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A Big Bill for Employers
The Albany Times Union reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday rolled out a sweeping plan to help revitalize the state's economy, complete with an ad campaign and competitive grant program designed to spark innovation.
But businesses have a more immediate concern: The bill is coming due for New York's unemployment insurance.
Citing the need to borrow more than $3 billion from the federal government to prop up its chronically empty account, the state faces a whopping $95 million interest payment on loans for the fund due Sept. 30.
As a result, the state Department of Labor is assessing businesses up to $21.25 per employee to cover the cost. That payment is due Aug. 15.
Complaints about what businesses describe as a hidden tax were rolling in Tuesday after numerous employers received the notices and as Cuomo expounded on his plans for the economy.
"This is something that could -- depending on the number of employees -- be a pretty hefty cost in this economy," said Mike Durant, New York state director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
When asked about the surcharge during a news conference outlining his revitalization plans, Cuomo stressed that the bill for interest is ultimately coming from Washington, D.C.
"It's a federal decision whether or not they'll waive the interest payments. I hope that they do," he said, adding that his office was pushing the state's congressional delegation on the issue.
The hefty tab illustrates what can happen as the federal stimulus program, enacted shortly after the recession started in 2008, runs out.
The Department of Labor noted that the stimulus program provided no-interest loans to the states in 2009 and 2010, but not this year.
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/A-big-bill-for-your-boss-1472786.php#ixzz1SetH4Zip
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Reassessing nonprofits' free ride
The Buffalo News reported that as they struggle for revenue, municipalities look to tax-exempt entities to pay their 'fair share'
The New York Power Authority's 2,900-acre spread in Lewiston, including its massive Niagara Power Project, is assessed at $1.8 billion.
The Canisius College campus is assessed at $69 million.
And the assessment for Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Amherst is $37.7 million.
But they -- and scores of similar facilities owned or operated by nonprofits -- pay no village, town, city, school or county property taxes.
Now, local government officials here and across the country want to change this.
"It's an attempt to put a burden of the tax levy on the not-for-profits that are using services," said David C. Marrano, the Lancaster town assessor, who is negotiating payment agreements with nonprofits in the town. "At what point as a government do we ask these organizations to pay part of their fair share?"
Officials are prodding the operators of hospitals, senior housing facilities and private universities to pay something in place of property taxes.
At least 117 municipalities in 18 states -- most in the Northeast -- have reached payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreements with nonprofit organizations in the past, according to a report by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Private colleges are frequent targets of revenue-seeking governments. Several Ivy League schools, along with Syracuse University and Schenectady's Union College, pay their host cities.
Syracuse will receive $2.5 million over the next five years from the university -- its largest owner of tax-exempt property -- in a deal reached last month, the Post-Standard newspaper reported.
Locally, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, the Episcopal Church Home & Affiliates and Hospice Buffalo all have reached payment agreements with their host communities.
Recent court cases have given the government officials leverage in negotiating these agreements, while in other cases the payments are worked out as part of the project approval process.
"We have been a partner with the Town of Cheektowaga since the origination," said Maureen Lehsten, chief financial officer for Hospice Buffalo, which operates the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care. "We work really well together. They've supported us in our growth on the campus in Cheektowaga."
Boston, Pittsburgh and other cash-strapped municipalities have become more aggressive in negotiating these agreements as they seek new sources of revenue to balance their budgets.
In response, nonprofit leaders defend their tax-exempt status and tout the services they provide that otherwise would be a government responsibility.
But it's a matter of fairness to government officials, who say exempting so many parcels from property taxes shifts too much of the burden onto other businesses and homeowners.
"We don't have anywhere to go except the taxpayer," said Mike Johnson, the Town of Lewiston's finance director.
These nonprofit institutions provide valuable services: treating the sick and poor, housing the elderly and infirm and tending to the public's spiritual or educational needs.
For this reason, schools, churches, hospitals and government offices are for the most part exempt from property tax.
Those institutions often must pay special district taxes such as water, sewer or fire.
