Hello Members!
I am excited to share new materials with all of you. Please feel free to take a moment to review the information of the materials (listed below).

I encourage all of you to take advantage in  helping me to update our library. You can do this by sharing with me the types of materials (DVD’s, curriculum, etc.) you use that has been helpful to you or your agency. What ideas would you like to share or find available in the library?

The goal is to update the library so that it can better serve as a place where you can share the tools or materials you’ve used or created to network with other members, find the information and the resources you are seeking. I welcome your ideas and look forward to working with all of you as we update the library.

Here are some examples I am looking for:

• Curriculum that was helpful for the training needs of your agency.
• Sharing materials you or your organization have created (electronic copies) that you’d like to see circulated in the library to others.
• Materials that you know will be helpful to develop new or existing skills within your staff or agency.
• Materials to learn the latest trends and techniques in doing the work within the movement.
• DVD updates, curriculum, etc.
• Bilingual materials

With deep appreciation of the all the work you do, I thank you in advance for your time. I look forward to hearing your comments.

Please contact me if you are interested in borrowing any of the materials the library. My email is villena@calcasa.org or call (916) 446.2520 ext. 320.

Thanks!
Villena

The Bro Code: How Contemporary Culture Creates Sexist Men
From the cover: The Filmmaker Thomas Keith takes aim at the forces in male culture that condition boys and men to dehumanize and disrespect women. Keith breaks down a range of contemporary media forms, zeroing in on movies and music videos that glamorize womanizing; pornography that trades in the brutalization of women; comedians who make fun of sexual assault; and a groundswell of men’s magazines and cable TV shows that revel in old-school myths of American manhood. The message Keith covers in virtually every corner of our entertainment culture is clear: It’s not only normal — but cool — for boys and men to control and humiliate women. In the end, The Bro Code challenges young people to question this dangerously sexist ideal of masculinity.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=246#press-reviews

 Generation M: Misogyny in Media & Culture

From the cover: Despite the achievements of the women’s movement over the past four decades, misogyny remains a persistent force in American culture. In this important documentary, Thomas Keith, professor of philosophy at California State University-Long Beach, looks specifically at misogyny and sexism in mainstream American media, exploring how negative definitions of femininity and hateful attitudes toward women get constructed and perpetuated at the very heart of our popular culture.

The film tracks the destructive dynamics of misogyny across a broad and disturbing range of media phenomena including: the hyper-sexualization of commercial products aimed at girls, the explosion of violence in video games aimed at boys, the near-hysterical sexist rants of hip-hop artists and talk radio shock jocks, and the harsh, patronizing caricatures of femininity and feminism that reverberate throughout the mainstream of American popular culture.

Along the way, Generation M forces us to confront the dangerous real-life consequences of misogyny in all its forms — making a compelling case that when we devalue more than half the population based on gender, we harm boys and men as well as women and girls.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=234

Asking For It: The Ethics & Erotics of Sexual Consent

From the cover: The line between sexual consent and sexual coercion is not always as clear as it seems — and according to Harry Brod, this is exactly why we should approach our sexual interactions with great care. Brod, a professor of philosophy and leader in the pro-feminist men’s movement, offers a unique take on the problem of sexual assault, one that complicates the issue even as it clarifies the bottom-line principle that consent must always be explicitly granted, never simply assumed. In a nonthreatening, non-hectoring discussion that ranges from the meanings of “yes” and “no” to the indeterminacy of silence to the way alcohol affects our ethical responsibilities, Brod challenges young people to envision a model of sexual interaction that is most erotic precisely when it is most thoughtful and empathetic. Ideal for classes in gender studies, communication and sociology, and especially useful for extra-curricular programs and workshops.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=243

Understanding Hookup Culture: What’s Really Happening on College Campuses

From the cover: When it comes to intimacy and sex, young people today are apparently doing away with the old rules of romance and cutting straight to the chase. If recent reports are to be believed, the rise of hookup culture on college campuses is in the process of killing off dating and courtship, radically altering some of our most basic assumptions about heterosexual sex and gender. But for all the speculation, there’s been little beyond anecdotal evidence to back any of these claims up. This lecture by Stanford University’s Paula England, a leading researcher in the sociology of gender, aims to clarify what’s actually going on. England mobilizes a wealth of data to begin to chart whether the phenomenon of hooking up represents some kind of fundamental change, or whether we’re simply seeing age-old gender patterns dressed up in new social forms.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=244

 Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women

From the cover: In this new, highly anticipated update of her pioneering Killing Us Softly series, the first in more than a decade, Jean Kilbourne takes a fresh look at how advertising traffics in distorted and destructive ideals of femininity. The film marshals a range of new print and television advertisements to lay bare a stunning pattern of damaging gender stereotypes — images and messages that too often reinforce unrealistic, and unhealthy, perceptions of beauty, perfection, and sexuality. By bringing Kilbourne’s groundbreaking analysis up to date, Killing Us Softly 4 stands to challenge a new generation of students to take advertising seriously, and to think critically about popular culture and its relationship to sexism, eating disorders, and gender violence.

For more information:  http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=241

New Book & Curriculum

InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives [Hardcover]

Overview: Joe Ehrmann, the coach profiled in the national bestseller Season of Life, explains how coaches at every level, from Little League to high school to NCAA Division I and even the professional leagues, can use sports to transform lives. Coaches have a tremendous platform, says Joe Ehrmann, a former Syracuse University All-American and NFL star. Perhaps second only to parents, coaches can impact young people as no one else can. But most coaches fail to do the teaching, mentoring, even life-saving intervention that their platform provides. Too many are transactional coaches; they focus solely on winning and meeting their personal needs. They see sports as a simple exchange: the athlete performs to a coach’s demands and in return gets something, usually praise or a position in the starting lineup. Some coaches, however, use their platform. They teach the Xs and Os, but also teach the Ys of life. They help young people grow into responsible adults; they leave a lasting legacy. These are the transformational coaches. These coaches change lives, and they also change society by helping to develop healthy men and women.

Sports have become a secular religion, according to Ehrmann. Tens of millions of children play sports, and millions of coaches have the potential to influence the lives of these children — and through them to touch their parents’ lives as well. Children can be diminished and discouraged by their sports experiences, or they can be strengthened, uplifted, even in some cases redeemed. Sports can be a life-changing experience if coaches understand why they are coaching and redefine their measurement of success.

For more information: http://www.amazon.com/InSideOut-Coaching-Sports-Transform-Lives/dp/1439182981/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319505234&sr=1-1

Safe DATES: An Adolescent Dating Abuse Prevention Curriculum

 Description: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year, 1 in 4 adolescents experience verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse from a dating partner.

It is imperative to stop dating violence before it ever starts. Safe Dates, second edition, can help with that. This evidence-based program helps teens recognize the difference between caring, supportive relationships and controlling, manipulative, or abusive relationships. It is during the critical pre-teen and teen years that young people begin to learn the skills needed to create and foster positive relationships. With Safe Dates, young people are given the tools needed to build these skills.

