Wednesday, September 22, 2004: Volume #2, Issue #46
The VERB Weekly Email Digest
Edited by Sophy Pich, VERB Project Associate

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In This Week's Issue

1. Announcements
• Board Boot Camps
• Project Management Conference Scholarships
2. Promising Practices
• Strategic Communications in the Digital Age
3. News
• Oakland Museum Opens Controversial Vietnam Exhibit
• St. Paul District Still Waiting for Wave of Hmong Students
• Forgotten Hmong Find New Home
• Professor Analyzes Lingering Effects of...
• Asian-Americans Lean Toward Kerry
• Vietnamese Americans Observe Autumn Moon Tradition
• Hmong Family Makes Surprise Arrival
• Long Walk for Freedom
• Living at 'the Baddest Hole in Greensboro'
• Giving Praise to the Lord, in Sign Language
4. Funding Opportunities
• The General Commission on Religion and Race
• The Department of Health and Human Services
• Prudential Financial, Inc.
• The Sister Fund
• National Education Association and Youth Service America
• Google, Inc.
5. Resources
• Ask Connie

I. Announcements

Board Boot Camps

Do you or your key staff members or new board members need to learn the roles and responsibilities of serving on a nonprofit board of directors? Attend a two-hour Board Boot Camp session, at $35 per participant, Oct. 20, Nov. 17 or Dec. 15, 8:30-10:30 a.m. at MAP. For more information, visit www.mapfornonprofits.org; select Nonprofit Services, Board Development. Or call (651) 647-1216.

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Project Management Conference Scholarships

The Project Management Institute (PMI-MN) is offering two scholarships through MAP for its Professional Development Day on Oct. 1. If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, please contact svoigt@mapfornonprofits.org.

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II. Promising Practices

Strategic Communications in the Digital Age:
A Best Practices Toolkit for Achieving Your Organization's Mission

Effective communications is mission critical. Information and communications technologies must be leadership and CEO concerns in any organization that wants to be a powerful agent of social change. The emerging—and converging—digital media environment also brings new potential for partnerships and collaborations, inviting qualitatively different relationships between organizations and their constituencies, members and donors.

Nonprofit leaders need credible, succinct information to meet the challenges of the digital age. The Benton Foundation capacity building project documented best practices and lessons learned by nonprofits about the impact, successes, failures and struggles in using strategic communications.

Read on: http://www.benton.org/publibrary/toolkits/stratcommtool.html

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III. News

Oakland Museum Opens Controversial Vietnam Exhibit
New California Media
September 13, 2004

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St. Paul District Still Waiting for Wave of Hmong Students
Pioneer Press
September 13, 2004

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Forgotten Hmong Find New Home
BBC News
September 14, 2004

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Professor Analyzes Lingering Effects of...
Pacific News Service
September 15, 2004

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Asian-Americans Lean Toward Kerry
Asia Times Online
September 15, 2004

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Vietnamese Americans Observe Autumn Moon Tradition
Pacific News Service
September 18, 2004

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Hmong Family Makes Surprise Arrival
Duluth News Tribune
September 18, 2004

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Long Walk for Freedom
Eworldwire
September 18, 2004

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Living at 'the Baddest Hole in Greensboro'
Greensboro News Record
September 19, 2004

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Giving Praise to the Lord, in Sign Language
Pioneer Press
September 19, 2004

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IV. Grants

1. (National)
   The General Commission on Religion and Race

   The Minority Fund is administered by The General Commission on Religion and Race on behalf of the United Methodist Church, guided by the principle of self-determination. Projects rather than organizations are funded. Grants are available for supporting programs initiated, developed, controlled and administered by Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific-Islander groups.

   Community/ecumenical groups which apply must be in existence at least 12 months at the time the application is filed. The project for which funding is sought must be in operation at least 12 months at the time the application is filed. The project must have a current operating budget of at least half of the funding request. Racial-ethnic minority persons must compromise more than 50% of the membership of the decision-making committee (including control of funds) for the project. The constituency to be served must be represented in the decision-making body.

   Deadlines: November 1 and May 1 each year.

