horn, Baritone,
Flute, Clarinet and Saxophones.
Student must bring own instrument and purchase book.

SELF DEFENSE
Instructor - Eric Stevens
Lessons: Group & Individual
Ages: 5 & Up
Monday & Thursday evenings 6-7pm
One Month - $50.00
Description: Develop basic skills in Tae Kwon Do
to glorify God in the training of both mind and body and to promote a friendly relationship among all people.
Materials needed: Sweatpants and T-shirt

Arts & Ideas Fellowship program for low income high school juniors and seniors from the Greater New Haven

Posted by Lee Cruz on February 11, 2010 at 3:07pm

IFAI Fellowship Program Application Form (2).doc

The International Festival of Arts & Ideas has launched an Arts & Ideas Fellowship program for low income high school juniors and seniors from the Greater New Haven region. The program, designed as a basic skills training program through the arts, has an after school component leading up to the Festival followed by two weeks of intensive activity during the Festival.

They still have 4 or 5 slots available for students who meet the income guidelines as outlined in the attachment. These are fully funded opportunities including full access to Festival events and artists. Festival Fellows receive a stipend upon completion of the program.

While there are a number of high school juniors and seniors who are interested in the program, the income guidelines are very stringent since the program is funded through Connecticut's Workforce Alliance. For example, gross annual income for a family of 2 cannot exceed $15,469 and for a family of five cannot exceed $30,932 (see Application).

In order to reach out to even more young people, the following situations typically waive income guidelines:

Family is on Food Stamps
Student has a certified special need
Student is living in a shelter

Let's identify students who can benefit from this program. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Please forward any suggestions or contact information to me and I'll take it from there. Alternately, you can contact the Festival Fellows Program Director, Dawn Gibson-Brehon at dgibson-brehon@artidea.org or (203) 498-3739.

#fnfp #Techsoup webinar overview of support offered 2 nonprofits. will post link soon.

Posted by Lee Cruz on February 11, 2010 at 2:21pm

www.techsoup.com

Your Community and the U.S. Census: Combine to WIN

Posted by Lee Cruz on February 8, 2010 at 2:30pm

For every person that does not get counted in the 2010 Census your community loses thousands of dollars in federal funds. You can help:

1. Participate in the CENSUS: http://www.census.gov/

2. Educate yourself about the CENSUS -
http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/ConstituentFAQ.pdf and learn where your community has the lowest rates of participation: http://www.censushardtocountmaps.org/

3. Encourage your family, friends and acquaintance to participate in the census. This is a link to a packet that you can read, download and print. It contains lots of useful information: http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/Community_Overview.pdf

The Census slogan is on the mark, it really is in our hand!

Painting Recycled Oil Drums: 2/6 12-4pm Erector Sq.

Posted by Lee Cruz on February 4, 2010 at 12:47pm

Come have fun painting recycled oil drums on: Sat. Feb. 6th noon to 4PM Erector Square 315 Peck Street, Fair Haven section of New Haven, CT Bldg. #6-West, Studio-D, ground floor First parking lot between Bldgs 2 & 3. Bring friends or just stop by and add your touch to a drum. It's a painting party with pizza, refreshments, and music. A permanent decal will include your name on the drum you painted. The 6 drums will be placed on the streets between Elm and Blatchley. It is a worthwhile environmental and artistic endeavor. Jack Lardis Oil Drum Art 203-510-5465 www.oildrumart.org

Corporate philanthropy is first and foremost about employee morale...

Posted by Lee Cruz on February 4, 2010 at 12:03pm

source:http://causect.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/anatomy-of-a-tie-in-fundraising-opportunity-and-tribute-event/ When a local corporation does not have an office dedicated to corporate contributions, who is the go-to person? Human Resources? Even when there are full-time communications people dedicated to giving, HR is always at the giving table because corporate philanthropy is first and foremost about employee morale.

Screening for benefits: EarnBenefits is live!

