Monday, August 8, 2005: Volume #2, Issue #84
The VERB Weekly Email Digest
Edited by Sophy Pich, VERB Project Associate

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In This Week's Issue

1. Announcements
• Groundspring
2. Promising Practices
• Raising $$$ through Special Events
3. News
• Beauty Pageant to Look Back
• Cambodian Ballplayers Turn Rice Paddy Into Field of Dreams
• Festival Lauds New Citizens
• Vietnamese Activists Look past Nails, Floors
• Vietnamese Veterans Honor Westmoreland
• Kennedy, McCollum Raise Curtain on Dramas to Come
• Many Cambodians Still Bears Scars of Khmer Rouge
• Marketing Lessons from Little Saigon
• AG Gonzales Touts Ballots for All
• Difficult Choices
• Seeds of Change
• Khmer Rouge's Horrors Linger
• Cambodian Refugees Gripped by Severe Depression in the US
• Vietnamese Traveler's Story Is Woeful, But Ends on High Note
• Lorraine Ahearn's Column: Asian Sunrise: a New Culture, New ...
• UNHCR Regional Representative Talks About Central Highlands Visit
• Doctor: Hmong Patients Prone to Kidney Stones
• Poverty Forces Metal Hunters to Dice with Death
• New Report Highlights Problems Faced by Asian Americans As They ...
• Montagnards: Peaceful Demonstration Broke Up by Cambodian Riot ...
• Warnings Issued on Law's Anniversary
• Overseas Vietnamese Encouraged to Contribute to IT and ...
• Montagnard Returnees Seem Well and Happy Back in Vietnam: Un
• Career Profile: Yia Thao Helps Hmong Fit Into Community
• Taking in Refugees - Let's Talk
• Many Tastes of Ethnicity
4. Funding Opportunities
• The Blakemore Foundation
• State Farm Companies Foundation
• Youth Service America
• Verizon Wireless
• Institute for Interactive Journalism
• Prudential Financial
5. Resources
• The Consultants Guide

I. Announcements

Groundspring.org's mission is to improve the effectiveness of the nonprofit sector by providing information technology solutions that facilitate and enhance communication and engagement between nonprofit organizations and their stakeholders. We do this by offering software tools and services, training, and consulting that help nonprofit organizations raise funds and communicate with their stakeholders online, and manage their operations more effectively.

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II. Promising Practices

Raising $$$ through Special Events

By GuideStar

Do you ever wonder about those charity events that seem to be so prevalent? Do they really accomplish anything for the organizations that sponsor them? According to many GuideStar Newsletter readers, they do.

June's Question of the Month asked, "Has your organization ever raised funds through special events such as walks, auctions, dinners, bowl-a-thons, golf tournaments, or similar activities?" A sizable majority (87 percent) of participants said that they had. We then asked those respondents if the events were successful; a resounding 92 percent replied that they were. And 79 percent of those participants said that they would recommend that other organizations sponsor such events.

Definitions of Success: Asked to rank factors that made their organizations' events successful, participants gave top priority to "The amount of money raised." An anonymous participant wrote, "This was our 14th annual golf tourney-the only fundraiser event we have. Will net close to $60,000 this year, which puts this event in a category of a 'large donation.'" Jean LaCross of St. Mary School stated, "Annually our Catholic school holds several major fundraisers. We could not exist without them!" Another anonymous reader asserted that the "amount of funds raised has been amazing."

Read on...