Highly engaging and interactive, Safe Dates reflects the issues faced by today’s teens. The curriculum includes:

• Updated statistics and facts
• Information on dating abuse through technology
• All handouts and parent resources on CD-ROM
• New Families for Safe Dates program to get families talking about healthy dating relationships and dating abuse

Safe Dates has been designated as a Model Program by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and was selected for the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), receiving high ratings on all criteria.

For more information: http://www.hazelden.org/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=38103&sitex=10020:22372:US

Last week, Sandra Henriquez, CALCASA’s Executive Director, and I had the honor of participating at the national Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA)’s institute in Henderson, Nevada, along with 70 women of color advocates from across the nation and US territories.  This institute titled, “Reclaiming Our Movement,” was focused on providing over 25 intensive workshops and forums on prevention, intervention/advocacy, wellness, and professional development.

We had the opportunity to share resources from our respective communities and agencies (such as Green Dot, PreventConnect, Support for Survivors, caucus work, etc.) along with our personal stories and journeys in this movement to end sexual violence.  As women of color, we are often faced with many obstacles and challenges in this movement to serve ALL communities (e.g, communities of color, LGBTQ, Native American, faith, rural,persons with disabilities,  etc.) but struggle  with limited resources to provide these services in a culturally and linguistically appropriate way.   Especially now, with such economic challenges, it even more critical for all of us to evaluate on how we can provide “equal” and quality access to our services for our communities that is inclusive of everyone.

UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet visits Berkeley, CA

Michelle Bachelet, the first Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of United Nations (UN) Women, and Chile’s President from 2006 – 2010, will lead a seminar on “Women’s Rights: A Global Challenge” at UC Berkeley on Thursday, April 14.  People are encouraged to submit questions for Under-Secretary-General Bachelet by going to the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) website.

Gender-based violence has been an important focus area for the UN in the last decade. In the summer of 2010, the UN issued a document highlighting the work across continents on the “Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women” which also provides recommendations on how member states can eliminate sexual violence.  In sum, the UN suggests that a ”stronger focus must be placed on prevention, to complement more effectively the improved laws, policies and programmes and their implementation, monitoring and evaluation” while ensuring that efforts are “systematic, sustained and extended throughout all areas of the country” (United Nations, 2010).

Many rape crisis centers provide services to children who are victims of sexual abuse.  As such, it is always important to build your skill set in this area.  A free training on the “Trauma Model Therapy for Child Sexual Abuse” is being offered on April 30, 2011 in Davis, California at the Davis Senior Center.  The event is the 17th Annual Northern California Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Conference.  Again, there is no cost and no registration involved.  For more information, please visit the ISSB of California website.  Professionals will be able to earn up to 6 continuing education units (CEU’s).  There is a $80 fee to receive CEU’s.

If you have ever written a grant proposal, you know that creating objectives are a crucial part of the process.  Many people have written grant objectives; far fewer people  have written clear and concise objectives that truly convey what they are trying to achieve through the grant.  There is an adage that says “work smarter not harder.”  Using the acronym S.M.A.R.T. is one method that can assist you in creating a better objective.

Specific

Specific objectives are clear and well defined.  The objectives should describe the specific desired result.

Measurable

How do you know that the objective was met?  If you have a measurable outcome, this can be crucial in the review process of the grant.  It lets the reviewer know that this is “no pie in the sky concept”; but you have a benchmark to indicate success or failure.

Achievable

Is the objective you created achievable?  Is it a reasonable goal?

Relevant / Realistic

Are the objectives realistic?  Are the objectives relevant to the purpose of the grant you are writing?

Timely

Do your objectives have a time table that indicate when they will be completed?

The S.M.A.R.T. method is one way to create better objectives.  Writing a better objective can increase your chances of getting that grant and also be used as an internal template to determine where you need to improve or make adjustments.

Through your life you may have experienced many different types of stress; an eminent deadline, loss of a loved one, public speaking or coming together with family and friends during the holidays.  The American Psychological Association (APA) conducted a survey that indicated that women are more likely than men to report heighten levels of stress  during the holidays, and less likely to relax and take care of themselves.

So it is imperative that people take appropriate steps to address the stress that they may experience during the holidays.  The APA recommends the following tips to help reduce holiday stress and increase resilience:

Define holiday stress—How do you experience stress? Does that experience change during the holidays? Different people experience stress differently. How do you know when you are stressed?

Identify holiday stressors—What holiday events or situations trigger stressful feelings? Are they related to work, home, relationships or something else?

Recognize how you deal with stress—Determine if you are relying on unhealthy behaviors like smoking or eating to manage stress. Is this a behavior you rely on year-round, or is it specific to holiday stress?

Change one behavior at a time—Unhealthy behaviors develop over the course of time. Replacing unhealthy behaviors with healthy ones requires time. Start small and focus on changing one behavior.

Take care of yourself—Taking care of yourself during the holiday season helps to keep your mind and body primed to deal with stress. Pay attention to your own needs and feelings. Engage in holiday activities that you enjoy and find relaxing. Exercise regularly. Eat healthy. Make sure you get enough rest and sleep.

Ask for support—Accepting help from those who care about you and will listen to you strengthens your resilience and ability to manage stress. Use the holidays as a time to reconnect with friends and family and strengthen your support network. If you feel overwhelmed by stress, then consider seeking professional help. Psychologists are uniquely trained to understand the connection between the mind and body. They can offer strategies to help you manage stress, change unhealthy behaviors and address emotional issues.

For more tips on managing holiday stress go to:

American Psychological Association

Holiday Season Stress

Family Guide – Managing Holiday Stress

Cleveland Clinic

Some are presented with a multitude of opportunities.  For others the opportunities are few and far in between.  I believe one of the best ways to take advantage of an opportunity is to be prepared.  That preparation can come through work and life experiences or building your skill set through specific training seminars or formal education such as college courses and certified training programs.

At the age of 17 I began working at the local rape crisis center while attending college.   After completing the 40 hour crisis intervention/volunteer training class I believed that I could make a difference in the community.   On a regular basis I looked at the agency organizational chart to view where I wanted to transition next.  I would research what experience was needed, where I could get trained and learn from people that already held that position.  Sometimes the agency would pay for the training and sometimes I had to scrape together the money and take time off from work to attend.  Throughout my 14 years of working at one rape crisis center I held virtually every job at the agency:

• Receptionist
• Project Aide
• Prevention Educator
• Volunteer Advocate
• Group Counseling Coordinator
• SART Advocate
• Volunteer Coordinator
• Program Manager
• Prevention Coordinator
• Grants Manager
• Executive Director

Whatever you decide to do or however you decide to achieve your goals of leadership; I believe the CALCASA A.S.C.E.N.D. Academy is a great way to receive vital training around leadership principals and management skills for working at nonprofit agencies.  The A.S.C.E.N.D. Academy deadline has been extended to Tuesday, November 23, 2010.  To view more information on the A.S.C.E.N.D.  Academy click below

A.S.C.E.N.D. Academy Flyer

 A.S.C.E.N.D. Application

Attending and participating in CALCASA Caucus meetings gives you yet another opportunity to get involved with your statewide coalition and its members from across the state that represent the California rape crisis centers.  For the month of December you will have a unique opportunity to network and participate in training that will enhance your personal development and contribute to your professional development that will benefit your agency.  The CALCASA Caucus meetings and training dates are as follows:

Women of Color -  South Caucus

December 1, 2010 in Santa Barbara, CA from  8:00 am – 4:30 pm.  For more information contact Cindy Marroquin at cindy@calcasa.org or (916) 446-2520 ext 313.

