Tuesday, January 31, 2005: Volume #2, Issue #59
The VERB Weekly Email Digest
Edited by Sophy Pich, VERB Project Associate

Note: Documents on this page or in this section may be in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. In order to read them, you require Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is downloadable free from Adobe.

In This Week's Issue

1. Announcements
• 10th Hmong National Conference
• 8th Annual Vietnamese Spring Festival and Parade
2. Promising Practices
• Raising Money in 30 Days
3. News
• US Businesses Have Major Stake in Vietnam's Economy
• UW Celebrates 2005 As the Year of Languages
• Group Considers Refugee Program
• Quotas for Asian Americans? Yes and No
• He Found - and Then Lost - the American Dream
• Hubert Vo: First Vietnamese American State Legislator in Texas
• Seeking Identity
• 'Save a Hunter' Bumper Stickers Condemned by Mankato Officials
• Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking in Vietnam Gains Momentum ...
• Hmong Immigration Halted After Cases of TB Found
• 151 New Americans Sworn in
• Cafe de Laos
• Hmong Condemn Shooting
• Old Fishing Boat Will Embark on a Journey to Tell the Story of ...
• Cultural Barrier Can Limit Health Care
4. Funding Opportunities
• KaBOOM!
• Mattel and the Mattel Children's Foundation
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund
• MetLife Foundation
• Taproot Foundation
• Milagro Foundation
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health
• Community Technology Foundation of California
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
5. Resources
• The Meyer Foundation Website

I. Announcements

Hmong National Development, Inc.
10th Hmong National Conference
April 8-10, 2005
Radisson Hotel in downtown Fresno
For more information, visit HND's website at www.hndlink.org

***

8th Annual Vietnamese Spring Festival and Parade

San Jose, California

FREE ADMISSION EVENT!!
COST: FREE admission (with free parking)
Sunday, February, 13th, 2005

PARADE: on Market St, from St. John St to San Carlos St
(Reviewing Stage @ Park Ave.)
Sunday February, 13th, 2005 from 11am-1pm

FESTIVAL: Parkside Hall,
180 Park Avenue, Downtown San Jose
Sunday February, 13th, 2005 from 10am-6pm

There will be free food and free Starbuck Coffee serve in the morning.
10:00am Festival begins
11:00am - 1:00pm Market Street Parade
1:00pm - 6:00pm Indoor/Outdoor entertainment

Vietnamese Spring Festival & Parade, Inc.
621 Tully Road - San Jose, CA 95111
Tel: 408.292.8283 - Fax: 408.292.0623 - Email: info@vsfsanjose.com

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II. Promising Practices

Reprinted with written permission from the Board Cafe, a free electronic newsletter for members of nonprofit boards. For a free email subscription, send a request to boardcafe@compasspoint.org or sign up at www.boardcafe.org.

Sometimes an organization needs to raise funds in a hurry. It's easy to say, "You should have established a fundraising plan earlier!" That's probably true, but it doesn't help now. Here are some ways to raise modest funds in a pinch. Because institutions (like foundations, government, service clubs) take longer to make decisions than individuals, raising money in 30 days usually involves asking individuals for donations.

Each of these techniques can raise a lot or a little depending on who is doing the organizing. For example, a house party in one organization can raise $1,000 in one evening, while in a few others it can raise $100,000. In either case, the amount raised is likely to be a significant help towards whatever financial situation you are facing. Every technique is one I have seen first-hand be effective.

1. Have a phone-a-thon four days in a row, Monday through Thursday of one week. Get all the board members to gather at the organization's office (or one of your offices) at 5 pm. Practice how you're going to ask for donations on the phone and order pizza. Divide up the lists of members, donors, clients, patrons, neighbors, or whatever other lists you have. Call them.
2. With your executive director, ask government, foundation, and corporate funders to renegotiate your grant agreements. Everyone knows the economy is sliding-it won't be a surprise to your funders if your grants, contracts, and donations are down. Ask for a meeting, for example, with a county funder, and see whether they would be willing to have you provide fewer shelter nights or fewer senior meals, without reducing your contract payment. Tell a foundation funder that the grant they gave you to hire a second librarian needs to be spent just to KEEP the first librarian. Many funders appreciate the significance of board leadership on these matters, and remember: obtaining an agreement for a lower amount of services for the same money is often as good as getting more money.
3. Send out a 2-page letter to your members, volunteers, and donors. Explain that you are on a 60-day fundraising campaign and ask for a donation. If you can, follow up with phone calls.

