Thursday, July 12, 2004: Volume #2, Issue #37
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 Leadership-Advocacy Training
• Community Engagement Forum Program 2004
2. Promising Practices
• How Your Nonprofit Can Use the Internet Strategically
3. News
• Mr. Xylophone Man
• New Exercise Video First to Target Hmong Immigrants
• Hmong Refugees Need Jobs, Agencies Say
• Angelina Jolie Offered Cambodian Citizenship
• Hmong: an Endangered People
• County Congregation Readies for Hmong Influx
• Congress Looks at Charity Reform
• Refugee Family to Arrive in Rapids Today
• Inland Help Awaiting Hmong Refugees
• Hmong Refugees Glad to Reunite with Family
• Four Families to Be Reunited with Long-Lost Relatives
• Center Offers Free Translation
• School Sign-Up Is First Big Step
• Marathon County Well Prepared for Influx of Hmong Refugees
• Politicians Need to Note That Vietnamese Voters TendÉ
4. Funding Opportunities
• Alliance for Justice
• Eli Lilly and Company
• Verizon Wireless Company
• Department of Housing and Community Development
• Bank of America
• JPMorgan Chase Foundation
• Medical College of Wisconsin
• Dell Inc.
5. Resources
• Resources for Financial Reporting

I. Announcements

SEARAC Leadership-Advocacy Training

Last week to apply for the 2004 Southeast Asian American Leadership-Advocacy Training.

Applications must be sent by Thursday, July 15.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND A REGISTRATION CHECK. Only invited participants need to register. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance to the Leadership Training by August 1st.

Please go to http://www.searac.org/comempld.html for an application and information about the training.

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Save The Date!
National Neighborhood Coalition
Community Engagement Forum Program 2004

Political Engagement in Neighborhoods: Stories and Strategies
July 29, 2004

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW, "Root Room" (2nd Floor)
Washington, DC (Dupont Circle Metro)

2:00-4:30 PM

RSVP to Leah Kalinosky at leah@neighborhoodcoalition.org or call 202.429.0790.

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II. Promising Practices

How Your Nonprofit Can Use the Internet Strategically

From GuideStar

Any nonprofit can have one of two broad types of Web sites. First is a "brochure-ware" site, which simply contains information about the nonprofit. A brochure-ware site can be one page of unformatted text or hundreds of pages of text, graphics, animation, audio, and video. Either way, because all of the pages provide information only, the site is considered a brochure-ware site.

The second option is an interactive "e-philanthropy" site. An e-philanthropy site includes a brochure-ware portion but also contains transactions that enable visitors-donors, volunteers, staff, and others-to interact with the nonprofit (and each other), and to support the organization in ways that sustain its mission, both tangibly and intangibly. A brochure-ware site may have a lot for the user to see, but an effective e-philanthropy site also has a lot for the user to do.

Most nonprofits want an e-philanthropy site, yet few actually have one. Why not? The answer typically boils down to one or more of the following obstacles:

1. Cost-Developing a complete, robust e-philanthropy site using a traditional "custom development" approach typically costs hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
2. Time-Developing a complete, robust e-philanthropy site typically takes months, often over a year.
3. Technology skills-Developing a complete, robust e-philanthropy site typically requires deep technical skills.
4. Technology infrastructure-Developing a complete, robust e-philanthropy site requires significant hardware, software, and network resources.