Posted by Roger Senserrich - CAHS on February 3, 2010 at 4:00pm

Remember EarnBenefits?It is a program that CAHS is implementing, in partnership with other organizations, to make benefits more readily available for people that need them. EBO is web-based application that helps case managers and intake workers screen clients for ten benefits simultaneously, allowing them to have quick access to more services. You can find more information on the software here, in a previous blog post.We have big new today, as the system is finally alive and running! This means that people that goes to one of our partner organizations to ask for help applying for some DSS or DCF program will be able to get screened and get the paperwork filled automatically, having everything ready to apply.Where can you refer your clients? Right now, these are our locations:Junta for Progressive Action (GNHC profile)Christian Community Action (GNHC Profile)Catholic Charities / Centro San JoséIf you give me a desk and a computer with an internet connection, I will be doing screenings furiously too; so call me a line if you need this service.Right now we can scan for eligibility (and fill most of the forms) for six benefits: WIC, Husky A, Husky B, SNAP, EITC and energy assistance - and more programs are coming soon. So if you need a place to refer a client to help him get Food Stamps, you know where to send them - or you can drop me a line so I come to help as needed.Join the GNH Community EarnBenefits group for updates if you want to know more.

Third Sector Connector Forums: A useful resource for answers to you nonprofit org. questions

Posted by Lee Cruz on February 1, 2010 at 5:01pm

http://www.nonprofitlocal.com/modules/newbb/ Third Sector Connector Forums. Whether you're a finance manager with a question about audits, a program manager looking for new volunteer recruitment strategies, or an executive director or board member with questions about rotating board terms, you've come to the right place (and send the rest of your team here, too!). We've designed these forums so that you can connect with others, exchange information, and stay on top of changing trends and best practices. You can keep track of just a single thread, or you can monitor all of the posts and topics in a forum. Just change your notification options at the bottom of the page. Note: These forums are primarily community-moderated, so if you see a post that is inappropriate, please use the "report!" button displayed below each post to let us know. http://www.nonprofitlocal.com/modules/newbb/

Afterschool programs don’t forget to let JC Penny know -- this fundraising methodology is replicable.

Posted by Lee Cruz on January 31, 2010 at 10:28am

Source: http://causect.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/collecting-change-for-your-cause/ Customers donated more than $4.7 million through the JCPenney Afterschool Round-up campaigns last year. During each 10-day event, shoppers were invited to “round-up” their JCPenney purchases to the nearest whole dollar and donate the difference to the JCPenney Afterschool Fund. JCPenney formalized its commitment to the afterschool issue by making it the Company’s signature cause since 1999. www.jcpenneyafterschool.org ... http://causect.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/collecting-change-for-your-cause/

Found Money’ for Your Cause

Posted by Lee Cruz on January 29, 2010 at 4:49pm

Source: http://causect.wordpress.com/ Everything about fundraising is Relationship Fundraising. That is the theme of every post. That is the point of this post. Greenwich-based Atlantic-Pacific Capital (there are dozens of these in Fairfield County, the world’s capital of such firms) raises capital for private equity, real estate, energy, infrastructure, healthcare, technology and hedge fund placements, as well as private placement financings in support of acquisitions, buy-outs and growth capital transactions. Founded in 1995, Atlantic-Pacific has raised in excess of $35 billion for its clients and has developed strong and unique relationships with over 4,000 alternative investors worldwide. So, why this post? You think APC’s worldwide clients who owe their livelihoods at least in part to APC would pay attention if they received an invitation to send a greeting to APC in a Tribute Journal that is a key component of an event to honor one of APC’s principals? Is a Tribute Journal, even a $10,000 full-page greeting (remove the word AD from your vocabulary), a rather inexpensive way of keeping that relationship vital? Might APC notice if a key client were not front and center in such a Tribute Journal? You will find that if this is done correctly the people represented in the Tribute Journal will always far outnumber the people who actually attend the big gala. This is one way a Connecticut charity can raise money, serious money, from as far away as Hong Kong. Take Christian H. Voss for example. He just joined APC as a Partner to work alongside Founder and Chairman James Manley to head the Direct Private Placements Group. Prior to joining APC, Mr. Voss was Managing Director and Head of Private Capital Markets for Cantor Fitzgerald in New York and London (far more relationships there to tap into). He holds a B.S. in Finance and Economics from Villanova University and an MBA from Fordham University Graduate School of Business. He’s new to town, but his relationships are legion. Forgive the tactical thinking of causeCT, but a charity would do well to send him a greeting card congratulating him on his new position and invite him for a tour. Better if you can find a peer to extend that invitation (he probably has lived in CT all along anyway). Months later your charity has a relationship with Mr. Voss. Because your charity was the only CT charity (assuming he does not have his own causes) to engage him, you can develop a reason a honor him. If he says yes, the fun really starts if he also says Yes to your working with his secretary to make sure that everyone who is important to him has the opportunity to send him a greeting. You get the point. This example appears merely because the notice of his new post appeared today. But if you were to honor Mr. Voss (or anyone else of his stature) in this way? That’s a 6-figure Tribute Journal alone, let alone the gala itself. Money on the table. Your beneficiaries? That found money on the table is their money. Your charity has the moral authority to capture that money. causeCT cares about your beneficiaries and so it is all-in on offering you tactics that work to help you find and capture that money that they need. Only you can get it for them. This is not about raising money for the fun of raising money. CauseCT is focused on meeting the needs of your beneficiaries and it attempts to accomplish this by helping you find new money.

