Invitation to All. August 29, 2015, the New Orleans Cultural Heritage Festival. City of Los Angeles, California

Greetings All!

On Saturday, August 29, 2015, the New Orleans Cultural Heritage Festival will be held at Leimert Park Village located at Vernon Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard in the City of Los Angeles, California from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Exactly ten years ago on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the City of New Orleans with devastating consequences. Over 2,000 residents were killed by the storm and thousands more were either missing or displaced from the Crescent City. Many of the displaced residents were forced to relocate to other cities around the nation, including Los Angeles, the City of Angels.

I am a sixth generation New Orleans native.  Many of my family members and friends were deeply affected by Hurricane Katrina. My former neighborhood, childhood home, grammar school, high school, and church were all destroyed.  Many former residents are deceased or displaced and still in need of assistance. There will be testimonials at the event from those who have survived the storm.

This festival will serve to celebrate the unique culture, heritage, music, and cuisine of New Orleans; featuring second-line dancers, live entertainment, arts and crafts, as well as a variety of Creole, Cajun, Soul, Southern, and Vegetarian food dishes. This will be a ten-year commemoration and celebration of those who have survived one of the most catastrophic events in United States history.

The event is sponsored by the Universal Multi-Cultural Awareness Foundation, Inc. (UMCAF); and endorsed by the Offices of Mayor Eric Garcetti, Council President Herb Wesson, Jr., County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council (ECWANDC), and the Louisiana to Los Angeles Organizing Committee (LALA).

We hope that you are able to come out and join us in the day’s activities. The program will include testimonies from Katrina survivors, ten years later. The New Orleans Cultural Heritage Festival is both a commemoration of those who have survived that tragic event; and a celebration of the life, times, and victorious struggles of those who have valiantly persevered. In the New Orleans tradition, even through the most difficult of times, our people say; “Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!”  Let the Good Times Roll!

Sincerely,

Ms. Sylvia Jones,
President/CEO, UMCAF, Inc.

--

Andrew Williams, Jr.  TRN International News

Mobile: +1-424-222-1997   Skype; andrew.williams.jr

Goodwill Ambassador
Twitter: AWilliamsJr     Facebook Business    Facebook Personal

One Earth, one humanity,and one crisis. Sept 21-25 2015. Join Prayers for Climate Action at the Lincoln Memorial

Join Prayers for Climate Action at theLincoln Memorial

Faith Events

Observe Yom Kippur 2015 at the Lincoln Memorial  Kol Nidre, 9/22 6:30pm to 8:30pm Morning Service with Yizkor, 9/23 10am to 1:30pm Minchah/Neilah, 9/23 5:00pm to 7:45 pm, concluding with shofar blasts

RSVP   for Yom Kippur 2015

Multi-faith Vigil at the Lincoln Memorial 9/23 7:00pm to 9/24 7:00am The Franciscan Action Network will be leading an all-night, multi-faith vigil at the Lincoln Memorial because, as Pope Francis and so many others have pointed out, there's one Earth, one humanity,and one crisis.

Open Letter to the Ministers of State and the Public Societies of Canada-US-Mexico

The Law of Exceptions

Open Letter to the Ministers of State

and the Public Societies of Canada-US-Mexico

NAFTA and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

October 27, 2011

Greetings.  Today the ancient arc of pilgrimage of the Nations and Pueblos of the Indigenous Peoples of Anahuac, Turtle Island and Abya Yala [the Americas] purposefully intersects once more with the trajectory of the government states whom you represent on our continent.  Today the traditional representatives of the Wixarika Nation bring the case of the Defense of Wirikuta, sacred heart of Mexico, to the fore of the national, international and global agenda of discussions on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Rights of Mother Earth.  As Nican Tlacah, we are on a pilgrimage of purpose to generate the collective understanding necessary among all human society for the sacredness of life itself to be lived, to be celebrated, and to be protected in the homelands and sacred shrines of the Indigenous Peoples.