Women of Color – North Caucus

December 3, 2010 in Sacramento, CA 8:00am – 4:30pm.   For more information contact Cindy Marroquin at cindy@calcasa.org or (916) 446-2520 ext 313.

Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities Caucus

December 10, 2010 in San Diego, CA from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm.   For more information contact Kavin Black at kavin@calcasa.org or (916)446-2520 ext 305.  Click here to register.

Queer Women Caucus

December 14, 2010 in Hollywood (Los Angeles), CA from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm.  For more information contact Kavin Black at kavin@calcasa.org or (916)446-2520 ext 305.  Click here to register.

Or

December 16, 2010 in San Francisco, CA from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm.  For more information contact Kavin Black at kavin@calcasa.org or (916)446-2520 ext 305.  Click here to register.

History of the CALCASA Caucuses

Advocacy Caucus for Persons with Disabilities
The Advocacy Caucus for Persons with Disabilities? is a prevention and advocacy caucus for people with disabilities, disability advocates, and allies from Member centers working toward preventing violence and supporting survivors with all types of disabilities, consumers, and deaf survivors.

This December is not the only time to get involved with your CALCASA Caucus.   The caucuses have in-person meetings / teleconferences throughout the year.  Connect or reconnect with your state coalition by getting involved with a caucus.  I look forward to seeing you in December and working with you throughout 2011.

The state of California enters its fourth month without an approved state budget.  Some California rape crisis centers cash flow has become a cash drip.  This budget impasse has forced many centers to develop contingency plans that vary from decreasing agency hours, having multiple waves of staff layoffs to the worst case scenario of closing their doors due to the lack of cash to provide services to survivors.  Knowing what your agency’s current budget situation is, if given an option (that is legal of course) to remedy those budget problems; would you act on that option?

I preface the latter statement with I got permission from the Executive Director to write this article with the promise that I would not disclose her name, the agency’s name or agency location.

In December 2008 I was contacted by the Executive Director of a rape crisis center in another state to assist with a funding proposal to submit to her Board of Directors.  I first met this Executive Director in 2002 and we have remained in contact since then.

This agency has a consistent history of limited or no fund development whatsoever.  The Executive Director was concerned that if this pattern continued, she would be faced with making some difficult decisions within 9 months.  She and I filtered through some ideas and came up with several viable options.  The Executive Director did additional research and took one of those options to her Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors read through the request for proposal and application, had a three hour meeting and a final vote of 8-2 in favor of applying for funding through their Department of Corrections for treatment of sex offender parolees.   The grant had an extensive list of protocols and procedures that applicants would have to clearly demonstrate their ability to meet and adhere to if awarded the grant.

The agency was notified in September 2010 that they were awarded the multi-year treatment grant for sex offender parolees in the amount of $400,000.00.  The Executive Director indicated that this grant could absorb approximately 80% of the agency’s entire administrative cost; leaving additional money from other grants to hire additional personnel, increase staff salaries that were drastically too low and allow more services to be provided to survivors and the community.

Some board members who previously voted to apply for the grant are now concerned about public perception, staff and volunteer support or lack of support, shift in agency’s mission and philosophy, and the simple fact that they would now have an off-site project that deals with convicted sex offenders.

I ask these questions of you – Is this a golden opportunity?  Does accepting this money take away from their victim centered mission statement?  Please provide your insight and opinions in the comment box below.

Are you one of those employees that wear several hats within the agency ?  On a daily basis you display your multiplicity of skills by doing many things and doing them well.  You perform your job without hesitation or complaining and are motivated to help clients and support the agency’s mission. 

Yes I am talking to you, the one that skips lunch to sit with a client in anticipation of their court hearing at 1:30 p.m.  Yes you, the one that handles all of the bilingual crisis calls, translates handouts and brochures into Spanish, does the Spanish radio and television interviews, in addition to handling your English speaking client caseload.  Yes you, the one that comes to the office on the weekend in preparation to provide training to all the juniors and senior government classes at the local high school.  Yes you, the one that stays up until 2:00 a.m. to write and submit that foundation or government grant that will hopefully offset the agency budget cuts from the state.  And I am definitely talking to you, the one that responds to the hospital at 3:00 a.m. for the rape survivor, stays until the exam is over and the survivor is released, then returns home to get ready to be at work by 8:00 a.m. 

Yes all of you, the dedicated staff of California rape crisis centers.  You have gone beyond the call of duty on so many occasions that it has become the norm instead of the exception to the rule. 

This behavior that you display while admirable on many levels can have a negative effect on you physically and emotionally.  In order to be an effective resource for survivors of sexual assault you need to give some critical attention to your self care.  CALCASA has continually stressed the importance of trauma stewardship for crisis center staff.  In February 2010, CALCASA held a Trauma Stewardship one day training in Pacifica, California.  We also distributed a book to every California rape crisis center written by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky titled “An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others”.  In addition, CALCASA designed an entire Wellness Track at the National Sexual Assault Conference in September 2010 that was sponsored by the Joyful Heart Foundation.  Some of the workshops from the Wellness Track were:

• Self-Care Tools for Everyone! – Breathing, Yoga and Writing
• Creative Expression for releasing, transforming and healing
• Techniques for Self Massage
• Core Fusion
• The Joy Diet (Self-Care for Advocates)

 The internal calling of a heart for service to help survivors can be strong.  The alarm of self preservation to have a healthy work life balance should be just as strong.  I talked about the importance of work life balance in an post I wrote last year titled “Life is a Balancing Act”.   Having a balance between work and life can restore some harmony to your life and reduce stress.  Take a “time out” to enjoy the blessing in your life.  I coach my son’s under 6 soccer team and my daughter’s under 10 soccer team; that is one of my releases and pleasures in life.  Please share in the comment box below what you do to take care of yourself and establish or try to find that healthy work life balance.  Remember, it is okay to  hang up some of those hats that you wear from time to time.

