Monday, April 25, 2005: Volume #2, Issue #71
The VERB Weekly Email Digest
Edited by Sophy Pich, VERB Project Associate

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In This Week's Issue

1. Announcements
• International Children Assistance Network (ICAN)
• National Congress of Vietnamese Americans
• Maryland Nonprofits Training
• The Alliance for Justice
• Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest
• California Association of Nonprofits
2. Promising Practices
• 185 Cutback Strategies
3. News
• A Birthday Wrapped in Cambodian History
• The Karma of the Killing Fields
• One Way Out (Contributor-Sophal Ear)
• When Testing Means Guessing
• Lao New Year Rung in with Rituals, Traditions
• Man Stabbed to Death at Cambodian Buddhist Temple in La
• Vietnamese, American Entrepreneurs to Gather
• Group Wants Race Issues at Schools Addressed
• Doctors Grapple with Spiritual Treatment
• Cambodians Divided Over the past
• First Batch of Medical Translators Graduates
• Viet Nam War Should Serve As a Lesson for Young Americans
• Hatch Is Suing Hmong Foundation
• Hmong Foundation Facing Inquiry Likely to Drop Two Ventures
• the Khmer Rouge Anniversary
• 30 Years After Vietnam War, Vietnamese Diaspora Is Thriving ...
• Non-Hmong Se Asians Deal with Extra Barriers
• Us Entrepreneur Reconnects with His Roots in Native Land
• Nation Briefs
• Hmong Youths Learn of Their History in Laos
• Meeting Focuses on Marketing to Indo-Americans
• A Classical Cambodian Stranger in a Strange Land
• Annual Heritage Celebration Features Diverse Performances ...
• Homelands: Vietnam
• Hmong Resettlement Continues After Tuberculosis Scare
• Vietnamese in Us Take Stock of Community
4. Funding Opportunities
• The Earth Island Institute
• Employment and Training Administration
• Community Food and Nutrition
• Clarification for Grassroots Grant Applicant on Letters of Support
5. Resources
• Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees

I. Announcements

Ms. Quyen Vuong's family story is featured in The Mercury News. Ms. Voung's organization, the International Children Assistance Network (ICAN) is a VERB grantee.

Ms. Voung's family story will be told in five series, beginning on April 24th. Please follow the link for the series.

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Congratulations to Mr. Hoan Dang! Mr. Dang's organization, Maryland Vietnamese Mutual Association, Inc. (MVMA), is a VERB grantee.

Mr. Dang will receive the prestigious Linowes Leadership Awards at a ceremony in June. Each year, after a long and careful deliberation, the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region selects five "unsung leaders" to honor and recognize their exceptional work towards improving the quality of life for others.

Extraordinary people with compelling stories of courage and commitment with no expectations of reward or recognition describe the Linowes Leadership Awards. Recipients sponsored by The Community Foundation, since 1997, these awards recognize the efforts of unsung heroes working to improve communities throughout the region and encourage others to follow their example of community leadership and service. Named for R. Robert Linowes, emeritus board member and former chairman of The Community Foundation, the awards program pays tribute to his years of dedicated service to and leadership in the metropolitan Washington, DC region.

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Maryland Nonprofits Training

What Nonprofits Need to Know About the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Deadline/Event Date: June 07, 2005

6/7, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Fee: $45 members/$90 nonmembers

Held at the Silver Spring office of Maryland Nonprofits
8720 Georgia Avenue, Suite 303, Silver Spring, MD 20910

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The Alliance for Justice Presents
Worry Free Lobbying Online

Join the Alliance for Justice in its continuing series of online trainings for nonprofits as we explore the rules for lobbying by 501(c)(3)public charities.

Want to know what your 501(c)(3) organizations can accomplish but don't have time to attend a training outside of the office? Sit at your desktop in your office or home and join the Alliance for Justice for a virtual lobbying training.

This one-hour-web-based training will cover the rules for 501(c)(3) lobbying activity, including lobbying limits, definitions of lobbying, and some notable lobbying exceptions.

When: Wednesday April 28th at 2:00 Eastern Time

What You'Ll Need to Participate: You will need a computer with internet access and working computer speakers in order to participate. Questions will be taken through an online chat mechanism, but not through voice, so you do not need a microphone. Once you've registered, you will receive two e-mails: the first will be automatically generated letting you know your registration is complete, the second will be sent two days before the training and will include instructions on how to log in to the training (if you do not receive the instructions please e-mailrpowers@afj.org).

