April Edition 2010 - New York Nonprofit Press

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14 New York Nonprofit Press www.nynp.biz April 2010 GRANTS THERE’S NOTHING THAT SAYS YOU SHOULDN’T PROFIT FROM A GREAT LOCATION. Full Floor Opportunities Available in Harlem’s Class-A Office Building of Choice for NPO’s Potentially a 51,584 Contiguous RSF Opportunity 7th Floor – 17,206 RSF 8th Floor – 17,188 RSF 9th Floor – 17,190 RSF ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Full floor identity Central Harlem location Full service building 24/7 security Outstanding views Will build-to-suit Convenient lobby newsstand/snackbar For more information, please contact: Anthony Stapleton 212.582.6688 anthony@cogswellrg.com Ross Jacobs 212.582.6688 ross@cogswellrg.com ■ On-site indoor parking ■ Accessible to the A, B, C, D, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 subway lines, numerous bus lines and Metro North ■ Actual view South from the 9th floor Neighborhood amenities include national and local retailers No warranty or representation, express or implied, is made as to the accuracy of the information contained herein and the same is submitted subject to errors, omissions, changes or other conditions. CACF Re-Grants $280,000 in Compassion Capital Funds The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) provided grants totaling $280,000 to 18 organizations led by and serving Asian Americans yesterday. The grants were awarded through CACF’s participation in the U.S. Health and Human Services Compassion Capital Fund Demonstration Program designed to build the capacity of community-based organizations. Through a competitive process, 54 Asian led and serving organizations applied for this capacity building grant, and 18 received funding. The grantees were: • Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice • APEX • CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families regranted $280,000 in federal Compassion Capital Funds to 18 local nonprofits. • Center for the Integration and Advancement of New Americans • DRUM-Desis Rising Up & Moving • Family Health Project • Filipino American Human Services, Inc. • Homecrest Community Services, Inc. • Indochina Sino-American Community Center • Japanese American Social Services, Inc. • Kalusugan Coalition, Inc. • Korean American Family Service Center • New York Taxi Worker Alliance • South Asian Youth Action • St. Rita’s Center for Immigrant/Refugee Services • The Sikh Coalition • Turning Point for Women and Families • United Chinese Association of Brooklyn Specifically, grant recipients will receive: 1) mini-grants in amounts ranging from $10,000- $25,000, 2) capacity building trainings, and 3) individualized technical assistance to enhance their knowledge of public policy and to advocate for Asian Pacific American children and families. This project provides CACF with additional resources to strengthen the voice of advocates who can collectively work towards improving policies, funding, and services for the diverse Asian Pacific American community. “We are excited that we are able support the capacity building of organizations to provide better services to the Asian Pacific American community through this grant,” said Wayne Ho, Executive Director of CACF. “We are excited about this capacity building opportunity,” said Grace Yoon, Executive Director of the Korean American Family Service Center. “Through CACF’s support and leadership, we are able to strengthen our organization and programs and to be the best we can be for children and families in need.” Options for Living Gets $198K for “Green” Housing Improvements Options for Community Living, Inc. has received $198,000 to make “green” improvements to its supported housing programs for adults with mental illness. The award is part of more than $250 million in funding for “energy and green retrofits” available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The federal funding will support energy efficient improvements to five Suffolk County residences. Improvements include new energy star appliances, hot water heaters, insulation, exterior doors, weather stripping, new low-VOC carpeting, zero-VOC paint, central air conditioning, and roof top solar modules. As a participant in the Green Retrofit Program, Options will lower electric, heating fuel, and water consumption. The agency is committed to practices and use of materials that are broadly recognized as practical, feasible and less harmful to residents and the environment. Options for Community Living, Inc. operates a community residence program for adults with mental illness, a shelter program for homeless Suffolk County families, and a case management and housing program for people living with HIV/ AIDS in both Nassau and Suffolk. ast year alone, Options assisted over 1000 adults and children on Long Island. For more information, visit the Options website www.optionscl.org or call (631)361-9020.