In cities and older villages, where government buildings, religious institutions and similar structures tend to be concentrated, tax-exempt properties can account for a large proportion of all properties.
Vast sums of money
In Lewiston, where Niagara University, the Power Authority and other entities hold vast tracts of land, 67.7 percent of property in the town is not taxable, said Linda E. Johnson, the town assessor.
"We have probably the largest amount of tax-exempt land in Western New York," she said.
In Buffalo, developer Rocco Termini pointed to the construction of the new federal courthouse, at a site that previously held tax-paying businesses, and the tax-exempt research properties at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
"The costs, they're not distributed among all the buildings. Fifty percent of the buildings downtown are paying 100 percent of the tax load," Termini said. "I think everybody should pay something."
In Amherst, nearly 30 percent of property is tax exempt, said Town Assessor Harry Williams.
What if the exemptions didn't exist?
Read more here.
The New York Power Authority's 2,900-acre spread in Lewiston, including its massive Niagara Power Project, is assessed at $1.8 billion.
The Canisius College campus is assessed at $69 million.
And the assessment for Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Amherst is $37.7 million.
But they -- and scores of similar facilities owned or operated by nonprofits -- pay no village, town, city, school or county property taxes.
Now, local government officials here and across the country want to change this.
"It's an attempt to put a burden of the tax levy on the not-for-profits that are using services," said David C. Marrano, the Lancaster town assessor, who is negotiating payment agreements with nonprofits in the town. "At what point as a government do we ask these organizations to pay part of their fair share?"
Officials are prodding the operators of hospitals, senior housing facilities and private universities to pay something in place of property taxes.
At least 117 municipalities in 18 states -- most in the Northeast -- have reached payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreements with nonprofit organizations in the past, according to a report by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Private colleges are frequent targets of revenue-seeking governments. Several Ivy League schools, along with Syracuse University and Schenectady's Union College, pay their host cities.
Syracuse will receive $2.5 million over the next five years from the university -- its largest owner of tax-exempt property -- in a deal reached last month, the Post-Standard newspaper reported.
Locally, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, the Episcopal Church Home & Affiliates and Hospice Buffalo all have reached payment agreements with their host communities.
Recent court cases have given the government officials leverage in negotiating these agreements, while in other cases the payments are worked out as part of the project approval process.
"We have been a partner with the Town of Cheektowaga since the origination," said Maureen Lehsten, chief financial officer for Hospice Buffalo, which operates the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care. "We work really well together. They've supported us in our growth on the campus in Cheektowaga."
Boston, Pittsburgh and other cash-strapped municipalities have become more aggressive in negotiating these agreements as they seek new sources of revenue to balance their budgets.
In response, nonprofit leaders defend their tax-exempt status and tout the services they provide that otherwise would be a government responsibility.
But it's a matter of fairness to government officials, who say exempting so many parcels from property taxes shifts too much of the burden onto other businesses and homeowners.
"We don't have anywhere to go except the taxpayer," said Mike Johnson, the Town of Lewiston's finance director.
These nonprofit institutions provide valuable services: treating the sick and poor, housing the elderly and infirm and tending to the public's spiritual or educational needs.
For this reason, schools, churches, hospitals and government offices are for the most part exempt from property tax.
Those institutions often must pay special district taxes such as water, sewer or fire.
In cities and older villages, where government buildings, religious institutions and similar structures tend to be concentrated, tax-exempt properties can account for a large proportion of all properties.
Vast sums of money
In Lewiston, where Niagara University, the Power Authority and other entities hold vast tracts of land, 67.7 percent of property in the town is not taxable, said Linda E. Johnson, the town assessor.
"We have probably the largest amount of tax-exempt land in Western New York," she said.
In Buffalo, developer Rocco Termini pointed to the construction of the new federal courthouse, at a site that previously held tax-paying businesses, and the tax-exempt research properties at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
"The costs, they're not distributed among all the buildings. Fifty percent of the buildings downtown are paying 100 percent of the tax load," Termini said. "I think everybody should pay something."
In Amherst, nearly 30 percent of property is tax exempt, said Town Assessor Harry Williams.
