Two Dates You Don't Want to Miss

Arts Services Initiative of Western New York 95 Perry Street, Suite 402 Buffalo, New York 14203 Phone: (716) 362.8389 asiwnyinfo@gmail.com www.asiwny.org       Two Dates You Don't Want to Miss!     New York State Council on the Arts Information Session       Tuesday, February 9, 2016 12:00PM-3:00PM   Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle 612 Fillmore Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14212   The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Staff will provide a general overview of the Council and its Fiscal year 2017 funding opportunities. NYSCA program staff will host breakout sessions to discuss the kinds of support provided by specific programs and the eligibility requirements for funding. Overview of the Council: Megan White, Deputy Executive Director, Programs Petra Maxwell, Deputy Executive Director, Operations Programs represented include: Dance/ State & Local Partnerships - Leanne Tintori Wells; Arian Blanco Electronic Media & Film/Visual Arts - Karen Helmerson Folk Arts/Music - Robert Baron; Rita Putnam Arts Ed/Literature/ Theater - Kathleen Masterson; Orin Chait Presenting/ Special Arts Services - Susan Peirez ***************************************************************** Session is free, and open to the public. To RSVP please email asiwnyoffice@gmail.com or call (716) 362-8389 ext. 512.     3rd Annual Spark Cultural Awards   Nominations For Award Categories Due: February 12       Nominations for Award Categories are due Friday, February 12 by 12pm (noon). Click here to submit a nomination form.   Nominations are now open in the categories below from Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara Counties.  Anyone can submit a nomination including those for your own organization or for yourself.  Winners will be chosen by a panel made up of representatives of the ASI Board of Directors and other community leaders.   2016 Cultural Awards Categories: LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: This award honors an organization, individual at an organization, or individual artist for their career-long body of work, especially on the occasion of a new phase of that work such as retirement, job switch, etc. ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR: This award honors a not-for-profit or for-profit cultural organization for its achievements in 2015. INDIVIDUAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR: This award honors an individual artist in any discipline for their achievements in 2015. RISING STAR: This award honors a relatively new organization, someone new in their position or organization, or a group or artist entering the next phase in their development. SUPPORTER OF THE CULTURAL SECTOR: This award honors an individual or an organization outside the cultural sector for their work in directly aiding the cultural sector. ADVOCATE FOR THE CULTURAL SECTOR: This award honors an individual or organization outside the cultural sector for their efforts to call attention to the importance of the cultural sector to Western New York. UNSUNG HERO: This award honors an unpaid individual or group that has made a major impact on a cultural organization or the sector through their volunteer service. ARTS INTEGRATION: This award honors a non-arts project, program, or initiative that has used arts and culture to significantly enhance its work. We will also present the DEC Program of the Year and Cultural Ambassador Awards at the event, which are chosen by a panel made up of ASI Board Members and other community leaders.       Arts Services Initiative of Western New York promotes the cultural sector's vital role in economic development and the community through capacity building, collaboration, and advocacy.                       Keep up to date on funding opportunities and similar opportunities by Liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and receiving our e-newsletters.

Nonprofit Knowledge Matters: Trends, Love, and What's Ahead in Fundraising

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Top Twelve Trends to Watch in 2016  In each issue of Nonprofit Knowledge Matters, we highlight trends to help charitable nonprofits survive and thrive. This year’s first look ahead focuses on the top public policy challenges and opportunities that charitable nonprofits will face in 2016. Just to clarify, “public policy” means “external-influences-that-can-limit-your-nonprofit’s-mission.” As with much of the Council of Nonprofits’ work, these trends focus where the action is: in states and localities; perhaps some of these trends are happening right now in your community. Help your nonprofit’s board and staff monitor where the pinch-points will be for your nonprofit in 2016 by reading 2015-2016: The Years in (P)Review.  Want to stay up-to-date with policy trends? Make sure your nonprofit is a member of its state association of nonprofits and subscribe to Nonprofit Advocacy Matters, our free newsletter that focuses on nonprofit policy trends, rounded out by examples of nonprofits engaging in everyday advocacy.  Finding Nonprofit Love Online Valentine’s Day is only a few weeks away. An eHarmony for nonprofits may not yet exist, but your nonprofit’s potential soulmate is looking online. Maybe it will be a casual, one-time volunteer experience or maybe your nonprofit can find a life-long supporter. GuideStar, one of the most popular sites used by people looking for information on nonprofits, is launching newly redesigned profiles today. Learn how GuideStar’s profiles and other online profiles can bring your nonprofit lots of love. Charity regulators moving forward with single portal multi-state registration plans State charity regulators working to streamline the difficult and expensive process used by nonprofits to register for charitable solicitation in multiple states seek your input as they design the beta version of a “Single Portal Multi-State Registration” website that they plan to launch this year. They have issued a “request for information” (RFI) to the public – including charitable nonprofit staff members, board members, fundraising consultants, and professional advisors to nonprofits – asking for help designing a process that will be as nonprofit friendly as possible. We encourage all those who currently complete registrations on behalf of charitable nonprofits – whether in just one state or in multiple states – to learn more about the single portal multi-state charitable registration project, and then comment on the RFI to help shape the end-product so your nonprofit will have a better experience using the portal.  Trends for Charitable Nonprofits to Watch 2015-2016: The Years in (P)Review Five trends to watch in 2016 (Social Velocity) Philanthropy and the Social Economy: Blueprint 2016 (Lucy Bernholz) 2016 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report (NonprofitMarketingGuide) Tips for getting more from your online presence SEO for Nonprofits (Classy) How volunteers can boost your nonprofit’s online presence (WiredImpact) Trending topics Nonprofits can’t keep ignoring talent development (Harvard Business Review) Developing leadership from the inside out (Nonprofit Quarterly) Nonprofit Advocacy in Action IRS withdraws irksome gift substantiation proposal (National Council of Nonprofits) Nonprofit Transparency The Foraker Group in Alaska shares how its theory of change focuses on the role of nonprofits to strengthen the communities where we live. Did you receive this email from a friend? Sign up now to receive this free e-newsletter each month.

