Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities, including non-profit organizations, to deliver environmental workforce development and job training programs focused on hazardous and solid waste management, assessment, and cleanup-associated activities.

Deadline: March 18, 2011
Est. number of awards: 13
Funding available: $13 million

While Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants focus on hazardous and solid waste remediation and health and safety, including required core training in HAZWOPER, applicants may design their own curriculums by choosing what types of supplemental environmental training they want to provide.

This supplemental training must include the following three additional training courses: 1) innovative and alternative treatment technologies (e.g., the training in the preparation of sites for renewable energy installation, phytoremediation, etc.); 2) leaking underground storage tank prevention; and 3) training related to solid waste management, assessment, and/or cleanup (e.g., construction and demolition debris recycling, landfill closure, electronics recycling, etc.). As EPA encourages applicants to develop their curriculums based on hiring needs in the community and employer surveys, applicants may choose to deliver the three additional required training courses at varying degrees of “awareness.”

Carnegie Corp. Awards

The Carnegie Corporation of New York has announced twenty-two grants totaling more than $22.2 million to organizations working in the United States and around the world.

Grants awarded through Carnegie's national program include $5 million to Turnaround for Children, a New York City nonprofit that partners with low-performing public schools to transform them into centers of learning and achievement; $2 million over eighteen months to America's Voice Education Fund, which works to build public momentum for reforms that will transform a dysfunctional immigration system into a regulatory system that works; and $1.5 million over two years to the Colorado-based Charter School Growth Fund, which invests philanthropic venture capital in the nation's highest performing charter school operators.

Grants awarded through the foundation's international program include $5 million over three years to the Institute for Advanced Study for its Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE), which supports the development of science professionals in sub-Saharan Africa; $1.2 million over three years to the Council for the Development of Social Science Research for research on African higher education governance, leadership, and policy; and $600,000 over twelve months to the Aspen Institute for its work with the congressional program on nuclear security.

The foundation also awarded, through its Special Opportunities Fund, a two-year, $400,000 grant to the Project on Government Oversight for general support; $200,000 over two years to D.C.-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics; and $100,000 over two years to the Aspen Institute in support of Aspen's philanthropy and social innovation program.

For a complete list of fourth-quarter grantees, visit the Carnegie Corporation Web site.

“Carnegie Corporation's Board Approves 22 Grants Totaling $22,216,000.” Carnegie Corporation of New York Press Release 12/16/10.

AmeriCorps Grants

The Corporation for National and Community Service is seeking applications from high-impact organizations across America that would like to use AmeriCorps members to address pressing social problems.

If the president's fiscal year 2011 budget request is fully funded, CNCS anticipates that approximately $311 million in total funding will be available for new, re-competing, and continuation grants in all AmeriCorps State and National grant categories, along with $1 million for AmeriCorps planning grants. The funds will be used to make focused investments in the six national issue priorities identified in the Serve America Act: improving education, energy conservation, the health of all Americans, and economic opportunity for economically vulnerable individuals; increasing service by and for veterans; and providing disaster services.

Public or private nonprofit organizations — including labor organizations, faith-based and other community organizations, institutions of higher education, government entities within states or territories (e.g., cities, counties), Indian tribes, partnerships and consortia, and intermediaries planning to subgrant funds awarded — are eligible to apply. CNCS encourages organizations that have never received funding from the corporation or AmeriCorps to apply for these grants.

Visit the Americorps Web site for complete program guidelines and application procedures.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Charitable Deductions

[From PhilanTopic]

Proposals by three blue-ribbon panels to either limit or end the charitable deduction as a way to help reduce the nation's soaring debt have stirred a debate within the sector over tax policies that benefit nonprofit groups, the New York Times reports.