What if the exemptions didn't exist?
Read more here.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sen. Schumer announces new website addendum
The Observer reported that Sen. Charles Schumer announced Wednesday a new addition to his website to help local non-profit organizations.
The Internal Revenue Service has recently released a list of New York non-profit organizations that have lost their tax exempt status. This list contained 275,000 nonprofits nationwide which included 19,000 non-profit organizations located in New York state.
"Upstate New York is hands down one of the best places in the country to live and raise a family. And we owe our high quality of life in large part to the tens of thousands of non-profit groups that serve our communities," Schumer said.
Approximately 562 nonprofits lost their status in the Southern Tier in addition to 687 nonprofits losing their status in Western New York.
"For several decades, large nonprofits have been required to submit an involved annual report to the federal government detailing their activities, income and expenses. But small, community-based nonprofits with limited revenue were exempt from this paper," Schumer said during a conference call.
In 2007, legislation was changed requiring all non-profit organizations to file a yearly form but most nonprofits were unaware of the new requirement, according to Schumer.
"Many of these organizations are too small to employ an accountant or tax lawyer to help them navigate the ever-changing nuances of the tax code, so they were completely unaware of the new requirement," Schumer said.
Being named on this list means, he implies, that a non-profit organization has not filed paperwork for three consecutive years. Being named on this list means nonprofits cannot continue having a nonprofit status and any income is eligible for taxation, including donations. Being eligible for taxation on donations can hinder fundraising.
If a nonprofit is on the IRS list and would like to reinstate their tax exempt status, there are various steps that must be taken.
"If a group has proof that they met the filing requirement for one or more of the last three years, they simply have to fax the form to the government, and they will be reinstated, free of charge," Schumer said.
If a group has failed to file the correct forms, forms can be resubmitted. The nonprofit status will be restored for a fee of $100 if the group has receipts that total less than $50,000 annually. The fee will increase from $100 to $850 effective Jan. 1, 2012.
Non-profit organizations who have questions about the whole process can go online to Schumer's website, www.senate.schumer.gov for more information and for the complete IRS list of non-profit organizations which have lost their status. The complete link is www.schumer.senate.gov/Public/irs_6_22_11.htm.
The Internal Revenue Service has recently released a list of New York non-profit organizations that have lost their tax exempt status. This list contained 275,000 nonprofits nationwide which included 19,000 non-profit organizations located in New York state.
"Upstate New York is hands down one of the best places in the country to live and raise a family. And we owe our high quality of life in large part to the tens of thousands of non-profit groups that serve our communities," Schumer said.
Approximately 562 nonprofits lost their status in the Southern Tier in addition to 687 nonprofits losing their status in Western New York.
"For several decades, large nonprofits have been required to submit an involved annual report to the federal government detailing their activities, income and expenses. But small, community-based nonprofits with limited revenue were exempt from this paper," Schumer said during a conference call.
In 2007, legislation was changed requiring all non-profit organizations to file a yearly form but most nonprofits were unaware of the new requirement, according to Schumer.
"Many of these organizations are too small to employ an accountant or tax lawyer to help them navigate the ever-changing nuances of the tax code, so they were completely unaware of the new requirement," Schumer said.
Being named on this list means, he implies, that a non-profit organization has not filed paperwork for three consecutive years. Being named on this list means nonprofits cannot continue having a nonprofit status and any income is eligible for taxation, including donations. Being eligible for taxation on donations can hinder fundraising.
If a nonprofit is on the IRS list and would like to reinstate their tax exempt status, there are various steps that must be taken.
"If a group has proof that they met the filing requirement for one or more of the last three years, they simply have to fax the form to the government, and they will be reinstated, free of charge," Schumer said.
If a group has failed to file the correct forms, forms can be resubmitted. The nonprofit status will be restored for a fee of $100 if the group has receipts that total less than $50,000 annually. The fee will increase from $100 to $850 effective Jan. 1, 2012.
