Good Morning, All-
Here are some NYSCAA updates and other information that you may find of interest.
NYSCAA News
Staff Addition: Please join us in welcoming Gary Washburn as NYSCAA’s new Fiscal Director. Gary’s first day is Monday, November 13th and we are excited to have him on board. CEO for Hire will remain with us for several weeks to ensure a smooth transition.
Member Visits. Thank you to Tina Sharpe, Florence Ohle, and Gladys Walker for meeting with me this week.
Board Committee Meeting. Just a reminder that the Public Policy Committee will be meeting via conference call on November 20th at 10:00.
Traveling. Denise Harlow will be in California most of next week attending a Community Action State Association Executive Director Training Institute. She will be responding voicemail and email between sessions and via the time change.
Appointment. Denise Harlow has been appointed to the DHCR Weatherization Policy Advisory Council. NYSCAA has a seat on the Council but has we have not been active since Dan’s departure. While unable to attend the November meeting, Denise will attend the meeting in NYC in December.
Public Policy
As you may have seen in your local press, Governor-elect Spitzer has appointed his transition team. The six unpaid co-chairs are:
Ø Richard Parsons, chairman of the board and CEO of Time Warner Inc. He served as co-chairman of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Commission on Economic Opportunity and chairman emeritus of the Partnership for New York City.
Ø Peter C. Goldmark, Jr., director of the Climate and Air Program at Environmental Defense, an anti-pollution organization.
Ø Elizabeth D. Moore, a partner at the law firm of Nixon Peabody. She runs the firm's Diversity Action Committee and worked in the administration of Gov. Mario Cuomo.
Ø Lloyd Constantine, chairman of the law firm Constantine Cannon in New York and Washington. He is the former state assistant attorney general in charge of antitrust enforcement, a position that ended in 1991 well before Spitzer took office. He was the chairman of Spitzer's transition committee when he became attorney general in 1998-99.
Ø Hunter Rawlings, president emeritus of Cornell University.
Ø Rosanna Rosado, publisher of El Diario/La Prensa, the Spanish language newspaper.
Two other staffers were named Thursday:
Ø Paul Francis as transition policy director. He helped Spitzer develop many of the detailed positions for the campaign.
Ø Francine James as transition appointments director. She has been Spitzer's assistant first deputy attorney general.
Mr. Parsons role as chairman for Mayor Bloomberg’s Commission on Economic Opportunity is an interesting note. See a copy of this report at http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/pdf/ceo_report2006.pdf
The Public Policy Committee will be working on strategies to address the Spitzer team and the state legislature for the upcoming legislative session.
At the national level, New York State’s congressional delegation will certainly increase in stature in the upcoming congress. We will include further analysis in upcoming print and email newsletters.
Upcoming Events of Interest
NYS Attorney General’s Office hosts its annual Charities Symposium. On Friday, December 15th, the NYS Attorney General’s office hosts it Charities Symposium: Right from the Start-Governance and Internal Control Issues for Not-for-Profit Organizations. Held at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC (7th Ave and 27th Street), the session costs $15 and the registration deadline in December 8th. This session will provide a current issue update from the NYS Charities Bureau and the IRS. Normally, the AG does an upstate version as well but nothing has been scheduled upstate for the remainder of 2006. For more information, go to: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/charities/Invitation-webnyc%20_dEC%2006.pdf
National Community Action Partnership to host New Executive Director Training as part of the Fall Training Conference. The conference will be December 6-8, 2007 in San Antonio, TX and will feature a track dedicated to new Executive Directors. See http://www.communityactionpartnership.com/events/Fall-Training.pdf for more information.
EVENT THIS WEEK November 14 - Support Center for Nonprofit Management will host a workshop “Current Issues in Financial Management and Governance,” 9:30-12:30, 305 Seventh Avenue, NYC. Advance registration is required. For complete information and online registration visit www.supportcenteronline.org.
EVENT THIS WEEK November 16 - Baruch College, School of Public Affairs, Nonprofit Group Seminar Reviewing Your Mission and Strategic Direction - Mergers, Alliances, and the Unthinkable What to expect from your board, Impact of new governance and When to close down the organization accountability standards. Alair Townsend, Publishing Director, Crain’s New York Business and former New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Finance and Economic Development. 4:00 – 6:00 pm. 135 East 22nd Street, Room 301 RSVP by email at nonprofit_workshops@baruch.cuny.edu. By phone at 646-660-6743 Space Limited – RSVP Required. Light refreshments will be served.
2007 National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference SAVE THE DATE (in cooperation with the National CACFP Forum), we are reminding you to “Save the Date” and secure your hotel accommodations. The annual Washington D.C. conference will begin Sunday morning, February 25th, and extend through Tuesday, February 27th, 2007. As in previous years, FRAC/A2H staff will be working with attendees to schedule meetings with Members of Congress throughout the day on Tuesday, February 27th, so please plan to be on Capitol Hill all day. Check out the 2007 Conference website, for all conference information.
Other Items of Interest
United States Department of Agriculture
Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Competitive Grants Program Grant
http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=11357
Nonprofit Congress Votes Priorities.
In October nearly 400 delegates to the Nonprofit Congress National Meeting voted on the three top priorities of the nonprofit sector:
1) A priority of the nonprofit sector is to ensure that the sector has the resources it needs to serve communities and is effectively and efficiently managed.
2) A priority of the nonprofit sector is to advocate for the sector at large and engage our constituents to solve problems at the grassroots level.
3) A priority of the nonprofit sector is to increase public understanding and support so that nonprofits can continue to do their best work.
4) "Nonprofits need to insist on a place at the table - in communities, in government, [within] Chambers of Commerce, in education, etc. - to be able to do more with more, not more with less," said a delegate from New Jersey.
For more information see Nonprofit Congress at http://www.nonprofitcongress.org/priorities.htm
OMB Watch Launches FedSpending.org
Information on the trillions of dollars disbursed by the federal government is now available to the public on a user-friendly, searchable Web site. FedSpending.org, a project of OMB Watch which provides a detailed look at how the government sets national priorities and allocates federal resources. See FedSpending.org.
Asset-Based Approaches to Poverty Reduction in a Globalize Context
Caroline Moser, The Brookings Institution
This working paper provides a brief introduction to asset-based approaches to poverty reduction in a globalized context. The aim is to show the added value of asset-based approaches, in terms of both better understanding poverty and developing more appropriate long-term poverty reduction solutions. http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/200611moser.htm
ADJUSTING FOR LIVING COSTS CAN CHANGE WHO IS CONSIDERED POOR
The prevalence of poverty has historically been greater in nonmetro than metro areas since poverty rates were first officially recorded. However, adjusting the official poverty measure for cost-of-living differences reverses the rankings of metro and nonmetro poverty. Such a reversal would have important implications for the geographic and demographic distribution of Federal funding of poverty-based programs.
Released Wednesday, November 1, 2006 See http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/November06/Features/Adjusting.htm
Have a great weekend!
Denise
Denise Harlow
Chief Executive Officer
New York State Community Action Association
2 Charles Blvd.
Guilderland, NY 12084
(518) 690-0491
Fax: (518) 690-0498
www.nyscaaonline.org
A Member of the Community Action Partnership-Helping People. Changing Lives.