Monday, June 1, 2004:
Volume #2, Issue #31
The VERB Weekly Email Digest
Edited by Sophy Pich, VERB Project Associate
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In This Week's Issue
- Announcements
- LSC Resource Library
- Alliance for Nonprofit Management
- Promising Practices
- Sample of Conflict of Interest Policy
- News
- Hmong Circle Tears down Walls
- Refugee Opens Museum, Memorial to Cambodia's 1970s Killing Fields
- Feds Release Cambodian National Facing Deportation
- First Annual North American Vietnamese Student Associations Conference
- Facing Death: Cambodian Terror Survivors Meet Captors
- Public Opinions against Garden Grove City Council's Ruling
- La Crosse Schools Expect 100 Hmong Refugees
- Teachers to Visit Hmong Homeland
- Asian Culture on Display
- Earthy Textures, Flavors All Folded Up in Banh Xeo
- Estimate of Hmong Influx Triples to About 5,000
- Younger Generation Less Dependent on Little Saigon
- Hmong Hope for Fresh Start
- Spirits of Vietnamese Culture
- New Cambodian Event Making Waves
- U.S. Asian Population Surge Expected to Continues
- Hmong Open to Amnesty in Laos
- Umass Study Details Asian-American Diversity
- Groups Team Up to Fight Hmong Teen Prostitution
- Hmong Military Leader's Influence Waning
- New Hmong Immigrants to Get Own Classrooms Initially
- Artist and Legislator Cy Thao Paints 5,000 Years of Hmong History
- Funding Opportunities
- Angel Soft
- The Alcoa Foundation
- The Home Depot Foundation
- RadioShack
- The Oak Foundation
- The Washington Mutual Foundation
- MTV and Youth Venture
- The National Endowment for the Arts
- Skoll Foundation
- BRICK Awards
- American Legacy Foundation
- Verizon Foundation
- Resources
- CharityAdvantage
- TheCapitol.Net, Inc.
I. Announcements
LSC Resource Library
Various Trainings
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Alliance for Nonprofit Management
Various Trainings
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II. Promising Practices
From Board Cafe
Last month the Board Cafe looked at Sarbanes Oxley, the new regulations for for-profit corporations aimed at preventing corporate abuse. Although these regulations are not applicable for nonprofits, a sound practice is establishing a conflict of interest policy which board members sign.
SAMPLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY
Three straightforward safeguards can go a long way towards preventing and avoiding conflicts of interest. First, the organization can establish a policy related to conflict of interest, which is signed by all board members at the time they join the board and perhaps renewed annually. The statement may be a simple declaration or it may require detailed information about the board members' financial interests.
Second, establish disclosure as a normal habit or practice. Board members should find it customary for someone to say, for example, "This next agenda item relates to joining a collaboration with other mental health agencies that receive county funds. Because I am on the staff of one of the agencies involved, I have a potential conflict of interest and I am going to excuse myself from the room for this discussion." In another situation a board member might say, "I have started to date the Clinic Director and as a result feel that I must resign from the board. I would like to continue as a member of the Fundraising Committee, but not as a board member." Disclosures and excusal from voting should be recorded in the meeting's minutes.
Third, if major purchases are involved, competitive written bids should be obtained to ensure that prices and products are comparable if there will be a financial benefit to a board member.
Perhaps even more than written policies, board and staff leadership must establish by example and attitude an atmosphere of personal integrity. Some situations may need only a brief informal comment to maintain that climate. In other situations a decision may be delayed because of the need to ensure that the decision has been made truly in the best interests of the organization. Each of us, by our words and actions every day, contributes towards a culture of integrity and responsibility.
Sample conflict of interest policy:
The standard of behavior at the _________ Nonprofit is that all staff, volunteers, and board members scrupulously avoid any conflict of interest between the interests of the Willow Organization on one hand, and personal, professional, and business interests on the other. This includes avoiding actual conflicts of interest as well as perceptions of conflicts of interest.
I understand that the purposes of this policy are: to protect the integrity of the Willow Organization's decision-making process, to enable our constituencies to have confidence in our integrity, and to protect the integrity and reputation of volunteers, staff and board
members.