Non-profit organizations who have questions about the whole process can go online to Schumer's website, www.senate.schumer.gov for more information and for the complete IRS list of non-profit organizations which have lost their status. The complete link is www.schumer.senate.gov/Public/irs_6_22_11.htm.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Boston Pushes PILOTs for Nonprofits
Tim Delaney, President & CEO, National Council of Nonprofits, posted to Huffington Post about the recent issue of PILOTS in Boston.
As he relates: Leaders of nonprofit organizations across America were stunned by reports this week in the Boston Globe and NPR's Marketplace that the City of Boston would turn its back on the nonprofit cultural, educational, and health care institutions that have played such vital roles in making that city great.
What stunned nonprofit leaders nationwide is that Boston sent letters essentially mandating that various nonprofits make "Payments-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes" (PILOTs) to the city based on the value of their property, even though Massachusetts law -- like the law in all 50 states -- prohibits local governments from taxing nonprofit property. What in turn shocked nonprofit leaders is how Boston intends to enforce its supposedly "voluntary" PILOT program: with a Scarlet-letter campaign designed to coerce compliance with the city's demand for "voluntary" payments.
Boston has concocted an Orwellian program that uses euphemisms -- such as "PILOTs" instead of "property taxes" and "voluntary" instead of "coerced" -- apparently attempting to hide what is really happening to evade what the law prohibits. The city, knowing the courts would strike down as an illegal act any attempt to directly impose property taxes on charitable nonprofits, invented a program to coerce "voluntary" Payments-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes. But slapping on a misleading label to cover a bad act does not render it any more acceptable; a payment based on property value is still a tax.
To enforce its legally unenforceable program, Boston has threatened to paint a Scarlet letter of shame on every nonprofit that does not comply with the city's demands for payments. Such coercion to obtain what the Commonwealth's law prohibits is outrageous and threatens everyone; who's next, when Boston -- or any government -- wants something the law prohibits?
The city's program also disregards unique aspects of nonprofit law, thus putting coerced nonprofits at risk of running afoul of the Massachusetts Attorney General, who has jurisdiction to oversee that funds donated to nonprofits are used as donors intend. By demanding that nonprofits pay the city 25 percent of their property's tax value, the city is whipsawing nonprofits, putting them in a lose-lose dilemma: either undergo the city's shameful public branding, or cave in to the city's demands to pay, only to have the Massachusetts Attorney General come after the nonprofit if donors complain that they gave their money for purposes other than transfers to the city treasury.
In trying to balance its budget on the backs of people served by charities and those who donate to them, Boston has disregarded not only the law, but also fiscal reality. The recession already has stretched nonprofits too far financially as demands for their services have skyrocketed while their revenues have nosedived, with corporate contributions declining, foundation grants down, and governments delaying payments and not paying full costs on legally-binding contracts. According to the IRS, even individual giving has sagged by 20 percent. Read more here.
As he relates: Leaders of nonprofit organizations across America were stunned by reports this week in the Boston Globe and NPR's Marketplace that the City of Boston would turn its back on the nonprofit cultural, educational, and health care institutions that have played such vital roles in making that city great.
What stunned nonprofit leaders nationwide is that Boston sent letters essentially mandating that various nonprofits make "Payments-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes" (PILOTs) to the city based on the value of their property, even though Massachusetts law -- like the law in all 50 states -- prohibits local governments from taxing nonprofit property. What in turn shocked nonprofit leaders is how Boston intends to enforce its supposedly "voluntary" PILOT program: with a Scarlet-letter campaign designed to coerce compliance with the city's demand for "voluntary" payments.
Boston has concocted an Orwellian program that uses euphemisms -- such as "PILOTs" instead of "property taxes" and "voluntary" instead of "coerced" -- apparently attempting to hide what is really happening to evade what the law prohibits. The city, knowing the courts would strike down as an illegal act any attempt to directly impose property taxes on charitable nonprofits, invented a program to coerce "voluntary" Payments-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes. But slapping on a misleading label to cover a bad act does not render it any more acceptable; a payment based on property value is still a tax.
