Monday, May 31, 2005: Volume #2, Issue #76
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
• SEARAC and Refugee Council USA
• Hmong group's leader honored
• California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Institute
• Bay Area Training
• National Council of Nonprofit Associations
2. Promising Practices
• Preparing For Your Year-End Audit
3. News
• Desperate Move under the Label of "Democracy"
• Former Hmong Fighter Recalls Fleeing War-Ravaged Homeland
• Vietnam Vet Ponders Holiday's Meaning
• Vietnamese Protestants Report Abuse, Despite Premier's Order
• Hmong Refugee Camp Closed down After 10,000 Relocated to Us
• Lawmakers Back S. Vietnam Flag
• Cambodian Teaches Coventry Students Value of Freedom
• Christian Persecution Relentless According to Vietnam Protestants
• Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Celebrated
• 'We're Happy to Be Here'
• Language Centers Help Young Hmong Students
• the Essential Things Go Unexplained
• Stout Professor Gives Lecture in Vietnam
• Vietnamese Diaspora Is Thriving
• Hmong Refugees Head to Wisconsin, California and Minnesota
• a New Future from a Lost past
• Green Beret Remembers Heroes
• Central Valley Hungry for Hmong Doctors
• Rice Palace Lunch Buffet Draws Faithful Crowd
• Natives of 2 Lands Unite for 1 Purpose: Honoring Local Soldiers ...
4. Funding Opportunities
• MTV: Music Television
• Assets For Independence (AFI)
• The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program
• The Janus Foundation
5. Resources
• The Spitfire Strategies

I. Announcements

Dear Colleagues:

This coming September, SEARAC will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the beginning of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement in the United States, the 25th Anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1980 and the 26th Anniversary of SEARAC.

In anticipation of this celebration, we put forward the following requests for your consideration and action; and we request that you share this widely with your networks.

1. We are seeking short vignette "success stories" of Southeast Asian refugees that will be compiled in an anniversary booklet. Please send these to Berta at email: bjromero04@aol.com by June 30, 2005
2. We are seeking any photos of the time period 1975 - current, particularly from the camps in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia; and the camps in the U.S. - to be used in a "montage" in a 10 minute video. Please email Sophy Pich at sophy@searac.org to get clearance on submitting all photographs by June 10, 2005

The following details from SEARAC:

SEARAC will be producing a ten minute video for our organization entitled, "Celebrating 30 years of the SE Asian Experience."

The central theme of this presentation is to showcase the triumphs and milestones reached by the Southeast Asian Community within the last 30 years. While there will be a brief section dedicated to showing some of the struggles, most of the piece will highlight the strides made and the influential people and events behind those achievements.

We are looking for pictures of Southeast Asian Americans to be included in the video. The pictures should fall into any of the following themes and their dipictions:

Theme: Illuminates the struggles of acculturation and resettlement in America.

Images (photographs and visuals):

• 80's hairdos and outfits
• People working all kinds of odd jobs.
• Parents working hard to make sure kids are safe.
• Tears of struggles.

Theme: "Foothold on the American Dream" SE Asians gaining a firm foothold on the American dream. Beginning of successes in education, media, sports, arts, and other arenas. Time when kids are beginning to make their mark in mainstream America with the foundation set by their hard-working parents.

Images (photographs and visuals):

• Kids graduating from college, becoming professionals.
• Kids playing sports, getting involved in all types of activities.
• Parents celebrating their children's successes.
• Professionals in the workplace.
• Tears of joy.

Theme: "Many milestones, but still miles to go" Reflects on great leaders in our community, from prominent figures to ones that are less-celebrated (like mother, fathers, brothers and sisters), but heroes nonetheless. Celebrate achievements, but leave the audience with sense of work that STILL needs to be done, thus "miles to go."

Images (photographs and visuals):

• Prominent SE Asians and other heroes in our community.
• Pictures of important events. Images of triumph.
• holding hands and smiles—smiles that look into the future with optimism.

Pictures: Please send anything that might fit the themes above. Digital pix are preferred. If you have old pix, please scan them in at 72 dpi.

For additional information, please contact me directly. We look forward to hearing from you!

THANK YOU!!

Berta Romero
Coordinator
Refugee Council USA
tel: 202-541-5402/04
fax: 202-722-8737
email: rcusa2000@aol.com
www.refugeecouncilusa.org

***

Hmong Group's Leader Honored

Sacramentan May Ying Ly wins $120,000 award for helping refugee women.
By Stephen Magagnini—Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, May 23, 2005

May Ying Ly, founder and director of the Hmong Women's Heritage Association, has won a $120,000 Health Leadership Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Ly, 37, was one of 10 honorees selected from more than 600 nominees nationwide. She is the first Sacramentan to win in the 14-year history of the awards. The foundation - established by one of the owners of Johnson & Johnson - is the nation's largest philanthropic organization exclusively devoted to improving health care, said Deputy Director Edward Chu.