Over the last several months I have collaborated with Steve Zimmerman of Spectrum Nonprofit Services to provide a three part webinar series to California rape crisis centers concerning nonprofit finances.  The individual webinars have focused on

• The critical importance of understanding financial leadership for the agency’s sustainability – Session 1 “Financial leadership during turbulent times”
• How to construct an agency budget – Session 2 “The Art and Science of Budgeting”
• Reporting agency financials in a comprehensive way that board members and staff can receive, understand, process and use the information effectively – Session 3 “Dashboard Driving” and Dashboard Driving templates

There are many nonprofit agencies across the country doing phenomenal work.  What differentiates these agencies is their ability or inability to establish a solid financial foundation, remain viable and or grow no matter the economic landscape.  CALCASA is committed to helping executive management and board members establish a financially healthy organization to serve survivors and the community by continuing to provide resources such as this financial webinar series.  For more information regarding nonprofit agency finances, contact Kavin Black at (916) 44-2520 x305 or kavin@calcasa.org.  If you participated in any of the discussed webinars, please include your thoughts in the comment box below.

During the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference which took place in Hollywood, California on September 1-3,2010, there were more than 80 workshops.  The Leadership Development Track  featured the following workshop:

Workshop Title: Leadership in Changing Time

Presenter:  Christi Hurt – National Resource Sharing Project

Description:  Leaders emerge during times of uncertainty.  This workshop supported emerging leaders at any level of the organization to identify the skill they can develop and bring forward to support the development and momentum inside their agencies.

During the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference which took place in Hollywood, California on September 1-3,2010, there were more than 80 workshops.  The Leadership Development Track  featured the following workshop:

Workshop Title: Choices that Matter: Making strategic decisions to strengthen  and sustain your organizations.

Presenter:  Christi Hurt – National Resource Sharing Project

Description:  Leaders, managers, and staff make decisions every day that impact the long term health and well being of their organization.  This workshop re-framed the daily decisions in terms of their long term impact and provided participants with a set of critical questions to ask when faced with an important decisions.

During the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference which took place in Hollywood, California on September 1 -3, 2010, there were more than 80 workshops.  The Leadership Development Track featured Leadership Roundtable Discussions. 

The purpose of the Leadership Roundtable Discussions were to provide an opportunity for each participant affinity group to have an open, honest, and most of all safe space to discuss the issues of leadership from a personal community and organizational framework.  Each group was co-facilitated by a local sexual assault provider and / or a national technical assistance provider.

Leadership Roundtable:  Maisie Tenorio – Northern Marianas Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence and Debra Sue – Center for the Pacific Asian Family

During the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference which took place in Hollywood, California on September 1 -3, 2010, there were more than 80 workshops.  The Leadership Development Track featured Leadership Roundtable Discussions. 

The purpose of the Leadership Roundtable Discussions were to provide an opportunity for each participant affinity group to have an open, honest, and most of all safe space to discuss the issues of leadership from a personal community and organizational framework.  Each group was co-facilitated by a local sexual assault provider and / or a national technical assistance provider.

Leadership Roundtable: Native American / Tribal Communities

Facilitators: Tami Tejada – Inter-Tribal Council of California and Diane Milllich – Our Sisters Keeper Coalition, Inc. , A Native American Tribal Coalition

During the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference which took place in Hollywood, California on September 1 -3, 2010, there were more than 80 workshops.  The Leadership Development Track featured Leadership Roundtable Discussions. 

The purpose of the Leadership Roundtable Discussions were to provide an opportunity for each participant affinity group to have an open, honest, and most of all safe space to discuss the issues of leadership from a personal community and organizational framework.  Each group was co-facilitated by a local sexual assault provider and / or a national technical assistance provider.

Leadership Roundtable: African American Communities

Co-facilitators: Luz Marquez – Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA) and Val Ferguson – Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA)

During the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference which took place in Hollywood, California on September 1 -3, 2010, there were more than 80 workshops.  The Leadership Development Track featured the following workshop:

Workshop Title: Planning for the Next Generation of Women of Color Leaders in the Movement

Presenters: Ellen Yin Wycoff – California Coalition Against Sexual Assault  an Yolanda Gotier – Alternative to Family Violence

Description:  This workshop provided women of color and allies the opportunity to discuss key strategies and steps to develop and promote leadership opportunities for women of color in the violence against women movement.

DOWG Members: Lita, Jacquie, Tiombe, Alena

When someone says “You really should have been there” or “You missed a wonderful event”.  This is truly accurate when referring to the 2010 CALCASA Statewide Pre-Conference.  On the first day, CALCASA was deliberate in having a plenary discussion that addressed inclusive leadership for the next generation.  This plenary was facilitated by the CALCASA Dismantling Oppression Work Group (DOWG).  DOWG’s intention at this statewide plenary was to seed conversation in preparing California rape crisis centers to develop inclusive leadership for the next generation of advocates and to provide tools to support participants in becoming strong allies committed to organizations, programs, and services. Participants in this plenary where actively involved in trying to achieve the following objectives:

• Learn and practice a common, social-justice language of equity and alliance.
• To deepen practical understanding of how inequity impacts leadership opportunities.
• To critically analyze current succession planning efforts.
• To use a transition framework to harness creative, inclusive leadership development.

The DOWG was established in 2005 by a small group of activist from the CALCASA Council and membership organizations who perceived a critical need to address issues of oppression and equity within the movement to end sexual violence.  The DOWG consist of a five person panel: Lita Mercado, Jacquie Marroquin, Alena Marie, Tiombe Preston, and Allan Creighton.  The DOWG participated as or were primary trainers at the following events:

• CALCASA Social Justice and Inclusion
• CALCASA Executive Director Meeting
• 2010 CALCASA Statewide Pre-Conference
• 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference

To find out more information about DOWG and or CALCASA trainings, please contact Kavin Black at CALCASA – kavin@calcasa.org or (916)446-2520 ext 305.  Please provide comments in the box below regarding this article

In July 2010, the Internal Revenue Service released information to help small nonprofit organizations who are in danger of losing their tax exempt status for failure to file Form 990-N or Form 990 -EZ.  This relief is not for all tax exempt organizations. 

If your organization is required to complete Form 990 or Form 990- PF and have not filed for three consecutive years; your tax exempt status can be automatically revoked.

In September 2009 I provided information regarding the IRS new regulations for Form 990 and the possible implications for rape crisis centers.  In March 2010 I followed up with a webinar titled “Are You Ready for the New 990” in which Steve Zimmerman of Spectrum Nonprofit Services provided extensive information regarding what steps non profit organizations should take to prepare for filing Form 990.

For more information on this topic, go to:

Internal Revenue Service

Guide Star

The “Financial Series” webinars focusing on nonprofit finances has been rescheduled for September 2010.  This multi webinar series is intended for Financial Administrators, Executive Management, New Managers, and anyone who wants to learn about trends, practices, and procedures for responsible fiscal management operation of a nonprofit organization.  As a California rape crisis center, you can participate in all three sessions or select the ones that are most relevant to you.  The description for each webinar is listed below:

Financial Leadership in Turbulent Times

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 10:00 am – 11:30 am (Pacific Standard Time)

How do you know how your organization is performing if you don’t have the financial information you need?  Even in the best of times financial information can be confusing.  This 90 minute webinar aims to cut through the clutter of financial information and help participants understand the crucial components of their financial reporting to assess their financial health.  To participate in this webinar , please register.