To enforce its legally unenforceable program, Boston has threatened to paint a Scarlet letter of shame on every nonprofit that does not comply with the city's demands for payments. Such coercion to obtain what the Commonwealth's law prohibits is outrageous and threatens everyone; who's next, when Boston -- or any government -- wants something the law prohibits?
The city's program also disregards unique aspects of nonprofit law, thus putting coerced nonprofits at risk of running afoul of the Massachusetts Attorney General, who has jurisdiction to oversee that funds donated to nonprofits are used as donors intend. By demanding that nonprofits pay the city 25 percent of their property's tax value, the city is whipsawing nonprofits, putting them in a lose-lose dilemma: either undergo the city's shameful public branding, or cave in to the city's demands to pay, only to have the Massachusetts Attorney General come after the nonprofit if donors complain that they gave their money for purposes other than transfers to the city treasury.
In trying to balance its budget on the backs of people served by charities and those who donate to them, Boston has disregarded not only the law, but also fiscal reality. The recession already has stretched nonprofits too far financially as demands for their services have skyrocketed while their revenues have nosedived, with corporate contributions declining, foundation grants down, and governments delaying payments and not paying full costs on legally-binding contracts. According to the IRS, even individual giving has sagged by 20 percent. Read more here.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Call for Arts Leadership in Western NY?
Buffalo News featured this recent perspective on the need for better arts leadership in Western NY:
The small arts groups and individual artists of Western New York can't seem to catch a break.
Last year, the flagrantly incompetent leadership of the Arts Council in Buffalo and Erie County "misspent" some $48,000 of state money intended for small arts projects like the Elmwood Festival of the Arts and Allentown's First Fridays Gallery Walk. Barring some unforeseen development, that money is unlikely to be recovered.
In response to the Arts Council's failure, the New York State Council on the Arts decided to shift its grant program for Erie County's individual artists and small organizations to the Carnegie Art Center in North Tonawanda.
That probably seemed like a prudent idea at the time, because the Carnegie had been overseeing Niagara County's version of the grant program for several years. At one time, the Carnegie and the Arts Council shared an employee, who coordinated the state council's grant program for both counties.
But the programs for both counties -- now more vital than ever in the absence of public funding for small groups -- are stalled. It turns out that the state council is withholding $113,241 of funding for the programs because the Carnegie Arts Center has not completed its 2009 tax filings, which were due last November.
This development, according to Carnegie director Mary Simpson, comes out of the organization's checkered financial history. Simpson said the organization, which she took over from former director Ellen Ryan in 2009, is in the midst of repairing accounting practices that were in disarray when she arrived. Simpson said she expects to have the tax information filed within the month.
"The Carnegie Art Center does not have the financial ability to fund the ... programs if the actual grant money is not in our accounts. NYSCA is aware of this, and I believe that the NYSCA staff respects the very difficult choices the Carnegie has made to stay fiscally viable," Simpson wrote in an e-mail to The News. "Since I became executive director in 2009, I cut the budget to balance income and expenses. Some of the cuts include printing, advertising, travel, my salary and all other personnel except for the [grant] position."
Whatever the reason for the Carnegie's financial woes -- and whether Simpson clears them up quickly -- it seems clear that the organization is in no state to administer this important program. Next year may be a different story. As it stands, the inability to file taxes on time, however excused, ought to disqualify anyone from handling more than $100,000 of public money.
The problem is that few other local organizations have the staff, time or inclination to relieve the Carnegie and get the grant program on its feet. In the past, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center has coordinated the program, a task it would be hard-pressed to accomplish now, given the Chris Collins autocracy's most recent attempt to eviscerate the local cultural industry.
Until someone else steps in or the Carnegie cleans up its act, small groups like Sloan's Arts and Cultural Council, the annual Juneteenth Festival, the Parkside Community Association's summer arts program and dozens of other community arts programs across Buffalo Niagara are out of luck.
There is a desperate need for a new organization to replace the Arts Council to foster a regionwide vision for the arts and act as a stable conduit for state funds. A noble effort on that front, supported by the state council and local foundations, with an increasing focus on the growing Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance, seems promising. But it needs to move much faster because the problem is so acute and the challenge so steep.