April 2010 New York Nonprofit Press www.nynp.biz 15 EDUCATION Got Issues Students in Milano’s Issues Lab Can Help! Does your agency have some thorny issue that needs a resolution Why not assign a team of consultants to work on it for a month! Haven’t got a spare $50,000 in the budget Not to worry! Just call Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy! For more than 30 years, Milano’s Urban Policy Analysis and Management program has been assigning graduate students to work with clients in government and the nonprofit sector as part of a highly structured “Laboratory in Issues Analysis”. In addition to being a tremendous learning experience for students, the Lab can serve as a valuable resource for cash strapped nonprofits. During February and March, a total of 16 organizations took advantage of the opportunity during the first round of this year’s Issues Lab projects. Milano students brief NYC Councilmember Gale Brewer on their research into tri-state food distribution. “It was very helpful,” says Ben Esner, Senior Vice President for Programs at the Brooklyn Community Foundation (BCF). BCF had engaged a team of students to help determine how the foundation could best assist various community groups interested in starting up food co-ops. “The students have done a terrific job,” says Peter Kostmayer, CEO at Citizens Committee for New York City (CCNYC). “I frankly was bowled over by the research and analysis they did.” CCNYC was looking for ways that community organizations could combat vehicular noise pollution. “I always tell clients that we cannot guarantee the project will be successful,” says Andrew French, Director of the Issues Analysis Lab. “But, I have never known a client who didn’t find something that was useful in the final report. Many go on to use the recommendations in their policy making or incorporate the research findings in their own advocacy work.” The Lab focuses on a single policy question and is designed to introduce students to qualitative and quantitative techniques that can be applied to a broad range of problems. Students are divided into teams of five, given a mandate to analyze a particular issue as identified by the client, and a time frame of four to five weeks within which they must complete their analysis. For BCF, the students researched the history of successful food co-ops in New York City and elsewhere, contacted groups interested in starting up, and looked at examples of co-ops that had failed. The team conducted their own survey of the buying habits of Brooklyn consumers and price comparisons for various food outlets. “We had about 100 respondents,” said Aryn Bloodworth, a student on the BCF team. “Our results showed us that there is a need for fresh, affordable food in Brooklyn that is not currently being met.” Ultimately, they developed a model outlining the various stages of development for emerging co-ops, e.g., organizing, feasibility research, incorporation, member recruitment, finance, and the ultimate launch. Then, they made recommendations on how BCF could help groups at each of the various stages. “They showed us a clear process for getting from ‘a’ to ‘b’,” says Esner. “They gave us a way to talk to groups about where they are on this road map. What have they done What do they need to do They showed that if groups did certain things in step one, their chances in step two were that much better in step two, and so forth.” Students in the CCNYC team began by narrowing down their issue. “We had to zero in on what a group of private citizens, with no money other than a grant from CCNYC, could do to combat vehicular noise,” says Chandler Griffin. The answer, at least in part, was to band together with other groups concerned about the same issue. “Ultimately we wound up recommending a social network- ing site as a way to reach as many people as possible on the smallest budget.” The team envisioned a site on which concerned citizens could continually update information on vehicular noise problems, even posting pictures and videos. The students identified IPhone applications that allow users to record a noise, determine the decibel level, take a photo and post it to the net. “I might hear a motorcycle or a loud truck every morning at 7:00 a.m.,” says Griffin. “Through this site, I might learn that someone else a few blocks away hears the same thing at 6:50. Now we have an idea of the route it is taking.” In a high tech take-off on the traditional “Neighborhood Watch”, the Milano team dubbed their site “Neighborhood Listen”. Both BCF and CCNYC plan to put the students’ findings to good use. Peter Kostmayer is hopeful that some of the students may be able to stay with the project. “I would like to see some of them sign up to work with us and get credit,” he says. Esner believes BCF will use the analysis as it builds partnerships with the Brooklyn Food Coalition and the Park Slope Food Co-op. While the Milano students work on issues at no cost, there are commitments that client organizations must make. They have to develop a written “mandate” outlining their issue, meet with the team during the first week of the project, and attend the final briefing. “The students were very professional in the sense that they were committed to what they were doing and very respectful of our time,” says BCF’s Esner. The ultimate beneficiary of the students’ hard work, however, is likely to be the students themselves. “The Lab is one of the reasons why I chose Milano originally,” says Chandler Griffin. “It is not just theory. It is theory in practice.” “Having a project like this is extremely valuable,” says Aryn Bloodworth. “We get thrown right into a real policy problem. We have to come up with a way to do the research and get people to talk to us. We have to develop a series of recommendations and develop a final presentation. It is exciting to know that what we are working on is not just an assignment but a real project that will serve a purpose and help a group achieve their mission.” Andrew French believes that nonprofits get more than just help with their issues when they work with the students at Milano. “They are helping to train the next generation of leaders for their sector.” For information about participating in the “Laboratory in Issues Analysis” at Milano, contact Andrew French at frencha@ newschool.edu. THE SOURCE FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS IN FURNITURE AND ACCESSORIES WE SUPPLY FURNITURE TO: SRO’S, SCATTER SITES, HOMELESS SHELTERS HFPA 260 COMPLIANT HASSLE FREE 24 HOUR DELIVERY (ON IN STOCK ITEMS) CALL US: (718)-665-3700 VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.APARTMENTFURNISHERS.COM INFO@APARTMENTFURNISHERS.COM
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