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.

2011 Capacity Building Program for Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Tioga Nonprofits

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 involve two free nonprofit trainings and capacity building resources.

The first of two trainings, Recruitment and Retention Strategies for Boards of Directors, will be offered on April 7th, 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.

The April 7th training, Recruitment and Retention Strategies for Boards of Directors, will help nonprofits understand that now more than ever they need to wisely and effectively recruit, engage and retain good board members and leadership. This may be an uphill challenge as the pool of qualified and interested board members appears to be dwindling; there are anxieties around liability exposure; and increased expectations for board members to give time and money, as well as their wisdom.

This workshop is designed to help your nonprofit strategically assess, build and strengthen your board to achieve organizational success. There are no magic bullets. It takes work, determination, a positive attitude and, for some, the courage to change the board’s composition if not culture. This session will take comprehensive look at board development and will offer practical tips and tools for recruitment and retention. Registration is free and is available online at http://binghamtoncapcitybuildingapril7.eventbrite.com/

A second workshop, Balancing Good Management and Governance for Your Nonprofit, will be held on June 9th again at the Broome County Public Library. This session will help board members and staff understand the balance of 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 beginning on April 7th.

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.

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 $5.5 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.

SBA, Microsoft create technology guide, online course

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced a new technology resource is available for small business owners.

The SBA and Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. have teamed up to create "Business Technology Simplified," a free guidebook that offers tips on how to use technology and innovation to make businesses work more efficiently, the SBA said in a news release.

The guidebook includes material on simplifying work tasks, do-it-yourself marketing, time management, and finding and cultivating customers.

"Business Technology Simplified" is available in a printed format at the SBA Syracuse district office. Computer users can also access the guidebook online at the Microsoft website.

It's also available as a free distance-learning course, according to the SBA.

The course is available at www.sba.gov/training.

Funding Available for Park and Trail Groups: Only One Week Left to Apply

Parks & Trails New York is offering a new round of Capacity Building Grants for park and trail groups in New York State. The grants, of up to $3,000, can be used to assist with activities associated with organizational start-up and development, training, communications, and volunteer recruitment and management. The deadline for submitting applications is November 22, 2010.

For more information email Parks & Trails New York or call 518-434-1583.

How Much Does Your Program Really Cost?

From the National Council of Nonprofits' Nonprofit Knowledge Matters October Newsletter:

Your Mission: What Does it Really Cost?
Too often the grant or contract a nonprofit receives to deliver a program or service, whether from a foundation or the government, simply does not cover the full cost of delivering that program or service. This problem is highlighted in the National Council's recent Special Report: Costs, Complexification, and Crisis: Government’s Human Services Contracting "System" Hurts Everyone. The report illustrates how government contracts that do not cover the full cost of services cut into the muscle of the nonprofit providing the services, and ultimately weaken our communities.

In fact, failure to cover the full cost of services and programs was the #1 problem uncovered by the first-ever national survey documenting the serious and widespread problems experienced by nonprofit human service providers under contract with local, state and federal governments. View the findings from the survey conducted by the Urban Insitute.

The "full cost recovery" problem is echoed by the experience of nonprofits receiving funding from private philanthropy. Foundation grants frequently fall short of covering the actual cost to the nonprofit of delivering programs and services covered by the grant. For instance, a survey by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) found that only 20 percent of foundations say that their grants "often or always" include the appropriate overhead to cover the amount of time grantees spend reporting on their grants. Read a national study by GEO.

In order for nonprofits to be sustainable this paradigm has to change.

Whether from the perspective of capacity builders, or nonprofits that are striving to build their own capacity, we should recognize that part of the problem – and a big step towards a solution – lies with nonprofits themselves. Here are three things you can do:

1. Know how to calculate the full cost of delivering programs and services – not the "budgeted" costs (often a euphemism for anticipated or projected costs) but the actual costs of service delivery.
2. Advocate for your organization by communicating the actual costs of program delivery to funding sources.
3. Communicate to funders that shortchanging nonprofits by not paying the full cost of service delivery is a barrier to the sustainability of individual nonprofits.

The bottom line is that without knowing how much to ask for, and without receiving full cost recovery, nonprofits will never be able to build their capacity or provide sustainable services to our communities.

Wondering where to start? The National Council's Capacity Building Hub shares resources to help nonprofits understand and calculate the full cost of delivering their mission, and to help grantmakers understand the importance of full cost recovery.

With fewer donations and declining investments, nonprofits are thinking creatively about cutting costs and raising revenue

The Wall Street Journal featured an article by Shelly Banjo about how different nonprofits are responding to the economic crisis.

When your mission is serving the needy, tough times can be doubly difficult: More people need help, but you have fewer resources.

Nonprofit organizations -- facing cuts in government aid, investment losses and a decline in donations -- have been experimenting with new ways to stay afloat. Besides cutting costs and eliminating waste, they're thinking more creatively about how to use volunteers, garner new donations, strengthen ties with existing donors and create projects that generate additional income.