All of this comes after the state council underwent a major reorganization because of staff reductions and buyouts, which has angered many across the state, including Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo. On top of that, after having its budget systematically reduced for years, the council is facing yet another 10 percent cut under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's proposed budget. This further impairs its ability to improve the state's economy by making strategic investments in the arts.
The state council's woes, in turn, add to the sense that the arts in New York State Ô and especially in Western New York -- are increasingly the victims of a political boxing match that grows more contentious by the day.
This state of affairs cannot persist. Public officials cannot continue to ignore the irrefutable evidence that public investment in the arts can play a vital role in bringing New York State back to economic prosperity. On the flip side of that coin, local arts organizations like the Carnegie need to do simple things like file their taxes on time.
It's not fair to punish community arts groups because of shortsighted politics or lax accounting. The artists and citizens of Western New York deserve better.
The small arts groups and individual artists of Western New York can't seem to catch a break.
Last year, the flagrantly incompetent leadership of the Arts Council in Buffalo and Erie County "misspent" some $48,000 of state money intended for small arts projects like the Elmwood Festival of the Arts and Allentown's First Fridays Gallery Walk. Barring some unforeseen development, that money is unlikely to be recovered.
In response to the Arts Council's failure, the New York State Council on the Arts decided to shift its grant program for Erie County's individual artists and small organizations to the Carnegie Art Center in North Tonawanda.
That probably seemed like a prudent idea at the time, because the Carnegie had been overseeing Niagara County's version of the grant program for several years. At one time, the Carnegie and the Arts Council shared an employee, who coordinated the state council's grant program for both counties.
But the programs for both counties -- now more vital than ever in the absence of public funding for small groups -- are stalled. It turns out that the state council is withholding $113,241 of funding for the programs because the Carnegie Arts Center has not completed its 2009 tax filings, which were due last November.
This development, according to Carnegie director Mary Simpson, comes out of the organization's checkered financial history. Simpson said the organization, which she took over from former director Ellen Ryan in 2009, is in the midst of repairing accounting practices that were in disarray when she arrived. Simpson said she expects to have the tax information filed within the month.
"The Carnegie Art Center does not have the financial ability to fund the ... programs if the actual grant money is not in our accounts. NYSCA is aware of this, and I believe that the NYSCA staff respects the very difficult choices the Carnegie has made to stay fiscally viable," Simpson wrote in an e-mail to The News. "Since I became executive director in 2009, I cut the budget to balance income and expenses. Some of the cuts include printing, advertising, travel, my salary and all other personnel except for the [grant] position."
Whatever the reason for the Carnegie's financial woes -- and whether Simpson clears them up quickly -- it seems clear that the organization is in no state to administer this important program. Next year may be a different story. As it stands, the inability to file taxes on time, however excused, ought to disqualify anyone from handling more than $100,000 of public money.
The problem is that few other local organizations have the staff, time or inclination to relieve the Carnegie and get the grant program on its feet. In the past, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center has coordinated the program, a task it would be hard-pressed to accomplish now, given the Chris Collins autocracy's most recent attempt to eviscerate the local cultural industry.
Until someone else steps in or the Carnegie cleans up its act, small groups like Sloan's Arts and Cultural Council, the annual Juneteenth Festival, the Parkside Community Association's summer arts program and dozens of other community arts programs across Buffalo Niagara are out of luck.
There is a desperate need for a new organization to replace the Arts Council to foster a regionwide vision for the arts and act as a stable conduit for state funds. A noble effort on that front, supported by the state council and local foundations, with an increasing focus on the growing Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance, seems promising. But it needs to move much faster because the problem is so acute and the challenge so steep.
All of this comes after the state council underwent a major reorganization because of staff reductions and buyouts, which has angered many across the state, including Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo. On top of that, after having its budget systematically reduced for years, the council is facing yet another 10 percent cut under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's proposed budget. This further impairs its ability to improve the state's economy by making strategic investments in the arts.
The state council's woes, in turn, add to the sense that the arts in New York State Ô and especially in Western New York -- are increasingly the victims of a political boxing match that grows more contentious by the day.