Cost: $30

Registration: www.allianceforjustice.org

If paying by check or AMEX, register directly with Robin Powers at rpowers@afj.org or 202/822-6070.

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Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest, the Washington, D.C.-based organization that promotes, supports and protects 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy and lobbying, has changed its name to Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest.

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Come to CAN's fast-paced, one-day, totally different board training in Ventura, Contra Costa, or Los Angeles this June to find out what you really need to TRANSFORM YOUR BOARD! You'll leave with:

1. A clear UNDERSTANDING of the gap between what you want from the board, what the law requires of them, and what they actually deliver.
2. KNOWLEDGE of how internal systems and external environments create either effective or dysfunctional board culture - and how to transform that culture from the ground up.
3. A FOCUSED PLAN, tailored to wherever your nonprofit is today, for how to close the gap between desire, need, and reality.
4. PREPARATION for meeting the obstacles you're sure to face as you push for change.
5. A MENTOR WHO'S DONE IT BEFORE and is prepared to support you through your change process.

For a full workshop schedule, go to: http://ga0.org/ct/cd1Giap1qzIC/transformyourboard/

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II. Promising Practices

185 Cutback Strategies

Excerpted from :
Coping with Cutbacks: The Nonprofit Guide to Success When Times Are Tight

We offer this checklist as a thinking tool and as a route to direct action. A more in-depth list is in the book. We hope that you can use this list to help you think creatively about your organization, its culture, its mission, its future, its response to immediate financial crises, and its long-term preparation for the changing culture.

Use these suggestions as a starting point for your own brainstorming, and use the categories to help you organize your thinking and analyze your current approach to fulfilling your mission. But don't get locked into any one strategy—cut them up, pull them out of a hat, mix and match them. Do whatever helps you spur new ideas that fit your specific situation.

Here's our caveat: Just because we've listed a strategy, don't think we endorse it. In fact, we dislike some, and some may conflict with your mission, values, or human resource policies.

No doubt you'll think of many more strategies than we've listed here, as well as other ways to organize them. Tell us about them, (vlh@wilder.org) and we'll include them in the next edition of Coping with Cutbacks.

Read on!

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III. News

A Birthday Wrapped in Cambodian History (Contributor-Loung Ung)
The New York Times
April 17, 2005

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The Karma of the Killing Fields (Contributor-Ambassador Sichan Siv)
The New York Times
April 17, 2005

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One Way Out (Contributor-Sophal Ear)
The New York Times
April 17, 2005

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When testing means guessing
Fresno Bee
April 18, 2005

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Lao New Year rung in with rituals, traditions
Press-Enterprise
April 18, 2005

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Man stabbed to death at Cambodian Buddhist temple in LA
San Jose Mercury News
April 18, 2005

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Vietnamese, American entrepreneurs to gather
Viet Nam News
April 19, 2005

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Group wants race issues at schools addressed
Wisconsin State Journal
April 19, 2005

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Doctors grapple with spiritual treatment
The Journal News.com
April 19, 2005

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Cambodians Divided Over the Past
Los Angeles Times
April 19, 2005

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First batch of medical translators graduates
Memphis Business Journal
April 20, 2005

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Viet Nam War should serve as a lesson for young Americans
Viet Nam News
April 20, 2005

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Hatch is suing Hmong foundation
Minneapolis Star Tribune
April 20, 2005

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Hmong foundation facing inquiry likely to drop two ventures
Minneapolis Star Tribune
April 21, 2005

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The Khmer Rouge Anniversary
I-Newswire.com
April 21, 2005

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30 Years After Vietnam War, Vietnamese Diaspora Is Thriving ...
Pacific News Service
April 21, 2005

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Non-Hmong SE Asians deal with extra barriers
Wausau Daily Herald
April 22, 2005

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US entrepreneur reconnects with his roots in native land
San Jose Mercury News
April 22, 2005

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Nation Briefs
Asian Week
April 23, 2005

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Hmong youths learn of their history in Laos
Wausau Daily Herald
April 23, 2005

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Meeting focuses on marketing to Indo-Americans
San Jose Mercury News
April 23, 2005

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A Classical Cambodian Stranger in a Strange Land
New York Times
April 23, 2005

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Annual Heritage Celebration features diverse performances ...
The Eureka Reporter
April 24, 2005

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HOMELANDS: VIETNAM
San Francisco Chronicle
April 24, 2005

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Hmong resettlement continues after tuberculosis scare
Duluth News Tribune
April 24, 2005

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Vietnamese in US Take Stock of Community
Guardian
April 24, 2005

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IV. Grants

1. (National)
   The Earth Island Institute

   The Earth Island Institute, a nonprofit organizations working for the conservation, preservation, and restoration of the global environment, invites applications for the Brower Youth Awards program.

