Weekly Resource Round-Up: March 28, 2023
This Week's Resources
NYS COVID and MonkeyPox Updates (Plus Info about the Flu, RSV, and Norovirus)
Report: Nonprofits struggle to meet expectations with staffing shortages and rising costs (NYNMedia)
New Yorkers in Need: Food Insecurity and Nutritional Assistance Programs
Kitchen Manager/Chef Needed at St. Michael's Saturday Kitchen Program
If you have resources to share with our network, please contact Tobi Mojeed-Balogun our Associate Director of Programs Support.
2023 Youth Opportunity Grant Application Now Open!
We are thrilled to announce that the application for our Youth Opportunity Grant is now open! The deadline for the application is April 7th at 5 pm. You can find the link to the application here. To learn about EC's grants (including YOG), see here. Please contact me (Tobi) for more information about the information sessions and if you have any other questions or concerns.
Please note that April 7th is Good Friday and that the final week of the application submission period is Holy Week. Please endeavor to start early so your application comes in on time.
NYS COVID and MonkeyPox Updates (Plus Info about the Flu, RSV, and Norovirus)
A lot of the news around mandates, vaccines and restrictions have been a little confusing so I will list some resources below that might help.
NYS Department of Health COVID website - It's a one stop shop with an info summary at the top. Link here.
Walgreens COVID Index - there's concerns about the accuracy of some COVID trackers but Wallgreens released one based on their tests. Link here.
NYC Department of Health Monkeypox Webpage - lots of information and resources about the virus with pictures of the rash included. Find the link here.
COVID vs Flu vs RSV info - I found a good article from the Washington post that gives information about three viruses that have been spiking this winter. Read the article here.
The Time Magazine article on the new variant (XBB.1.5) - Link Here
Gothamist article on norovirus, a stomach bug that is hitting the Northeast - Read more here.
Hudson Valley Towns Have a New York City Problem (The City)
"Upstate schools are closing and volunteer fire departments are struggling with recruitment. Some locals blame a surge of city residents who bought second homes during the pandemic."
"... These trends are also documented in neighboring Putnam, Dutchess, Orange counties. The number of New York City residents moving to the Hudson Valley and Catskills region increased by 124.4% in the first year of the pandemic, estimates CBRE Group, a real estate investment company. The exact impact of this pandemic surge is hard to calculate. But the rapid changes have reignited debate in town meetings and community forums about vacation rentals and second homes across the region, where municipalities are considering closing schools and volunteer fire departments as the number of full-time residents wane.
As part of a plan to stem home price increases, Ulster County in 2021 released a report that urged its municipalities to curb the proliferation of short-term rentals, which represent 12% of all rental housing in the area."
Read more here.
Report: Nonprofits struggle to meet expectations with staffing shortages and rising costs (NYNMedia)
"More than 90% of nonprofits are spending more on employee salaries, according to a recent report from FORVIS, an accounting firm which released its annual nonprofit study based on data collected from an electronic survey. Despite economic challenges related to investments and outside contributions, more than half of the 195 respondents reported feeling pleased about their organization’s financial status.
Rising operational costs, wages, and inflation prompted decreases in net income for almost half of nonprofits, though one-third of nonprofits experienced an increase. Inflation also caused returns from investments to decline by over 40%.
Due to shifts in donor preferences and the economy, human services and religion-related nonprofits reported substantial decreases in financial contributions whereas educational, environmental, and international organizations reported increases." Read more here.
Budgeting for Unknowns
The Better Business Bureau is hosting a webinar about creating budgets for non-profits next Wednesday, March 29 at 1 pm.
"Tips and Tools for Budgeting Challenges
In the shifting economic landscape, it can be challenging to create and manage an accurate budget for the year. Certain budgeting tools and trend analysis can help you navigate these challenges successfully.
During this session, we will discuss: · Economic forces creating variability in nonprofit budgets · Budgeting tools to use in times of inflation and economic uncertainty · Trend analyses that can help you with budgeting · Budgeting for sustainability and forecasting into the future
Join us and bring your questions!"