As the proposals have been made public, nonprofits have become increasingly concerned that reducing or eliminating the charitable deduction will cause irreparable damage to nonprofits and the sector. The proposed changes are being floated at a time when public-sector funding and private donations to nonprofits have been flat or declining, even as demand for many services provided by nonprofits is growing. Nevertheless, many experts, including Stanford University associate professor of political science Rob Reich, argue that it is unreasonable for nonprofits to expect a free pass as Congress labors to cut the deficit and reform the tax code so as to make it fairer and raise more revenue. "It's disappointing that the charitable sector, which is broadly committed to improving the well-being of civil society," Reich said, "is in this case indifferent to repairing what's wrong in the country at the expense of protecting its marginal tax advantage."

All three plans propose changes to the deduction in its current form. A plan put forward by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform would give taxpayers a tax credit equal to 12 percent of their charitable donations — but only if they donated 2 percent or more of their adjusted gross income to charity. Another, proposed by Demos, the Economic Policy Institute, and the Century Foundation, calls for a 25 percent tax credit for all charitable gifts, regardless of the donor's income. And a third, proposed by a Bipartisan Policy Center panel, would give nonprofits a tax credit equal to 15 percent of any donation it receives, similar to the Gift Aid system currently in use in Great Britain.

When asked how a system that, in effect, subsidizes nonprofits would affect charities in this country, Joseph J. Minarik, director of research at the Center for Economic Development and a member of the BPC, recalled his experience as director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration as the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which lowered tax rates on high-income individuals while closing many loopholes in the tax code, was being negotiated. "One of the things we heard at that time was that reducing the top bracket rates would destroy the not-for-profit sector," Minarik told the Times. Instead, he noted, the legislation eventually reduced the value of a charitable gift to the donor by 24 percent, and giving increased by 10 percent the next year.

Strom, Stephanie. “Nonprofits Fear Losing Tax Benefit.” New York Times 12/02/10.

Nonprofit Employment

Fallout from the so-called Great Recession has been widespread and persistent. Three years after the economy started to slump, statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that more than 15 million Americans are out of work, 6.3 million have been unemployed at least six months, and the number who want to work full time but cannot due to economic reasons (U6) is stuck at about 27 million people, an eye-popping 17 percent of the workforce.

So it was a surprise when the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University released a report earlier this year which showed that employment in the nonprofit sector -- the fourth-largest employer, by industry, in the U.S. -- had held up reasonably well during the economic downturn.

Based on an analysis of data from twenty-states, the report found that between the second quarter of 2007 and the second quarter of 2009, the worst part of the recession, nonprofit employment grew by an average of 2.5 percent annually, while for-profit employment in those states declined by an average of 3.3 percent annually. Another surprise: annual nonprofit job growth over that two-year period actually was stronger than the 2.3 percent annual rate the sector experienced during the 2001-07 period, before the wheels on the economy started to come off, while annual job growth in the for-profit sector was a paltry .02 percent during that period.

Hot Topics in Nonprofit Human Resources

Presented by Attorney Dan Miller, MacDonald, Illing, Jones & Britton

Friday, September 17, 9:00 to 11:00 am at the Jefferson Educational Society, 3207 State St., Erie

This program will provide guidance in a number of areas that can present legal issues for non-profits. Topics that will be addressed include wage and hour problems, independent contractor vs. employee issues, reductions in force, continuation of benefits and employee accountability. This session is designed to provide practical advice to avoid some of the more common problems faced by employers in the employment relationship.

RSVP 454-8800 or tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org

Collaboration Prize

The 2011 Collaboration Prize is a national award presented to nonprofit organizations that collaborate effectively to gain greater impact.

In 2011, the Collaboration Prize will award a total of $250,000 to the collaborations that best exemplify the impact that can result from working together. Each of the eight finalists will receive $12,500 and the winner will receive an additional $150,000.

The Prize is designed to identify and showcase models of collaboration among nonprofit organizations. Recognizing the impact that can be achieved from working together, the Prize shines a spotlight on collaborations among two or more nonprofit organizations that cooperate to demonstrate innovative and effective responses to challenges or opportunities.

Applications for the 2011 Collaboration Prize open June 1, 2010, and close on July 16, 2010. The 2011 Prize features a streamlined online application. Applications may be submitted by any individual familiar with the collaboration, including an employee of any entity involved in the collaboration. Find details about Prize application, eligibility, criteria and selection process, and important key dates.