Upon or before election, hiring or appointment, I will make a full, written disclosure of interests,
relationships, and holdings that could potentially result in a conflict of interest. This written disclosure will be kept on file and I will update it as appropriate.
In the course of meetings or activities, I will disclose any interests in a transaction or decision where I (including my business or other nonprofit affiliation), my family and/or my significant other, employer, or close associates will receive a benefit or gain. After disclosure, I understand that I will be asked to leave the room for the discussion and will not be permitted to vote
on the question.
I understand that this policy is meant to be a supplement to good judgment, and I will respect its spirit as well as its wording.
Signed: _____________________ Date: _____________________
This article is from The Best of the Board Cafe, available at http://www.amazon.com or a little cheaper at http://www.compasspoint.org/bookstore.
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III. News
Hmong Circle Tears down Walls
May 17, 2004
Pioneer Press
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Refugee Opens Museum, Memorial to Cambodia's 1970s Killing Fields
May 17, 2004
The Seattle Times
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Feds Release Cambodian National Facing Deportation
May 17, 2004
The Mercury News
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First Annual North American Vietnamese Student Associations Conference
May 19, 2004
UVSA
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Facing Death: Cambodian Terror Survivors Meet Captors
May 17, 2004
The Village Voice
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Public Opinions against Garden Grove City Council's Ruling
May 18, 2004
VNA
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La Crosse Schools Expect 100 Hmong Refugees
May 18, 2004
La Crosse Tribune
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Teachers to Visit Hmong Homeland
May 19, 2004
Stevens Point Journal
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Asian Culture on Display
May 19, 2004
The Tribune
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Earthy Textures, Flavors All Folded Up in Banh Xeo
May 19, 2004
Contra Costa Times
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Estimate of Hmong Influx Triples to About 5,000
May 20, 2004
Duluth News Tribune
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Younger Generation Less Dependent on Little Saigon
May 20, 2004
VSA
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Hmong Hope for Fresh Start
May 21, 2004
The Capital Times
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Spirits of Vietnamese Culture
May 21, 2004
Asia Pacific Arts
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New Cambodian Event Making Waves
May 22, 2004
Lowell Sun
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U.S. Asian Population Surge Expected to Continues
May 23, 2004
Omaha World Herald
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Hmong Open to Amnesty in Laos
May 23, 2004
The Kansas City Star
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Umass Study Details Asian-American Diversity
May 27, 2004
The Boston Globe
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Groups Team Up to Fight Hmong Teen Prostitution
May 27, 2004
Pioneer Press
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Hmong Military Leader's Influence Waning
May 28, 2004
Guardian Unlimited
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New Hmong Immigrants to Get Own Classrooms Initially
May 29, 2004
Duluth News Tribune
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Artist and Legislator Cy Thao Paints 5,000 Years of Hmong History
May 30, 2004
Star Tribune
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IV. Grants
- (National)
Angel Soft
The Angel Soft Angels in Action Program recognizes children ages 8 to 15 for executing exemplary acts of service to benefit their community, a charity, or a cause. One $20,000 grand prize and ten $2,500 first prizes will be awarded. Youth ages eight to fifteen throughout the United States are eligible to be nominated.
Deadline (for submitting nominations): June 19, 2004
- (National)
The Alcoa Foundation
The Alcoa Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in communities around the world where Alcoa operates. The majority of the Foundation's grants fit within one of the following areas: conservation and sustainability; safe and healthy children and families; global education and workforce skills; and business and community partnerships. Nonprofit organizations in communities with company facilities are eligible to apply (all VERB sites).
Interested applicants should contact the local Alcoa facility for deadlines and procedures.
- (National)
The Home Depot Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation supports a wide range of nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada in the communities where company associates live and work. Grants are made in the areas of affordable housing, at-risk youth ages 12-18, the environment, and disaster preparedness. Particular consideration is given to requests that impact more than one of the Foundation's areas of interest and promote community volunteerism. Nonprofit organizations in company communities throughout the United States and Canada are eligible to apply.
Deadline: July 15, 2004
- (National)
RadioShack
The RadioShack Neighborhood Answers Grant Program is dedicated to helping families protect their children from abduction, violence and abuse through support of projects conducted by local nonprofit organizations. The program currently focuses on the prevention of family violence/abuse and on the prevention of child abduction. Nonprofit organizations that directly impact or benefit a RadioShack community, through programs and/or services, are eligible to apply for grants of up to $500.