Today in Mexico City, and at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico a petition demanding respect and protection for the sacred sites of the Wirikuta is being delivered to the Mexican and Canadian governments. We here-now, Nican Tlacah Izkalotecah, extend our solidarity and commitment to rectify the historical and social injustices that have created the immoral and illegal complicity among corporate interests and government officials who should be defending the common good and not acting as agents of corporate profits. 

Context

Within the provisions of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among your governments, each nation-state reserved the right to deny investors rights or preferences provided to “aboriginal peoples”, “socially or economically disadvantaged minorities”, or “socially or economically disadvantaged groups” in from two to five designated areas.  These provisions of exception are cited in Annex II, as follows:

·       “Canada reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure denying investors of another Party and their investments, or service providers of another Party, any rights or preferences provided to aboriginal peoples,”

·       “The United States reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure according rights or preferences to socially or economically disadvantaged minorities, including corporations organized under the laws of the State of Alaska in accordance with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act,”

·       “Mexico reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure according rights or preferences to socially or economically disadvantaged groups,”

In reference to these provisions of exception of NAFTA, professor Valerie J. Phillips correctly stated, “All three nation-states remembered indigenous peoples, but only long enough to put them in their place. All of these exemptions simply continue the ongoing nation-state subordination and marginalization of indigenous peoples.”

The terms subordination and marginalization are only the skin of the beast.  The actual process which has been ongoing since October 12, 1492 is genocide and colonialism, implemented via trade agreements and economic development policies that favor the process of colonization by European American “white” elites continentally and their corporate accomplices.  The Niña, the Pinta, the Santa Maria, the Mayflower: the NAFTA and the NARCO.

The invasion of Turtle Island Abya Yala continues, yet our resistance, as Indigenous Peoples is also unbroken.  We resist and rebel, we regenerate and call out once more today for rectification and clarity, purpose and solidarity as children of the Nations and Pueblos of Mother Earth.

Clarifications:

From the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly September 13, 2007:

Article 32


States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.


It is evident that the of lack of processes and accountability for violations of the Right of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent for Indigenous Peoples is a fatal flaw not only the consultations which led to the NAFTA as a regional commercial compact, but for the actual ongoing implementation of the agreement.  The case of Wirikuta in Mexico is mirrored in the crisis of the Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada and Mt. Tenabo in Nevada as well as scores of other development projects impacting Indigenous Nations across North America including the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona. The violation of the right of Free, Prior and Informed Consent extends across the entire spectrum of economic development programs that are promoted and protected with preferential policies by the governments of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) regime.

The violations of the Right of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent is systemic under the neoliberal policies of these states, as is their complicity in the criminal exploitation and expropriation of the natural resources and labor of our Nations and Pueblos.  This is a grave foreign policy issue of crisis that must be addressed under the standards of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly on September 13, 2007.

Focusing in on the US context of the issues, Anthony Bothwell, remarks that the European taking of America involved “the most extensive land fraud and the largest holocaust in world history”.  He argues persuasively that, within the United States, the Supreme Court distorted international “laws” or doctrines regarding conquest and discovery to “rationalize white supremacist usurpation of Indian nation sovereignty, even while conceding that the great injustice may have violated international law principles”.  Bothwell goes even further than the mere analysis of then-existing international laws to assert that the taking of America violated binding treaties, the law of nations as recognized in the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Supremacy, Commerce, Takings, Contracts, and Fifth Amendment Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

Yet, in spite of these assessments and predictions of the Master’s Narrative, today the Wixarica speak to the World once more from the ceremonial ground of Mexico in pilgrimage of purpose and clarification. The Cuachichilcameh Izkalotecah respond and relay the following message, once more:

Continental Proclamation

Abya Yala

Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Fifth Period of Sessions  May 15- 26, 2006

United Nations   NY, NY

Recalling the memory, will and spirit of our ancestors of time immemorial, they who gave origination to we the Indigenous Nations of the Continent Abya Yala,