Charles H. Bracken Excellence in Governance Award

This annual award honors a Nonprofit Partnership member agency that has demonstrated a sustained commitment to excellence in governance. The award winner is announced at the Northwest PA Nonprofit Day on October 21, 2010 and receives a cash grant of $5,000 to be used for governance and management support purposes. 2010 applications are due Friday, September 17, 2010.

For more information regarding the Charles H. Bracken Excellence in Nonprofit Governance Award contact the Nonprofit Partnership at (814) 454-8800 or TNP@thenonprofitpartnership.org

Video production grant

The Nonprofit Partnership and Image Trinity / ErieAlity TV are offering a select number of organizations a unique opportunity to produce a short goal-oriented video to help your organization achieve its goals for fundraising, volunteers, advocacy, awareness, or action. To apply, please complete the short application and return it to The Nonprofit Partnership by July 16, 2010.

Annual Report Contest

The Nonprofit Partnership strongly believes that organizational annual reports are a great way to showcase organizational excellence to stakeholders and the wider world. To encourage the production of high quality annual reports, we are offering $2,500 awards for the most effective reports produced by large and small organizations. Please use this link for more information about the contest, entry forms, and a link to useful annual report resources in this space. Entries will be accepted between now and September 17, 2010. Applicants must be current members of The Nonprofit Partnership.

Community Giving Summer

[From Philanthropy News Digest]

JPMorgan Chase has announced that it will launch the second round of its $5 million community giving program on the social networking site Facebook on June 15.

To underscore the smaller, more local focus of the bank's Community Giving Summer 2010 program, only 501(c)(3) organizations with operating budgets of $1 million or less will be eligible to receive a grant. The organization that receives the most votes by July 12 will receive $250,000, while four runners-up will each receive $100,000 and the rest of the top two hundred vote-getters will each receive $20,000.

Based on feedback from participants in the first Chase Community Giving contest, charities will be allowed to edit and include media in their profiles, and voters can earn badges as well as the right to "gift" votes. Winning charities from round one are not eligible to participate in round two. As in the previous round, funding provided through the program is in addition to the bank's regular philanthropic giving, which totals more than $100 million a year.

"As a company, we're highly committed to serving our local communities, and Chase Community Giving has proven to be an innovative approach to philanthropic giving at the local level," said Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon. "We've now seen that when corporations listen to the communities they serve, they can learn a great deal and, in turn, help worthy causes achieve goals that would have never been possible."

“Chase Community Giving Kicks Off Summer 2010 Program.” JPMorgan Chase Press Release 6/09/10.

50 States for Good

[From Philanthropy News Digest] With a total community action fund of $100,000, Tom's of Maine's "50 States for Good" initiative is celebrating and rewarding nonprofits from across the country whose efforts are focused on lasting, positive change in the community.

Tom's of Maine is hoping to inspire participation from nonprofits of all sizes and is excited to hear about the community projects that matter most to them. 501(c)(3) organizations from across the country are encouraged to apply for funding and invite their members/constituents to participate in the process. This year, applicant organizations are encouraged to be bold in sharing how they can best use new volunteers to benefit the community. In addition, the public is also welcome to invite their favorite nonprofit to join the program.

Finalists will be selected by a judging panel based on immediate achievability, positive impact in the community, and engagement and mobilization among members of the community. After finalists are selected, online voting by the public will determine which five organizations will receive $20,000 each.

Skoll Social Entrepreneur Awards

[From Philanthropy News Digest] The Skoll Foundation is looking for new applicants for the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. The foundation's flagship program invests in leading social entrepreneurs around the globe who are advancing promising solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems.

The program seeks social entrepreneurs whose work has the potential for large-scale positive change in the areas of tolerance and human rights, health, environmental sustainability, peace and security, institutional responsibility, and economic and social equity. In addition to alignment with one or more of these issue areas, Skoll Award winners typically exhibit many of the following characteristics: are led by a visionary, effective social entrepreneur serving as a spokesperson for their issue; have strong leadership team and board; have a clear mission and implementation model; demonstrate an unwavering focus on their mission; boast strong, well-established partnerships; have a commitment to systems, including for measurement and learning; and have diversified and mission-aligned funding sources.