Help the Media (and donors) Find You

Posted by Lee Cruz on January 29, 2010 at 4:43pm

Source: http://causect.wordpress.com/ You are an expert. The Cision video (first link below) is a helpful tool to help you realize that fact. The other links will help you get noticed by journalists. Not much more to say. Ever wonder why this or that person was quoted in an important article or television spot on a subject you know infinitely more about? These links will help answer that nagging question. http://us.cision.com/campaigns/2009_personality/personality.html http://helpareporter.com/sources http://www.expertclick.com/Home.aspx http://www.presschoice.com/ https://profnet.prnewswire.com/ http://www.experts.com/members.aspx http://www.guestfinder.com/ http://www.ijnet.org/Director.aspx http://www.sources.com/ http://www.allexperts.com/

Care 4 Kids Program Will Remain Open Through February 28

Posted by Roger Senserrich - CAHS on January 28, 2010 at 10:38am

Probably most of you already know, but a good reminder:Connecticut’s Care 4 Kids child care assistance program continues to be open for services to eligible working families. In addition, the program has raised the income limit to allow more working families to qualify.The program will NOT close to working families as of December 31, 2009, as previously announced. It will remain open to working families until at least February 28, 2010, pending budget availability.The Care 4 Kids program helps families pay their child care costs to help parents stay employed. It also helps families on Temporary Family Assistance who are working or learning skills to obtain employment.The Care 4 Kids program is:Accepting new applications from working families with annual earnings up to 75% of the state median income level (for example, $73,281 for a family of four). This income level is higher than the traditional eligibility ceiling of 50% of state median income to apply.Allowing currently-served families to remain eligible until their earnings reach 75% of the state median income level.For information about submitting applications or general information about Care4Kids, please visit: www.ctcare4kids.com or call 1-888-214-KIDS (5437) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

New Haven Neighborhood Quality of Life Survey

Posted by Roger Senserrich - CAHS on January 28, 2010 at 10:30am

From our friends at DataHaven (a great website, by the way):Do you have opinions about your neighborhood’s convenience, safety or appearance, skills you can contribute, or suggestions for improving the community? Do you want to help your neighborhood become an even better place to live and work?We’re excited to announce the first-ever New Haven Neighborhood Quality of Life Survey!This citywide survey is part of a grassroots effort to encourage more residents to participate in their local neighborhood associations and Community Management Teams. Many of these groups have agreed to formally participate in this inaugural year. They have agreed to distribute this email (and paper copies, available upon request) in order to give everyone an opportunity to share their perspective. Developed with the help of successful national examples, the survey represents many months of work and feedback from these associations and other local residents.DataHaven, a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)3 organization that compiles and shares high-quality public information, will ensure accuracy of reporting and maintain the anonymity of all information collected.Immediately following the collection of surveys, DataHaven will make neighborhood-level results available at its website. Results will also be shared at informal Neighborhood Workshops, to be organized by CMTs, neighborhood groups and at a citywide level. The results may be used by anyone to help their neighborhood develop action plans to address quality of life concerns.Please help our neighborhoods by distributing this email to your mailing lists and inviting your neighbors to participate at the link below. Any resident, employee, student or visitor to your neighborhood may take the survey.The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. We need you to help make this survey and this city the best it can be!Survey Link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/neighborhoodsurveynewhavenIf you have any questions about this survey, or if you would like to request coded paper-based surveys for distribution (for those without computer access/comfort), please contact Mark Abraham (matissepicasso@gmail.com) or Doug Hausladen (douglas.hausladen@gmail.com).

