Editor’s Note: It’s the final week to submit your nomination for New York Nonprofit Media’s first Cause Awards 2016: Honoring individuals, agencies and philanthropists who this year have had a major impact on the top human services concerns of the New York nonprofit sector. If a colleague, client or employer has had a major impact on one of this year's top causes though good work or philanthropy, nominate them for this great honor today by clicking here. The opportunity to submit your nominations will officially close Friday, September 30th at 6 pm.
TOP NEWS
NYN Media Reports - Nonprofits pay a “pretty penny” for a spot in a community on the rebound: While the shortage of affordable housing and other effects of gentrification weigh heavily on low-income residents of Harlem, Harlem-based nonprofits are facing their own related challenges: rising operating costs, a lack of space to expand existing operations, or, for others, a struggle to find a suitable location in the community in the first place.
Whistle-blower suit accuses visiting nurse service of fraud: The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, one of the largest nonprofit home health care agencies in the United States, likes to highlight a lineage going back to its founder, Lillian Wald, who began nursing the poorest immigrant New Yorkers in their homes in 1893, the New York Times writes. But a federal whistle-blower lawsuit served on the agency showcases how far today’s billion-dollar entity has come from its early days, when Wald’s visiting nurses charged a dime, or nothing at all, for their services.
Nonprofits use technology to empower people with disabilities: An increasing number of nonprofits are using technology to empower people with disabilities, according to BizTech. Tech Kids Unlimited, for example, provides hands-on technology courses to New York City youth with special needs, so they can develop the tech skills they need for future careers, such as software programming and web design. Meanwhile, Living Resources, a nonprofit in Albany, N.Y., has built a smart home with connected devices that allow people with disabilities to live more independently. Read our previous coverage of Innovative Resources for Independence, which uses technology for the same goals.
Get tough, Bill on anti-housing NIMBY councilmembers: The Daily News writes that de Blasio will kiss goodbye his dream of building 80,000 affordable units unless Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito stops empowering her members to put the interests of neighborhood naysayers over the good of New Yorkers at large.
Ensuring that the criminal justice system works fairly for everyone: New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito highlights in NY Slant several proposed bills that would increase fairness and and improve efficiency in the city’s criminal justice system.
Why we are campaigning for healthier Bronx housing: Jeffrey Bohn, a Housing Paralegal at MFY Legal Services and Sola Stamm, the Health Justice Community Organizer/Taconic Fellow at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, write in City Limits that despite increased awareness of how environmental issues intersect with race and poverty, many people ignore some of the greatest environmental hazards such as mold, mildew, asbestos and lead because they occur in the home rather than outdoors.
Podcast - putting data about nonprofits to work for good: Jacob Harold, president of GuideStar, talks to the Chronicle of Philanthropy about what people are looking for when they come to GuideStar’s website and how the organization is going beyond Form 990s to paint a more detailed picture of nonprofit operations. He also discusses his own activist background, the importance of funding nonprofit infrastructure, and the dangers of "short-termism" in assessing charities and pursuing social change. Also, read our recent coverage how how Guidestar and Charity changed the metrics to better gauge nonprofits.
New book pries open the policy window on education philanthropy:Nonprofit Quarterly writes about Megan E. Tompkins-Stange, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, whose book includes many valuable insights from foundation insiders and grantees regarding the business of grantmaking.
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ARTS SPOTLIGHT
Giant bubbles and urban periscopes among winners of play contest: A nonprofit group devoted to creating play areas has awarded $1 million to spur 50 new projects that create opportunities for urban children to play at places like barber shops and Laundromats, the New York Times reports. Winners chosen from among more than 1,000 entries in the group’s Play Everywhere Challenge, include periscopes built out of PVC tubes at East Harlem bus stops.
American Museum of Natural History expansion divides Upper West Side: The American Museum of Natural History’s planned $325 million expansion has divided the Upper West Side since it was announced in 2014,according to the Wall Street Journal. Neighbors have split into factions after some community organizations began working with the museum earlier this year in hopes of reducing the project’s footprint in Theodore Roosevelt Park, the green space surrounding the museum.
Downtown artist collaborates with 200 children for playground murals:Vesuvio Playground will double as an art gallery for October, featuring a mural project by downtown-based artist Isca Greenfield-Sanders and the help of more than 200 local kids, writes DNAinfo. Teaching artists at the Children's Music of the Arts in Hudson Square took the tiles and helped more than 200 children fill them in with colored pencils, before returning them to Greenfield-Sanders so she could reassemble into four parachute images.
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HIGHER EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT
Baruch College gets $30 million donation: The City University of New York’s Baruch College is getting a donation toward its school of public and international affairs and is poised to change the school’s name in recognition of the gift, the Wall Street Journal reports. Austin Marxe, a 76-year-old Baruch alumnus and investment banker, said he would make the donation, the largest gift ever to Baruch.