The Art & Science of Budgeting

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 10:00 am – 11:30 am (Pacific Standard Time)

Organizational budgets are meant to be numerical expression of the organization’s program plan for the coming year.  To do this, there need to be an inclusive process.  This on-line training will walk participants through the five stages of budgeting, including roles and time-lines in putting together the budget.  To participate in this webinar, please register.

Dashboard Driving

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 10:00 am – 11:30 am (Pacific Standard Time)

Engaging your board of directors in a strategic conversation about your organization while trying to keep them informed can be challenging.  In this session, we’ll introduce you to the “dashboard” – an engaging brief document that highlights the key metrics for your organization in a way that every board member can understand and allows you to drive the conversation toward those things that matter most.  This webinar coves the concept as well as process for implementing.  To participate in this webinar, please register.

For more information please contact Kavin Black at kavin@calcasa.org or 916-446-2520 x305.

Have you ever wished you could give more than just kind words of appreciation to that special individual who is doing an outstanding job at your local California rape crisis center?  Here is your opportunity to do so.  CALCASA is accepting nominations for its 2010 Member Recognition Awards.

  You can nominate individuals for the following categories:

• Outstanding Board Member
• Outstanding Executive Director or Sexual Assault Program Director
• Outstanding Intervention Staff or Volunteer
• Outstanding Prevention Staff or Volunteer

This is the 6th year that award winners will be honored at the CALCASA Annual Meeting that will take place at the Renaissance Hotel and Spa in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 from 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM.  What makes this event so wonderful is that recipients will be honored by their peers.  In addition, winners in each category will receive:

• Free travel to the CALCASA Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, CA.
• Free lodging.
• Complimentary Statewide Pre-Conference and National Sexual Assault Conference registration.
• A personal award.

To see specific rules and criteria for nominating someone, please download the 2010 CALCASA Nomination Packet.  Submission of nominations must be made no later than Wednesday, August 11, 2010to be considered for the award.  For questions regarding the CALCASA 2010 Member Recognition Awards, please contact Kavin Black at 916-446-2520 x 305 or kavin@calcasa.org.

2010 CALCASA Nomination Packet (word)

2010 CALCASA Nomination Packet (PDF)

For the last 7 years, my children have involved me in a forced family tradition – school clothes shopping.  In mid July my children approach me and say “Dad, school starts in August.  We need new clothing because last year’s clothing is too small, too old and too worn out.”  I go to my desk and assess what bills have not been paid, what checks have cleared, what checks are outstanding and what my checking account balance is.  I immediately realize, I HAVE A CASH FLOW PROBLEM.  While the latter disclosure is a bit humorous, many rape crisis centers experience cash flow issues throughout the year.  Some agencies experience it around the time when the state of California has not adopted a new fiscal budget.  What is not so humorous is the devastating consequences when a rape crisis center (rcc) has no cash on hand and cannot afford to pay its creditors or payroll.  An rcc may be able to alleviate some occurrences of limited cash flow by strategic planning and changing some internal agency practices.

In 2009 I wrote a blog post “Financial Couch Potato or Financial Fitness Routine” that discussed how to assess the financial fitness of your agency.  In the blog post I highlight several things:

• Generate a document that shows monthly expenses, year to date expenditures and identifies how the grants are allocated.  This can be useful in helping you determine spending deficiencies and over spending in categories.
• Routinely reconcile your General Ledger with your bank statements and accounts payable.
• Generate cash flow projections documents to identify when you may need more cash for the agency and where you may need to control or decrease spending.
• Set aside a specific time every month to dedicate to billing funders for reimbursements.

Also be thoughtful when planning agency events or purchasing program supplies and equipment.  Too many purchases or scheduled agency events during the last quarter of a grant year and a possible state budget delay may cause a significant delay in your grant billing reimbursements being processed.

We all know the financial dilemma that the state of California is in.  More than ever rcc’s need to implement practices that will ensure their agency is financially viable to serve the community and survivors of sexual assault.  With strategic planning, maximizing your collaborative partnerships, accessing the resources of CALCASA, and involving your stakeholders; I honestly believe that rcc’s that are experiencing ongoing cash flow problems can move from struggling to remain financially viable an move to financially stable in this current economy.

To share your insight on this topic, please use the comment box below.

On June 22-23, 2010 CALCASA will have its annual Executive Directors’ Meeting in Sacramento, CA.  This year’s meeting is titled “No Matter the Season, Good Leadership and Management are Always in Style.”

Rape Crisis Center Executive Directors from across California will come together for two days to network and develop strategies on issues that have an impact on their agencies and communities in which they work.  Participants will leave re-energized with increased skill sets in innovative leadership and responsible management practices to affect change at their agencies and in their communities.

Training topics:

• Diversity and Inclusion
• Human Resource Management
• Agency Sustainability
• CALCASA Legislative Updates
• Rape Crisis Center 2010 Salary Survey results
• CAL-EMA will be available (2nd day in the A.M.) to speak with you

The training will be facilitated by consultants, CALCASA staff and Executive Directors (your peers).  This event is free of charge and open to Executive Directors or Executive Management at California Rape Crisis Centers.

CALCASA will make travel scholarships available for this event (one per agency, unless you have multiple Executive Directors).  Registration will begin on May 7, 2010. 

For those Executive Directors who have been in the position for less than 2 1/2 years; we have a pre-session specifically for you – the New Executive Director’s Roundtable Meeting.  You will be able to register for both events starting Friday, May 7, 2010.  For further information on either event, please contact Kavin Black at (916)446-2520 ext. 305 or kavin@calcasa.org.  Click here to register for this event.

CALCASA is having its first ever New Executive Directors’ Roundtable Meeting on Monday, June 21, 2010 from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m at the CALCASA Offices located in Sacramento, California. This roundtable discussion is intended for California Rape Crisis Center Executive Directors or Executive Management who have been in the position for less than 2 1/2 years.  This is an excellent opportunity to network with your peers; share challenges and successes, problem solve and learn about resources available through CALCASA.

This event will precede the Executive Directors’ Meeting – No Matter the Season, Good Leadership and Management are Always in Style”

CALCASA will make travel scholarships available for this event (one per agency, unless you have multiple Executive Directors).  Registration will open on Friday, May 7, 2010.

If you are a new Executive Director or Executive Management, please do not miss out on an opportunity to Meet, Greet, Eat and Share with your peers from across California.  For further information on either event, please contact Kavin Black at (916)446-2520 ext. 305 or kavin@calcasa.org.  Click here to register for this event.

