Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Family Enrichment Network Offers "How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service" Training on June 1st

Fred Pryor Training "How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service" 6/1/11

Good Morning,
We will be offering another training on Wednesday, June 1st, from 8am - 3pm.
If you are interested, please let me know and I will reserve a place for you.
The cost for this training will be $50/pp, please make payments payable to:
Family Enrichment Network
in memo section please write -Trainings


Any questions, please contact me.
Thank you,
Diane

--
Diane Kunzman
Administrative Assistant
723-8313 ext 834
dkunzman@familyenrichment.cc

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Foundations Band Together To Promote Capacity Growth

WBNG reported that the New York Council of Nonprofits, The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, The Community Foundation for South Central New York, Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, and George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation Announce 2011 Capacity Building Program for Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Tioga Nonprofits. The Southern Tier Capacity Building Program will offer a free nonprofit training on June 9th and capacity building resources.

The free training, Balancing Good Management and Governance for Your Nonprofit, will be offered on June 9th, and be presented by NYCON CEO Doug Sauer.

The program, to be held at the Broome County Public Library, 185 Court Street, will be offered from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Nonprofit executive directors and board members from Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Tioga Counties are invited to register and attend for free.
Two per organization can register.

Participants at these trainings will qualify to apply for capacity building services, which include mini-grants and organizational assessments.

This session will help board members and staff understand and better balance their governance and management roles, as well as how to develop an effective and successful partnership.

Registration is available here: http://binghamtonjune9th.eventbrite.com/

As a follow up to either workshop, participants can apply to receive capacity building services provided through a Mini-Grant Program and an Assessment Program.

Training participants will be eligible to submit applications to either program after attending a workshop.

The 2011 Southern Tier Capacity Building Mini-Grant Program is intended to measurably improve the governance and management operations of qualifying 501(c)3 nonprofits that are located or provide a substantial amount of services in Broome, Chenango, Delaware and/or Tioga Counties.

The program is sponsored by NYCON, The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, The Community Foundation for South Central New York, Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, and George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation.

The individual grant award limits are as follows:
• Up to $1,000 for general governance and management assistance
• Up to $1,000 for merger, consolidation or subsidiary development and for crisis management intervention services
• Up to $500 in scholarships for participation at qualified capacity building conferences, as submitted for approval.

The 2011 Southern Tier Capacity Building Assessment Program is intended to provide direct assistance to nonprofits in specific operations areas such as board governance, program, financial, planning, among others.

This assessment will help improve the organizational performance and well-being of your nonprofit.

In order to qualify, applicants must attend one of two free trainings offered on April 7th or June 9th.

The organization applying must be a qualified 501(c)3 organization located in or provide substantial service to residents and visitors of Broome, Chenango, Delaware or Tioga Counties.

Projects must improve the governance, management and program service capacity of the nonprofit, and any proposed project consultant must be qualified and available at a reasonable cost.

Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and grants will be awarded to qualifying nonprofits with approved project activities.

The grant criteria and application will be available online and in hard copy as of April 7th.

New York Council of Nonprofits is the premier governance, management, and support services organization serving charities in the state. NYCON has a membership of 3,000 charities of all types and has offices in Albany, New York City, Buffalo, Poughkeepsie, and Oneonta. For more Information visit www.nycon.org or contact Andrew Marietta at 607-436-3124, or at amarietta@nycon.org.

The mission of the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, Inc., created to perpetuate the Hoyts' charitable interest, is to use its resources to enhance the quality of life of the people of Broome County, primarily through judicious grantmaking. Stewart and Willma Hoyt’s vision and funding, coupled with the prudent management afforded by a dedicated Board, has created a strong mechanism to seek solutions to critical issues facing our community. More information about the Hoyt Foundation can be found at www.hoytfoundation.org.

The Community Foundation for South Central New York is now in its 14th year of encouraging and facilitating philanthropy in the region, and serves five counties including Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Tioga. Dedicated to being a flexible endowment fund for its communities, it receives both large and small contributions from donors (including individuals, businesses and other foundations) to form the endowment from which grants are made. Since its inception in 1997 the Community Foundation has awarded more than $5.75 million in grants to not-for-profit organizations in the fields of health, human services, education, arts and humanities and has received over $16 million in contributions. More information about the Community Foundation may be found on its website at www.cfscny.org.

The Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation is a private charitable foundation created in 1957 by Conrad Klee and his wife. Since that time it has made charitable grants to various qualified nonprofit organizations, primarily in Broome County, NY. The Klee Foundation is committed to promoting, nurturing and educating a healthy community. Accordingly, particular focus is placed upon grant proposals seeking funding to support sustainable programs that can demonstrate how they can help to achieve that goal. More information about the Klee Foundation may be found on its website at http://kleefoundation.org.

George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation invests in projects and programs of qualified nonprofit organizations that support the communities of Delaware County, New York, Cameron County, Pennsylvania and Broome County, New York and occasionally the surrounding areas. The general categories of funding are Education, Community and Recreation, Health and Human Services and Arts and Culture. It is the Foundation's intent through such investments to assist and support the nonprofit organizations in addressing the current issues and challenges within these communities, thereby working towards positive change and impact in the lives of those they serve. More information about the Mee Foundation may be found at http://www.meefoundation.org.

Economy forcing changes at Sheltered Workshop in Binghamton

The Press & Sun-Bulletin reported that the agency exploring partnerships with other local organizations.