Read on: http://www.guidestar.org/news/features/using_the_net.jsp

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III. News

Mr. Xylophone Man
June 20, 2004
The Washington Post

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New Exercise Video First to Target Hmong Immigrants
July 5, 2004
Pioneer Press

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Hmong Refugees Need Jobs, Agencies Say
July 6, 2004
Star Tribune

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Angelina Jolie Offered Cambodian Citizenship
July, 2004
WKKJ

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Hmong: An Endangered People
July 7, 2004
UCLA International Institute

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County Congregation Readies for Hmong Influx
July 7, 2004
Lodi News-Sentinel

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Congress Looks at Charity Reform
July 2004
GuideStar

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Refugee Family to Arrive in Rapids Today
July 8, 2004
Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune

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Inland Help Awaiting Hmong Refugees
July 8, 2004
The Press-Enterprise

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Hmong Refugees Glad to Reunite with Family
July 9, 2004
Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune

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Four Families to Be Reunited with Long-Lost Relatives
July 9, 2004
The Dunn County News

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Center Offers Free Translation
July 9, 2004
The Wichita Eagle

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School Sign-Up Is First Big Step
July 11, 2004
Star Tribune

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Marathon County Well Prepared for Influx of Hmong Refugees
July 11, 2004
Marshfield News Herald

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Politicians Need to Note That Vietnamese Voters Tend to Be Split Along Generational Lines
July 11, 2004
Houston Chronicle

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IV. Grants

1. (National)
   Alliance for Justice

   July 16 is the deadline for matching challenge grants awarded by Co/Motion, a national program of the Alliance for Justice. Grants of up to $10,000 are available to organizations that offer youth-driven initiatives focusing on gun-violence prevention issues.

   Nonprofits and government agencies are eligible to apply. Matching challenge grants are available only to organizations that have received funding from the Alliance for Justice in the past and are able to demonstrate that they have another source of funding to match the requested grant amount.

   Deadline: July 16, 2004

2. (National)
   Eli Lilly and Company

   Organizations that help homeless veterans by establishing small businesses can apply for enterprise loans of up to $30,000 from Eli Lilly and Company.

   Community-based groups can apply for the Job Assistance for Veterans' Advancement (JAVA) loans to start vending businesses like coffee carts and silk screening that employ veterans.

   Four loans will be made during the first year of the program; groups are asked to pay the loans back so the program can be self-perpetuating.

   For more information or to apply, contact Linda Boone at the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans: 800-VET-HELP.

3. (National)
   Department of Housing and Community Development

   Stanley Jackson, Director, Department of Housing and community Development (DHCD), announces a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for $35 million in funding under the community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the Home Investment Partnerships (HOME), the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF), and the Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) programs. This NOFA is being conducted pursuant to the FY2004 (October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005) Consolidated Action Plan prepared for submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Projects selected for further underwriting consideration will be included for proposed funding in DHCD's FY 2005 federal entitlement grant Action Plan budget.

   The Districts of Columbia is interested in financing projects that focus on five types of housing categories: 1) Elderly Housing; 2) Special Needs Housing; 3) Preservation of Expiring Federal Subsidies; 4) New/Substantial Rehabilitation of Housing, (5 or more units); and, 5) Homeownership; and Community Facilities.

   The competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released on Friday, July 9, 2004, and deadline for submission is Friday, September 3, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. the RFP package, including all application materials and reference guidebook, can be obtained from DHCD, Development Finance Division, 802 North Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002, second floor reception desk. Material will also be available via the DHCD website, www.dhcd.dc.gov on or about Friday, July 16, 2004.

   A pre-proposal Conference will be held on, Friday, July 16, 2004, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Mt. Airy Baptist church, located at 1100 North Capitol St., N.W., Washington, D.C.

   For additional information, contact the DHCD's Development Finance Division at (202) 442-7280

4. (National)
   Bank of America

   Bank of America has launched a two-year, $15 million program to recognize and support organizations and individuals that are helping to rebuild and revitalize their neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Excellence Initiative will provide operating and capacity building support for nonprofit organizations, recognition for community leaders, and opportunities for young people to serve their neighborhoods in thirty of the bank's major communities across the United States.

   The initiative is composed of three programs: The Neighborhood Builders program will provide $200,000 in grant funding and leadership training over the course of two years to nonprofit neighborhood organizations in the thirty eligible communities. The combination of operating support and leadership training is designed to strengthen the capacity and infrastructure of the selected organizations and promote the professional development of their leaders.

