Sunday, November 22, 2009

Nonprofit ED Job

The Humane Society in Binghamton is hiring a new executive director. Reporting to the board of directors, the Director is responsible for coordinating and supervising all organization employees, assists in developing and communicates the mission and direction of the organization, takes the lead role in fundraising, works with the Finance Committee to develop and implement the budget, and serves as the primary spokesperson for the organization in the community. Learn more here about the position.

December 8th Program Announced!

The SCNY ED Group invites area nonprofit Executive Directors to the December 8th program set for 8:30am hosted by United Way of Broome County.

Program Description:
The Program topic will be A Look Toward the Future: Funding for Non-profits. Presenters Diane Brown, Executive Director of the Community Foundation for South Central New York, and Alan Hertel, Executive Director of United Way of Broome County, will provide their views on the trends, opportunities, and challenges of non-profit funding for the next several years. Alan will also provide a brief overview of the strategic changes taking place with United Way of Broome County.

Location:
United Way of Broome County
101 South Jensen Road
Vestal, New York

Register Here

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Survey: More nonprofits view real estate as revenue

The Business Review reported more nonprofits are looking at their real estate and seeing dollar signs, according to a national survey by CB Richard Ellis.

Nearly 300 association and other nonprofit executives who make decisions related to their facilities were surveyed.

This year, 39 percent of the respondents consider real estate as an alternate source of income, up from 34 percent last year. That increase is likely linked to the economic strain nonprofits are facing, the report says.

This year, more 501 (c)(6) organizations (42 percent) say they were looking at real estate as a revenue strategy, compared with 36 percent of the 501 (c)(3) organizations.

A 501 (c)(6) organization is a business league that seeks to improve conditions for one or more lines of business, while 501 (c)(3) organizations are charitable groups.

The responding organizations were most concentrated in D.C., Chicago and New York City. More than a third (38 percent) have been in their current headquarters space 10 years or longer. Read more here.

Eighth-graders can attend volunteer fair

The Press and Sun-Bulletin reported that Broome-Tioga BOCES is hosting the “Power of One” volunteer fair from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Leslie F. Distin Education Center gymnasium, 435 Glenwood Road, Dickinson.

The fair is open to all eighth-grade students who wish to explore volunteer opportunities for community service. So far, 14 non-profit agencies have signed up to staff booths.

The event also features music, refreshment and prizes.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Press and Sun-Bulletin Offers Lend-A-Hand Program and Invites Support

Press and Sun-Bulletin offered an editorial about the growing need in the Southern Tier.

A few weeks ago, I skipped the candy and nuts in the fundraising catalog for Bainbridge High School and instead signed up to buy a leather wallet.

I planned to count on Santa for a new one, but the weighty message of a quotation embossed on the back of the wallet compelled me to order it myself as a reminder of our difficult economic times:

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."
The words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, our president during the Great Depression, ring true today as Southern Tier residents and others nationwide suffer through this recession.

Everyone is aware of today's challenges that are highlighted by double-digit unemployment in some areas, fears of more layoffs and furloughs, new faces at food pantries, bankruptcies, and service organizations struggling to help the continually growing number of needy.

"We're in the middle of our Thanksgiving efforts now and we're seeing a 10 percent increase over last year, and that's people we've never seen before," said Joe Slavik, executive director, Catholic Charities of Broome County.

Alan Hertel, executive director of the United Way of Broome County, said his agency saw a 15 percent increase in calls to First Call for Help from 2007 to 2008, more than half of those for such basic needs as food, clothing and shelter.

"The 2009 numbers look like they will exceed 2008," Hertel said. "In the first six months we already received 17,000 calls, again mainly for basic needs. It's going to be a challenge to meet our goal of $3,850,000, which is what we got last year."

Hertel noted that layoffs of more than 2,000 workers at such major companies as Lockheed-Martin, BAE Systems, Endicott Interconnect, IBM and Vail-Ballou have a double impact on his agency and others. The agencies can't count on the donations 2they've received in previous years from those now among the unemployed, but they can expect to serve them, too.

Hertel and Slavik's testimonial about the plight of area residents is evidence that this is a time for all of us to give help for the holidays.

The Press & Sun-Bulletin plans to expand its efforts beyond its annual Lend-A-Program, which accepts monetary donations from individuals, families, organizations and businesses in our community and distributes these to agencies that work with those who have fallen on hard times.

We will kick off Lend-A-Hand again on Thanksgiving Day, but we hope to use the reach of our newspaper and pressconnects.com in the community to tell everyone about the needs of nonprofits that are helping others.

We are asking every nonprofit charity in our area to share its top three needs so we can let people know how they can help the agencies help others. We will publish the lists and other contact information in the newspaper and on pressconnects.com to alert people to the ways they can help by donating money, food, clothes, furniture and by adopting families and even serving as volunteers at non-profits where staffs have dwindled because of the economy.

To get your agency involved, send an e-mail to newsroom@pressconnects.com. Put "A Time to Give" in the subject line and provide this information:

Agency name.
Mission of agency.
Agency mailing address and physical address (if different).
Three agency/client needs.

We look forward to receiving and sharing the non-profits' list so we can show that our generous community passes FDR's test.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Greater Binghamton Non-Profits Search For Volunteers

WBNG reported that local non-profit organizations are looking for more volunteers to lend a hand in the community.

The Broome County Leadership Institute held this community service fair today here at the Johnson City Senior Center.

60 non profit groups were on hand, looking to recruit new volunteers.

Organizers say they stunned by how many turned out, looking for opportunities to give back.

"We didn't know what the end result would be, but we looked at the room and it's packed. And it's so rewarding that we were instrumental in hooking these people up so ultimately the people in Binghamton are well, better off," said BLI Connection Chairperson Maria Gelnett.

BLI offers 6 month leadership training program for those committed to improving the quality of living in the Greater Binghamton Area. Read more here.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Security and Safety Resource for Your Nonprofit

Planned Parenthood will be holding a security program with Chuck Harder from Priority One Safety Solutions. They would like to make other nonprofits aware of this company and its services.

The company provides services to create a secure workplace and to educate staff and/or students on how to react during an active shooter.

Priority One Safety Solutions provides services such as a complete property security assessment, a comprehensive security, threat, and training analysis, and much more. We offer presentations for staff or students which cover history of school shootings, pre-incident indicators, courses of action to take during an active shooter and when law enforcement arrives.

Past and present mass shootings, demonstrates that schools and businesses need to properly plan against such acts of unnecessary violence. A quality security assessment and proper training of staff and students can not only save money in insurance costs and lawsuits, but most importantly, lives.

The company gave two presentations for 200 staff members of the Windsor Central School District and gave a presentation to all local Catholic School staff in the past two months. The presentations give a realistic approach on how to train and react in the event of an active shooter.

Chuck Harder
Owner
Priority One Safety Solutions
www.priorityonesafetysolutions.com
PO Box 2869
Binghamton, NY 13902
(607) 765-9690