   The program is designed to recognize the efforts of young environmental and social justice leaders. The cash prize is not a scholarship, but a reward for past work and present leadership. Recipients generally are encouraged to use the prize to assist in their own education or to further their work. Six award recipients are selected each year.

   The award includes a $3,000 cash prize; a trip to San Francisco for the awards ceremony; a three-day Wilderness Encounter; local and national media coverage; and ongoing access to mentors, resources, and leadership development opportunities.

   Eligible applicants are individuals aged 13-22 who are residents of the United States or Puerto Rico and who have shown leadership and produced results in at least one of the following areas: 1) Conservation—reducing the negative impacts of the use of natural resources and getting more out of what is used; 2) Preservation—saving places, plants, animals, cultures, and Earth- friendly traditions that cannot be replaced if they are destroyed; and 3) Restoration—repairing damaged land and water so that it can function ecologically and support the health of human communities and/or native wildlife populations.

   Deadline: June 1, 2005

2. (National)
   Employment and Training Administration Announces Availability of Grant Funding Under Responsible Reintegration of Youthful Offender Program

   Summary: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announces the availability of approximately $15 million in Responsible Reintegration of Youthful Offender grant funds to address the specific workforce challenges of youth offenders and to utilize strategies that prepare them for new and increasing job opportunities in high-growth/high-demand and economically vital industries and sectors of the American economy. Projects funded under this competition will be consistent with both the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative and the Department of Labor's Youth Vision.

   Grant funds awarded under this competition can be used to implement a variety of approaches to helping youth offenders enter high-growth/high-demand industries, including occupational training provided by organizations that grant industry-recognized credentials; on-the-job training, apprenticeships, internships, and other work-based learning opportunities; job placement efforts; reading and math remediation to assist youth offenders succeed in education and training programs; efforts to help youth offenders already employed upgrade to skilled positions; and efforts to help youth offenders enter community colleges and four-year colleges.

   Each application must reflect a strategic partnership between the public workforce system, business representatives from high-growth/ high-demand industries, the education and training community, and the juvenile justice system. Partnerships with the child welfare agency and with faith-based and community organizations are also encouraged.

   Applicants may be public, private for-profit, and private non- profit organizations, including faith-based and community organizations. The applicant will be the lead agency representing a partnership of the public workforce system, business and industry representatives from high-growth/high-demand industries, the education and training community, and the juvenile justice system. Applicants must demonstrate the existence of a partnership that includes at least one entity from each of four categories: (1) The publicly-funded workforce investment system, which may include the State Workforce Board, State Workforce Agency, local Workforce Investment Board, or a consortium of neighboring local Workforce Investment Boards; (2) the education and training community, which may include the State agencies overseeing secondary and post-secondary schools, local school districts, local community and technical colleges, four year colleges and universities, or other training entities; (3) employers and industry representatives in high-growth/ high-demand industries; and (4) the juvenile justice system, which may include the state juvenile justice agency or the local family or juvenile court system. Collaborations also are encouraged with other entities, including child welfare and foster care agencies, faith-based and community organizations, substance abuse treatment providers, and social service agencies.

   Applicants may submit proposals within the range of $800,000 to $1.2 million. ETA expects to award grants for 15 projects at an average grant amount of $1 million.

   Deadline: Applications must be submitted by May 23.

   An April 22 Federal Register notice provides full background on this solicitation including the five major areas of emphasis. This notice describes the content and form of the application, and details the federal criteria for review. This notice and solicitation package (SGA/DFA PY-04-09; CFDA 17.261) will also be available through ETA's Solicitation for Grant Applications Web site.

3. (National)
   Community Food and Nutrition

   WHO: Faith-Based and community organizations, state and local governments, non-profits, and others.

   WHAT: Grant funds are provided to: (1) Coordinate private and public food assistance resources, wherever the grant recipient involved determines such coordination to be inadequate, to better serve low-income populations; (2) assist low-income communities to identify potential sponsors of child nutrition programs and to initiate such programs in underserved or unserved areas; and (3) develop innovative approaches at the State and local level to meet the nutrition needs of low-income individuals.

   WHEN: Applications are due June 17, 2005

   AWARD AMOUNT: 46-50 awards of up to $50,000 totaling $2,300,000

4. (National)
   Clarification for Grassroots Grant Applicant on Letters of Support

   Questions and Answers for ETA's Grant for Small Grassroots Organizations and Workforce Boards can be found at the link above. Please note below two questions recently issued under "Application and Submission Information" Section.