New Yorkers in Need: Food Insecurity and Nutritional Assistance Programs
Thank you to Susan Fowler and our Friends at Staten Island Hunger Task Force and Christ Church, New Brighton for sharing this report on food insecurity from the State Comptroller.
"Millions of New Yorkers face daily challenges as a result of living at or near the federal poverty level, resulting in painful choices related to basic needs such as shelter, health care, food and transportation. Often, the result is hunger or food insecurity, which is uncertainty or inability to get enough food because of a lack of resources. The consequences can be devastating, from increased incidence of chronic disease and other health effects to reduced academic performance to an inability to succeed at the workplace.
...
This report is the second in the “New Yorkers in Need” series. It details recent trends in food insecurity, explains policy interventions by the federal and State governments, and demonstrates a clear need for a continuing commitment to reduce the incidence of food insecurity. While income is a critical factor in determining food insecurity, there are many other challenges that can present barriers to accessing healthy food. Federal and State leaders must make efforts to address these challenges to continue to make progress in reducing food insecurity and improve the lives and productivity of millions of New Yorkers.
Thomas P. DiNapoli State Comptroller"
Kitchen Manager/Chef Needed at St. Michael's Saturday Kitchen Program
Our friends at St. Michael's Church in the Upper West Side are looking for a new Kitchen Manager for their Saturday Kitchen food access program. If you want more information, know any good candidates, or have any suggestions please contact the Rev. Kate Flexer, Rector, at kflexer@saintmichaelschurch.org. The job description can be found here.
Hudson Link Employer Toolkit
Our friends at Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison put together an employer toolkit for hiring formerly incarcerated people. Thank you to Sean Pica, Eldredge Blalock, Elisabeth Santiago, and the rest of the team at Hudson Link for this important resource. The toolkit can be found here. If you have any questions about hiring formerly incarcerated people, please contact Elisabeth Santiago from Hudson Link's Alumni Services at esantiago@hudsonlink.org.
Community Food Funders Newslink
Community Food Funders has opened up their newsletter to a wider audience (so not just food funders). "Each month, CFF compiles a newsletter with news, articles, reports, and events for those in our region interested in an equitable and sustainable food system." Highlights on this month's newsletter include:
2023 Champions Award Accepting Nominations - In 2017, the Community Food Funders steering committee created the Champions Award to recognize the organizations empowering food system change in our region. The award aims to promote the work of an outstanding organization that is working towards the transition of our food system to one that pursues a true triple bottom line: a system that honors and values people, the environment, and sustainable economic models. We are now accepting nominations for the 2023 award. Anyone may submit a nomination, and organizations may self-nominate. Deadline: May 12, 2023.
Summit To Serve New York: Uniting on Food Justice - April 19, 2023 9AM-3:30PM - New York City - S:US' core mission of driving scalable solutions to transform the lives of people with disabilities, people in poverty and people facing homelessness is predicated on embracing the solutions that contribute to righting societal imbalances and ultimately creating opportunities for all. The first of our annual Summits addressing social justice themes will focus on Food Security. This half-day gathering will feature noted community leaders in the NYC-region food justice movement, diverse speakers from multiple sectors, and organizations serving New Yorkers in the food security and food justice space showcasing their work.
Dyson Foundation Mini-Grant Program - The Dyson Foundation’s mini-grant program funds capacity-building projects that improve a nonprofit’s administrative, governance, or programmatic functions. Mini-grants enable nonprofit board, staff, and volunteer leaders to develop new skills through specific consultant-led capacity-building activities, or through conferences, seminars, and other relevant training opportunities. Mini-grants are available to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and libraries in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Grants are available on a rolling basis.
I will continue to include highlights from each month's newsletter on our weekly resource round-ups but if you would like to subscribe yourself, the link is here. The link to last month's newsletter is here and their archive is here.
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That's all for this week -- thanks for all you do!