Online Voting is Now Open for Local Nonprofit Grant

Community Foundation is calling on public to vote for favorite project

March 5, 2012 - A business incubator for refugee entrepreneurs; a campaign to encourage buying local; and a peregrine falcon exhibit near the State Tower Building in Downtown Syracuse. Those are just a few of the ten unique projects currently competing for the public’s support in The CNY85 Giving Project. The project that receives the most online votes by the end of the month will receive an $8,500 grant from the Central New York Community Foundation in celebration of its 85-year anniversary.

The Community Foundation is calling on the public to visit cny85.org to view the full list of projects and vote for their favorite. Each visitor can cast one vote per day until March 31. The winner will be formally announced in mid-April, after all of the votes have been verified.

About The CNY85 Giving Project

The month of March is the first of four voting periods The CNY85 Giving Project will open to the public over the course of the year. The March round features economic development, transportation, planning and environmental projects. Future rounds will feature projects that address human services and housing (June), education and technology (September) and arts, culture and civic leadership (December).

“We see The CNY85 Giving Project is an opportunity for the public to learn about some of the outstanding nonprofit programs being offered here in Central New York,” said Peter Dunn, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “The Project is a celebration of our 85-year anniversary, but we also want it to draw attention to the many other nonprofit organizations engaged in a variety of activities to make Central New York a great place to live and work. We hope that those who participate in voting are inspired to get more involved in their community, whether that be monetarily or through some form of volunteerism.”

The Community Foundation will be accepting applications for its second round, featuring projects that address Central New York’s human service and housing needs from April 1- April 31. Nonprofit organizations that serve Onondaga and/or Madison Counties are invited to enter by submitting a simple online form. To view the Project’s full calendar and learn how to apply, visit cny85.org.

About CNYVitals

Each round features projects of different themes based on findings of a community indicators project, CNYVitals. The community indicators were the result of a collaborative effort between Syracuse University's Maxwell School, FOCUS Greater Syracuse, the Central New York Community Foundation, city and county municipalities and a host of community-based organizations that have signed on to help gather and analyze the data on Central New York’s greatest needs.

The resulting data is a snapshot of Central New York's current state of affairs within various interest areas. The architects of the project hope that making this information available to the general public will inspire collaborative discussion and action to address the community's most pressing needs while also focusing funding and programming on projects and initiatives that will have the greatest positive impact on the region. All of the data can be viewed and contributed to at cnyvitals.org.

About the Central New York Community Foundation

This year, the Central New York Community Foundation celebrates its 85-year anniversary. Founded in 1927, it strives to inspire philanthropy in Central New York by connecting the generosity of donors with community needs - making grants to organizations working to enhance the quality of life of those who live and work in Central New York from more than 550 charitable endowment funds that it manages. Grants are awarded for programs in the areas of human services, arts and culture, education, environment, health, economic development and civic affairs. As the region’s largest endowed philanthropic foundation, the Community Foundation awards more than $5 million in grants to nonprofit organizations annually. The Community Foundation is located at 431 East Fayette Street, Syracuse, NY 13202 and can be reached at (315) 422-9538 or www.cnycf.org.

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March 9th HSLC Meeting Agenda

The next meeting of the Human Services Leadership Council will be
Friday, March 9th, 2012
8:00 – 9:30 AM

United Way Building, Rosamond Gifford Conference Room, 518 James Street

***If anyone would be willing to bring refreshments, please let me know***
Please read to the end for all content!

· The focus of our meeting will be a presentation by Doug Sauer, CEO of the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON), on the NYS Attorney General’s new report on Revitalizing Nonprofits new plan and NYCON’s position on the report’s recommendations.

· Doug will also discuss NYCON’s efforts to address some of the new Executive Orders affecting nonprofits, and we will have a chance to learn about the benefits of our renewed Association Membership in NYCON.

· Please RSVP your attendance so we can let Doug know how many to expect.