This state of affairs cannot persist. Public officials cannot continue to ignore the irrefutable evidence that public investment in the arts can play a vital role in bringing New York State back to economic prosperity. On the flip side of that coin, local arts organizations like the Carnegie need to do simple things like file their taxes on time.
It's not fair to punish community arts groups because of shortsighted politics or lax accounting. The artists and citizens of Western New York deserve better.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Crain's New York Business reported that kids raise the bar on giving
Crain's New York Business reported that kids raise the bar on giving with Facebook fundraisers, even their own foundations.
When Shannon McNamara was 13, her parents took her and her siblings to Peru during summer vacation to volunteer in an orphanage.
“At the beginning of the trip, I was thinking, 'Why can't I be on a cruise ship instead?' ” said Ms. McNamara, now 17 and a senior in high school in Basking Ridge, N.J. But the experience was “worth more than any cruise or trip to Disneyland could give you,” she said.
The family took a similar trip to Africa three years ago, and Ms. McNamara started her own nonprofit, Share (Shannon's After-School Reading Exchange), shortly after to help educate African girls. She has since volunteered in Tanzania every summer, and has collected 23,000 books and shipped them to schools there. She has also begun raising money for scholarships.
Meet the teen philanthropists. Armed with new technology and an awareness of global issues, post-Millennials are engaging in social entrepreneurship in previously unimaginable ways. Though still materialistic, these teens and even preteens want to do something more significant than acquire the latest i-Pod Touch or Wii.
Looking for a purpose
Borrowing from trends in celebrity charity, kids are mobilizing their peers to address everything from infant mortality in developing nations to neighborhood concerns. They're donating presents to charity, and they're establishing their own nonprofits.
“The number of kids creating their own organizations and taking action for causes they care about is skyrocketing,” said Nancy Lublin, chief executive of DoSomething.org, a New York-based nonprofit that helps young people to engage in philanthropy.
“Kids today just saw their parents go through a recession, get laid off and struggle,” Ms. Lublin said. “They look around and say: 'What's the point? I don't just want a second car in my driveway. I want a life of purpose.' ”
In the past year, 79% of girls in the United States have contributed food or clothing, 53% have given their own money, and 66% have asked family or friends to give or volunteer, according to research commissioned by the United Nations Foundation.
READ MORE HERE.
When Shannon McNamara was 13, her parents took her and her siblings to Peru during summer vacation to volunteer in an orphanage.
“At the beginning of the trip, I was thinking, 'Why can't I be on a cruise ship instead?' ” said Ms. McNamara, now 17 and a senior in high school in Basking Ridge, N.J. But the experience was “worth more than any cruise or trip to Disneyland could give you,” she said.
The family took a similar trip to Africa three years ago, and Ms. McNamara started her own nonprofit, Share (Shannon's After-School Reading Exchange), shortly after to help educate African girls. She has since volunteered in Tanzania every summer, and has collected 23,000 books and shipped them to schools there. She has also begun raising money for scholarships.
Meet the teen philanthropists. Armed with new technology and an awareness of global issues, post-Millennials are engaging in social entrepreneurship in previously unimaginable ways. Though still materialistic, these teens and even preteens want to do something more significant than acquire the latest i-Pod Touch or Wii.
Looking for a purpose
Borrowing from trends in celebrity charity, kids are mobilizing their peers to address everything from infant mortality in developing nations to neighborhood concerns. They're donating presents to charity, and they're establishing their own nonprofits.
“The number of kids creating their own organizations and taking action for causes they care about is skyrocketing,” said Nancy Lublin, chief executive of DoSomething.org, a New York-based nonprofit that helps young people to engage in philanthropy.
“Kids today just saw their parents go through a recession, get laid off and struggle,” Ms. Lublin said. “They look around and say: 'What's the point? I don't just want a second car in my driveway. I want a life of purpose.' ”
In the past year, 79% of girls in the United States have contributed food or clothing, 53% have given their own money, and 66% have asked family or friends to give or volunteer, according to research commissioned by the United Nations Foundation.