Chance that more than 100 17” flat screen monitors may come available to non-profits...

Posted by Lee Cruz on January 27, 2010 at 4:47pm

There a chance that more than 100 17” flat screen monitors may come available to non-profits. Please let me know if you are interested such monitors, and how many, for your non-profit, should they become available. These monitors are used but are of relatively recent vintage and are in working order. C.J. May Recycling Coordinator Yale University www.yale.edu/recycling 203-432-6852

Improving access to programs: EarnBenefits is coming!

Posted by Roger Senserrich - CAHS on January 15, 2010 at 3:30pm

Starting February, CAHS and three partner organizations will start rolling out a very powerful new tool to help low-income families become more self-sufficient: EarnBenefits Online (EBO). EBO is web-based application that helps case managers and intake workers screen clients for ten benefits simultaneously, allowing them to have quick access to more services.How does EBO work?For a client, EBO will look like the following.1. Sit down with the case worker and describe their household situation: income, family members, assets, housing situation, etc.2. The case worker will introduce the information on the computer as they talk, and hit a button.3. EBO will give a list of all the benefits the client (or a member of the household) can apply to, as well as information on where he needs to go and what he needs to bring.4. The case worker can then hit "print", and EBO will fill an application with all the information automatically and give it to the client, so he can bring it to DSS or the appropiate agency.The whole thing is completely transparent, very easy to use and fully automatized; the eligibility requirements are all handled by EBO. The software is web based, so the only thing the worker needs is a computer with Firefox and an internet connection - and a printer with plenty of paper!EBO will screen for SNAP, Husky, TANF, SAGA, EITC, WIC and Medicaid, amongst other benefits, when fully deployed. Think on the amount of time clients and case workers will safe.Who is going to offer this service?CAHS is proud to announce our partners for Greater New Haven:Junta for Progressive Action (GNHC profile)Christian Community Action (GNHC Profile)Catholic Charities / Centro San José (and someone should help me convince them come to GNH Community!)Starting February, this fine sites will be screenings for benefits using the EBO software. If you give me a desk and a computer with an internet connection, I will be doing screenings furiously too; so drop me a line if you need this service. Contact them (or myself) for more information of availability and referrals - we are still working out the details, so suggestions, encouragement and ideas are more than welcome.Interested in EBO? Want to help?We are still looking for sites and partners. If you think your case workers will get a lot of use of this tool, please drop us a line! Tracy Helin is the person to talk to in this regard; I am available for questions as well.We really want this to be useful, so please, talk to us! We want to screen people, we want to help them get benefits. We want to help!Join us at the EarnBenefits GNHC Group

Connecticut Money School - Financial literacy in New Haven

Posted by Roger Senserrich - CAHS on January 13, 2010 at 3:44pm

Connecticut Money School (CMS) is a project of the Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS) and five nonprofit partners. CMS provides free financial education for adults and seniors. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to become financially stable and successful. One way to achieve financial stability and success is through a better understanding of how to manage your money and your assets - and CMS is here to help.The Connecticut Money School is coordinated by our very own Ellen Carter (link to her profile page) and it is an excellent resource for those looking to learn how to better manage their money. CMS has a ton of classes in the GNH area; the courses are always free, and always taught by professional instructors that are experts on their subject.It is a very good resource, that can be very useful for many people in New Haven. Spread the word!Even more important, we are always looking for more instructors, more students, and more places to hold classes. If you want to help by letting us use a classroom, you want to teach or you want to ask about the program, drop Ellen a line on the CMS website or here at GNH Community.