Additional things:

· You should have received an e-mail from NYCON with membership information and a log-in and password because you are a NYCON member through HSLC’s association membership. You should not have to pay a fee to NYCON for membership. Please let me know if you did not receive the membership information.

· We are holding off charging dues for the 2011/2012 year while we are in discussion with possible funders about implementing our strategic plan. We expect that we will be charging dues again by summer, and the dues are anticipated to be higher than they were in the past to support goals identified by the membership.

· I am involved with the Onondaga Community Sexual Trauma Task Force, and we are trying to assess what trauma services exist in our community. Please e-mail me if your agency or program provides services focused on trauma response.

Thanks!

Randi
Randi K. Bregman
Executive Director
Vera House, Inc.
6181 Thompson Road, Suite 100
Syracuse, New York 13206
(315) 425-0818 ex. 204
www.verahouse.org
24 hour support lines
(315) 468-3260/ (315) 422-7273

Nonprofit Awards

March 21, 2012

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

CONGRATULATIONS to this year's HONOREES!

Executive of the Year:
Diane Kuppermann-Make-A-Wish
Cassandra Sheets-Center for Family Life & Recovery
Beth Trunfio-Ronald McDonald House
Mary Jo Thorn-ACHIEVE
Kim Shedd-Spaulding Support Services
Randi Bregman-Vera House, Inc.
Mary Beth Frey-The Samaritan Center
Nina Albino-Charity for Children
Cathy Palm-Tully Hill Corporation

Board of Leadership:
Rand Allgaier-Allgaier Law Firm for Learning Disabilities Assoc. of CNY
Mary Thompson-F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse
Terry Plizga-M&T Bank for Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways

Board of Development:
Nancy Smith-F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse

Impact Award:
Barbara Leach-Syracuse Habitat
David MacDonough-Stonecrest Associates for Boys and Girls Clubs
Beth Lynn Hoey-Francis House, Inc.
Margaret Butler-Syracuse University for South Side Innovation Center
Linda Church-ProLiteracy
Jessie Keating-Imagine Syracuse, Inc.
Brenda McCutcheon-Loretto
Josh Crane-Finger Lakes SPCA

Career Achievement:
Eric & Sharon Loori-Freedom Guide Dogs
Lisa Smith-American Cancer Society

Community Impact Award:
Catholic Charities of Onondaga Country


Event Information:
Celebrate the exceptional accomplishments of the leaders driving the area’s nonprofit organizations (NPOs) by attending the Nonprofit Awards Luncheon.

Our presenting sponsor, M&T Bank, along with BizEventz and the Central New York Business Journal, believe that these leaders deserve to be recognized for outstanding accomplishments on behalf of their organizations.

With the support of our presenting sponsor, M&T Bank, on March 21st, The Nonprofit Awards Luncheon will honor recipients from the below 5 categories.

We will honor them for excellence, leadership, fiduciary responsibility, management practices, creativity, impact, and business acumen.

Please join us at the luncheon to support the 2012 honorees!


Check-in & Networking: 11:00 am
Reception: 11:15 am
Lunch: 12:00 pm
End: 2:00 pm

No Charge for Honoree's

Ticket's are offered at a reduced price of $35 per attendee.

Table prices: $350
Table of 9 attendees + 1 honoree: $315
Register TODAY!


Executive of the Year: Nominee is a nonprofit executive (president, CEO, executive director) who exhibit leadership, planning skills, strong staff growth, board development, solid fiscal management, and increased fund-raising.

Board Leadership: Nominee is a lay leader of the board of directors. He/she may be a present or past president of the board, long-term board member, and/or major contributor. Cite how the nominee strengthened the organization, implemented the corporate mission or vision, and enhanced the strategic plan.

Board Development: Nominee is a lay leader of the board of directors, who "grew" the organization through fund-raising or through dynamic ideas, which improved operations. Nominee's efforts enhanced the board through a higher level of participation.

