WNYC reported that New York voters approved Proposition 2 this week, by a large margin.
The measure allows the state legislature to draft a law letting prisoners do work for non-profits. Some prisoner advocates say the proposition will force inmates to work for meager wages. Others say it will help rehabilitate them.
Glen Martin is a prisoner advocate for The Fortune Society, a non-profit group in Long Island City. He spent six years in prison for robbery, and says he remembers inmates hoping for work assignments, because they could get fresh air and build skills. But Martin says they should get higher wages.
MARTIN: You know, people in prison would like to get paid some sort of prevailing wages so they can have resources accumulated for when they're released. Most people are returned to very poor communities that lack resources to help them.
REPORTER: Right now, state prisoners are paid less than a dollar an hour, for work done outside prisons.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Breakfast Roundtable on Mergers Scheduled
Please Join Us For...
"Mergers:
Everything You Wanted to Know
but were Afraid to Ask!"
A breakfast roundtable with two Executives who have a wealth of experience managing the merger process. Join us for an informal discussion with Robert Stevens, Executive Director of Literacy New York Greater Capital Region and Ann DiSaro, Former Executive Director, Albany Senior Services & Owner, Ann DiSarro Consulting
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
8:00am to 9:30am
Host: Capital Region Sponsor-A-Scholar
Washington Avenue Extension
Pine West Plaza, Building 3
Albany, New York 12205
This is our version of a "brown bag breakfast." Please bring your own refreshments and be prepared to engage in a lively discussion about nonprofit mergers from an Executive Director's perspective.
"Mergers:
Everything You Wanted to Know
but were Afraid to Ask!"
A breakfast roundtable with two Executives who have a wealth of experience managing the merger process. Join us for an informal discussion with Robert Stevens, Executive Director of Literacy New York Greater Capital Region and Ann DiSaro, Former Executive Director, Albany Senior Services & Owner, Ann DiSarro Consulting
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
8:00am to 9:30am
Host: Capital Region Sponsor-A-Scholar
Washington Avenue Extension
Pine West Plaza, Building 3
Albany, New York 12205
This is our version of a "brown bag breakfast." Please bring your own refreshments and be prepared to engage in a lively discussion about nonprofit mergers from an Executive Director's perspective.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
What's Going in the IZOCA Group?
If you haven't already, please feel free to join our online discussion group at http://www.izoca.com/groups/executive-director-peer-group-of-the-capital-region.
We've posted a number of resources and events that are of interest to Capital Region Nonprofit Leaders.
There is information on:
We've posted a number of resources and events that are of interest to Capital Region Nonprofit Leaders.
There is information on:
- Upcoming Schenectady ACES Meetings
- The Regional Leadership & Planning Meeting
- Publications of interest including: Uncharitable by Dan Pallotta and The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets a Business Plan By Charles Bronfman & Jeffrey Solomon
- ESCOT's upcoming FORUM FOR NONPROFITS: FACING TODAY’S CHALLENGES on November 12th.
Don't miss out on all this great information! Join our online group today.
Apply for Parks and Trails NY capacity building grants
The deadline is November 20 to apply for Parks & Trails New York's Capacity Building Grants for not-for-profit park and trail groups. The grants, of up to $3,000, can be used to assist with activities associated with organizational start-up and development, training, communications, and volunteer recruitment and management.
Parks & Trails New York's goal is to enable not-for-profits to better fulfill their missions; improve their reach, effectiveness, and impact; leverage more resources; and increase community support for and involvement in park and trail planning, development, and stewardship. For more information call 518-434-1583.
Parks & Trails New York's goal is to enable not-for-profits to better fulfill their missions; improve their reach, effectiveness, and impact; leverage more resources; and increase community support for and involvement in park and trail planning, development, and stewardship. For more information call 518-434-1583.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Health-Insurance Rates Set To Rise In 2010
Insurancenewsnet.com related that major health-insurance carriers serving Central New York are currently working to determine how much of a rate increase their customers will face in 2010.
Spokespersons for Rochester-based Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Schenectady-based MVP Health Care, and UnitedHealthcare, which has its upstate headquarters in DeWitt, say it's "too early" to provide definitive rate information for their 2010 health plans. Carriers typically file their rates with the New York Insurance Department on Nov. 30.