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III. News

Beauty Pageant to Look Back
OCRegister
July 30, 2005

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Cambodian Ballplayers Turn Rice Paddy Into Field of Dreams
SI.com
August 1, 2005

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Festival Lauds New Citizens
Pioneer Press
August 1, 2005

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Vietnamese Activists Look past Nails, Floors
Boston Globe
August 1, 2005

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Vietnamese Veterans Honor Westmoreland
Los Angeles Times
August 1, 2005

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Kennedy, McCollum Raise Curtain on Dramas to Come
Minneapolis Star Tribune
August 2, 2005

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Many Cambodians Still Bears Scars of Khmer Rouge
HealthDay Reporter
August 2, 2005

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Marketing Lessons from Little Saigon
OCRegister
August 2, 2005

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AG Gonzales Touts Ballots for All
San Antonio Express
August 2, 2005

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Difficult Choices
San Jose Mercury News
August 3, 2005

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Seeds of Change
San Francisco Chronicle
August 3, 2005

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Khmer Rouge's Horrors Linger
Long Beach Press-Telegram
August 3, 2005

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Cambodian Refugees Gripped by Severe Depression in the US
TODAYonline
August 3, 2005

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Vietnamese Traveler's Story Is Woeful, But Ends on High Note
DetNews.com
August 4, 2005

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Lorraine Ahearn's Column: Asian Sunrise: a New Culture, New ...
Greensboro News Record
August 5, 2005

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UNHCR Regional Representative Talks About Central Highlands Visit
Viet Nam News Agency
August 5, 2005

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Doctor: Hmong Patients Prone To Kidney Stones
WCCO
August 5, 2005

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Poverty Forces Metal Hunters to Dice with Death
The Age
August 5, 2005

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New Report Highlights Problems Faced by Asian Americans as they ...
U.S. Newswire
August 5, 2005

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Montagnards: Peaceful Demonstration Broke Up by Cambodian Riot ...
UNPO
August 5, 2005

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Warnings Issued on Law's Anniversary
Houston Chronicle
August 6, 2005

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Overseas Vietnamese Encouraged to Contribute to IT and ...
Viet Nam News Agency
August 6, 2005

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Montagnard Returnees Seem Well and Happy Back in Vietnam: Un
Thanh Nien News
August 6, 2005

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Career Profile: Yia Thao Helps Hmong Fit Into Community
Green Bay Press Gazette
August 6, 2005

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Taking in Refugees - Let's Talk
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
August 7, 2005

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Many Tastes of Ethnicity
Syracuse Post Standard
August 7, 2005

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IV. Grants

1. (National)
   The Blakemore Foundation

   The Blakemore Foundation was established to encourage the advanced study of Asian languages and to improve the understanding of Asian fine arts in the United States.

   The foundation's Frances Blakemore Asian Art Grants promote the understanding of Asian fine art in America. Grants are made only to tax-exempt organizations in the U.S. such as museums, universities, and other educational or art-related institutions for programs, exhibits, or publications that improve the understanding of Asian fine arts in the U.S. The next deadlines for receipt of applications are November 1, 2005, and May 15, 2006.

   The foundation has also announced new deadlines for applications for Blakemore Freeman Fellowships for Advanced Asian Language Study and Blakemore Refresher Grants: Short-Term Grants for Advanced Asian Language Study. Applications for these programs must be postmarked no later than December 30, 2005.

   Blakemore Freeman Fellowships for Advanced Asian Language Study fund a year of advanced language study at the Inter- University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama, Japan; the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University in Taipei; the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing; and other approved programs in Southeast Asia. Fellowships are available to American citizens and permanent residents of the U.S. who have a college degree and who plan to use an Asian language in their career.

   Blakemore Refresher Grants: Short-Term Grants for Advanced Asian Language Study provide funding for short-term study less than a full academic year in length. Grants are restricted to professors who are teaching in an Asian field at a university or college in the U.S. and post-doctoral professionals whose degree is in an Asian field; and graduates of the regular academic-year programs at the Inter-University Center in Yokohama, Japan; the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China; and the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan.

   Deadline: Various

2. (National)
   State Farm Companies Foundation

   With support from the State Farm Companies Foundation one hundred $1,000 grants are available from Youth Service America for teachers, youth, and school-based service-learning coordinators to implement service-learning projects for National Youth Service Day, April 21-23, 2006.