   1. What if the local Workforce Board or One-Stop does not want to give me a letter of support?

      In the SGA for Small Grassroots Organizations, there are three references of letters of support from the One-Stop Career Center or Workforce Investment Board:

      Under "Content & Form of Application Submission" [Part IV.2]

      The only attachments permitted will be agreements with, or letters of support from, local Workforce Investment Boards and/or local One-Stop operators.

      Under Evaluation Criteria [V.B]—"Description of Partnerships and Linkages

      Please describe your plans to work as a partner with the One-Stop delivery system to help the target population you described above, enter and succeed in the workforce. If you have not previously worked with a One-Stop Career Center, please describe actions you have taken to develop a relationship with a One-Stop Career Center. If you have worked with a One-Stop Career Center in the past, please describe what actions you have taken to further develop your relationship.

      Please attach agreements with or letters of support from, local Workforce Investment Boards and/or local One-Stop operators with whom you are working, or with whom you have developed a relationship, as you have designed this proposal.

      Under scoring criterion for this Section VB, Question 2:

      Does the applicant present evidence of discussions with the One-Stop delivery system (e.g., a signed letter from the Local Workforce Investment Board or other One-Stop delivery system principals)? (5 points)

   2. The letters of support should indicate a commitment to coordinate between the One-Stop Career Centers and One-Stop staff should your grassroots organization be awarded a grant. This coordination most commonly will come at the level of mutual referrals. Neither One-Stops nor Workforce Boards are limited in the number of organizations for whom they write letters of support. Applicants and prospective One-Stop and Workforce Boards should note that letters of support from One-Stop Career Centers or Workforce Boards do not need to include a commitment to funding the grassroots organization if the Workforce Board/One-Stop and grassroots organizations have not worked together previously. Unless the letters explicitly say so, the Department will not assume that the Workforce Board or One-Stop necessarily has full knowledge and experience with the grassroots organization. For example, the Workforce Board may not have funded the grassroots organizations previously and therefore cannot speak to the organization's administrative abilities or record of performance.

      A major purpose of this grant is to increase level of relationships between grassroots FBCOs and the One-Stop Career Center system. The Department does not expect or intend that grassroots grants should always go to organizations that have fully developed relationships with their One-Stops. To identify the closest One-Stop Career Center, please use www.servicelocator.org or call 1-877-US2JOBS. To contact your local Workforce Board, please visit the National Association of Workforce Board's website, www.nawb.org, and search for contact information under "Membership Directory."

   3. I represent a Workforce Board (or One-Stop). Can I give a letter of support or sign an agreement with an organization I am not familiar with previously?

      The Department does not expect or intend that it will award grassroots grants always to organizations that have fully developed relationships with their One-Stops; part of the purpose of this grant is to increase level of relationships between grassroots FBCOs.

      The letters of support should indicate a commitment to coordinate between the One-Stop Career Centers and your One-Stop staff should the grassroots organization be awarded a grant. This coordination most commonly will come at the level of mutual referrals. Neither One-Stops nor Workforce Boards are limited in the number of organizations for whom they write letters of support. Applicants and prospective One-Stop and Workforce Boards should note that letters of support from One-Stop Career Centers or Workforce Boards do not need to include a commitment to funding the grassroots organization if the Workforce Board/One-Stop and grassroots organizations have not worked together previously. Unless the letters explicitly say so, the Department will not assume that the Workforce Board or One-Stop necessarily has full knowledge and experience with the grassroots organization. For example, the Workforce Board may not have funded the grassroots organizations previously and therefore cannot speak to the organization's administrative abilities or record of performance.

      A major purpose of this grant is to increase level of relationships between grassroots FBCOs and the One-Stop Career Center system. The Department does not expect or intend that grassroots grants should always go to organizations that have fully developed relationships with their One-Stops. To identify the closest One-Stop Career Center, please use www.servicelocator.org or call 1-877-US2JOBS. To contact your local Workforce Board, please visit the National Association of Workforce Board's website, www.nawb.org, and search for contact information under "Membership Directory."

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V. Resources

Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees seeks to move the philanthropic field to advance the contributions and address the needs of the world's growing and increasingly diverse immigrant and refugee populations. With a core focus on the United States, GCIR provides grantmakers with opportunities for learning, networking, collaboration, and information resources. Visit site: http://www.gcir.org/

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