Read on: http://www.boardcafe.org/bc2003_06.htm

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III. News

US Businesses Have Major Stake in Vietnam's Economy
http://www.redding.com/redd/nw_business/article/0,2232,REDD_17527_3493879,00.html
Record-Searchlight

***

UW Celebrates 2005 As the Year of Languages
http://www.news.wisc.edu/10605.html
University of Wisconsin-Madison University Communications

***

Group Considers Refugee Program
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6860403/
MSNBC

***

Quotas for Asian Americans? Yes and No
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35075-2005Jan25.html?sub=AR
Washington Post

***

He Found - and Then Lost - the American Dream
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050125/REPOSITORY/501250315/1013/NEWS03
Concord Monitor

***

Hubert Vo: First Vietnamese American State Legislator in Texas
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=54e6d6314aff19c5bba5b9af3a863aec
Pacific News Service

***

Seeking Identity
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/events/article/0,1375,VCS_158_3499772,00.html
San Jose Mercury News

***

'Save a Hunter' Bumper Stickers Condemned by Mankato Officials
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5207916.html
Minneapolis Star Tribune

***

Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking in Vietnam Gains Momentum ...
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=6d690e5049f5c1f50f621ecb99e1a5d6
New California Media

***

Hmong Immigration Halted After Cases of TB Found
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5210440.html
Minneapolis Star Tribune

***

151 New Americans Sworn in
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/WestVolusia/03WVolWEST02012905.htm
Daytona Beach News

***

Cafe de Laos
http://ae.philly.com/entertainment/ui/philly/restaurant.html?id=68525&reviewId=16884
philly.com

***

Hmong Condemn Shooting
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jan05/297274.asp
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

***

Old Fishing Boat Will Embark on a Journey to Tell the Story of ...
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/10773416.htm?1c
Kansas City Star

***

Cultural Barrier Can Limit Health Care
http://www.wisinfo.com/journal/spjlocal/355222135787409.shtml
Stevens Point Journal

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IV. Grants

1. (National)
   KaBOOM!

   KaBOOM! has announced ongoing opportunities to build new, safe playgrounds across North America. KaBOOM! is conducting outreach to locate potential Community Partners in cities and towns all across North America for playgrounds to be built in 2005. Ideal Community Partners are usually child-serving, nonprofit organizations, but could be community development organizations, neighborhood coalitions, charter schools, or any organization that can mobilize a volunteer force and is in need of a playground.

   Community Partners will receive a four-book Tool Kit that explains how to plan a playground from start to finish; two months of step-by-step guidance from a KaBOOM! project manager; a maintenance plan for the care of the new playground; and, with the help of volunteers, an inspiring community building experience ("Build Day") resulting in construction of a new playground in a single day.

   Ideal Community Partner candidates should serve children from low-income or disadvantaged backgrounds; own and provide land for the playground; agree to own, insure, and maintain the playground for the lifetime of the playground; be able to raise and contribute up to $10,000 cash toward the cost of equipment; and have the ability to recruit volunteers to participate in planning committees and to help build the playground.

   Deadline: Open

2. (National)
   Mattel and the Mattel Children's Foundation

   Mattel and the Mattel Children's Foundation have announced the launch of a new Domestic Grants Program.

   The program will accept grant applications from charitable organizations throughout the United States that directly serve children in need. Grant awards will range between $5,000 and $25,000, depending on program, organization, and individual community need.

   Applicant organizations must have 501(c)(3) public charity status. Funding priority is given to organizations or programs that creatively address a locally defined need directly impacting children in need and that align with Mattel's philanthropic priorities, which include health, education, and girls empowerment. Pilot projects and new organizations may be considered as long as all eligibility criteria are met; however, preference will be given to organizations that have at least two years' experience.

   Preference is given to organizations that have an annual operating budget of less than $1 million and are not affiliated with a national organization.

   Two types of grants will be considered: 1) program-specific grants (i.e., funding for the launch of new programs or the expansion of existing programs); and 2) core operating support (i.e., support for organizations to sustain their programs).

   Grant applications will be accepted online during two funding cycles: Cycle I, January 1 - April 8, 2005; and Cycle II, July 1 - September 30, 2005.

   Applications must be submitted online through the Mattel Web site. See the Web site for complete program information, funding priorities and restrictions, and access to the online eligibility quiz.

   Deadline: April 8, 2005 and September 30, 2005

3. (North Carolina)
   Burroughs Wellcome Fund

   A program of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Student Science Enrichment Program (SSEP) supports programs in North Carolina to enable middle school and high school students to participate in hands-on scientific activities and pursue inquiry-based exploration.

   SSEP awards provide up to $60,000 per year for three years to nonprofit organizations serving North Carolina middle and high school students. Up to ten awards are made annually.

   SSEP awards are intended to support programs that provide creative science enrichment activities for students in the sixth through twelfth grades who have shown exceptional skills and interest in science, as well as those who may not have had an opportunity to demonstrate such skills and interest in science but are perceived to have high potential. The projects must enable students to participate in hands-on scientific activities and pursue inquiry-based avenues of exploration.