Impact Award: Nominee may be an employee of the NPO, a board member, or a volunteer, who created and/or implemented a new or existing program that not only changes the organization but also the community.

Career Achievement: Nominee is a lay leader who makes a lifetime commitment to the community by advocating for NPOs and by dedicating his/her time and resources for the betterment of the commonweal.

Leadership Seminars for Not for Profit Organizations

The LeMoyne College School of Business
in partnership with
Human Services Leadership Council of Central New York
present a distinctive professional development opportunity

Leadership Seminars for Not for Profit Organizations
Integrity – Mutuality – Sustainability

Funded by a grant from the E.M. Kauffman Foundation

LeMoyne College is once again pleased to offer a unique opportunity to our not for profit colleagues in Central New York. Each month, a faculty member will present a morning program to enhance the skills, knowledge and network base of the leadership in your organization. From strategy and change to exploring your leadership presence, the sessions will inspire and inform, and invite you to heighten your own capacities, and those of your organization.


The Spring Series - Mark your Calendar!
Please share with your colleagues!

March 30, 2012 Spiritual Practices for Emotional Intelligence and Reflective Leadership
8:30 – 12:00 Dr. Dennis O’Connor and Fr. David McCallum

This workshop will explore the critical leadership competencies of emotional Intelligence and reflection. We also will offer several spiritual practices that are valuable in themselves, but also help build these important leadership competencies.

April 27, 2012 Coaching for Performance: Bringing out the Best in your Employees
8:30 – 12:00 Prof. Kerry Carney, MS, CSC. SPHR

Leadership is about bringing out the best in your employees. In this session, participants will gain a greater appreciation of the value of “asking vs. telling” employees, and the power of coaching as an employee development tool.

May 11, 2012 Nuts, Bums and Weirdoes: Challenging Public Perceptions of Marginalized
8:30 – 12:00 Populations
Dr. Frances Pestello

Sociologists consider the processes of marginalization and how marginalized populations are viewed. The forces for integration and transcending difference are less understood. This interactive presentation will consider the tensions between marginalization and integration, providing opportunities for discussion and application of ideas as you deal with all the constituencies of your organization.


Your Faculty

Professor Kerry Carney teaches Organizational Dynamics and Human Resource courses at Le Moyne. She has over 25 years of global business experience with entrepreneurial business units of major corporations (including GE and Xerox) where she played a key role in implementing the people actions necessary to achieve strategic goals. Her worldwide business experience includes coaching and performance and talent management.

Rev. David McCallum, S.J., Ed.D. is a Jesuit priest serving as assistant to the President of Le Moyne College. He is facilitating the OneLeMoyne strategic development process, serves as Chief Mission Officer of the college, and teaches leadership in the Management Division. Fr. McCallum has years of experience as a spiritual director, retreat leader, and educator.

Dr. Dennis O’Connor is a Professor and Program Director of Management and Leadership at Le Moyne College. He has been long involved in consulting, researching and writing on both team leadership and organizational change processes such as the Future Search and Appreciative Inquiry, which have deep roots in non profits, NGOs, and health care, as well as business.

Dr. Frances Pestello is a Professor of Sociology, Le Moyne College. Dr. Pestello comes to Le Moyne after 25 years at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio where she served as professor, as well as eight years as chair of the department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work. Her interests are social psychology, law and deviance. She has written on the relationship between attitudes and behavior, deterrence, and the impact of taking psychiatric medication on one’s sense of self.

The Participants
Leadership and emergent leaders are invited to attend these sessions, either as a series or stand alone.
Location
All sessions will be held in Grewen Auditorium in Grewen Hall. Directions to the campus and seminar room will be emailed in your confirmation one week prior to your event(s).

Fees
$15 per person per session, payable at the door or by mail. Please make checks payable to Le Moyne College. Cash is acceptable as well.

Questions?