The State of California Employment Development Department indicated that California’s unemployment rate average was 12.8% for the month of February (county specific rates).  Some Executive Directors or people in management of rape crisis centers think that employees should be happy to have a job and be grateful that they are getting a paycheck.  To a certain extent this may be true.  However, when you are leading an organization instead of just managing it, you look at hiring that highly skilled person with a heart for service and keeping the passionate and knowledgeable staff that will provide better services to your clients and the community at large.

Paying your staff fairly is a good business practice.  Underpaying your staff will result in employees looking for better offers and leaving when they find them.  Overpaying your employees can result in the agency and its programs being financially malnourished.  Where does your agency rank with agencies of similar characteristics when it comes to the compensation of staff?

Having current, accurate, and relevant data from other crisis centers with similar demographics as your agency can be extremely valuable when working with your Board of Directors, stakeholders and donors, as well as recruiting potential employees and keeping great employees.

If you are an Executive Director, Associate Director, or part of the administrative team of a California rape crisis center; it is imperative that you complete the CALCASA Rape Crisis Center Salary Survey.  100% participation from all centers will ensure that we have accurate and complete information to provide you with a relevant and current report of aggregated data.  If you have already completed the survey, thank you.  If you have not, then I look forward to receiving your information.  If you have additional questions regarding the Rape Crisis Center Salary Survey contact me at (916)446-2520 ext 305 or kavin@calcasa.org

Doing less with more, getting more bang for your buck, being transparent with your spending, streamlining the process and downsizing.  These are very familiar statements used since the current economic down turn began.  You have seen corporate stores and small businesses close in your community and across California.  Unfortunately nonprofits have not been immune from the same catastrophe.  Good intentions and hard work are not enough to keep your agency viable and your doors open.

Paying attention to details in a few areas will improve your agency’s chance of stability and potential growth when other agencies are struggling to pay salaries and keep the electricity on.

• Infrastructure
• Staff Development
• Resource management
• Board of Directors
• Collaborations

Infrastructure

Infrastructure provides organizational structure in order for the agency to function and meet its intended goals.  Having detailed goals clearly defined in a business plan with how you are going to attain them is a common task that boards and management undertake.  As the economic climate changes so should your business plan; the business plan is not static but a living document that is a road map for the agency.

Staff Development

A common reaction of businesses when budgets are tight is to decrease or completely abandon the staff development budget.  Things change constantly in our field of work; there are new issues or obstacles that need to be addressed.  Providing staff with the tools necessary to serve clients and the community is important.  Staff training does not always cost your agency an exorbitant amount of money.  You can receive in-service training from other stakeholders in your community.  CALCASA provides ongoing webinars, pod casts, on-site trainings and consultations at your agency and even stipend reimbursements  for various CALCASA sponsored in-person trainings that your staff may attend.  Continued training also keeps your staff prepared, increases retention and promotes personal career growth.

Management Resources

Monitoring your fiscal resources and staffing patterns on a regular basis are two ways in which you can maximize your resources.   You may ask yourself “when I monitor my fiscal resources, what does that involve?”  Are funds being spent appropriately and in a timely manner?  Are billings for reimbursements up to date?  Are my debt obligations being met?  Does my agency have positive cash flow?  Am I reverting money back to the government at the end of the year instead of spending it on client services where it is most needed?

Analyzing your staffing pattern can reduce overtime or stipend payouts and ensure that people are not overworked and exhausted when serving survivors and their families.  If you know that 40% of your sexual assault call outs happen after 4:00 p.m.; then why would you schedule all of your advocates to work from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.  Correlating staff schedule to work need can help with productivity, reduce staff stress and improve the quality of service being provided to clients. 

Board Development

Is your board actively involved in the vision and welfare of the agency?  Do your Board of Directors know how the current economic crisis is affecting your agency now and in the future?  Engaging the board in strategic problem solving is important.  Also providing the appropriate trainings to address such items as legal responsibility, roles within the agency and being a resource for the Executive Director is a good start.  An appropriately involved and trained board can be a guiding light in a storm of economic turmoil.

Collaborations

Many for profit entities that have emerged out of a recession stronger and wiser have found better ways to produce a service during a time when people are spending less.  Nonprofits must do the same when donors are giving less and fewer dollars are available through grants and foundations.  Looking at ways to establish collaborative partnerships with agencies and stakeholders in your community to better serve clients is the new frontier and the expectations of many foundations and government agencies that provide fiscal support.

It is not enough to have an memorandum of understanding signed by agencies to indicate that you are working together.  If you are going to position your agency to be the experts in your community; then you need to innovate and find more efficient and creative ways to better serve the needs of survivors.  Below are a few ideas from rape crisis centers across the country:

• Work with legal firms to provide attorneys that work pro bono to address  civil, employment or immigrant issues related to sexual assault survivors.
• Work with another agency or business to establish a satellite office in a under served community where your services are needed.
• Marketing sexual harassment trainings to for profit  businesses.
• Utilizing office space in your local law enforcement agency where an advocate can follow up with survivors who are going to speak with detectives regarding their cases.
• Getting taxi cabs or van shuttles to provide transportation services for survivors of sexual assault when law enforcement is not available or unable to transport.

The ideals for collaboratives are endless and can create a renewed sense of purpose for rape crisis center staff, improve relationship with the partner agency, and provide a new or better service for clients.

There are many variables why an agency may or may not survive when the economy landscape is layered with a backdrop of uncertainty. However, paying special attention to the five areas identified in this posting will allow your agency to increase its probability of success in this economic crisis.  

If you have comments,questions or require additional information regarding anything discussed in this posting, please respond in the comment box below.

Additional Resources

Infrastructure Checklist

Developing a Rape Crisis Center Board

California Economic Indicators

A Practical Approach to Collaboration

A Board of Directors must be in place in order for a nonprofit organization to be a corporation.  That same corporation must meet additional criteria in order to become a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.  There are Boards of Directors in the for-profit industry as well as the nonprofit sector.  The Board of Directors of a for-profit entity represent the best interest of the shareholders of the corporation.  Boards of Directors of nonprofit organizations represent the best interest of stakeholders in the community such as clients, donors, community members, other service agencies etc.

Boards of Directors are in positions of responsibility and authority in the governance structure of the nonprofit agency and have a fiduciary duty to the organization; specifically the

• Duty of care
• Duty of loyalty
• Duty of obedience

In other words the Board of Directors is required to act reasonably and prudently in the best interest of the nonprofit and to avoid negligence, fraud and conflict of interest.  For the purpose of this discussion I want to focus on the duty of loyalty, also known as conflict of interest.

The duty of loyalty refers to a board member’s  responsibility to avoid conflict of interest and to provide undivided allegiance to the non-profit’s mission.   A conflict of interest can refer to a conflict arising when a board member participates in the deliberation of a decision of importance to the agency while that same decision can be of personal or professional benefit to the board member.