"What we look for are unsung heroes, ordinary Americans without any special preparation who have seen a need in their communities and devoted their lives to meeting it," Chu said. "May Ying is a perfect example. She has created an incredibly effective organization that is helping people who came from traumatic circumstances, a preliterate farming community entering 21st century Sacramento, to negotiate language, cultural and health barriers."

In 1993, Ly and several other Hmong women formed the Hmong Women's Heritage Association to address the gender and generation gaps tearing apart Hmong families already struggling with survival in America.

"This is such an incredible honor to be nationally recognized, given my humble beginnings," said Ly, noting that the women in her group met for five years before they got any funding.

But they steadily picked up momentum, providing counseling, transportation and translation services to hundreds of Hmong refugees. In 2001, the group received a $780,000 three-year grant to train more than 100 health interpreters in cultural and ethical issues. The trainees included Hmong, Iu Mien, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Lao and Russian Americans. With the help of Hmong interpreters, Ly said her organization helped about 60 Hmong refugees a month get to their doctors' appointments.

One of those clients was a Hmong widow in her late 40s with five children whose husband - a double agent who worked for both the Lao communists and the anti-communist forces - was slain along the Lao-Thai border.

The widow, who also lost several children to illness in a Thai refugee camp, "was clinically depressed for quite some time and was contemplating suicide," Ly said. "She never had a way to deal with her loss because in the Hmong community, there's no such thing as mental health - Hmong shamans (traditional healers) deal with the body and the spirit, not the mind."

The widow did not know how to drive or read and write, and she was living a life of isolation until she learned of Ly's organization.

"One of my staffers, Youa Lo, taught her how to ride the bus so she could take all five of her children to the dentist, and then gave her an ear to help her deal with her grief," Ly said. "Now she's gone from this timid, depressed person to someone who smiles."

Chu, who visited the widow in Sacramento, said Ly's staff taught her when to take her medicine, how to get more when she needed it, and how to enroll in adult education classes.

The widow was one of 300 Hmong refugees in Sacramento who got mental health care through Ly's organization, which works with Satsuki Ina, a psychologist and family therapist.

"She (Ina) helped teach us how to recognize depression, how to go about providing treatment so we don't traumatize the client more," said Ly, adding that she believes every one of the 25,000 Hmong refugees in Sacramento is grappling with mental health issues.

"No family escaped Laos without losing somebody," she said. "I lost two cousins who were ambushed. One of my aunts got raped and she lived with that shame until she died. The shaman never talks about the lives that were lost, the mother who accidentally smothered her child while running from the communists."

The foundation noted that Ly's efforts to combat domestic violence, chronic disease and mental disorders "have been conducted at great personal risk due to her status as a woman in the Hmong patriarchal society. (Traditional) Hmong believe that all family problems should be dealt with within the family and clan; however, most family and clan members lack the appropriate prevention and intervention skills necessary to intervene in some chronic and critical cases."

Ly was nominated by one of her board members, Victor Bonanno of the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency, who said Ly and her 11-person staff "have a passion, every one of them, to do what they do. They're not paid much—they are there because they have a sense of community."

Ly said she plans to use the $120,000 award to continue providing mental health services, to send her staff to college and graduate school, and to expand the activities of her advisory council of Hmong clan leaders. "A good meal always brings them to the table," she said.

About the writer: The Bee's Stephen Magagnini can be reached at (916) 321-1072 or smagagnini@sacbee.com.

***

2nd Annual California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Policy Summit

"Unity In Action"

Sponsored By California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Institute

Summit Chair: Assembly Member Judy Chu, Ph.D.

Monday - June 6, 2005
Sheraton Grand Hotel, Sacramento, California
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Registration: Early Bird Registration deadline is Friday, May 27 , 2005 (Cost: $50 early bird / $75 after May 27th ). Refer to the registration form attached to this announcement and fax or snail mail back to us with your payment.

Overnight Accommodation: There are currently less than 30 rooms remaining at the Sheraton Grande Hotel where the Summit will be held. To book at the group rate of $149/night, please call Sheraton Reservations at 1-800-325-3535 by Friday, May 27, 2005. Cite "API Policy Summit" to get this room rate.