   The program is open to nonprofit organizations in North Carolina. Eligible organizations include public and private schools, colleges and universities, community groups, museums and zoos, scientific groups, and others that can provide experiential activities for middle and high school students.

   SSEP activities must take place outside of the usual school environment, such as after school, on weekends, or during vacation periods. SSEP activities may be conducted all year, during the school year, or during the summer.

   Deadline: April 11, 2005

4. (National)
   MetLife Foundation

   Libraries for the Future, with support from the MetLife Foundation, has announced a national book and film discussion series for teenagers and families, especially immigrant families, that will take place in public libraries.

   The MetLife Foundation Reading America Program is designed to use literature, film, and the neutral ground of the library to stimulate discussion that positively affects the relationship between the generations, especially those of new immigrant families.

   Libraries for the Future will select fifteen libraries nationwide for the program. Applications are encouraged from public libraries of all sizes as well as libraries that have not previously engaged in systematic outreach to newcomer families. Applicant libraries must work with one or more community organizations as partners.

   Libraries selected to participate in the program will receive a cash grant of $5,000 to help initiate the program and cover their expenses.

   Deadline: March 4, 2005

5. (California)
   Taproot Foundation

   The New York based Taproot Foundation is offering a professional-services grant to nonprofits in the Bay Area and New York City.

   The grants can be applied for in the areas of marketing, talent management, fundraising, and information technology; each award involves specific business professionals donating their time and knowledge to further nonprofit capacity building.

   Deadline: March 7, 2005

6. (National)
   Milagro Foundation

   The Milagro Foundation, supported by the Santana family and its musical organization, provides funds to community-based, grassroots nonprofit organizations that work with children and youth in the San Francisco Bay area, the United States, and countries around the world in which the Santana Band performs. The Foundation focuses its grantmaking in three areas: helping children and youth live healthy lives through education and prevention of disease; helping children and youth live literate lives through learning; and helping children and youth live culturally enriched lives through arts education.

   Deadline: Open

7. (National)
   Youth Violence Prevention through Community-Level Change

   WHO: Faith-based organizations and community-based organizations, health professions schools, academic health centers, State or local governments, an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, or other appropriate public or private nonprofit entities.

   WHAT: to assess the efficacy or effectiveness of interventions designed to change community characteristics and social processes to reduce rates of youth violence perpetration and victimization.

   WHEN: March 30, 2005

   AWARD AMOUNT: Approximately $1.2 million dollars will fund 2 awards.

   CONTACT: To view the program announcement, head to

   For further information, please contact the Technical Information Management Section at 770-488-2700.

8. (California)
   Community Technology Foundation of California

   The Community Technology Foundation of California works to foster social justice, equity, and access for underserved communities in California through the use of information and communications technologies (ICT).

   With an overall focus on content and technology literacy, CTFC's General Grants program concentrates on the key areas of communications, media, and outreach. CTFC's current grantmaking focuses on the development and maintenance of—as well as the removal of barriers to—digital media, communications, and outreach for underserved Californians. Successful grantees will be those who effectively utilize ICT in a manner that enables their target communities to become more active and engaged participants in civic action.

   CTFC is soliciting proposals in the range of $10,000 to $50,000.

   To be eligible, applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations or organizations that have a commitment in writing from a 501(c)(3) sponsoring fiscal agent.

   CTFC accepts proposal applications on a rolling basis for its General Grants program. The first 2005 grant application deadline is February 14, 2005.

   Deadline: February 14, 2005

9. (National)
   Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

   The National Dance Project, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, provides a system of support for the discipline of contemporary dance by supporting the production and distribution of dance in the United States.

   Every season, NDP awards fifteen to twenty Production Grants for the creation of new dance work that will tour nationally. Funds support a project's development through the time of its premiere, covering costs related to production of the work. Grants, which are highly competitive, are awarded to dance projects based on nominations from presenters, artists, artist managers, and agents. Grant amounts generally range from $15,000 to $35,000.

   All projects nominated for NDP Production Grants should make possible the creation of regionally or nationally significant work that will eventually tour; offer the potential to engage and diversify audiences; explore collaborations within and across disciplines; and involve creative and dynamic partnership with one or more presenter partners in the development of the work.

   Nominators may be artists, managers, presenters, agents, or choreographers; self-nominations by dance companies will also be considered.

   Deadline: April 1, 2005

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V. Resources

The Quality 990 (qual990.org) website encompasses a number of projects and activities to improve the quality of IRS Form 990 reporting by nonprofit organizations.

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If you wish to contribute to the VERB Weekly e-Digest, please send all materials to sophy@searac.org