"Necessity is the mother of invention," says Melissa Berman, president of New York-based Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. "As financial resources dry up, people have the impetus they need to be creative about where to get help and how to keep their mission going."
Here's a look at the strategies some charitable organizations are using:

Special Olympics
Looking Beyond Cash
The organizing committee for this year's Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho faced a $33.5 million budget shortfall about 18 months before the February event. It had to "get creative...and ramp up quickly," says Bruce Schrepple, chief financial officer of the U.S. Games Organizing Committee. The key was finding resources other than cash to make ends meet.
The committee began by tackling staff-related costs. It reduced plans for paid staff members to 60 from 120 and made up for that by intensifying its volunteer-recruitment efforts. It tapped volunteers from local nonprofits, the National Guard, the Defense Department and AmeriCorps, a nationwide community-service network.

Nonprofits may be able to rely more on volunteers now because many people who have been laid off, some with lucrative severance packages, "are seeking new opportunities to give back," says Garvester Kelley, a vice president at the Nonprofit Finance Fund, a nonprofit financial-advisory service.

Nonprofits can also reach out to businesses for help in the form of goods and services, rather than cash, Mr. Kelley says. For instance, to train the volunteers for the Special Olympics, the organizing committee was able to replace a costly two-week, on-site program with an online training program designed free of charge by Brainshark Inc. of Waltham, Mass. The committee also found companies and governmental agencies that were willing to provide the Games' information-technology staff, computers, and food and beverages.

Nonprofits looking to employ this strategy "need to be as specific as possible about what they need" from both the companies and the volunteers to "make sure you are getting something you can actually use," says Lucy Bernholz, founder and president of philanthropy consulting firm Blueprint Research & Design Inc. of San Francisco.

Also, processing donations of goods and services and organizing volunteers for the Games took time and training, something nonprofits need to be aware of and prepared to handle, says the organizing committee's Mr. Schrepple. Read more here about other nonprofits and how they are coping.

Strategic Management in Tough Times Follow Up

Have follow up questions? Here are some questions that have been asked so far:

• The workshop last week generated some interesting discussion on board responsibility. Did I hear this correctly? Can board members be held personally liable if an organization is dissolved with outstanding debts?

Yes, this is true. Boards of directors can be held financially responsible for outstanding debts of a nonprofit organization ceasing to operate and dissolving. Have questions, let us know.

• Can you provide specifc info regarding nonprofits not be allowed to vote by e-mail in New York State?

Interested in this answer, e-mail us for information provided by our Legal Accountability & Compliance Services staff. Add your questions here.

Southern Tier Capacity Building Program 2009

The Southern Tier Capacity Building Program announces two free nonprofit trainings and a companion mini-grant program for 2009. The two workshops are supported by The Community Foundation for South Central New York and The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, Inc. The first workshop, Strategic Management in Tough Times, is set for April 17th and the second, Succession Planning, is set for June 9th. Nonprofit board members and management leaders alike are encouraged to attend. To register, visit http://www.ccsnys.org/events_conferences/events.asp or call 1-800-515-5012 ext 141.

Nonprofits who attend one of these two workshops are qualified for the Broome, Chenango, Cortland and Tioga Capacity Building Mini-Grant Program. This 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, Cortland and/or Tioga Counties. The Mini-Grant Program is sponsored by the New York Council of Nonprofits (formerly CCSNYS), The Community Foundation for South Central New York, The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, and Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.ccsnys.org/helping_nonprofits/regionalSoutherTier.asp.

Nonprofits Boost Their Business Skills

The Hoyt Foundation related the following details about their continued support of the Southern Tier Capacity Building Program in 2009:

At nonprofit organizations, often the staff and board are so busy serving their constituents, they don’t have time to sit back and take stock. So there’s rarely a chance to ask how well they’re performing as a business and how they could do better. When nonprofits invest in their business operations, though, in the long run they’re able to provide better service.


The Council of Community Services of New York State (CCSNYS) offers guidance to nonprofits of all sizes, helping them to achieve more with limited resources. In 2008, with support from the Hoyt Foundation, CCSNYS launched the Southern Tier Capacity Building Program, an effort to encourage nonprofits in the region to improve their business operations. A $13,000 Hoyt Foundation grant will help CCSNYS continue that program in 2009.

“Capacity building” means implementing better financial procedures, creating a more effective board of directors, deploying new software to streamline the operation or otherwise putting the organization on a more solid business footing. “If they can strengthen those pieces, that puts them in a position to provide more programs and improve their services,” said Andrew Marietta, Central New York Regional Manager at CCSNYS.


This year, the Southern Tier Capacity Building Program will offer two seminars. After each session, participants may apply for mini-grants to fund capacity building projects. Read more about the 2009 Southern Tier Capacity Building Program here.