Further Inquiries:
Pam Chueh, Staff at the API Caucus
Telephone: (916) 319-3686
E-mail: pam.chueh@asm.ca.gov

***

Bay Area Training

Friday, June 24, 2005
9:30am - 4:30pm

This workshop will cover: the definition and strategies of online fundraising; assessing your organizational capacity for Internet fundraising/engagement; developing a web presence and driving traffic to your site; using email effectively as a communications and fundraising tool; online donation processing systems; data integration issues; how to find and use Internet vendors; and a review of participant web sites.

***

Fifteen states introduced 24 bills this year that would increase regulations on charities, according to a new study by the National Council of Nonprofit Associations...

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II. Promising Practices

Preparing For Your Year-End Audit: Planning Ahead Helps to Avoid Surprises

Posted by: PNNOnline on Thursday, May 26, 2005

Well, if you're a nonprofit financial manager, chances are good that you're beginning to prepare for your year-end closing (assuming your year-end is in June). Even if not, it's never too early to start thinking about and planning for your December year-end!

While the end of the year can be a hectic time for organizations, spending a moderate amount of time planning for your internal year-end closing and audit process can reduce stress and help ensure that you're well prepared. Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind as you plan and prepare for your year-end audit, as well as some thoughts on what to do after the audit.

PLANNING: What you should have already done, or what you need to do today:

1. Review your grants: Compare actual reimbursable expenditures to the budget levels for all deficit-funded government grant contracts and restricted foundation grants; remember that the typical result of not spending all available funds is a reduction in your grant for the next year.
2. Organize tax details: Document all year-end expenditures as to the date of the purchase order. Remember that the auditors are going to test your year-end accounts payable. Nonprofits with for-profit subsidiaries or those that are subject to Unrelated Business Income Taxes (UBIT) should estimate year-end taxable liabilities and ensure that timely tax payments are made to avoid penalties and interest.
3. Start communicating with your auditor: Develop a realistic audit timetable for all aspects of the engagement, and stick with it. Work with the auditors to develop a list of those items they need to complete the audit and establish due dates for all items on the list. The audit timetable should include preliminary work to be done before year-end (e.g., systems testing), procedures that must be completed as close to year-end as possible (e.g., confirmation letters and year-end inventory observation), and field work to be finalized after year-end.
4. Schedule all required communication with donors: Contact should include acknowledgment letters to donors and all summaries of accountability for donors, together with all other prior year compliance-related reporting requirements.

Read on: http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=5977

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III. News

Desperate Move under the Label of "Democracy"
Voice of Viet Nam
May 23, 2005

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Former Hmong Fighter Recalls Fleeing War-Ravaged Homeland
Kansas City Star
May 25, 2005

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Vietnam Vet Ponders Holiday's Meaning
Tonganoxie Mirror
May 25, 2005

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Vietnamese Protestants Report Abuse, Despite Premier's Order
Radio Free Asia
May 25, 2005

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Hmong Refugee Camp Closed down After 10,000 Relocated to Us
Minneapolis Star Tribune
May 26, 2005

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Lawmakers Back S. Vietnam Flag
OCRegister
May 26, 2005

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Cambodian Teaches Coventry Students Value of Freedom
Kent County Daily Times
May 26, 2005

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Christian Persecution Relentless According to Vietnam Protestants
ChristianToday
May 27, 2005

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Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Celebrated
Pentagram
May 27, 2005

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'We're Happy to Be Here'
Lancaster Newspapers
May 27, 2005

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Language Centers Help Young Hmong Students
Guardian Unlimited
May 28, 2005

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The Essential Things Go Unexplained
World Socialist Web Site
May 28, 2005

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Stout Professor Gives Lecture in Vietnam
Dunn County News
May 28, 2005

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Vietnamese Diaspora Is Thriving
Asian Week
May 28, 2005

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Hmong Refugees Head to Wisconsin, California and Minnesota
San Jose Mercury News
May 29, 2005

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A New Future from a Lost Past
OCRegister
May 29, 2005

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Green Beret Remembers Heroes
Las Vegas Review-Journal
May 30, 2005

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Central Valley Hungry for Hmong Doctors
New California Media
May 30, 2005

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Rice Palace Lunch Buffet Draws Faithful Crowd
OnMilwaukee.com
May 30, 2005

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Natives of 2 Lands Unite for 1 Purpose: Honoring Local Soldiers ...
St. Cloud Times
May 30, 2005

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IV. Grants

1. (National)
   MTV: Music Television

   MTV: Music Television has announced the launch of its new pro-social initiative, think MTV, which is designed to inform and empower young people to take action on social issues.