Reclaiming the power of destiny as Peoples of Humanity,

In safeguard of the Rights of the Future Generations of our Nations of Indigenous Peoples,

Invoking the ancestral mandates of our Continental Confederation of the Eagle and the Condor, and the respective pronunciations ratified in Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples in Quito, Ecuador 2004, and in Mar de Plata, Argentina 2005,

WE HEREBY PROCLAIM

Presenting ourselves as Nations of the Indigenous Peoples of our continent Abya Yala before this Fifth Period of Sessions of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the United Nations, and upon being received as such by the convoking authorities on the floor of the General Assembly,

That the Papal Bull Inter Caetera of Pope Alexander VI (1493) is hereby ANNULLED, as well as whatever Doctrine of Discovery proceeding from which that pretends to deform the relationship of Harmony, Justice, and Peace of we the Indigenous Peoples of Humanity in its entirety.

May 18, 2006

CONCLUSION

We call upon the ministers of government at all levels of Canada-US-Mexico and the public constituencies of their respective societies to address without prejudice or discrimination the above clarifications. We assert that these clarifications command rectification of the crime of colonialism and a moratorium on all NAFTA economic development projects impacting the territories of the Nations and Pueblos of Indigenous Peoples until the right of Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the Indigenous Peoples is fully recognized, respected, and protected in the spirit of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as follows:

“Affirming that Indigenous Peoples are equal to all other peoples,…..”

NAHUACALLI

Embassy of Indigenous Peoples

www.nahuacalli.org

Boston. 100 Resilient Cities. May 19, 2015

http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?id=20127

Mayor Walsh and the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities Host "KickOff" Workshop Marking Beginning of City's Participation in Innovative Global Urban Resilience Initiative

Workshop Brings Together Key Stakeholders to Develop City's "Roadmap to Resilience"; Hiring of Chief Resilience Officer Will Ensure Strategy Responds to Overarching Issues Facing Boston

| 

For Immediate Release May 19, 2015 Released By: Mayor's Office

For More Information Contact: Mayor's Press Office 617.635.4461

BOSTON – Tuesday, May 19, 2015 – Mayor Martin J. Walsh today joined 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) - pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation - to kick off the process of developing a comprehensive resilience strategy that will enable the city to better survive, adapt and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks it experiences. The workshop brought together local officials and civic leaders, as well as engineers, architects, economists, faith leaders, academics and urban planners from around the city to participate in discussions on shared priorities and the essential elements for our preparedness plans.

“Thanks to 100 Resilient Cities and The Rockefeller Foundation, Boston has a real opportunity to address lingering social and economic impacts of our history,” said Mayor Walsh. “This workshop is a first step towards creating a tremendous resource and will move Boston towards a stronger, more resilient future.”

Boston’s initiative includes a unique focus on social resilience. Forty years after the busing crisis, Boston remains a city affected by divisions of race and class that undermine community cohesion. Gaps in health, educational and economic outcomes are evidence of how these fissures weaken resilience. The goal of the 100RC Initiative is to find ways to infuse the principles of resilience into all aspects of local planning, ensuring the city's ability to weather and recover from the physical, social and economic crises that are increasingly prevalent in the 21st century.

In the months following today’s workshop, the city will continue to engage those stakeholders, resilience experts and 100RC staff in drafting the plan. As part of the process, Mayor Walsh is seeking applicants for the position of Chief Resiliency Officer (CRO) for the City of Boston to ensure Boston's resilience strategy incorporates and responds to the overarching issues facing Boston, including racial and socio-economic inequity, the lack of affordable housing, unemployment and underemployment, violence, climate change, flooding and terrorism. The position is funded through 100RC.

The CRO will report directly to the Mayor and will support the development of a resilience strategy and policy discussion in the city that includes an assessment of our social resilience opportunities and challenges. The CRO will also work with external stakeholders towards a shared vision on economic development, transportation, housing, climate change and the arts. Boston residency is required for this position. Interested applicants can apply at the City of Boston’s website: http://www.cityofboston.gov/ohr/careercenter/

In December 2014, Mayor Walsh announced that Boston had been selected as one of 35 cities from around the world to join the 100RC Network, which supplies its member cities with tools, funding, technical expertise and other resources to build resilience to the challenges of the 21st century. 