However, recent survey reports and interviews with employee-benefit consultants shed some light on what businesses can expect to see in rate increases. Figures in the 2009 Small Business Health-Care Reform Survey from the National Small Business, Association indicate 92 percent of respondents are planning for an increase in their premiums in 2010.
The average expected increase is 13 percent, and about 20 percent of small businesses anticipate premium increases of more than 20 percent next year, the survey found.
Consultants and brokers in upstate New York say businesses should expect to see increases of at least 6 percent, ranging into double figures, depending on plan design.
Concrete numbers on health-plan rates won't be available until early November, says Christian (Chris) Marshall, executive vice president of brokerage services with Falcone Associates, Inc. of Syracuse.
New state taxes and fees imposed on health-insurance plans earlier this year will likely be reflected in 2010 premiums, says Ross Kraft, president of the Meridian Group of New York, Inc. in Utica and current president of New York State Association of Health Underwriters. Meridian helps clients in New York and neighboring states design employee-benefit programs for-their employees.
Rates for health-maintenance organization (HMO) plans in New York could rise between 15 percent and 20 percent because it's "a dwindling pool," says Kraft, referring to the decline in the number of people who are enrolling in HMO plans.
Another upstate employee-benefit consultant, Thomas Flynn, a Rochester-based principal with the consulting firm Mercer, agrees that HMO plans could see a double-digit rate increase. Flynn also believes health insurers are trying to help employers keep costs down by promoting their consumer-directed health-care plans.
CDHPs are high-deductible plans with an employee-controlled spending account - a health-savings account (HSA) or health-reimbursement arrangement (HRA).
MVP expects CDHPs will attract a larger share of the employer-sponsored health care market because of rising premiums, Gary Hughes, MVP's director of public and community relations, said in an e-mail message. Read more here.
If you are looking for health insurance assistance for your nonprofit, contact NYCON's insurance brokerage, Council Services Plus, for assistance and information.
Spokespersons for Rochester-based Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Schenectady-based MVP Health Care, and UnitedHealthcare, which has its upstate headquarters in DeWitt, say it's "too early" to provide definitive rate information for their 2010 health plans. Carriers typically file their rates with the New York Insurance Department on Nov. 30.
However, recent survey reports and interviews with employee-benefit consultants shed some light on what businesses can expect to see in rate increases. Figures in the 2009 Small Business Health-Care Reform Survey from the National Small Business, Association indicate 92 percent of respondents are planning for an increase in their premiums in 2010.
The average expected increase is 13 percent, and about 20 percent of small businesses anticipate premium increases of more than 20 percent next year, the survey found.
Consultants and brokers in upstate New York say businesses should expect to see increases of at least 6 percent, ranging into double figures, depending on plan design.
Concrete numbers on health-plan rates won't be available until early November, says Christian (Chris) Marshall, executive vice president of brokerage services with Falcone Associates, Inc. of Syracuse.
New state taxes and fees imposed on health-insurance plans earlier this year will likely be reflected in 2010 premiums, says Ross Kraft, president of the Meridian Group of New York, Inc. in Utica and current president of New York State Association of Health Underwriters. Meridian helps clients in New York and neighboring states design employee-benefit programs for-their employees.
Rates for health-maintenance organization (HMO) plans in New York could rise between 15 percent and 20 percent because it's "a dwindling pool," says Kraft, referring to the decline in the number of people who are enrolling in HMO plans.
Another upstate employee-benefit consultant, Thomas Flynn, a Rochester-based principal with the consulting firm Mercer, agrees that HMO plans could see a double-digit rate increase. Flynn also believes health insurers are trying to help employers keep costs down by promoting their consumer-directed health-care plans.
CDHPs are high-deductible plans with an employee-controlled spending account - a health-savings account (HSA) or health-reimbursement arrangement (HRA).
MVP expects CDHPs will attract a larger share of the employer-sponsored health care market because of rising premiums, Gary Hughes, MVP's director of public and community relations, said in an e-mail message. Read more here.
If you are looking for health insurance assistance for your nonprofit, contact NYCON's insurance brokerage, Council Services Plus, for assistance and information.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Save the Date: New York State’s Museums in Conversation: What Inspires You?
April 11-13, 2010
Albany Marriott, Wolf Road, Albany, New York
Sponsored by Upstate History Alliance & Museum Association of New York
Is your business seeking ways to connect to and build relationships with New York’s museums and historical organizations? Register as a Sponsor or Exhibitor for the Museums in Conversation Conference and connect face to face with your target audience. Take this opportunity to promote your services and showcase your products to the largest gathering of museum professionals in New York State!