   As part of its effort to encourage its audience to become more proactive in their communities, MTV has teamed up with Youth Venture, a movement of youth social entrepreneurs, to offer think Venture Grants to young people who are making a difference by creating and leading organizations, clubs, or businesses that address a need in their communities. Grants of up to $1,000 each will be offered each week to a group of young people with the most compelling and sustainable community service project concept in one of the five primary think MTV issue areas: discrimination, education, the environment, global issues, and sexual health.

   Grant recipients will also receive access to selected educational resources and tools from Youth Venture, including a Youth Venture Start-Up Kit; access to a national network of young "venturers" and a "venturers-only" Web site; and information about scholarships and speaking opportunities.

   The program is open to groups of two or more individuals who are legal residents of the United States and at least thirteen years of age or older at time of entry.

   Deadline: December 31, 2005

2. (National)
   Assets For Independence (AFI)

   WHO: Non-profit organizations, including faith-based and community-based organizations, with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status; State, local or Tribal government agencies applying jointly with a non-profit Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI); or Low Income Credit Unions, in collaboration with a community-based anti-poverty organization.

   WHAT: AFI is a grant program that provides up to $1,000,000 to community-based, faith-based, and other organizations, that help low-income people become economically self-sufficient. Grantees provide clients with financial education and assistance with saving earned income in Individual Savings Accounts (IDAs) for the goal of acquiring one of three long-term assets (a first home, post-secondary education, or small business capital). Individual Development Accounts are special savings accounts where participants' savings are matched with grant funds to enable them to save quickly for an asset purchase.

   AWARD AMOUNT: Approximately 50 awards of up to $1,000,000 totaling $18,000,000.

   Deadline: Various

3. (National)
   The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program

   The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock supports programs that foster the growth and development of the denomination and that increase the involvement of Unitarian Universalists in social action. The Veatch Program also supports organizations whose goals reflect the principles of Unitarian Universalism. The UU Veatch Program's non-denominational grantmaking is limited to U.S.-based organizations with a locus of activity in the United States.

   Support is generally provided only to non-profit, tax-exempt organizations as defined under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. The Veatch Program does not make grants to individuals or government institutions, nor is funding provided to organizations for capital projects, endowments, annual contribution drives, historic preservation, direct services, scientific or academic research, film or video productions, publications, cultural activities, or partisan politics.

   Deadline: Open

4. (National)
   The Janus Foundation

   Corporate philanthropy is a crucial part of the well-being of every community. Janus understands the significant impact our support can have on people in need of help from nonprofit organizations throughout the country. In recognition of our corporate responsibility to the community, the Janus Foundation was formed in 1994 to support and enhance the communities where our shareholders and employees live and work.

   The Janus Foundation's approach to funding is unique, and we hope that our efforts make a substantive difference that goes beyond the simple act of making a financial contribution. The Foundation looks to develop partnerships with nonprofit organizations that are innovative, visionary, and forward-thinking in their approach to reaching those they serve. We believe that by funding organizations that embrace these qualities, we can assist nonprofits that have the structure, the vision and the commitment to operate successfully in both the short and long term. Ultimately, this will give our nonprofit partners the support they need to make a long-lasting impact on the lives of the people they help.

   The Foundation attempts to provide funding to nonprofits when they need it most. Therefore, our grant selection committee meets each month to evaluate all proposals, and there is no deadline for submission. We typically respond to all proposals within 90 days of receiving them.

   While we recognize there are many diverse nonprofit organizations providing invaluable services to the community, the Janus Foundation has elected to focus on the three following giving areas:

   • at-risk youth through education
   • community service and volunteerism
   • cultural institutions in the Denver Metro area

   Please note that the Janus Foundation accepts grant applications from nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. for the first two giving areas. The third giving area only applies to cultural institutions that operate in the Denver, CO metro area.

   By funding programs in these areas, the Janus Foundation strives to help communities reach greater levels of self-sufficiency, and impact the lives of many in each community.

   You may contact the Janus Foundation in one of the following ways: by e-mail at janusfoundation@janus.com; by mail at 151 Detroit Street, Denver, CO 80206; or by phone at 303-333-3863.

   The Individual Investor contact page should be referenced by individuals seeking a timely response to questions about our mutual funds or their personal Janus accounts.

   Deadline: Open

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V. Resources

The Spitfire Strategies

The Spitfire Strategies Smart Chart has made communications planning easy for hundreds of nonprofit communications groups. Now the planning tool goes high tech as Spitfire announces the Interactive Smart Chart. Now live, www.SmartChart.org offers all the features of the printed Smart Chart in a Web-based format that makes it easy for nonprofits to hone their communications goals, identify their target audiences and craft high impact communications strategies.

Plus, it's free for all 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