Renée Downey Hart downeyrv@lemoyne.edu


Registration form:
Le Moyne College School of Business
Leadership Seminars for Not for Profit Organizations

Name of Organization

Contact Person

Attendees




Email Phone

Address

City State Zip

Two ways to register:
► fill out this form and fax to 315.445.4787
► fill out this form and email to wilsondg@lemoyne.edu (please mark Kauffman in your subject line)
► fill out this form and mail to
Dale Wilson, Assistant to the Dean of Management
LeMoyne College
1419 Salt Springs Road
Syracuse, New York 13214

Two ways to pay:
 Check enclosed
 I will bring payment the day of the workshop (Checks payable to Le Moyne College)

I/We will attend:

 March 30, 2012, 8:30 – 12:00 Spiritual Practices for Emotional Intelligence and Reflective Leadership Dr. Dennis O’Connor and Fr. David McCallum

 April 27, 201, 8:30 – 12:00 Coaching for Performance: Bringing out the Best in your Employees
Prof. Kerry Carney, MS, CSC. SPHR

 May 11, 2012, 8:30 – 12:00 “Nuts, Bums and Weirdoes:” Challenging Public Perceptions of Marginalized Populations Dr. Frances Pestello

Dunbar Association's financial problems deeper than expected

The Post-Standard reported that the Dunbar Association, one of Syracuse’s oldest nonprofits serving the black community, has hired an accounting firm to audit its books after discovering its financial problems are even worse than it imagined.

A representative of Key Bank informed Dunbar last month it had maxed out its $10,000 line of credit and did not have enough money to pay its bills, said Steve Williams, chairman of Dunbar’s board of directors.

Williams said he and other board members did not know the severity of Dunbar’s financial situation until the bank official came to a board meeting Jan. 19.

“We started pulling back the layers on the onion .... and realized there was something wrong,” Williams said.

Dunbar will survive the crisis, the chairman said. The chance of Dunbar closing is “... very, very, very minimal,” he said.

Dunbar is examining all its programs, looking for potential cost savings, Williams said. Dunbar may have to cut some jobs, he said.

The association, founded 93 years ago, operates the Dunbar Center at 1453 S. State St. The organization provides a variety of services to children, families and senior citizens.

Dunbar has hired the Fust Charles Chambers accounting firm to do an audit which should be done in three weeks. It is also getting financial guidance from officials of the Syracuse Community Health Center.

“We realize now we need help and this isn’t something we can undertake ourselves,” Williams said. “We are committed to putting systems in place that will help Dunbar achieve sustainability.”

Dunbar’s financial problems came to light last year when the United Way cut off $200,000 in annual funding to the nonprofit because of concerns about its management.

Dunbar hired Julius Edwards as its new executive director last month. He replaced Louella Williams, a former Dunbar board president who became interim director a year ago after the previous director, Sharon Jack-Williams, left in a cost-saving move. (Steve Williams, Louella Williams and Sharon Jack-Williams are not related.)

Steve Williams said Louella Williams and Sharon Jack Williams consistently told the board spending cuts had been made to offset reductions in funding.

But the board discovered otherwise last month after the bank official’s visit.

“The deeper we looked, the more we found out it was more severe than we anticipated,” said Steve Williams, who added he does not know if the financial problems resulted from mismanagement or fraud. The audit may answer that question, he said.

Neither Louella Williams nor Sharon Jack-Williams could be reached for comment.

Dunbar incurred a budget deficit of about $23,000 in 2010, according to Williams. The financial results for 2011 are not available yet.

Reports filed with the IRS show Dunbar had deficits of $155,500 in 2009 and $50,051 in 2008.

Darla Chase, the vice chair of Dunbar’s board, said the organization is as vital to the community now as it was when it was founded.

“For every youth we have in that building participating in a program, that’s one teen that’s not on the street, hanging around on the corner, getting involved in the wrong things,” she said.

When Dunbar’s financial problems surfaced last year, many older Dunbar alumni rallied to support the nonprofit. They formed a group called “The Friends of Dunbar” dedicated to turning around the center.