There are no absolute rules on how a Board of Directors should handle conflicts of interest between the agency and a board member.  At minimal the agency should ask the following questions:

• Is it enough for the board member to be aware of the conflict or is full disclosure required to the board?
• Are there any agency documents already in existence that address how agency and board conflict should be resolved?
• Should the board member recuse themselves from all conversations related to the conflict?
• At what point is it warranted for the board member to relinquish their position on the Board of Directors?
• How should the agency handle conflict of interest?
• Are there any internal or external factors that you should consider when analyzing this incident of conflict of interest?

 If you participated in the CALCASA webinar “Are you ready for the new 990“  ;you are well aware of the IRS requirement for an nonprofit agency to have a conflict of interest policy.  The facilitator for that webinar, Steve Zimmerman of Spectrum Nonprofit Services, provided an Conflict of Interest template as well as other requirements of the IRS 990.

Also the California Corporations Code has statue related to nonprofit benefit corporations as well as other corporate related statues.

There are many ways in which the Executive Director  and or Board of Directors may choose to address conflict of interest between the agency and a board member; some may error on the side of being conservative while others may have a more liberal approach to the matter.  If you have a conflict of interest policy, have questions regarding this issue and or can provide insight to others dealing with this issue; please comment in the box below. 

For more information on this topic and or additional resources regarding board development, please contact Kavin Black  at CALCASA.

Lynette Irlmeier, Executive Director, Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Center

Several CALCASA staff members were present on Tuesday, March 3, 2010 along with the Community of Davis, California and Yolo County residents in welcoming Lynette Irlmeier as the new Executive Director of Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Center (SADVC).

Lynette Irlmeier took the helm of SADVC on January 25, 2010.  Lynette has formerly worked for the Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support, the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Professional Family Crisis Center Inc.

The SADVC Board of Directors in collaboration with SADVC staff put together a wonderful event in which community residents and business owners, City of Davis Police Department, members of the Yolo County Superior Court, Davis City Council members, and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen came together to show their support for the agency and survivors in the community.

CALCASA looks forward to working with Lynette Irlmeier in the future as well as our continued work with the SADVC Board of Directors and wonderful SADVC staff.

Are advocates born or are they created by the lessons of their life experiences?  Whichever is true; it is evident that employees of California rape crisis centers will eagerly and aggressively work on behalf of survivors of assault without giving it a second thought.   However, when it comes to advocating for oneself at work with regards to discriminatory behavior expressed by coworkers, supervisors, volunteers, or board members in relation to race, sexual orientation, religion, etc; the same tenacity and perseverance with which they used to help victims is not displayed to assist themselves.

Does your agency have mechanisms in place to address incidents of discriminatory behavior toward staff by others affiliated with the organization?  Is your staff aware of these policies and or procedures; and has your management staff been trained to respond appropriately and in a timely manner?

Last year CALCASA provided resources to address the issues of oppression within the work environment through the  ”Anti Oppression Institute – At the Crossroads of Race and Queer“  designed and facilitated by the CALCASA Dismantling Oppression Work Group (DOWG).

CALCASA also provides venues for issues to be addressed through dialogue and problem solving with the Queer Women Caucus,  Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities Caucus, Women of Color North Caucus and Women of Color South Caucus.

Having mechanisms in place to address the issues of discrimination is a good risk management practice for any agency.  Also some of your state and federal grants may have  Certification of Assurance of Compliance  regarding discrimination that your agency must agree to  in order to accept their money.

Not addressing discrimination in your agency can affect work morale and the quality of service being provided to clients and the community; not to mention your ethical and legal obligations.

To receive more information about the various caucuses that CALCASA has or to contribute to the discussion of dismantling oppression at your agency please comment in the box below.

In September 2009 I provided information regarding the IRS new regulations for Form 990 and its possible effects on rape crisis centers in the blog post  The I the R and the S.   In the coming months many nonprofits will be preparing to file their 990′s; I thought it would be appropriate to provide a webinar on this relevant, timely and crucial topic. 

On Thursday, March 11, 2010 , 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm (pacific standard time) CALCASA will provide a webinar titled “Are you ready for the New 990?”   The description of the informative training is as follows:

Year after year organizations gather their financial information and file their Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service.  Recently, that form changed – and the impact felt beyond the walls of the accounting office.

• Do you have a written whistle blower policy?
• Does the organization have a written document retention and destruction policy?
• Are officers, directors or trustees and key employees required to disclose annually interests that could give rise to conflicts?

These are just some of the questions on the new Form 990 that significantly upgrades the level of governance reporting as well as how financial and mission information is presented to the general public.  This webinar will provide an update on changes and outline steps that organizations should take to prepare for filing the 990.

The webinar will be facilitated by Steven D. Zimmerman, Principal of Spectrum Nonprofit Services.  

Steven Zimmerman, Principal of Spectrum Nonprofit Services

 Steven  performs training and consulting in the areas of finance and strategy for community based organizations throughout the Midwest.  Steven has also written for the Nonprofit Quarterly, spoken nationally on these subjects and is currently co- authoring a book on nonprofit strategies for sustainability due in 2010.

This would be an appropriate training for Executive Directors, Board Members, Financial personnel or management that have fiscal responsibility and obligation to the agency.  To register, please click on “Are you ready for the New 990?”

For information on this training please contact Kavin Black, Organizational Services Coordinator at (916) 446-2520 ext 305 or kavin@calcasa.org .

Does this scenario sound familiar? “A staff attends a wonderful training and when they leave the agency the knowledge from the training goes along with them.”  Or this scenario, “you attended a great training and when you return to work you place the resources from the training on a bookshelf or in a file cabinet where the materials are not readily available to your coworkers.”

To avoid similar situations you may want to establish a peer to peer training process or policy for staff and coworkers who attend or participate in trainings.  Some of the things you could institute are

• Have staff who attend a training share the information and or facilitate exercises from the training to coworkers at an assigned time. (I.E. staff meetings)
• Make materials from the training available to other coworkers; have information in an identified location.
• From the peer training, assess if this training is worth investing additional resources and staff time in at a future date.

Peer to peer training can increase teamwork, improve staff communication, and increase staff self esteem.  Peer to peer training is not intended to be a replacement for the original training; but a mechanism by which the knowledge gained can be shared and beneficial to others.

Please use the comment box below to indicate what your agency does to facilitate the sharing of knowledge among staff.

Rape crisis centers in California, similar to other nonprofits across the country depend on and utilize volunteers to further their agency’s mission.  At a local rape crisis center volunteers may typically serve as crisis line staff , advocates, board members, prevention educators, fund raisers, clerical staff and in numerous other areas.  It is clear that volunteers are crucial to the nonprofit agency and a requirement of some governmental grants.  One of the vital pieces of sustaining any nonprofit or for profit entity is the responsible management of valuable resources; volunteers are a valuable resource.

There is an article titled “The New Volunteer Workforce” that was published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.  The article talks about how ineffective management of volunteers can cause volunteers to leave within one year of service with an agency, how costly it can be for an agency when a volunteer leaves and what strategies a agency can do to effectively retain volunteers.