Deadline: June 15, 2004
- (National)
The Oak Foundation
The Oak Foundation, an international philanthropy, commits its resources to address issues of global, social, and environmental concern, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. The Foundation has a variety of priority areas including the environment, with emphasis placed on conservation of the marine environment and reducing the threat of global warming; and international human rights, especially the administration of justice, the prevention of torture, the protection of human rights defenders, and support for refugees and indigenous peoples. Other priority areas include issues affecting women, especially domestic violence, the challenges faced by single mothers, and trafficking of women; prevention of child abuse, in particular sexual abuse; housing and homelessness; and learning disabilities, especially dyslexia.
Deadline: Open
- (National)
The Washington Mutual Foundation
The Washington Mutual Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in communities where Washington Mutual, Inc. does business, including communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington. The Foundation focuses its funding on affordable housing and community development and K-12 public education in low- to moderate-income communities. In addition to affordable housing and education, the Foundation supports a very limited number of community involvement, volunteer leadership development, and community service programs.
Deadline: Open
- (National)
MTV and Youth Venture
Get $1,000 and Get Out the VOTE! Prove that young people can be a deciding factor in the coming election.
Start a voter registration project and receive MTV-Youth Venture grants of up to $1,000 each for your initiative.
As part of the "20 Million Loud" Campaign, MTV and Youth Venture are challenging young people to launch their own new, sustainable organizations to register young people to vote and influence the election of 2004. The organizations must be youth led, engage a team, and not endorse a specific party or candidate.
Youth Venture is a national nonprofit that invests in young people who want to create, launch and lead their own organizations, businesses or clubs to benefit the community. Check us out at www.youthventure.org to learn more.
MTV's "20 Million Loud" is a national campaign of organizations mobilizing young adults age 18-30 to vote and be a deciding factor in the 2004 presidential election. Go to www.chooseorlose.com and find out how you can be part of this exciting initiative.
To be eligible for a 20 Million Loud Grant, one must complete the grant application and mail it in. Then, get out there and prove that young people can make a difference in the election! The application, a complete list of official rules and criteria guidelines can be found at: http://www.mtv.com/chooseorlose/headlines/news.jhtml?id=1484708
- (National)
The National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts has announced the Summer Schools in the Arts initiative, a program to raise the quality and availability of arts education in communities nationwide. The program is designed to support rigorous, challenging arts education programs during the summer to help children and youth acquire knowledge and skills in the arts, develop effective study habits, and gain life-long interests in the arts and culture.
Under the terms of the program, a summer school in the arts is one that provides summer instruction in one or more arts disciplines; offers a comprehensive curriculum where participants actively create and/or perform as well as respond to the arts; culminates in public performances, exhibitions, or other demonstrations of the participants' achievements in the arts; measures the extent to which students gain knowledge and skills according to national, state, or local arts education standards; offers instruction over a minimum of three weeks; may provide free or subsidized tuition for students of limited financial resources; serves children and youth generally between the ages of six and eighteen; and coordinates with the participants' schools and/or school districts to encourage standards-based arts instruction and otherwise extend and build upon the summer experience.
The NEA anticipates awarding fewer than fifty grants, ranging from $15,000 to $35,000, for activities that take place during the summer of 2005. All grants require a match of at least one-to-one.
Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofits, units of state or local government; or federally recognized tribal communities or tribes may apply. Applicants must have a three-year history of providing summer arts education instruction prior to the application deadline.
Deadline: June 7, 2004 (Statement of Interest)
- (National)
Skoll Foundation
The Skoll Foundation, which works to advance systemic social change through social innovation and entrepreneurship, has posted application guidelines for its Skoll Awards for Innovation in Silicon Valley (SAISV).
The awards are made annually to nonprofit organizations that demonstrate exceptional creativity, sustained commitment, and a clear record of accomplishment in addressing Silicon Valley's most significant challenges. Through the program, the foundation supports organizations with existing work or core program services focused on empowering socioeconomically disadvantaged populations in Silicon Valley.
