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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Jay Hayden, perform at the Kennedy Center this Friday evening March 30, 2012.
Assist in developing pediatric disaster response and emergency preparedness course
The Texas A&M University System’s Texas Engineering Extension
Service (TEEX)/National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC)
were recently approved by DHS to develop the Pediatric Disaster Response and
Emergency Preparedness (PEDREP) Direct Delivery Course. The course will, among
other things, address a wide variety of pediatric emergency planning and
response considerations which exist at both at the hospital and jurisdictional
level. Further, the course has been designed to better assist communities
support the pediatric population following an all hazards event.
We are seeking interested
persons who would interested in participating in one or more of the following
areas which include curriculum development committee, subject matter reviewer,
content developer and host entities for pilots with an anticipated project start
date of May 2012.
If you would like
additional information or to submit your CV for consideration, please contact me
at john.rinard@teexmail.tamu,edu.
I may also be reached at 979.255.6993.
John
Rinard
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Fundraising
Fundraising
Hiring a Consultant
by Kim Klein
There are times in the life of almost every group when a fundraising consultant can be helpful. These times are characterized by one or more of the following situations:
Consultants must know what your organization can learn from their teaching, guiding, and advice giving, and what it can only learn from experience. They must know what they can do for an organization, and what an organization can only do for itself.
Fundraising consultants can:
There are no standards or guidelines for how much to pay a consultant. Most consultants charge by the day or the hour, but some charge by the job. Consultants also charge for all their expenses: hotels, meals, telephone, photocopying, and travel are the most common.
Establish clearly just what you are paying for. For example, you pay for the consultant's time. But when does that time start – when the consultant arrives at the job or when they leave home to travel to the job? Find out if the consultant charges for phone calls, and at what rate.
If you are hiring a person for several days or months of work, build in evaluation points. This benefits the consultant also, who may need to re-estimate the time involved, or may have run into some unforeseen obstacles. It is important to have a written statement spelling out your understanding of the consultant's role, fees and expenses, which you both sign. For the same reasons listed in the last issue's column on hiring a development director, do not pay the consultant on a contingency or commission basis.
How to Choose a Consultant
Once you have decided that your particular situation may be helped by a consultant, what do you look for in that person?
Track Record. Ask how much fundraising he or she has done, and with what success. Has the person worked with organizations similar to yours both in purpose and strategy, and in similar locales? If questions of gender, sexual orientation, race, class, or disability are very important in your organization, ask the consultant what experience they have working on these issues as well, or with diverse groups of people.
References. If you don't know the person by reputation, ask for the last three groups she or he has worked with. Then call those groups and ask about the consultant. Was the person helpful? Did the consultant listen well and really understand the situation? Would this group hire this consultant again?
Compatibility. If you envision a relationship with the consultant involving more than a one- or two-day training, you may wish to meet the person to see if you like the person and would feel good taking his or her advice. Sometimes an excellent fundraising consultant is not the right person for your group because the personalities will not mesh. If the organization dislikes the consultant, both the person's advice and your money are wasted.
Confidence. Ask what the consultant will do for you, or what he or she recommends. Avoid asking for long written plans. Elaborate "work plans" or proposals are often standardized; each one is essentially the same as the next, with the name of your organization substituted for the name of the previous organization. You can ask for a resume, but by the time of this meeting, you are not looking so much for proof of fundraising knowledge as for ability to put that knowledge across.
Belief. Finally, the consultant must be able to articulate the mission of your organization and believe that your group should exist. Out of conviction as well as needing a job, he or she needs to care about what you stand for and want to help you. This is particularly important if your group is controversial or has a "troublemaker" image. Avoid consultants who advise you to "tone down" your message or broaden your goals "to make everyone feel included."
Kim Klein is publisher and editor of Grassroots Fundraising Journal. This article is excerpted from Fundraising for Social Change, Third Edition. For copies of the journal or book, contact Chardon Press, 3781 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611; 510-596-8160; Email Chardon Press
Hiring a Consultant
by Kim Klein
There are times in the life of almost every group when a fundraising consultant can be helpful. These times are characterized by one or more of the following situations:
- You need someone with skill and knowledge who cares about the issues your organization is concerned with, but is far enough removed to have perspective on how your organization can improve its overall fundraising or some particular aspect of it.
- You need help deciding on a course of action related to fundraising.
- You need someone to carry out a time-limited fundraising task.
- You need someone one day each week or month to help design a work plan, provide guidance and be available to answer questions for your bright, energetic but inexperienced fundraising staff.