“City governments are on the front line of dealing with acute shocks and chronic stress,” said The Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin. “Boston is part of a group of cities leading the way on resilience to better prepare for, withstand, and recover more effectively when disruption hits. Through this type of inclusive resilience planning cities can be better prepared for the unexpected. T hey can also realize the resilience dividend, the economic and competitive advantages that come from taking a resilience mindset. Boston’s commitment to resilience thinking, planning and action will set a global example.”

“Boston is helping fuel global momentum around building urban resilience, and leading by example,” said Michael Berkowitz, President of 100 Resilient Cities.  “The agenda workshop will clarify the city’s needs, surface innovative thinking, and give us a blueprint for engaging partners from across sectors to bring Boston the tools and resources needed to become more resilient.” 

About 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation:

100 Resilient Cities – pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation -- is dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century. 100RC supports the adoption and incorporation of a view of resilience that includes not just the shocks but also the stresses that weaken the fabric of a city on a day-to-day or cyclical basis. Examples of these stresses include high unemployment; an overtaxed or inefficient public transportation system; endemic violence; or chronic food and water shortages. By addressing both the shocks and the stresses, a city can better respond to adverse events and is more capable of delivering basic functions in good time and bad, to all populations.

The 100 Resilient Cities Challenge was launched in 2013 as a $100 million commitment to build urban resilience. Officials or leaders or major institutions from over 700 cities have applied to the Challenge. The first cohort of 32 cities was announced in December 2013, and 100RC announced their second cohort of 35 cities in December 2014. Information on the Challenge itself is available at www.100resilientcities.org/challenge. 

An FAQ can be found at: http://www.100resilientcities.org/pages/100RC-FAQ#/-_/

Media Contact for 100 Resilient Cities: Maxwell Young – Myoung@100RC.org

Olympics Summer Games in Caribbean, or African Union member nations. Just a dream.

Just a dream.

Selection of Haiti, or an African Union member nation as Summer Olympic host games. Imagine the physical infrastructure, jobs, business development that could take place in a country such as Haiti, Cuba, Barbados, Benin, Malawi, Kenya, Ghana, or any other nation in need of renewal, and revitalization.

A dream and imagination can make it possible.

CDS. CEO. BLACK EMERGENCY MANAGERS ASSOCIATION

Community Stakeholder and Corporate Responsibility. U.S EPA requires California companies to improve oil spill prevention plans

How are spills and environmental concerns planned for in your communities?

BEMA


For Immediate Release: August 5, 2015

Media Contact: Soledad Calvino, calvino.maria@epa.gov, 415-972-3512

U.S EPA requires California companies to improve oil spill prevention plans

Safety-Kleen Systems in Newark and Cargill Corporation in Fullerton fined $135,000 

LOS ANGELES – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the resolution of a series of settlements under the Clean Water Act with Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc., in Newark, Calif., and Cargill Corporation, in Fullerton, Calif., for violations of federal oil pollution prevention regulations. Safety-Kleen will pay a $90,000 penalty and Cargill will pay a $45,000 penalty to resolve the violations at their facilities.

“All companies who store oil must comply with federal standards. Facilities are required to prevent spills and be prepared to respond to a worst case oil discharge emergency," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Preventing spills and protecting our waterways from oil spills is essential.”

Safety-Kleen, a waste oil recycler in Newark, Calif., violated the Clean Water Act’s Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rules by failing to provide secondary containment around an oil storage area; failing to secure and control access to oil handling, processing and storage areas; failing to use safe containers and good engineering practices, including liquid level alarms, to avoid discharges; and failing to develop a complete Facility Response Plan.