The Skoll Awards provide later-stage, or mezzanine, funding, which is generally structured as a $1 million award paid out over three years. In most cases, the grant is provided for core support to help organizations expand their programs and capacity to deliver long-term, sustainable equilibrium change. The awards are not intended for new or early-stage programs or initiatives. Programs submitted for consideration should have a track record of no less than three years. In addition to core support, the Skoll Foundation supports the participation of award recipients in the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.

The program anticipates awarding seven to ten awards in 2011.

Free printer

Xerox provides growing organizations with a professional quality color Phaser printer or multifunction printer for free — with no capital expense or lease payments. In return, our members purchase their Phaser supplies from our online store at competitive prices for a 3 year period. It's that simple!

Xerox FreeColorPrinters members save an average of $1,257 with the Phaser 8560/DN and an average of $2,978 with the Phaser 8560MFP/D over 3 years* by printing their direct mail, postcards, and other materials on their Xerox color printer. Members also save time and gain flexibility by customizing and printing the exact quantities they need, on demand.

Businesses that benefit the most from FreeColorPrinters print at least 2,000 color pages per month (4 reams) and spend at least $125/month on their business printing. Take a quiz to see if the program is right for you.

Cut your outsourced printing expenses and improve the quality of your in-house printed materials today! Submit a no-risk FreeColorPrinters application.

New Members Receive:

1. New Phaser 8560/DN or Phaser 8560MFP/D
2. Solid ink rainbow pack (one stick of each color)
3. Free shipment of the Phaser
4. 3-year on-site service agreement

Kresege Foundation Emergency loans

In response to the economic crisis and the impact it is having on front-line human service organizations, the Kresge Foundation has established a 24- to 36-month, interest-free program-related investment fund offering bridge loans of $250,000 to $500,000 each to high-performance human service organizations so that they may be better able to meet ever-increasing demand for food, shelter, and other emergency services. Homeless and domestic-violence shelters, safety-net providers, affordable housing and supportive services, legal aid services, emergency assistance providers, and multi-service health and human service organizations are encouraged to apply.

The fund is designed for applicant organizations that provide comprehensive front-line services, have been in operation for three years, have a solid base of net assets or net worth (or long-term history of recurring revenue), can provide evidence of stable operating performance (net operating surplus over the past three to five years), and possess audited financial statements for the past two years.

Applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations based in the United States that are not classified as private foundations or government entities. Individuals and elementary and secondary schools are not eligible for this program.

Bank of America Neighborhood Builders grants

[Philanthropy News Digest] The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Neighborhood Excellence Initiative is designed to recognize, nurture, and reward community organizations, local heroes, and student leaders who are helping their neighborhoods achieve excellence. The program makes grants and awards in forty-four U.S. markets and in London, United Kingdom.

The Neighborhood Excellence Initiative is accepting applications/nominations for the following programs:

Neighborhood Builders: Provides $200,000 in core operating support and leadership training over two years to two nonprofit organizations working in each eligible community to promote vibrant neighborhoods. Any 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operating in an applicable Bank of America community is eligible for a grant under the foundation's guidelines. (Applicants must be registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales for the London market.) The program seeks organizations whose focus closely reflects local neighborhood priorities. Applicants should demonstrate how they have impacted their community and how grant funding and leadership development opportunities will help their organization further its work in the community.

Local Heroes: Recognizes and honors five heroes per year in each of the selected communities whose achievements and leadership on local issues contribute significantly to neighborhood vitality. Successful nominations will demonstrate how a nominee has made a special and significant impact on individuals, families, or the community at large; inspired others to community service; or been a catalyst for new visions, understanding, and change in a community. Recipients will each be able to direct a $5,000 contribution to an eligible nonprofit. Self-nominations are accepted.

Visit the Bank of America Web site for complete guidelines and list of eligible markets.