Times are tough, and the Sheltered Workshop for the Disabled Inc. in Binghamton, a nonprofit that has offered services and employment to those with special needs since 1942, has been walloped by financial challenges, too.

It appears big changes are in the works.

For much of its history, the two large buildings and another, much smaller one flanking Court Street in Binghamton have been bustling with supervised workers fulfilling job contracts that constituted a major revenue stream.

More than three-quarters of the 131 people who work at SWS are "consumers" with developmental and/or physical disabilities, said Human Resources Director Tammy Worden. SWS also held contracts with the state of New York to supply services to those consumers to the tune of about $1.3 million annually in recent years.

Eighty-five special-needs individuals are in directly supervised SWS programs, with about 100 more in supported employment in the community. About 30 or 35 other employees are involved in administration or support positions, said Lou Harasymczuk, chief financial officer and general manager.

The SWS contract-manufacturing business buoyed the overhead of the operation. Utility costs for its 250,000 combined square feet of space averaged $200,000 annually, he said

Early last year, a longstanding SWS contract with Alstom Transportation in Hornell -- representing $6 million of a $10.2 million revenue stream in 2009 -- ended, with no replacement in sight.

Contracts with the state reliably added over $1 million to the SWS budget of $13 million to $14 million, Harasymczuk said. But since 2008, those amounts have been under constant threat and have been reduced, with the possibility of more belt-tightening coming from Albany.

And with a $6 million drop in outside contract-manufacturing revenue in 2010, SWS found itself in trouble.

The board of directors scrutinized every angle of the operation. Getting more contracts was the impossible dream, so they looked to provide more services.

"We realized the only way to grow would be to go after a population that's already being taken care of by other agencies," Lake said.

That would mean trying to lure consumers away from Achieve, Catholic Charities, Community Options or the Southern Tier Independence Center, for example, but SWS determined that such wrestling within the agencies could only harm the community as a whole.

In January, SWS sold off its contract-manufacturing business, which has historically included medical, transportation and military clients, to VMR Electronics in Binghamton for an undisclosed amount.

Twenty-eight workers made that initial transition, said Mark Kelly, who owns VMR with his wife, Vanessa, and 25 are still employed there.

"We're set up to handle disabilities, but we're not a disabled business like SWS was," he said. "Our focus is really hiring people with the experience to do the job, and if they can do the job and happen to have disabilities, great."

Fifty workers -- not all with disabilities -- were affected by that sale, said Worden, and some ended up unemployed.

Even that financial transaction didn't change the essential, painful equation for SWS: It was no longer sustainable, as it had been for decades.

Read more here.

Community Foundation Awards $100k to Region’s Nonprofits

Twelve nonprofit organizations in the region, including nine in Broome, Chenango and Tioga counties, received grants totaling $99,977 from the Community Foundation for South Central New York.

The money will be used to fund a variety of capital projects, operations and programs.

•ACCORD – A Center for Dispute Resolution, Inc. ($5,750) to train and certify volunteer mediators. (Broome)
•Apalachin Library Association ($11,850) to replace the roof on the main library building. (Tioga)
•Berkshire Free Library ($1,500) toward roof replacement.(Tioga)
•Boys and Girls Club of Western Broome ($15,000) to replace bleachers in the gymnasium. (Broome)
•Chenango County Child Care Coordinating Council ($15,000) to support staffing needed to meet accreditation requirements. (Chenango)
•Delaware County Historical Association ($7,500) for operating support. (Delaware)
•Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier ($3,500) to train staff in Mental Health First Aid. (Broome)
•Otsego 2000 ($8,600) toward staffing of the Cooperstown Farmer’s Market and agriculture programs. (Otsego)
•Recess Resources ($9,277) for purchase of a learn and play system for children. (Broome)
•Southern Tier Senior Net ($5,000) toward purchase of updated computers and software designed to train seniors on new computer technology. (Broome)
•The Deposit Foundation and Rural Housing Services ($2,000) for operating support. (Broome/Delaware)
•Tioga County Open Door Mission ($15,000) for purchase of a mini-bus. (Tioga)

The foundation received 23 proposals with funding requests totaling more over $272,000.

The Community Foundation for South Central New York has awarded over $5.7 million in grants since it was founded in 1997. The foundation serves donors and nonprofits in Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Tioga counties. More information can be found on its Web site.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Southern Tier Tweet-Up

https://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=200929503263546
More Info Work in social media in the Southern Tier or just love it? This is the networking event for you. Get together with everyone you Facebook or tweet back-and-forth with every day.

Join us at the Roberson Museum and Science Center for food, drinks, fun, networking and new friends! Be sure to invite your Facebook and Twitter friends! Let's use the hashtag #BingMeet on Twitter to get the word out.

Price of admission is bringing your favorite food dish or drink to share. Please, no cases of beer or the likes. Let's keep it classy, kids. Sodas and juices count.

Also, check out our tweetvite: http://tweetvite.com/event/bingmeet (Thanks, @amywoo!)

Roberson Museum and Science Center
Facebook and Twitter friends - mark your calendars.
Roberson is hosting the Southern Tier Tweet-Up on Friday, May 6! Great chance to meet your "virtual friends" and network with other local social media users.

Southern Tier Tweet-Up Location: Roberson Museum and Science Center
Time: ‎6:00PM Friday, May 6th