Cargill Corporation, which operates a vegetable oil terminal and packaging facility in Fullerton, Calif., violated EPA’s oil pollution prevention regulations by failing to update and recertify its SPCC plan for its Fullerton facility; failing to provide adequate oil containment and drainage controls; failing to ensure that the secondary containment walls of the East Tank Farm could contain spilled oil; and failing to remove accumulations of oil outside tanks and piping, transfer areas and process area collection trenches.

EPA also recently settled with four smaller California companies for violations of the oil pollution prevention regulations at their sites. The four companies are:

Antioch Building Materials
The Pittsburg, Calif. company was fined $2,775 for failure to provide a proper SPCC plan, implement tank inspection and integrity testing programs, and provide documentation of employee training.

JC Greasebuyers
The Riverside, Calif. company was fined $2,400 for failure to provide a proper SPCC plan, for storing oil in improper storage containers and for failing to implement a tank integrity testing program to prevent releases.

Gemsa Oil
The La Mirada, Calif. company was fined $2,250 for failure to provide a proper SPCC plan and have adequate secondary containment for vegetable oil storage tanks.

SoCal Pumping
The Riverside, Calif. company was fined $1,900 for failing to provide a proper SPCC plan, and complete inspection records, The facility also lacked an adequate tank integrity testing program and proper oil drum secondary containment.
EPA’s proposed Clean Water Act settlements for the Cargill and Safety-Kleen cases are subject to a 30 day public comment period and approval by the Regional Judicial Officer and are available at: 

http://www.epa.gov/region9/enforcement/pubnotices/pubnotice-cargill.html 

and 

http://www.epa.gov/region9/enforcement/pubnotices/pubnotice-safety-kleen.html

The goal of EPA’s SPCC regulation is to prevent oil from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines, and to contain and respond to discharges of oil. The regulation requires onshore oil storage facilities to develop and implement SPCC Plans and establishes procedures, methods, and equipment requirements to prevent spills, and to respond properly if a spill occurs.

For more information on SPCC, please visit: http://www2.epa.gov/oil-spills-prevention-and-preparedness-regulations

#  #  #

Public Health Education and Training. Core Competencies. Medical Reserve Corps.

Medical Reserve Corps

https://www.mrc.train.org/DesktopShell.aspx?tabId=94

Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals: Introduction  

Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals: Introduction   

The Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies) are a consensus set of skills for the broad practice of public health, as defined by the 10 Essential Public Health Services. Developed by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice, the Core Competencies reflect foundational skills desirable for professionals engaging in the practice, education, and research of public health. The Core Competencies support workforce development within public health and can serve as a starting point for public health professionals and organizations as they work to better understand and meet workforce development needs.

Organization of the Core Competencies

The Core Competencies are organized into eight domains, reflecting skill areas within public health, and three tiers, representing career stages for public health professionals.

Domains

The Core Competencies are divided into eight domains, or topical areas of knowledge and skill:

1. Analytical/Assessment Skills
2. Policy Development/Program Planning Skills
3. Communication Skills
4. Cultural Competency Skills
5. Community Dimensions of Practice Skills
6. Public Health Sciences Skills
7. Financial Planning and Management Skills
8. Leadership and Systems Thinking Skills

Tiers

• Tier 1 – Front Line Staff/Entry Level. Tier 1 competencies apply to public health professionals who carry out the day-to-day tasks of public health organizations and are not in management positions. Responsibilities of these professionals may include data collection and analysis, fieldwork, program planning, outreach, communications, customer service, and program support.
• Tier 2 – Program Management/Supervisory Level. Tier 2 competencies apply to public health professionals in program management or supervisory roles. Responsibilities of these professionals may include developing, implementing, and evaluating programs; supervising staff; establishing and maintaining community partnerships; managing timelines and work plans; making policy recommendations; and providing technical expertise.
• Tier 3 – Senior Management/Executive Level. Tier 3 competencies apply to public health professionals at a senior management level and to leaders of public health organizations. These professionals typically have staff who report to them and may be responsible for overseeing major programs or operations of the organization, setting a strategy and vision for the organization, creating a culture of quality within the organization, and working with the community to improve health.