- You are between staff and need someone temporarily to run the development function of your organization. [See Shelterforce, November/December 1997, # 96]
Consultants must know what your organization can learn from their teaching, guiding, and advice giving, and what it can only learn from experience. They must know what they can do for an organization, and what an organization can only do for itself.
Fundraising consultants can:
- Train and motivate people in all aspects of fundraising.
- Create fundraising plans and help implement and evaluate those plans.
- Research prospective donors and write proposals if needed.
- Set up a data base for keeping track of donor information.
- Conduct feasibility studies.
- Conduct direct mail campaigns.
- Help board members understand their responsibilities, and help organizations recruit and train good board members.
- Study and recommend structural changes in an organization to improve functioning and fundraising efficiency.
- Help hire fundraising staff.
- Set up any other fundraising strategy that an organization has decided to use.
- Manage mailing lists and donor information. This can include sending out pledge reminders, thank-you notes, and renewal letters. (Generally, it is not cost-effective for small organizations to pay a consultant to do these tasks).
- Actually solicit money from individuals, unless they go as part of a team with someone from the organization.
- Use their personal contacts to raise money. Consultants often know a great deal about wealthy givers in the community and, with discretion, can share that knowledge in prospect research. However, consultants do not go from job to job with their own list of prospects. Most of the time consultants do not actually raise money. If a consultant offers to do all your fundraising for you, run the other way. This is not an effective solution because, at best, it postpones the necessity of getting the board, staff and volunteers involved in fundraising.
- Guarantee their work.
There are no standards or guidelines for how much to pay a consultant. Most consultants charge by the day or the hour, but some charge by the job. Consultants also charge for all their expenses: hotels, meals, telephone, photocopying, and travel are the most common.
Establish clearly just what you are paying for. For example, you pay for the consultant's time. But when does that time start – when the consultant arrives at the job or when they leave home to travel to the job? Find out if the consultant charges for phone calls, and at what rate.
If you are hiring a person for several days or months of work, build in evaluation points. This benefits the consultant also, who may need to re-estimate the time involved, or may have run into some unforeseen obstacles. It is important to have a written statement spelling out your understanding of the consultant's role, fees and expenses, which you both sign. For the same reasons listed in the last issue's column on hiring a development director, do not pay the consultant on a contingency or commission basis.
How to Choose a Consultant
Once you have decided that your particular situation may be helped by a consultant, what do you look for in that person?
Track Record. Ask how much fundraising he or she has done, and with what success. Has the person worked with organizations similar to yours both in purpose and strategy, and in similar locales? If questions of gender, sexual orientation, race, class, or disability are very important in your organization, ask the consultant what experience they have working on these issues as well, or with diverse groups of people.
References. If you don't know the person by reputation, ask for the last three groups she or he has worked with. Then call those groups and ask about the consultant. Was the person helpful? Did the consultant listen well and really understand the situation? Would this group hire this consultant again?
Compatibility. If you envision a relationship with the consultant involving more than a one- or two-day training, you may wish to meet the person to see if you like the person and would feel good taking his or her advice. Sometimes an excellent fundraising consultant is not the right person for your group because the personalities will not mesh. If the organization dislikes the consultant, both the person's advice and your money are wasted.
Confidence. Ask what the consultant will do for you, or what he or she recommends. Avoid asking for long written plans. Elaborate "work plans" or proposals are often standardized; each one is essentially the same as the next, with the name of your organization substituted for the name of the previous organization. You can ask for a resume, but by the time of this meeting, you are not looking so much for proof of fundraising knowledge as for ability to put that knowledge across.
Belief. Finally, the consultant must be able to articulate the mission of your organization and believe that your group should exist. Out of conviction as well as needing a job, he or she needs to care about what you stand for and want to help you. This is particularly important if your group is controversial or has a "troublemaker" image. Avoid consultants who advise you to "tone down" your message or broaden your goals "to make everyone feel included."
Copyright 1998
Kim Klein is publisher and editor of Grassroots Fundraising Journal. This article is excerpted from Fundraising for Social Change, Third Edition. For copies of the journal or book, contact Chardon Press, 3781 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611; 510-596-8160; Email Chardon Press
Friday, March 23, 2012
Conference: Government & Business Continuity Thought Leadership
Washington DC’s Preeminent Government & Business Continuity Thought Leadership Event is Back!
The North East Disaster Recovery
Information Exchange (NEDRIX) and the Business Continuity Institute
(BCI) is hosting a 1 day conference on May 1, 2012 in Washington, DC.
This event will bring together senior managers and practitioners from
the government and private sector to share best practices, develop
relationships and foster public/private sector information exchange.