Award amounts will range from $100,000 to $400,000 over two years, but in no case will funding exceed 20 percent of an organization's current-year operating budget. In addition to grant support, the foundation provides grantees with the opportunity for participation in an ongoing learning community with expert facilitation and the possibility of additional resources for organizational capacity building during the course of the grant period.
In order to be considered for an SAISV, an organization must be able to demonstrate that it is a registered nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status, or that it works under the fiscal and legal sponsorship of a tax-exempt nonprofit; has autonomous offices, staff, volunteers, and a board of directors based in Silicon Valley; operates programs and/or services focused on the needs of the Silicon Valley community, with an emphasis on socioeconomically disadvantaged populations; is an established program or organization with a minimum two-year track record or program and service delivery; and has identified and is implementing an innovative program or approach that addresses one or more of the critical needs or challenges facing the Silicon Valley community.
The foundation will post a letter of intent application form on its Web site on June 7 for prospective grantees to fill out no later than July 2.
See the Skoll Foundation Web site for complete program guidelines, eligibility requirements, and a list of 2003 winners.
Deadline: July 2, 2004
- (National)
BRICK Awards
A program of Do Something, the BRICK Awards were created to recognize and financially support outstanding young people, to create a network of young community leaders across the United States, and to inspire other young people to become active in their communities.
The program honors and funds the efforts of dynamic leaders age 18 and under who have devised and implemented innovative solutions to problems in their local communities in the areas of community building, health, and the environment. Each BRICK winner receives a $5,000 higher education scholarship, a $5,000 grant for continued community work, pro bono services, and other support and recognition.
Applicants must be 18 years old or younger on April 14, 2005, to be eligible.
For more information and to download an application form, visit the Do Something Web site.
Deadline: November 1, 2004
- (National)
American Legacy Foundation
The American Legacy Foundation has announced the availability of grant funds to support the Circle of Friends movement in local communities throughout the United States. Grants funded by this program will help organizations support women trying to quit smoking. All successful grant projects must include a strong social support component and incorporate Legacy-produced cessation materials, themes, and broader materials into the project.
Organizations may request up to $75,000 per year for up to two years. Organizations may also choose to apply for only one year of funding and then apply for a second year of funding at the close of the first grant year. Cash or an in-kind match is strongly encouraged but not required for the first year of funding. A 2:3 cash match is required for second-year funding.
Planning grants are also available and will up to $25,000 for one year for an organization to develop an innovative project.
Complete program guidelines and application procedures are available at the American Legacy Foundation Web site.
Deadline: June 30, 2004
- (National)
Verizon Foundation
E-mail, online searches, fundraising, communicating with new donors or potential donors, your own virtual newsletter — Internet access opens the door to online communication. We invite the nonprofit community to become a part of this Internet opportunity.
Our mission is to provide an online philanthropic community network to support nonprofit organizations in the United States, and eGrants is one way we want to take you to the Internet highway by offering this exciting resource.
Your organization can benefit from the vast resources of technology through the Internet by requesting an eGrant from Verizon Foundation, in the amount of $240, toward Internet access from the vendor of their choice. All you need to do is select the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and complete the application. Although the program targets smaller non-profits (those with annual budget under $500,000) any organization with a 501(c)(3) (public charity), served by Verizon Communications, may apply.
Nonprofits that currently have Internet access are ineligible. In alignment with Verizon Foundation's funding priorities, we ask that applying nonprofits address one or more of those areas, which are: Literacy, Community Technology Development, Workforce Development and Domestic Violence. It is important that the description includes how Internet access will benefit the communities served and how partnerships will be developed.
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V. Resources
CharityAdvantage works with nonprofit organizations to provide technology assistance through website development, computer donations, and computer purchase assistance programs. The CharityAdvantage Website Program provides professional website services to nonprofit members including website development, hosting, maintenance, and technical support. Organizations pay a one-time website setup fee of $99, and then $29 per month for unlimited maintenance, hosting, and technical support. The CharityAdvantage Computer Program donates computers and provides a Computer Purchase Assistance Program to nonprofit organizations for no membership fee.
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TheCapitol.Net, Inc. is a non-partisan firm that provides legislative, budget, communication, advocacy, and media training and information for government and business leaders.
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If you wish to contribute to the VERB Weekly e-Digest, please send all
materials to sophy@searac.org
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