Funding Opportunity for Programs for Women & Girls

Posted by Lee Cruz on December 17, 2009 at 9:30am

The Fund for Women and Girls at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is accepting applications. The deadline is 5 pm on Friday, January 15. Applications and guidelines are available at: www.fundforwomenandgirls.org The Community Fund for Women and Girls was created in 1995 to provide ongoing support for services important to women and girls. Since its inception the Fund has distributed $370,000 into the community.

Improving access to benefits to those who need them

Posted by Roger Senserrich - CAHS on December 11, 2009 at 7:00pm

Update: We will be taking applications until Thursday if needed. We are really looking for more partner organizations in New Haven specifically, by the way. We had a life demo of the application yesterday, and it is wonderful. If anyone has questions, please call me. I can even drop by to show it.EarnBenefits demo________________________Just a quick reminder for all you folks out there about Earnbenefits, a new tool that CAHS is going to launching next year.We all know how hard is to direct people to apply for the state and benefits they are eligible for. The requirements are confusing, the applications are too long, and it is hard to keep track on what they need to do. We are rolling out an online application to actually try to solve that; a screening tool that keeps track of all requirements, fills the application in full and prints out instructions on what documents the client needs to bring to DSS, VITA sites or DCF.We are looking for partners to deploy this tool. We will offer support, some financing for expenses and training. You can find the RFP here. The deadline for it was today (December 11), but if we get applications say, on Monday or Tuesday, we will definetely have a look.Which leads me to the next point, of course: if someone needs help doing screenings, the outreach team of CAHS in New Haven (aka me) is more than glad to help. I am available for coming and talking with clients about benefits; SNAP right now, and more benefits as Earnbenefits rolls out. Contact me if you need more information on either screening or the RFP.

RFP: Improving Access to Work Supports through Online Screening

Posted by Roger Senserrich - CAHS on November 3, 2009 at 2:30pm

CAHS is starting a new and very exciting program in the coming months: EarnBenefits.EarnBenefits is an online screening took created by Seedco that allows us to screen a client for 8 to 10 benefits at once. Basically we are able to sit down, ask a few questions, and get a list of all the benefits they can apply. The software then automatically fills and application with the client information, a list of all the paperwork they need to include and the benefits they will get, and prints them. You will only need to make the copies of the documents needed and have it send to DSS.We want to have a good team of service providers using this tool, so we are looking for partners. We are offering funding, training and support to put everything in place and running; the idea is that case workers will be able to use EarnBenefits to screen clients quick and efficiently, getting all the paperwork ready in a few minutes, and make life easier to our clients.Check the full RFP and information bellow:EarnBenefits Partner RFP-Final.docImproving Access to Work Supports through Online ScreeningEarnBenefits InitiativeRequest for Partnership ProposalThe Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS), a statewide advocacy, outreach, and public education nonprofit organization, seeks proposals for partnership from direct service providers for an initiative to improve access to work supports for low-wage residents. Improving access to work supports is a powerful strategy for promoting job stability and economic advancement among low-wage workers. CAHS will contract with Seedco to adapt its widely-used electronic benefits tool, EarnBenefits, and work in five or six Connecticut cities with community partners to enroll 1,500-plus residents in work support programs annually. Those community partners who are approved will be granted free access to the EarnBenefits screening tool, and will receive training from CAHS staff on how to improve benefits screening through the newly developed electronic system.This project has been made possible through a partnership with the following funders: Fairfield County Community Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, and The William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund.Selected applicant organizations may be eligible to receive grants of up to $5,000 in program support. Please be prepared to submit an itemized budget with your proposal.EarnBenefits is a web-based product developed by Seedco, Inc., a nonprofit workforce intermediary based in New York City. EarnBenefits is used to guide clients through the online application process and allow them to apply for multiple benefits at the same time. Working with a trained counselor at your local partnership organization, the prospective applicant can use EarnBenefits to learn about a number of work supports they may be unaware of, receive an estimated dollar value of those supports they qualify for, and even re-certify for those supports they already receive. EarnBenefits will automatically fill out multiple applications, which your counselors/staff then print for the applicant to take and apply at relevant agencies. EarnBenefits will then track the application.For full details, download the RFP:EarnBenefits Partner RFP-Final.doc

For every person that does not get counted in the 2010 Census your community loses thousands of dollars in federal funds. You can help:

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.