From: Denise Harlow
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 11:42 AM
To: executivedirectors@nyscaaonline.org; Barbara Allen; scharlebois@ceo-cap.org
Cc: Annette Marchese; Barbara Goldstein; Beatrice Murray; Cindy Denick; Conloy Finn; Craig Howard; Debra Relyea; Emmett Ferris; Evelyn Harris (eharris@dos.state.ny.us); Frances Hanna; James Kovarik; Katharine Hand; Kathy Wright-Austin (kwright-austin@dos.state.ny.us); Linda Snead (lsnead@dos.state.ny.us); Lisa Nieves ; Martha (Nancy) Pfohl; Nancy Flowers; P Wright; Patricia Purcell; Robert Grace; Suzanne Lehtonen; Tim Luse; William Breidinger; William Harlow; Jennifer Green; Tom Coffinger; 'kspeth@nyscaaonline.org'; Liz M. Hughes
Subject: NYSCAA News and Updates 4-25-07

Good Morning, Folks-

 

Here are some NYSCAA News and Updates along with other items that may be of interest.

 

NYSCAA News and Updates

 

Planning for a Statewide Commission on Poverty.  Reminder that the Public Policy Committee and Executive Committee is hosting a meeting this Friday to discuss calling for a Statewide Commission on Poverty and Economic Security.  The meeting is in Syracuse on April 27th at PEACE, 10:00-3:00 and is open to all members who would like to be involved in the planning for the call for a Statewide Commission.   While we encourage folks to attend in person if at all possible, conference calling will be available for those unable to make the trip.  To call in, please call 1-866-680-1500 and enter code 3162050# at the prompt.

 

NYSCAA/NYSWDA Annual Professional Development Conference and Annual Meeting Registration is OPEN.  Please plan to join us June 11-13 in Poughkeepsie, NY at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel for our annual event.  NYSCAA has moved to one Professional Development Conference this year and we hope you can join us.  There will be a special Advanced Fiscal Institute on Tuesday with training provided by Hilda Polanco, CPA, of Fiscal Management Associates in NYC.  Anita Lichtblau from CAPLAW will also be joining us on Monday for the opening plenary and will be offering a workshop on bylaws for Community Action Agencies.  Here is a link to the brochure’s PDF copy and online registration http://www.nyscaaonline.org/PDFs/Events/2007JuneBrochure.pdf.  For online registration, please go to: http://www.nyscaaonline.org/Events_Events_FeaturedEvents.aspx

 

NYSCAA Annual Awards.  NYSCAA’s annual awards will be announced on Tuesday, June 12th at the Annual Dinner during the Conference and nominations are currently being sought.  We have moved up the deadline for nominations in order to allow the committee to review all nominations.  Please have all nominations in by May 4th.  Nominations can be mailed, emailed or faxed back to NYSCAA.  To encourage nominations, everyone who nominates a candidate for an award will be entered into a drawing for an MP3 player that will be awarded the night of the dinner.  For nomination instructions and forms, go to http://www.nyscaaonline.org/FirstPageNewsArticles/2007JuneConf.aspx.

 

CSBG Grantee Survey Reminder. As you know, the New York State Department of State-Division of Community Services is currently going through its CSBG Administrative Review which is designed to review and assess the State’s ability to effectively manage the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program.   This assessment is being conducted by members of the CSBG Advisory Council and NYSCAA.  If you haven’t yet completed the survey, please do so by April 30th.  To access the survey, go to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=103753608588 and follow the prompts. 

 

CSBG Legislative Hearing.  Please mark your calendars for the CSBG Legislative Hearing on June 5th at 10:30 in the Roosevelt Hearing Room C in the Legislative Office Building (LOB) in Albany.  The Public Policy Committee will be strategizing on NYSCAA’s testimony and any potential “ask” to the Legislature so please send along any input you would like to see included in NYSCAA’s testimony or participate in the upcoming committee meeting.  If you can’t attend the April meeting but would like to receive updates on committee meetings, please let me know.

 

Governor Spitzer Declares May as Community Action Month.  While we haven’t received the formal document, the Governor’s office has confirmed that he has declared May as Community Action Month for the State of New YorkWe will get the final language and a copy of the proclamation out to you to use in press releases, etc. and will post it on NYSCAA’s website when we receive it.  To have your Community Action Month event (or any agency event) listed on the NSYCAA website, send details of your event to Denise at dharlow@nyscaaonline.org.