The organization of the Core Competencies into three tiers provides guidance in identifying appropriate competencies for public health professionals. In general, competencies progress from lower to higher levels of skill complexity both within each domain in a given tier and across the tiers.  Public health organizations are encouraged to interpret and adapt the Core Competencies in ways that meet their specific organizational needs.

Online Training. August 13, 2015 Building Healthy Communities.

Every community can be a healthy community.

GovLoop Training

Building Healthy Communities

Hi , The truth is where you live, work, and play affects your health, now more than ever. Health and human service organizations are increasingly using geographic information systems (GIS) to visualize and understand data about the populations they serve. New Online Training: Building Healthy Communities Join us on Thursday, August 13th from 2-3PM ET/ 11AM - Noon PT to discover how Esri’s ArcGIS platform empowers communities to improve the health and wellbeing of all residents. Register Now! Helping you build healthy communities, Team GovLoop

Nonprofit Pro. Making the Ask: Just Pull the Trigger!

http://www.nonprofitpro.com/post/making-ask-just-pull-trigger/#utm_source=nonprofit-pro-today&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2015-07-31&utm_content=making+the+ask%3A+just+pull+the+trigger%21-1

Making the Ask: Just Pull the Trigger!

By F. Duke Haddad

Like most of us, I do not have a great deal of free time in my life. When I find the time for freedom, I love to read other books, articles, blogs and communication by my peers and colleagues. Whether you are 22 or 72 with nonprofit experience, you have something to share with others. This profession is so dynamic, you better stay on top of what others think. When I read something that sticks, I immediately think of prior situations where I applied or didn’t apply methods for success.

At this time of year I find myself completing a fiscal year while preparing for a new one. It is all about metrics in this business. I get frustrated when hard work and preparation doesn’t totally equate to results. This is due in part to the state and maturity of your fundraising program. In this specific instance I am talking about major gifts and face-to-face interactions.

I recently read an article by Joe Garecht of The Fundraising Authority, titled “3 Lessons Nonprofit Fundraisers Can Learn from Political Fundraisers.” Joe notes in lesson one that a “bundler” is someone who has the ability to raise a significant amount of funds from his or her network. Lesson two states that fundraising is everyone’s job. And my favorite, lesson three, is for professionals that build relationships but don’t take all day in doing so. (Which means there is a time for asking for a gift by pulling the trigger!)

I love reviewing Indiana University’s major gift process of metrics and accountability. Each major gift officer must have a portfolio and be accountable for moving that portfolio. When I meet someone with Indiana University experience, I assume they are properly trained to close gifts and move prospects. In my experience over time, I unfortunately have hired several “experienced” major gift officers that just couldn’t pull the trigger.

I worked with one individual who was the best relationship person I had ever seen. He was young, hungry and teachable—or so I thought. He knew the wealth in town and interacted easily with wealthy people. I attended an event where a multimillionaire was honored. Several slides on the stage featured the philanthropist with my young colleague. He was by far the youngest member in the slide. I developed a portfolio and sent him for fundraising training. I found out the hard way that he loved to meet and interact with people, but could not close a major gift. The only way he could engage in the process of asking for something was when it benefited him personally. He was the king of quid pro quo. He soon moved out of the fundraising profession.

I worked with another colleague who had the resume and skills for major gift success. He had worked at several universities. He was well-educated and trained. He was an excellent speaker and educator. He understood the case for support and priorities. He knew exactly what was to be sold. That said, when push came to shove, he could build a relationship, but couldn’t pull the trigger. I worked with another colleague with an excellent personality and wonderful skillset on paper. He knew what to say and was great in a group setting, but could not interact 1:1 with others. It was a strange situation. And my list goes on and on. Major gift people that can consistently pull triggers and successfully close gifts are hard to find. If you have one in your shop, keep them!