© Copyright 2016 National Council of Nonprofits. All rights reserved  1001 G Street NW | Suite 700 East | Washington, DC 20001 | www.councilofnonprofits.org

Built To Lead

Dear Fellow New Yorker, 

‎Yesterday I delivered my 6th State of the State address. In it I laid out a transformative agenda to build on the success of the last five years and continue to move New York State forward. 

We are the progressive capital of the nation. We are Built to Lead and we will show the nation why with these bold, signature initiatives: 

• Maintain our commitment to fiscal discipline and government efficiency, while cutting taxes for small businesses and capping property taxes for New York homeowners.
• Rebuild and modernize critical infrastructure from Montauk to Buffalo with an interconnected, planned system of mass transportation, roads and bridges and airports for the next 100 years.
• Offer our children the best education in the nation with a $2.1 billion increase in school funding to $25 billion, the highest total spending on education in the history of the state of New York.
• Ensure a cleaner, greener state by eliminating the use of goal in New York by 2020 and allocating $300 million to the Environmental Protection Fund.
• Bolster public safety by funding the permanent deployment of more New York State Troopers and National Guard at key target areas across the state.
• Lead the nation in social progress by offering the county’s most robust paid family leave policy and first-in-the-nation $15 minimum wage.
• Stand up for public integrity and government reform through comprehensive ethics reform.

Learn more about these proposals, and watch the full speech here. 

Yes, this is an ambitious agenda, and, yes, it’s is going to be a challenge. But we are New Yorkers and there is nothing that we cannot do. We have proven the capacity to take on the toughest issues of the day, and done what was once dismissed as impossible. Together, we will build a smarter, stronger and fairer New York than ever before – and we will show the nation the way forward once again. 

Thank you. 

 
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo 

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What We Learned About Your Bylaws

 

Our staff attorneys have spent more than a year reviewing hundreds of nonprofits' bylaws.Here is what they learned about the most common legal pitfalls!                                                                                                                         This is the first in a series of "The Five Most Common Bylaw Pitfalls for New York's Nonprofits" produced by NYCON's Legal Team. Stay tuned for Legal Pitfall #2 Next Week!   Welcome to the New Year! Can you believe it's 2016 already? Our legal team  spent much of 2015 reviewing and revising hundreds of our members bylaws for compliance with the new Nonprofit Revitalization law.   As you probably know by now, the law governing nonprofits recently changed pretty drastically. Some changes are for the better (yes, email voting can happen now!) but some make running a nonprofit a little more difficult.    For better or worse, most of the time they necessitate a change in the way we structure and govern our organizations, and that means revising our bylaws to bring ourselves into compliance.    Our attorneys have seen the same pitfalls time after time. So, NYCON is kicking off the new year with knowledge gleaned from the bylaw reviews our team has already done... And here is what they learned!     Legal Pitfall #1:  An Inadequate Conflict of Interest Policy   As many nonprofits are aware, the 2014 NYS Nonprofit Revitalization Act ("NPRA") requires far more formality than was previously required with respect to the disclosure, review, assessment and reporting of real and potential conflicts of interest.  Yet, it's still common to see nonprofit by-laws with a clause saying it will "maintain, regularly-updated conflict of interest procedures in order to fully comply with all applicable laws and regulations."   So, what's wrong with that? Well, for starters, such a limited conflicts of interest "policy" fails to comply with the law.  New NPRA obligations require all nonprofits to adopt and implement written conflicts of interest policies and procedures, which must address specific criteria.    Beyond statutory obligations, from a practical standpoint, a nonprofit with such a deficient policy simply doesn't have appropriate policies and procedures in place to properly address any real or potential conflicts of interest, let alone justify its response to any such situations, if ever questioned. A deficient policy needlessly undermines the mission, compromises operations and potentially exposes the nonprofit to liabilities. Need Additional Resources? Check out the Attorney General's Guidance entitled "Conflicts of Interest Policies Under the Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013." That resource will outline the minimum statutory requirements for New York nonprofits.   Members Only Webinar:   "The New Legal Bylaw Pitfalls Every New York Nonprofit Should Know"  RSVP Today.   Can We Help?  If you Still Have Questions and you are with a current NYCON member. you can submit your questions to our legal team here.   Need a Bylaw Review? If you'd like to find out more about our bylaw review services (including how to get a price) please click here.

 

	New York Council of Nonprofits Daily update ⋅ January 1, 2016
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	The NonProfit Times Minimum Wage No Small Issue For Nonprofits The NonProfit Times Living wage advocates in New York City last year managed to bump the ... said Doug Sauer, CEO of the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON). Flag as irrelevant