Building on a fantastic inaugural event, this year will again focus on
resiliency efforts in both the public and private sectors and quality
information sharing.
“Resiliency Integration of complementary disciplines and approaches.”
Over the past decade both the government and private sector have
independently and collectively focused on developing and implementing
various programs to ensure their organization is resilient to any threat
or hazard. These complimentary programs include Continuity, Critical
Infrastructure Protection (CIP), Emergency Management and Cyber
Security. This event brings together experts from both the government
and private sector to discuss how these programs are working to
integrate and streamline while sharing their best practices, insights
and case studies. In addition, there will be a collaborative table-top
exercise that will foster communication and information sharing amongst
all attendees.
This event will be held at George Mason in Fairfax, Virginia. Limited seating is available so registration is a requirement.
Click here to review the agenda.
To Register
The BCI and NEDRIX
organizations would like to give every participant a little more, so
registration for the 2012 event is being handled on a “tiered basis.”
To register, you must complete the
short form below. Upon submission, you will be directed to a payment
page where you may choose your payment level and complete the process.
Once payment has been completed, you will receive a follow up email with
all pertinent event information.
- Standard Registration - $25 – Entrance into full day event
- Premium Registration - $99 – Cost includes entrance to full day event + a free hard copy special edition of the Business Continuity Institute’s Good Practice Guidelines ($89 value)
- Platinum Registration - $125 - Cost includes entrance to full day event + a free 1 year subscription to the Business Continuity and Resiliency Journal – The award winning peer-reviewed professional journal. ($149 value)
Grant Opportunity: Offender Reentry Program. Deadline: May 1, 2012
FY 2012 Grant Request for Applications (RFA)
http://www.samhsa.gov/grants/2012/ti_12_003.aspx
Offender Reentry Program
Short Title: ORP
INITIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Request for Applications (RFA) No. TI-12-003
Posting on Grants.gov: March 19, 2012
Original Receipt date: May 1, 2012
Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No. : 93.243
Posting on Grants.gov: March 19, 2012
Original Receipt date: May 1, 2012
Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No. : 93.243
Key Dates
| Application Deadline | Applications are due by May 1, 2012. |
| Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372) | Applicants must comply with E.O. 12372 if their State(s) participates. Review process recommendations from the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) are due no later than 60 days after application deadline. |
| Public Health System Impact Statement (PHSIS) / Single State Agency Coordination | Applicants must send the PHSIS to appropriate State and local health agencies by application deadline. Comments from Single State Agency are due no later than 60 days after application deadline. |
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2012 for the Offender Reentry Program grants. The purpose of this program is to expand and/or enhance substance abuse treatment and related recovery and reentry services to sentenced adult offenders returning to the community from incarceration for criminal offenses. Applicants are expected to form stakeholder partnerships that will plan, develop and provide a transition from incarceration to community-based substance abuse treatment and related reentry services. Because reentry transition must begin in the correctional facility before release, limited funding may be used for certain activities in institutional correctional settings in addition to the expected community-based services.
The Offender Reentry Program (hereafter referred to as ORP), provides an opportunity for stakeholders to work together to give adult offenders/ex-offenders with substance use and/or co-occurring mental disorders the opportunity to improve their lives, including recovery from substance use and mental disorders and developing the capacity and skills to become fully-functioning parents, employees and citizens. SAMHSA's interest is to actively support and shape offender reentry treatment partnerships so that clinical needs are met and clients are treated using evidence-based practices consistent with the disease model and the problem-solving model, rather than with the traditional criminal justice model. A long-term goal of this program is to build sustainable systems of care for adults needing substance abuse treatment and recovery support services as they return to the community from incarceration. In alignment with the goals of SAMHSA's Strategic Initiative: "Trauma and Justice", this program will help "reduce the pervasive, harmful, and costly health impact of violence and trauma by integrating trauma-informed approaches throughout health, behavioral health, and related systems and addressing the behavioral health needs of people involved in or at risk of involvement in the criminal and juvenile justice systems". By providing needed treatment and recovery services, this program is intended to reduce the health and social costs of substance abuse and dependence to the public, and increase the safety of America's citizens by reducing substance abuse related crime and violence. (See Appendix J for additional background information.)
ORP is one of SAMHSA's services grant programs. SAMHSA intends that its services grants result in the delivery of services as soon as possible after award. Service delivery should begin by the 4th month of the project at the latest.
Offender Reentry Program grants are authorized under Section 509 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. This announcement addresses Healthy People 2020 Substance Abuse Topic Area HP 2020-SA.