   State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants enable youth and educators to bring the positive benefits of service-learning to more young people across America. Service-learning is a teaching method that combines meaningful service with curriculum or program-based learning. Schools and organizations use service-learning as a tool to help youth build stronger academic skills, foster civic responsibility, and develop leadership skills.

   Applicants must be a certified teacher or professor who currently teaches in a public, private, faith-based, charter, or higher education institution within the fifty states or the District of Columbia; or be a school-based service-learning coordinator whose primary role is to coordinate service-learning projects in a school or university; or be a youth between the ages of five and twenty-five. Applicants must be U.S. residents.

   Deadline: September 12, 2005

3. (National)
   Youth Service America

   Youth Service America is recruiting Lead agencies for the 18th Annual National Youth Service Day, April 21-23, 2006. Lead agencies increase the scope, visibility, and sustainability of National Youth Service Day by leading large city, regional, or statewide celebrations.

   Lead agencies receive a $2,000 grant, media exposure, outreach support, planning resources, and year-round service planning assistance. Serving as a lead agency helps a nonprofit organization to increase participation in its programs, garner national media attention, develop new partnerships, and generate support for its programs from elected officials.

   Lead agency applicants must meet the following requirements: be located in the one of the fifty states or the District of Columbia; be able to demonstrate the organizational capacity to fulfill the responsibilities of a lead agency; have the ability to engage a variety of community groups; have the ability to plan to mobilize a citywide, regional, or statewide National Youth Service Day celebration involving more than five hundred youth volunteers in service over the weekend of April 21-23, 2006; and have the ability to respond to quick deadline press opportunities.

   Deadline: September 12, 2005

4. (National)
   Institute for Interactive Journalism

   New Voices is a program to seed innovative community news ventures in the United States. Administered by J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism at the University of Maryland and supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the program is inviting U.S. nonprofit groups and education organizations to apply for funding to launch new community news ventures and to cooperate with J-Lab in spotlighting best practices and lessons learned.

   J-Lab will select ten micro-local news projects to receive support. New Voices will help fund the start-up of each project with a $12,000 grant; support them with an educational Web site; and help foster their sustainability through a $5,000 second-year matching grant.

   To be eligible, organizations must have tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or be an educational institution (e.g., middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities).

   Funding is available for start-up news initiatives only. Ongoing efforts are not eligible to apply unless the organization is proposing a new venture. Funding is available for print or electronic news initiatives, including online, cable, broadcast, narrowcast, satellite, and mobile efforts. Collaborative ventures are eligible as long as the funded party is a nonprofit or educational institution. Only projects based in the United States may apply.

   Successful applicants will benefit a defined geographic or special-interest community and be able to foster an open exchange of journalistically sound ideas, information, news, and opinion in those communities.

   Deadline: February 8, 2006

5. (National)
   Prudential Financial

   The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people in middle level and high school grades for outstanding volunteer service to their communities. Created in 1995 by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the awards constitute the United States' largest youth-recognition program based solely on volunteering.

   Applications are solicited each fall through public and private middle-level and high schools, and through officially designated local organizations across the U.S. These include Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs, and member Volunteer Centers of the Points of Light Foundation and Volunteer Center National Network. Local Honorees are selected at participating schools and organizations in November. From these winners, two State Honorees are chosen in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Ten National Honorees will be selected and announced at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C., in May.

   Local Honorees receive a certificate of recognition from their schools or organizations; State Honorees receive an award of $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for national recognition events; and National Honorees receive an additional award of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, and a trophy for their school or organization.

   Applicants must be individuals enrolled in grades 5-12 (groups and partners are not eligible) in any state, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico. Applicants must have engaged in a volunteer activity that occurred at least partly during the twelve months prior to the date of application.

   Student applications must be submitted to a school principal or to the head of one of the officially designated local organizations.

   Deadline: October 31, 2005

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V. Resources

The Consultants Guide is the definitive listing of consulting firms for the nonprofit world

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