   The Local Heroes program will recognize five community heroes per year in each of the thirty selected communities whose achievements and leadership on local issues contributes significantly to neighborhood vitality. Recipients will be able to direct a $5,000 contribution to an eligible nonprofit of their choice.

   The Student Leaders program will recognize five high school students in their junior or senior years in each of the thirty communities who are recommended as exemplary young people with an interest in improving their neighborhoods. To further their personal and educational growth, each student will participate in an eight-week paid summer internship with a community-based organization, as well as a mentorship program arranged by Bank of America.

   See the Bank of America Web site for program eligibility and application information, as well as a list of Neighborhood Excellence Initiative communities.

   Deadline: July 31, 2004

5. (National)
   JPMorgan Chase Foundation

   The JPMorgan Chase Foundation is accepting applications for the 2004 Financial Literacy Grants Program. The program is designed to help young people, adults, and individuals with disabilities understand the basics of banking, credit, saving, spending, and investing in order to better manage their financial lives, build wealth, and benefit from financial services. The JPMorgan Chase Foundation has partnered for this program with Working In Support of Education (WISE), a nonprofit organization with a mission to promote financial education.

   Funding will enable nonprofits, school districts, and government agencies to create financial literacy training, services, or products for distribution to school-based, after-school, youth entrepreneurship, and work force development in low-and-moderate income communities.

   The program is focused on financial literacy efforts that have an impact on a large targeted audience, build capacity, and/or generate awareness through one of the following: expansion and leverage of programs, products or materials; professional development for teachers and/or trainers responsible for teaching personal finance; and innovation through new products, materials, programs, or services.

   To be eligible for this program, organizations must have IRS 501(c)(3) status and provide services in the geographic areas served by JPMorgan Chase.

   See the JPMorgan Chase Web site for complete program guidelines and the list of eligible communities.

   Deadline: July 26, 2004

6. (National)
   Medical College of Wisconsin

   In April 2004, the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program released its first request for proposals for health-promoting partnerships between communities and medical school faculty at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The HWPP is a component of the Blue Cross Blue Shield United of Wisconsin conversion endowment fund established at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

   The HWPP is now seeking individuals with experience and expertise in community health improvement and community-academic partnerships to conduct a detailed merit review of the proposals submitted. Reviewers must live and work outside of Wisconsin and must have prior grant review experience to be considered.

   The selected reviewers will have a unique opportunity to apply their experience and expertise, enjoy an intellectual challenge and network with colleagues while assisting an important new endowment fund to invest its resources wisely in community-academic partnerships that improve the health of Wisconsin's residents. The reviews will take place between September and December 2004.

   Reviewers are being sought from across North America and from a wide range of organizations, including but not limited to: citizen groups, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and healthcare organizations; colleges and universities, with an emphasis on medical schools and other health professional schools; federal, state, and local governments; Native American tribal governments, tribes, or tribal organizations; scientific or professional associations; and voluntary associations, foundations, and civic groups.

   For more information, including application instructions, see the "What's New" column on the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Web site.

   Deadline: July 30, 2004

7. (National)
   Dell Inc.

   Dell Inc. is offering $220,000 in grant money to support computer recycling events in the fall of 2004.

   The Dell Recycling Grant Program is designed to provide financial support to communities interested in staging a one-day, no-charge computer collection event. The purpose of the program is to raise awareness of responsible end-of-life options for unwanted computer equipment, to keep computers and related equipment out of landfills, and to empower communities with a model and the experience for staging collection events.

   The company will award a series of $10,000 grants to select state, provincial, and local governments; universities; and other nonprofit groups. Grant recipients will also receive technical assistance from the National Recycling Coalition.

   Both U.S. and Canadian communities are eligible for these grants. Applications for U.S. grants are available at the Dell Web site. Details for the Canadian application and grant awards are being developed and will be available by September.

   Deadline: July 30, 2004 (U.S. applicants)

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V. Resources

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