RESCHEDULED: State Information Sessions on Master Contract

RESCHEDULED: State Information Sessions on Master Contract

We are pleased to announce that the State Grants Reform information sessions previously set for November have been re-scheduled.  Please see below for dates, and see the bottom of this email for more information on the sessions.  If you wish to attend, please RSVP to grantsreform@budget.ny.gov . If you had previously registered, you need to RSVP for the new date, and we encourage you to register soon as space is limited.

City	Date	Time	Venue
Albany	December 18, 2012	10:30 AM – 12:30 PM	Meeting Room 5 Empire State Plaza – Concourse Albany, NY 12220
Rochester	December 19, 2012	10:30 AM – 12:30 PM	Mustard Building Conference Center 1 Mustard St. Rochester, New York 14609
New York City	December 20, 2012	1:30 PM – 3:30 PM	Room 706-708 UJA – Federation Building 130 East 59th Street New York, NY 10022

As part of the grants reform effort, the State has set up a new website to serve as an information portal throughout the reform  process and we encourage you to visit the site and share with the appropriate staff.

Thank you.

Michelle Jackson | General Counsel

Human Services Council

130 East 59^th Street, NY, NY  10022

Phone: (212) 836-1588 | Fax: (212) 836-1368

jacksonm@humanservicescouncil.org

www.humanservicescouncil.org

Call to Action: Confronting Severe Challenge to Charitable Deductions, Spending Programs

National Council of Nonprofits 

Call to Action: Confronting Severe Challenge to Charitable Deductions, Spending Programs

Charitable nonprofits are truly at risk of losing the charitable giving incentive in the Lame Duck session of Congress. Now is the time to call on our 25,000+ nonprofit members – and their board members, staff members, volunteers, donors, and others you know with email addresses – to raise their collective voices in telling Congress to protect the charitable deduction and stop the arbitrary spending cuts known as sequestration set to go into effect on January 2, 2013.

Congress and the President are negotiating how to avert the $600 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes that take effect at year’s end if they fail to take action. One proposal rapidly gaining support (particularly - but not only - among Republican Senators) is capping itemized deductions, including for charitable donations, at $15,000, $17,000, or $25,000 for individual taxpayers. Such a cap would eliminate any tax incentive for donations to charities. The big fixed-cost deductions, such as for mortgage interest (national average of $10,640 in 2010) and state/local taxes (national average of $11,593 in 2010), that combined total $22,233, would eat away the entire deduction at the levels being discussed, leaving no room for discretionary gifts to the work of charities. Even if they increase the cap to $30,000 or $40,000, that leaves very little incentive for giving. Larger institutional nonprofits with dedicated development staff will then have an advantage to squeeze out smaller charitable nonprofits for the limited dollars then available.

DO SOMETHING TODAY! Click on the link below to learn more and to see what actions you can do. 

Call to Action Link

Times Union Article: Return on Investment

Return on Investment

Nonprofits urged to get creative with corporate donor pitch

"With the economic downturn, these are trying times for fundraising among nonprofits seeking corporate donations, but by shifting the solicitation message with a strong, focused emphasis on a positive return on investment, experts said, nonprofits can begin to recover lost ground." 

Read more from this article by clicking on the link below.

View Article Here 

New director is named at miSci

Times Union Article:

New director is named at miSci

SCHENECTADY — A new executive director was hired to head miSci, the museum of innovation and science formerly known as the Schenectady Museum.
William "Mac" Sudduth comes from Decatur, Ga., and worked at the Louisville Science Center, the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, and the Science Museum of Oklahoma. At all three museums, Sudduth oversaw major changes.
He also was president and CEO of Science Place in Dallas, now the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science, and served as director of the Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta.
Sudduth replaces Teri Bordenave, who served as interim director of miSci since February. Trustees of the Schenectady museum hope to turn it into the region's premier science and technology center.
"In this time of rapid technological development, it is crucial to provide a thriving science center for this region, and miSci is well-positioned to be just that," Sudduth said in a statement.
Sudduth received his bachelor's degree in chemistry and master's and doctorate in the history of science from the University of Oklahoma. He was a grant reviewer for the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Science Foundation and NASA; an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma and Duke University; and president of the Association of Science and Technology Centers.
— Staff reports

View Article Here

Look for Capital Region Gives on Sunday

Below is a link to the Albany Times Union article on Capital Region Gives. Capital Region Gives, a 16-page special section you’ll get in the Times Union this Sunday, tells you everything you need to know about giving your money and your time. It also announces the winning organizations in our Capital Region Gives promotion. Read more about this by clicking on the link below.

 Article Here