Williams said the board has told that group of the latest financial setback.

“They were in shock as much as we were,” he said.

Dunbar continues to meet its payroll, but is not paying all its bills, he said. The nonprofit has been contacting creditors to explain the situation and asking for more time to catch up on its payments, he said.

Dunbar Association
Address: 1453 S. State St., Syracuse
Employees: 22
Purpose: A nonprofit that operates the Dunbar Center, a recreation center and human services agency providing after-school care, emergency food services and other programs for youth, families and senior citizens.
2010 budget: $1.1 million
People served annually: 5,000
History: Founded 93 years ago as a settlement house to help blacks migrating from the South.
Who is it named after? Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first African-Americans to gain national prominence as a poet. Born in 1872 in Dayton, Ohio, he was the son of ex-slaves who wrote short stories, novels, librettos, plays, songs, essays and poetry. His style encompassed two distinct voices – the standard English of the classical poet and the dialect of the turn-of-the-century black community in America.

Syracuse New Times Announced Page for Free Postings from Nonprofits

The Syracuse New Times is excited to announce an unprecedented communication opportunity for all Not-for-Profit organizations in Central New York called the Community Page. This dedicated page in the New Times is reserved exclusively to allow your group to speak to our weekly 90,000+ readers and web viewers, and to inform them of any needs your organization may have, announce upcoming events, or offer specific volunteer opportunities.

We intend to start publishing this page in every fourth issue, and offer it continuously on our web site as soon as the listing is made "live" by our editorial staff. If you have upcoming events that may warrant further editorial coverage, please contact us at editorial@syracusenewtimes.com.

This page is made possible by the generosity of Wegmans. Thanks to them for their introductory sponsorship of this page.

Bill Brod
Publisher/CEO

A.G. SCHNEIDERMAN ANNOUNCES BOLD PLAN TO REVITALIZE AND REFORM NEW YORK’S NONPROFIT SECTOR

Attorney General Announces Nonprofit Report: Recommendations Guided by the Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization

New York State Attorney General Schneiderman unveiled a new plan on Thursday to reform and revitalize New York's nonprofit sector.

Announced before an audience of nonprofit and business leaders, the plan includes legislation to eliminate outdated and costly burdens on nonprofits, strengthen oversight and accountability, and reaffirm his office's commitment to policing fraud and abuse.

Acknowledging that organizations throughout New York State face historic financial and strategic challenges, the Attorney General's plan also includes several new partnerships with the business and academic communities to enhance nonprofit governance.

"New York is the proud home of the world's most dynamic and vibrant nonprofit sector, but for too long, our state's regulatory framework has placed unnecessary burdens on these essential organizations. This plan will unlock the full potential of our nonprofit community, and improve the lives of the countless New Yorkers they serve every day," said Attorney General Schneiderman. "In these difficult economic times, it is more important than ever to make New York a hospitable environment so nonprofits can continue to carry out their vital work. At the same time, we must maintain the public's trust by ensuring that nonprofits are governed effectively, and with meaningful oversight."

"NYCON applauds the Attorney General for his leadership in putting forth a positive agenda for reform of state and nonprofit relations," said Doug Sauer, NYCON CEO. "In the spirit of cooperation and partnership, we are hopeful that the AG, Comptroller, Governor and Legislature can work together to further shape and support the recommendations."

In 2011, Attorney General Schneiderman convened a Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization with 32 nonprofit leaders, including NYCON CEO Doug Sauer, to recommend proposals that would reduce regulatory burdens on nonprofits, while strengthening governance and accountability.

Today's legislative and reform initiatives are responsive to the committee's recommendations.

They include:
The Nonprofit Revitalization Act, to be proposed by the Attorney General;
"New York on BOARD" and;
"Directors U" designed to improve nonprofit governance

More Details & Full Report
http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2012/feb/feb16a_12.html