 

Thank You.  Thank you again to Cindy Colter, Janelle Cooper, Dana Brunett (ROI), David Woods, Joe Roszak and Diane Cooper-Currier for taking time to meet with me last week.  Your insights and recommendations are greatly appreciated.

 

Upcoming NSYCAA Committee Meetings

 

Public Policy Committee and Executive Committee.  As noted above, the committees are meeting in Syracuse at PEACE, Inc., 10:00-3:00 on Friday, April 27th.  Other NYSCAA members interested in participating are encouraged to attend.  For those unable to make the trip, conference calling will be available, please call 1-866-680-1500 and enter in code 3162050# at the prompt. 

 

Governance Committee.  The committee is meeting by conference call on Thursday, May 3rd at 2:00.  Please call 1-866-680-1500 and enter in code 3162050# at the prompt.  Board nominations and election process will be the key agenda items

 

Membership Development Committee.  The next meeting is set for Friday, May 11th, at 11:00, at Tompkins Community Action, 701 Spencer Rd, in Ithaca, NY.  We will be choosing Award winners, finalizing the June Conference Annual Dinner agenda, discussing membership benefits and dues, among other items.  We hope to have most folks join us in person for this meeting given the heavy agenda but conference calling will be available by calling 1-866-680-1500 and enter in code 3162050# at the prompt.

 

Best Practices Committee.  The Best Practices Committee will be meeting later in May to discuss the NIQCA call.  Details to follow shortly.

 

Other Items of Interest

 

Hunger Action Network Seeks Summer Food Program Partners. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides free nutritious meals to children 18 and younger during the summer months while school is out. The program is underutilized across the state and we need to reach more kids! Key reasons for low participation are a lack of groups to sponsor the program and provide a site, and a lack of education about the program.  Summer meals are typically served by schools, camps, food programs, housing authorities, pools and parks, faith groups, and others who agree to be the local SFSP sponsor or site.  If your program serves children during the summer, you may be eligible to distribute meals to the kids. Even if you can’t be a site, you can tell your community about the program. For more info on being a site or outreach materials, contact Francisco at fmercado@hungeractionnys.org or 212-741-8192, x 6#.

 

Other Events

 

FDANYS Annual Conference and National Dialogue.  Join your colleagues for the two days of FDANYS event in Albany in May.  On May 23rd  will be the National Dialogue on Family Development and on May 24th, the Annual Conference and FDC & FDLC Recognition Ceremony will be held.  Both events will be at the Desmond Hotel in Albany.  To register online, go to http://hq.nyscaaonline.org/priweb/events.aspx.

 

Council of Community Services of NYS, Inc. and CS Plus.  Peter Andrew, CEO & President, Council Services Plus will present a session on Employee Benefits on 9:00am - 12:00pm on May 15, 2007 at the Support Center of Nonprofit Management, 305 Seventh Avenue (at 27th Street), New York, NY 10001.  For more information, go to http://www.ccsnys.org/events_conferences/eventsDetails.asp?eventsid=37.    

 

Council of Community Services of NYS, Inc.  CCSNYS’ Annual Money for Mission Conference has been announced for July 19, 2007 in Verona, NY (Turning Stone Casino).  Keynote speaker will be Katya Andresen, VP of Marketing, Network For Good Author, Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes.  See http://www.ccsnys.org/events_conferences/conferenceDetails.asp?conferenceid=6 for more information.

 

Thanks,

Denise

 

 

 

 

 

Denise Harlow
Chief Executive Officer
New York State Community Action Association
2 Charles Blvd.
Guilderland, NY  12084
(518) 690-0491, ext. 24
Fax: (518) 690-0498
www.nyscaaonline.org
 
A Member of the Community Action Partnership-Helping People.  Changing Lives
 

Check out   http://www.nyscaaonline.org/Events_Events_NYSCAAEvents.aspx for information on upcoming NYSCAA events such as the Annual NYSCAA/NYSWDA Professional Development Conference and Member Meeting, June 11-13, 2007 in Poughkeepsie, NY.