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NYN BUZZ
Senator Gillibrand announces legislation to clear criminal records of human trafficking victims:
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand stood with survivors of trafficking and advocacy groups to announce new bipartisan legislation, the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2016, which would clear criminal records of victims of human trafficking. This bill would apply to non-violent crimes committed by individuals as a direct result of human trafficking. Supporters include the Center for Battered Women's Legal Services at Sanctuary for Families and New York Asian Women's Center.
SNAP-Ed/EAT Smart New York Long Island Region celebrates new social media campaign
Long Island’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Education/Eat Smart New York, Cornell Cooperative Extensions of Suffolk and Nassau County, Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc., and RIDES Unlimited of Nassau and Suffolk County hosted a ribbon cutting ceremonyfeaturing four of eight new wrapped buses featuring images and messages encouraging healthy lifestyle choices. The goal of Eat Smart New York is to improve health and reduce obesity among low income families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits or are SNAP eligible.
The New Jewish Home wins $400,000 N.I.H. grant to study innovative approach to reducing delirium in nursing homes:
The National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded The New Jewish Home $400,000 to study an innovative approach to reducing delirium, and the resulting hospitalizations and fatalities, among nursing home patients. The grant will fund a two-year, 306-person pilot that starts this month. Dr. Kenneth Boockvar of The New Jewish Home’s research arm, The Research Institute on Aging, will lead the study. The centerpiece of The New Jewish Home’s study is an intervention model called the Hospital Elder Life Program for Long-term Care, or HELP-LTC.
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Building Healthier Communities: Environment, Energy and the Role of Women
When it comes to environmental issues that affect their families, women are often the driving forces of change. A new analysis of data presented by bipartisan pollsters Celinda Lake and Vince Breglio will examine the potential of women to make clean energy a reality in our communities and for the country. Join The New York Women’s Foundation and Civil Society Institute to discuss on September 29.
Don't Miss Tomorrow's Free Educational Webinar:
Everything you do as a nonprofit organization leads people back to your website. It is the center of your marketing universe and the home base of your brand. According to Nonprofit Hub, 82% of donors will visit your website before giving. With #GivingTuesday, year-end appeals and fundraising season upon us, now is the time to review what they'll find when they get there, and be ready. NYN Daily subscribers are invited to join Jay Wilkinson for this free educational webinar tomorrow (9/27) to discover what makes donors click, and how we can fully leverage our websites to captivate and engage our community online. Click here to learn more and register.
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NYN CAREERS
(Visit www.nyncareers.com to view all jobs.)
Director of Ambulatory Services, Postgraduate Center for Mental Health
Director of Ambulatory Services is responsible for the oversight of 2 Article 31 Mental Health Clinics, a PROS Program, 3 ACT Teams and a Care and Case Management Program operating in four boroughs. Director of Ambulatory Services supervises the Managers of each program and works with the Chief Operating Officer to ensure programs remain in compliance with external regulatory requirements, as well as PCMH polices and procedures. Director of Ambulatory Services is required to travel to all programs weekly and is on-call 24/7. Position requires an LCSW with a minimum of 10 years experience working with the seriously mentally ill. Candidate must have in depth knowledge of shifting landscape of service delivery system. Ideal candidate possesses strong supervisory skills, business acumen with financial management skills and in depth knowledge of billing, excellent verbal and written communication skills, as well as analytic and computer skills. Must be outcome oriented in a fast paced environment with deadlines. Must take initiative and pride in the execution of job responsibilities.
Regional Director for Residential Services, Postgraduate Center for Mental Health
Regional Director is responsible for the oversight of 4 OMH Licensed Housing sites in Manhattan, a Congregate Permanent Housing site in Manhattan and a 500 bed Scatter Site Housing Program with offices in the Bronx and Brooklyn. Supervises the Managers of each program and works with the Director of Residential Services to ensure programs remain in compliance with external regulatory requirements, as well as PCMH polices and procedures. Regional Director is required to travel to all sites weekly and is on-call 24/7.
Vice President for Quality Improvement, Compliance and Training/Privacy Officer, The Bridge
Overseeing all aspects of the agency’s Corporate Compliance Program including, developing and revising policies and procedures, conducting and certifying annual assessments of The Bridge’s compliance activities; conducting Medicaid and regulatory audits to ensure compliance with billing and program operation standards; collaborating with other departments to devise and monitor recommendations and performance improvement plans that result from investigations; identifying potential areas of compliance vulnerability and risk and developing/implementing corrective action plans; establishing and providing direction and management of the compliance Hotline; working with the Human Resources Department to ensure that all staff receive regulatory required training program; ensuring proper reporting of incidents to regulatory agencies, e.g., the Justice Center, OMH, OASAS, and DHS.