2. (National)
   The Department of Health and Human Services

   The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $2 million in grants to the national office of the YMCA (http://www.ymca.net) to strengthen partnerships with local communities.

   "Partnering with the network of YMCA's throughout the country will allow us to broaden our efforts to improve the health of all Americans," said HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. "With YMCA's ability to reach up to 10,000 communities and their strong foundation and vigor, we can reach more people and address the needs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and end tobacco use."

   The grants will be distributed over four years and awarded in two stages. The first stage will bring together Steps-funded communities, local YMCA's, HHS experts, and other national organizations to develop local events built around existing YMCA programs.

   The second stage will allow local YMCA's in Steps communities to apply for mini-grants from the national YMCA office.

3. (National)
   Prudential Financial, Inc.

   Created in 1995 by Prudential Financial, Inc. in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards are designed to honor middle and high school students for outstanding volunteer service to their communities. Over the past nine years, the program has honored more than 55,000 young volunteers at the local, state, and national level.

   To be eligible for the program, a student must be in fifth grade or above, in any state, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico as of October 29, 2004; have engaged in a volunteer activity that occurred at least in part after September 1, 2003; and complete an application and submit it to a school principal or the head of an officially designated local organization by October 29, 2004. The officially designated local organizations are a Girl Scout council, county 4-H organization, Camp Fire USA council, YMCA, American Red Cross chapter, or member Volunteer Center of the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network.

   Each participating school/organization will collect applications from interested students/members by the October 29, 2004, deadline, and will then select local honorees to compete in the state-level awards program.

   Local honorees receive certificates of achievement from their schools or organizations. State honorees receive a $1,000 award, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expenses-paid trip with a parent to Washington, D.C., in May for several days of recognition events. Ten national honorees will receive an additional $5,000 award, an engraved gold medallion, and crystal trophies for their schools or organizations. They also will have $25,000 worth of children's products donated in each of their names to needy children in their communities by Kids In Distressed Situations, Inc.

   Deadline: October 29, 2004

4. (National)
   The Sister Fund The Sister Fund supports programs that foster women's full development through the promotion of social, economic, political, and spiritual growth. Support is provided for women and girl-focused grassroots organizing in New York City; groups within the United States doing national advocacy and public education on women and girl-related issues; and groups in other parts of the world doing advocacy that is international in scope. The Fund seeks to respond to the problems of racial and gender discrimination, AIDS, violence against women, and growing inequality and widespread poverty. Primary consideration is given to organizations that both serve and are led by women most affected by economic, social, mental, and physical oppression, especially women of color, lesbians and economically disadvantaged older or disabled women. Deadline: December 1, 2004 (LOI)
5. (National)
   National Education Association (NEA) and Youth Service America (YSA)

   Youth Leaders for Literacy, an initiative of the National Education Association (NEA) and Youth Service America (YSA), provides grants of $500 for youth to conduct reading-related service projects. Interested applicants must begin a literacy service project that starts on NEA's Read Across America Day in March 2005 and culminates on YSA's National Youth Service Day in April 2005. To be eligible for grant funds, service projects must have some kind of activity scheduled (read aloud session, trip to the library, book making, etc.) each week of the project period. Children and youth age 21 or younger, as individuals or in groups, throughout the U.S. are eligible to apply.

   Deadline: October 22, 2004

6. (National)
   Google, Inc.

   The Google Grants program supports nonprofit organizations working in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts. The program provides nonprofits the opportunity to inform and engage their constituents online with in-kind donations of Google's flagship advertising product, Google AdWords. Google Grant recipients use their award of free advertising on Google.com to raise awareness and increase traffic, including advertising to publicize services, recruit staff and volunteers, promote special events, and sell merchandise related to their organization or cause. Each organization awarded a grant will receive at least three months of in-kind advertising. Nonprofit organizations throughout the United States are eligible to apply.

   Deadline: Open

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V. Resources

Ask Connie

VT readers ask questions about volunteer management and administration. Ask Connie, an experienced volunteer manager, consultant and trainer, provides the answers for all to see. Send questions to AskConnieP@cs.com

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