Target launches million dollar giving program

[From Philanthropy News Digest] Piggybacking on Valentine's Day and Super Bowl XLIV, the Minneapolis-based Target Corporation has announced a $1 million giving campaign through the social networking site Facebook to fund educational programming.

Through the campaign, Super Love Sender, which runs from January 31 through February 14, Target's more than 725,000 fans on Facebook will decide how $1 million in prize money is allocated among five national charities: the Kids in Need Foundation, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Salvation Army, the United Through Reading Military Program, and the United Way. Each football-inspired e-card sent via Facebook in support of one of the charities will count as a vote. Participants can send up to ten video cards per computer a day, and the total percentage of votes will determine the portion of the $1 million prize each charity receives.

PANO nonprofit fundraising workshop

The Nonprofit Resource Network at Millersville University will host a workshop for board and staff of nonprofits that need to increase their fundraising results on Feb 17, 2010 9:00 am-12:00 pm in Harrisburg. Does your organization need to increase its fundraising results? Is your board unaware of, uninterested in, or not sure how to implement their fundraising role? This workshop is for board members and staff of nonprofit organizations to come together and work as a group on how to improve their fundraising results.

Learning Objectives:

· List the things for which our organizations needs to raise money
· List the people who need to be involved in our fundraising program
· Develop a strategy to examine the ways we are currently doing fundraising and the new methods we would like to initiate
· Develop a plan to implement our fundraising strategy

Tax relief for nonprofits proposed

[Chronicle of Philanthropy] President Obama plans to announce on Friday a proposal to help small employers-including nonprofit groups-hire workers and raise wages. The plan, part of a broader White House effort to bring down soaring unemployment, would give companies or charities a $5,000 federal tax credit for every net new employee they add in 2010 and reimburse them for any taxes they owe to Social Security because they have a bigger payroll.

Nonprofit groups, which are exempt from income tax, would qualify because the credits will be applied to federal payroll taxes that employers pay on behalf of their employees, a senior administration official told reporters. The official said the White House expects more than one million businesses to take advantage of the credits, for an estimated cost of $33-billion. President Obama favors using projected savings in the Troubled Asset Relief Program­-the bank bailout program, which will not cost as much as expected-to pay for the effort, he said.

Foundation transparency project

[From Philanthropy News Digets] The New York City-based Foundation Center has announced the launch of Glasspockets.org, a Web site designed to promote and facilitate greater openness and transparency among private foundations.

Developed in partnership with the Center for Effective Philanthropy, the Communications Network, the Global Philanthropy Forum, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and the One World Trust in London, Glasspockets is designed to encourage foundations to share stories of their successes and failures — in part by highlighting the exemplary efforts of their peers. The site offers essential facts about all 97,000 U.S. foundations, illustrations of philanthropy's impact on important issues, and information about the ways in which foundations are striving to become more transparent. The site also features a real-time foundation Twitter feed; a Transparency 2.0 section that showcases the growing number of foundations using social media; and a Who Has Glass Pockets? section that offers at-a-glance profiles of foundations' online communication practices according to information they make public regarding their governance, fina

Social Enterprise 2010

The Nonprofit Partnership will host "Social Enterprise 2010" presented by Debbie Thompson, Strategy Solutions on Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 9:00 - 11:00 am at Crime Victim Center, 125 West 18th St., Erie. The downturn in the economy has shifted our thinking about social enterprise. The paramount need to create new revenue streams, connect with new customers and users, and move outside the traditional box has given rise to real creative thinking and social entrepreneurship in the nonprofit community. Join us for this provocative session on rethinking social enterprise for 2010. What's new in the field? What new resources are available? Who else is being enterprising in Erie? Take the first steps toward re-tooling your business plan.

Nonprofit Capacity Building Grants

The Nonprofit Partnership's next round of Capacity-Building Grant applications is scheduled for January, 2010 with applications or letters of interest due on January 15.

For an overview of the process, requirements, and proposal formats, visit the Nonprofit Partnership's website. While visiting the website, be sure to check out their upcoming workshops and events calendar, as the organization often hosts many excellent and valuable sessions of nonprofit interest.