Attached you will find the Sponsor & Exhibitor prospectus. I am happy to work with you to meet your needs, if you have questions or fresh ideas about how your organization can be involved, please contact me directly at director@upstatehistory.org.
Thank you for your support of our 2009 conference, we look forward to seeing you in Albany!
Best regards,
**********************************************************
Catherine Gilbert, Executive Director
Upstate History Alliance
11 Ford Avenue
Oneonta, NY 13820
UHA Office: 1-800-895-1648
director@upstatehistory.org
www.upstatehistory.org
www.museumsinconversation.org
Albany Marriott, Wolf Road, Albany, New York
Sponsored by Upstate History Alliance & Museum Association of New York
Is your business seeking ways to connect to and build relationships with New York’s museums and historical organizations? Register as a Sponsor or Exhibitor for the Museums in Conversation Conference and connect face to face with your target audience. Take this opportunity to promote your services and showcase your products to the largest gathering of museum professionals in New York State!
Attached you will find the Sponsor & Exhibitor prospectus. I am happy to work with you to meet your needs, if you have questions or fresh ideas about how your organization can be involved, please contact me directly at director@upstatehistory.org.
Thank you for your support of our 2009 conference, we look forward to seeing you in Albany!
Best regards,
**********************************************************
Catherine Gilbert, Executive Director
Upstate History Alliance
11 Ford Avenue
Oneonta, NY 13820
UHA Office: 1-800-895-1648
director@upstatehistory.org
www.upstatehistory.org
www.museumsinconversation.org
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
NYS Arts Advocacy Action Alert and Update
NYS Arts related that Gov. Paterson proposed billions of dollars in spending cuts in the current 2009-10 budget seeking to close a deficit for this year that he projects at $3 billion.
In addition, he also described a dire financial picture for New York as the state faces a deficit of nearly $50 billion over the next three and a half years. Click on the governor's plan, to see the full description of his proposed cuts.
The plan, which needs legislative approval, also includes a $2 billion reduction in spending for the next fiscal year, which starts April 1.
What does this mean for NYSCA?
The final Council meeting for the current fiscal year was scheduled for October. You may recall that in this funding year, NYSCA very wisely reduced the number of Council meetings from 4 to 3, thereby reducing the exposure of local assistance grants that are funded later in the cycle.
The funding available for the final October cycle is approximately $6 million, which could be reduced by $612,000 given the proposed reduction to NYSCA in the Governor's plan. Bottom line: those groups in the third cycle will receive less funding.
This proposed reduction requires legislative approval and at this time there is no date set for the return of the Senate or the Assembly to Albany. So the time is now.
Send this email to your legislators. NYS ARTS has created a letter for you to send to your legislators. Forward this email to your friends and colleagues, members of your Board, ticket holders, and everyone you know who cares about the arts.
Other arts funding news:
There are rumblings that payments on members items contracts may be frozen. More to come as soon as we can confirm. Meanwhile stay in touch with your legislators and keep the pressure on!
In addition, he also described a dire financial picture for New York as the state faces a deficit of nearly $50 billion over the next three and a half years. Click on the governor's plan, to see the full description of his proposed cuts.
The plan, which needs legislative approval, also includes a $2 billion reduction in spending for the next fiscal year, which starts April 1.
What does this mean for NYSCA?
The final Council meeting for the current fiscal year was scheduled for October. You may recall that in this funding year, NYSCA very wisely reduced the number of Council meetings from 4 to 3, thereby reducing the exposure of local assistance grants that are funded later in the cycle.
The funding available for the final October cycle is approximately $6 million, which could be reduced by $612,000 given the proposed reduction to NYSCA in the Governor's plan. Bottom line: those groups in the third cycle will receive less funding.
This proposed reduction requires legislative approval and at this time there is no date set for the return of the Senate or the Assembly to Albany. So the time is now.
Send this email to your legislators. NYS ARTS has created a letter for you to send to your legislators. Forward this email to your friends and colleagues, members of your Board, ticket holders, and everyone you know who cares about the arts.
Other arts funding news:
There are rumblings that payments on members items contracts may be frozen. More to come as soon as we can confirm. Meanwhile stay in touch with your legislators and keep the pressure on!
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