READ MORE HERE.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Statement of Mental Health America on the Tragedy in Arizona
Contact: Steve Vetzner, (703) 797-2588 or svetzner@mentalhealthamerica.net
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (January 10, 2011)—Mental Health America joins Americans in mourning the loss of those killed in Saturday’s tragic and senseless attack and expressing our wishes for the full recovery of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and fellow citizens who were injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives and everyone who is affected by these horrific events. And we join in applauding the brave actions of individuals who prevented greater harm.
It will likely take many days to understand the reasons and motivations behind this national tragedy. Many have pointed to mental health as an issue.
It must first be emphasized that people with mental health conditions are no more likely to be violent than the rest of the population. And we have science-based methods to successfully treat persons with even the most severe mental illnesses. A very small group of individuals with a specific type of mental health symptoms are at greater risk for violence if their symptoms are untreated.
At the same time, we must recognize that the nation’s mental health system is drastically under-funded and fails to provide Americans living with mental health conditions with the effective community-based mental health services they need. Sadly, in the current environment of strained state budgets, mental health services have been cut drastically just as demand for these critical services has risen dramatically.
It is also important that, as a community, we assist persons with signs and symptoms of mental illnesses to seek treatment. Although rare, when a person becomes so ill that he/she is a danger to themselves or others state laws provide a way to get them help even if they don’t believe that they need it. The best strategy, however, is to have an accessible system of care that is easy to use.
Science has not developed tools to predict reliably individuals at risk for violence. But we can reduce the small risk of violence in those with certain mental health conditions by investing in proven intensive, coordinated community-based mental health services and making certain that they can access these services.
We do not know if the mental health system failed in this situation or if there were missed opportunities or if effective treatment might have averted this tragedy.
We do hope that we can find answers and create solutions that prevent this from ever happening again.
Mental Health America (www.mentalhealthamerica.net) is the country's leading nonprofit dedicated to helping all people live mentally healthier lives. With our century of service to America and our more than 300 affiliates nationwide, we represent a national movement that promotes mental wellness for the health and well-being of the nation— everyday and in times of crisis.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (January 10, 2011)—Mental Health America joins Americans in mourning the loss of those killed in Saturday’s tragic and senseless attack and expressing our wishes for the full recovery of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and fellow citizens who were injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives and everyone who is affected by these horrific events. And we join in applauding the brave actions of individuals who prevented greater harm.
It will likely take many days to understand the reasons and motivations behind this national tragedy. Many have pointed to mental health as an issue.
It must first be emphasized that people with mental health conditions are no more likely to be violent than the rest of the population. And we have science-based methods to successfully treat persons with even the most severe mental illnesses. A very small group of individuals with a specific type of mental health symptoms are at greater risk for violence if their symptoms are untreated.
At the same time, we must recognize that the nation’s mental health system is drastically under-funded and fails to provide Americans living with mental health conditions with the effective community-based mental health services they need. Sadly, in the current environment of strained state budgets, mental health services have been cut drastically just as demand for these critical services has risen dramatically.
It is also important that, as a community, we assist persons with signs and symptoms of mental illnesses to seek treatment. Although rare, when a person becomes so ill that he/she is a danger to themselves or others state laws provide a way to get them help even if they don’t believe that they need it. The best strategy, however, is to have an accessible system of care that is easy to use.
Science has not developed tools to predict reliably individuals at risk for violence. But we can reduce the small risk of violence in those with certain mental health conditions by investing in proven intensive, coordinated community-based mental health services and making certain that they can access these services.
We do not know if the mental health system failed in this situation or if there were missed opportunities or if effective treatment might have averted this tragedy.
We do hope that we can find answers and create solutions that prevent this from ever happening again.
Mental Health America (www.mentalhealthamerica.net) is the country's leading nonprofit dedicated to helping all people live mentally healthier lives. With our century of service to America and our more than 300 affiliates nationwide, we represent a national movement that promotes mental wellness for the health and well-being of the nation— everyday and in times of crisis.
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