NYN MEDIA CAREERS: To advertise your employment opportunities with NYN Media email lblake@cityandstateny.com.
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POLITICAL BULLETIN by CITY & STATE:
* James O’Neill, the new NYPD police commissioner, discussed his strategy for community policing, the changes he has seen in New York City in his time on the force and the ways he is likely to be different from his former boss, Bill Bratton, in an interview with the Times.
* Now-suspended SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros pleaded not guilty to three counts of public corruption brought by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and denied involvement in a bid-rigging scheme for state contracts worth $3 million, the Buffalo News writes.
* The brutal incident that led to indictments last week of three former state corrections officers is only the latest case to suggest that abuse in state prisons has reached a crisis level, the Times Union writes.
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NYN SOCIAL BUZZ
Weddings - Abra Metz-Dworkin, Evan Gogel: Abra Metz-Dworkin was married Sept. 24 to Evan Wood Gogel, the New York Times writes. His mother is the chairman of the board of Graham Windham Services to Families and Children, a nonprofit welfare agency serving children around New York City and Westchester.
Upcoming galas and events:
Sept. 28 -- Community Resource Exchange hosts Rooftop Party
Sept. 28 -- The Asian American Arts Alliance will host its 34th Annual Benefit Gala, honoring opera soprano Hei-Kyung Hong.
Sept. 29 -- Women's City Club of New York hosts From Inequality to Equality: Polices and Programs that Work
Sept. 29 - The Bridge will host a Masquerade Party at the Angel Oresanz Foundation.
Oct. 5 -- St. Christopher’s hosts 19th Annual Golf & Tennis Classic to raise Funds for New Facility at All-Female Campus
* To have your event featured here send your top 1-2 photos, along with a one sentence caption and photo credit, to info@nynmedia.com with the subject line “Recent Galas and Events.” To see more events, check our events/community calendar here.
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NONPROFITS IN THE NEWS
Late Forest Hills resident leaves $150,000 to local nonprofits: Frank Esposito, a Forest Hills electrician who passed away in 2013, left a large chunk of his money to several institutions including the North Forest Park Library on Metropolitan Avenue, where Esposito was a frequent visitor, DNAinfo reports. Our Lady of Mercy on Kessel Street, which he attended for more than four decades, got 50,000 dollars each, according to his widow.
Dollar pizza that gives back: The collaboration of quality New York pizza and nonprofit work is made possible with Slice Out Hunger, Washington Square News reports. It all started with Scott Wiener, who leads Scott’s Pizza Tours, taking visitors to famous pizzerias throughout the city’s outer boroughs. Wiener was offered free pies by several pizzerias for the celebration of the first anniversary of his pizza tour company, which led Wiener to wonder how he could give back to the community.
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Jump-start your career at MCNY! Join us at our Grad Info Session onThursday, September 29 from 6-8 pm at our new Financial District campus. Learn how to advance your career and network with faculty and alumni. Seats are filling up fast! Financial Aid and scholarship opportunities available. RSVP here.
The Fordham Center for Nonprofit Leaders offers both a Master’s of Science and an Executive Education Certificate program in Nonprofit Leadership. To learn more about how these programs train students to become leaders in the nonprofit sector in collaboration with its unique mentoring component, visit: www.fordham.edu/nonprofits
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NYN EVENTS
New York Nonprofit Media is proud to present our 2nd annual Nonprofit TechCon taking place Dec. 6 from 8 am to 5 pm at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan. We have all learned to accept technology at different rates. We explore the innovation and challenges of new tools, apps, and gadgets in our own personal ways. Whether you're an early tech adopter or more careful user, we all have a role to play in advancing our organizations in a rapidly changing world. This event will cover everything from entry-level learning about the current state of technology to more advanced discussions. Nonprofit TechCon is the place to go to stay informed of new technology tools and developments that are shaping the future of nonprofits.
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TODAY’S GOVERNMENT SKED
11 a.m. – City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito speaks at the Supportive Alternatives to Violent Encounters grand opening, 91 E. 116th St., Manhattan.
11:30 a.m. – New York City Councilman Andy King holds press conference with NYCHA tenant presidents and officials to announce upgrades at all the NYCHA developments in the 12th Council District, Gun Hill House, 712 E. Gun Hill Road, Bronx.
12 p.m. - Public Advocate James delivers remarks at press conference in support of jail and criminal justice reforms, City Hall steps, Manhattan.
3:30 p.m. – Mark-Viverito speaks at 16th Annual Gladys Ricart and Victims of Domestic Violence Brides March, Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center, 1680 Lexington Ave., Manhattan.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: Dan Rosenblum, Senior Reporter, New York Nonprofit Media.
To see your birthday mentioned, click here.