When should you pull a trigger by making an ask? This assumes you have done your homework and research on these prospects as to capacity, involvement, history, other relationships, etc. Some examples:

1. When volunteers, board, etc. that work with you feel the prospect is ready to be asked.
2. When the amount asked is at a low level leading to a larger ask.
3. When the prospect gives you an indication to go ahead and ask.
4. When there is a prior history of giving and it is time to give again.
5. When it is a fundraising board and they are making the lead gifts.
6. Based upon experience, timing and gut when to ask for a gift.
7. When you are clear as to the decision maker on an ask (husband or wife).
8. When you make a gift yourself and you are asking someone of equal donation amount.
9. When the relationship is strong and the move is right.
10. When the time period is right through proper cultivation.

The No. 1 reason people do not give is they are not asked. Other nonprofits are asking your prospects for a gift as we speak. When are you going to join the party and just pull the trigger?

F. Duke HaddadAuthor's pageDuke has extensive experience as a nonprofit practitioner and consultant. He has been a contributing author to NonProfit PRO for the last seven years and has had the CFRE designation for the last 23 years. He has also been a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals for over 30 years. He received his doctorate from West Virginia University with an emphasis in philanthropy, masters from Marshall University with an emphasis on resource development and a bachelor's degree from West Virginia University with emphasis in marketing/management. Currently he is executive director of development for The Salvation Army Indiana Division. Duke also works on special projects for G. J. Mongon & Associates and Duke Haddad & Associates. Contact Duke atdhaddad324@gmail.com.

Can the World Unite to Solve Global Issues?

http://blog.globcal.net/2015/07/can-world-unite-to-solve-global-issues.html?m=1
Friday, July 31, 2015

Can the World Unite to Solve Global Issues?

U.N.’s Post-2015 Development Agenda Under Fire 

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 29 2015 (IPS) - The U.N.’s highly ambitious post-2015 

development agenda, which is expected to be finalised shortly, has come fire 

even before it could get off the ground.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (second from left) with Irish Minister and UNICEF
Goodwill Ambassador in Dublin. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

A global network of civil society organisations (CSOs), under the banner 

United Nations Major Groups (UNMG), has warned that the agenda, which 

includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “lacks urgency, 

a clear implementation strategy and accountability.”

Savio Carvalho of Amnesty International (AI), which is part of the UNMG, 

told IPS the post-2015 agenda has become an aspirational text sans clear 

independent mechanisms for people to hold governments to account for 

implementation and follow-up.

“Under the garb of national ownership, realities and capacities, member 

states can get away doing absolutely nothing. We would like them to ensure 

national priorities are set in conformity with human rights principles and standards 

so that we are not in the same place in 2030,” he added.

The 17 SDGs, which are to be approved by over 150 political leaders at a 

U.N. summit meeting in September, cover a wide range of socio-economic issues, 

including poverty, hunger, gender equality, sustainable development, full 

employment, quality education, global governance, human rights, climate 

change and sustainable energy for all.

All 17 goals, particularly the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger 

worldwide, are expected to be met by the year 2030.

The proposed follow-up and review, as spelled out, lacks a strong accountability 

mechanism, “with several references to national sovereignty, circumstances and 

priorities which risk undermining the universal commitment to deliver on the SDGs,” says UNMG.

“We are wondering how committed member states will be able to ensure genuine 

public participation, in particular of the most marginalised in each society, in 

decisions that will have an impact on their lives.”

This applies also to questions related to financing (budget allocations) in the 

actual implementation of the agenda, says a statement titled

 “Don’t break Your Promise Before Making it”.

“We are keen to ensure that people are able to hold governments to account 

to these commitments so that these goals are delivered and work for 

everyone,” says UNMG, which includes a number of coalitions and 

networks who will be monitoring the post-2015 process.

These groups include CSOs representing women, children and youth, human rights, trade unions and workers, local authorities, volunteers and persons with disabilities.

Asked about the composition of the UNMG, Jaimie Grant, who represents the 

secretariat for Persons with Disabilities, told IPS that UNMG is the official 

channel for the public to engage with the United Nations on matters of sustainable development.

“Across all these groups, stakeholders and networks, we share some very 

broad positions, but there are many thousands of organisations feeding in to it, 

in various capacities, with various positions and priorities,” he explained.

Adding strength to the chorus of voices from the opposition, the Women’s Major 

Groups, representing over 600 women’s groups from more than 100 countries, 

have also faulted the development agenda, criticising its shortcomings.

Shannon Kowalski, director of Advocacy and Policy at the International Women’s

Health Coalition, told IPS the SDGs could be a major milestone for women and 

girls.

They have much to gain: better economic opportunities, sexual and reproductive

health care and information and protection of reproductive rights, access to 

education, and lives free from violence, she noted.

“But in order to make this vision a reality, we have to ensure gender equality 

is at the heart of our efforts, recognising that it is a prerequisite for sustainable 

development,” she added.

The coalition includes Women in Europe for a Common Future, Equidad de Genero (Mexico), Global Forest Coalition, Women Environmental Programme, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and 

Development, WEDO (Women’s Environment and Development) and the 

Forum of Women’s NGOs (Kyrgyzstan).

Kowalski also expressed disappointment over the outcome of the recently 

concluded conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa.

“We hoped for a progressive and fair financing agreement that addressed the 

root causes of global economic inequality and its impact on women’s and girls’ 

lives. But that’s not what we got,” she said.

“We expected strong commitments on financing for gender equality and 

ecognition of the value of women’s unpaid care work. We expected governments 

to address the systemic drivers of inequalities within and between countries,

to establish fair tax policies, to stop illicit financial flows, and to address injustices

in international trade structures that disadvantage the poorest countries.”

“We were disappointed that there were no new commitments to increase public

financing in order to achieve the SDGs,” Kowalski declared.

Carvalho of Amnesty International said, “It will be impossible to achieve truly

transformative sustainable development and to leave no one behind without 

conducting regular, transparent, holistic and participatory reviews of progress 

and setbacks at all levels.”

“The agenda acknowledges the need for international financial institutions (IFIs) 

to respect domestic policy, but does not go far enough to ensure that their activities 

to do contribute to any human rights violations.”

“I think we need to strengthen the argument for the agenda to be universal – 

when all countries have to deliver on their commitments and obligations.”

These, he said, include Official Development Assistance (ODA) and tax justice.

Meanwhile, in a statement released to IPS, Beyond 2015, described as a global 

civil society campaign pushing for a strong successor to the 

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), said “for the SDGs to have a real 

impact on people’s lives everywhere, people themselves must participate in 

implementing the goals and reviewing progress, and be active agents in 

decisions affecting them.”

The Beyond 2015 Campaign said it welcomes the focus on inclusion and 

participation reflected in the current draft that is being negotiated at the 

United Nations, and “we count on governments to translate their commitments into action as soon as the SDGs are adopted.”

In implementing the SDGs, it is crucial that states honour their commitment to 

“leave no one behind”.

“This means tracking progress for all social and economic groups, especially

the most vulnerable and marginalized, drawing upon data from a wider range 

of sources, and regular scrutiny with the involvement of people themselves,” 

the statement added.

Additionally, an even higher level of participation and inclusion is needed, at all 

levels, when implementation starts.

“People must be aware of the new agenda and take ownership of the goals for real 

and sustainable changes to occur.”

The Beyond 2015 campaign also welcomed the commitment to an open and 

transparent follow-up framework for the SDGs, grounded in people’s participation 

at multiple levels.

“We believe the current draft could be improved by including specific time-bound 

commitments and endorsing civil society’s role in generating data to review 

commitments,” it said.

“We insist on the need for governments to translate the SDGs into national 

commitments as this is a crucial step for governments to be genuinely accountable 

to people everywhere.”

Edited by Kitty Stapp

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@aol.com