An insert from the article

“To capitalize on the opportunity presented by volunteer talent, nonprofit leaders need to expand their vision of volunteering, integrate volunteers into their strategic planning, and reinvent the way their organizations support and manage volunteer talent.”

There are some excellent insights in this article that can be applied to the management of volunteers within a rape crisis agency.  Also some of the concepts mentioned in this article will be discussed at the upcoming CALCASA Volunteer Management Training Institute on February 1-2, 2010 in Pacifica, CA.  

The article ” The New Volunteer Workforce”   indicates that

” Nationally, one -third of paid nonprofit staff who manage volunteers have never had any formal training in volunteer administration, such as course work, workshops, or attendance at conferences that focus on volunteer management.”

Please use the comment box below to provide insight on your issues regarding the management of volunteers .

Program Director: ” Did you see the job posting for Volunteer Manager?”

Executive Director: “Yes, but I thought we just hired for this position six months ago.”

Program Director: ” We did , but it did not work out with her”

Executive Director: ” Why? What happen?”

Program Director: “She had a hard time filling the shifts and got tired of being the midnight to 8:00am staff back up.”

Executive Director: ” I hope we get someone that lasts this time.”

California Rape Crisis Centers (RCC) have very dedicated and compassionate staff with a “heart for service” to address violence against women and children issues.  Sometimes the expectations and pressures  of the job can force that same compassionate and dedicate person to reevaluate their continued employment with the agency.  Which job at a RCC do you think has the greatest turnover rate?

I believe it to be the Volunteer Manager position.  My rational is as follows:

• 45% of the Volunteer Managers who attended the July 2009 CALCASA Volunteer Management Training had been in their position less than 2 years; of that figure 25% had been with the agency less than a year.
• Often times Volunteer Managers have to work overtime on week days and weekends
• Often times they serve as backup staff for volunteers on week nights and weekends
• Often time they are on call 24 hours a day
• They are responsible for coordinating and attending the volunteer certified trainings; these trainings vary from 40 hours to 80 hours.  In  addition they must maintain their daily duties.
• They constantly must recruit and retain volunteers for the agency.

When an employee leaves an organization, unless you have someone ready to hire and is familiar with the work; there can sometime be a drop in productivity, stoppage of work and a cost incurred that is associated with having to fill the position.    The SASHA Corporation states that for an employee who is paid$8.00 per hour, it would cost the company $3500.00 to fill that position.  In addition to cost you may also loose volunteers when the manager leaves.  Many times the volunteer is dedicated to the manager and not the agency; so when the manager leaves so does the volunteer.There are many reason why a Volunteer Manager may choose to leave their position; unless you know for certain it may benefit you ask why in the exit interview.

CALCASA is an excellent resource for Volunteer Managers and anything related to the operations of your volunteer program.  There is an upcoming Volunteer Management Training Institute on February 1-2, 2010 in Pacifica, CA at the Best Western Lighthouse.  This training will provide skill sets that focus on the recruitment, management and retention of volunteers.  I cannot guarantee you that a Volunteer Manager will never transition from your agency but addressing some of the contributing factors will increase the viability of your volunteer program.

To contribute to this conversation please comment in the box below.

CALCASA is proud to announce open registration for its second Volunteer Management Training Institute that will be held on February 1-2, 2010 in Pacifica, California.  This training is targeting individuals who manage the volunteer programs of their local California Rape Crisis Centers.

There is space available for forty (40) participants of California Member Rape Crisis Centers.  Individuals and or rape crisis centers that did not attend the original training in July 2009 in Burbank, California will have priority for the training in Pacifica, California.

This training will provide Volunteer Managers with the tools to assess the specific needs in their community regarding volunteerism and allow them to improve on their efforts in the recruitment, management, and retention of volunteers.

A limited number of stipends are available to cover approved travel reimbursement costs.  In order to be eligible to receive the stipend, you must complete the Stipend Section of  the online registration form.  The registration and stipend application are available online and need to be completed by the January 6, 2010 deadline.

Volunteer Management Registration Form 

For questions and or comments, please use the comment box below or contact Kavin Black at (916)446-2520 x305 or kavin@calcasa.org .

As a director or manager, do you always have the best ideas and are always correct  when it comes to projects and or decisions related to your organization?  Depending on how you answer that question, it may provide some insight to your success and or challenges in supervising staff.  A study by Leadership Development Institute at Eckerd College indicated that 44% of the managers who responded to the survey spend 20% of their time handling work related conflict; that is 8 hours of a 40 hour work week.

Conflicts within the work place does not have to be viewed as a negative thing that results in time wasted, hurt feelings, destructive behavior and a change of or loss of employment for staff.  An organization that has ways to address conflict in a positive way is usually emotionally healthier, have more productive staff and have a greater diversity of ideas than agencies that avoid conflict at all cost.

Here are just a few ways to foster an environment where work conflict can be beneficial and productive:

• Let staff know that it is okay to have differences of opinions and healthy debates over those differences.
• Emphasize the common goals of the project and expectations of all parties involved.
• Increase communication skills;verbal and listening.  Use “I” statements and truly try to empathize with the other person.
• Provide staff with training on healthy conflict resolution and problem solving skills; please include management in training.
• Institute behavioral consequences for those who are truly uncooperative employees.
• Have a zero tolerance for threatening or violent behavior.

Conflict will arise at your organization.  How you handle the conflicts will make the difference on positive progress or an environment of negativity and unhappy and unproductive employees.

To provide insight to this discussion, please use the comment box below.  Here is a list of a few resources regarding conflict resolutions:

Understanding Conflict in the Workplace

Ten Tips to Encourage Meaningful Conflict

Resolving Workplace Conflict

Types of Conflict in the Workplace

Capitalize on Healthy Conflict

Lita Mercado, CALCASA Council Chair & CSP - Supervisor of Admin. Services

Lita Mercado writes:  

On December 1, 2009, the CALCASA Board and Council approved a CALCASA “Statement of Philosophy and Values”.   This labor of love began over two years ago in an effort to articulate what members of CALCASA believe in and stand for. 

Members of CALCASA’s North Region were responsible for the original draft which was extended and modified prior to being sent out to the entire field via Cacus Chairs and Region Representatives.  Collecting the philosophy and values that members of the anti-rape movement hold dear and turning them into one concise document was quite a task.  Fearing that something would be unintentionally excluded and pondering whether or not key terms should be defined where challenges discussed by the Board and Council Committee assigned to this very important task.  With care and thoroughness the document emerged from the many voices who spoke to it.  With the expansion of membership, what great timing for this work to be available to help potential members understand what an amazing organization they may be joining.  It has been my great pleasure to be a part of the process. 

To access the document, please click below.  

Statement of Philosophy and Values

Some people have a fear of public speaking, others fear snakes , some are apprehensive about traveling in an airplane; but for the board member the greatest fear of them all may be fundraising.  Not so much a fear of asking someone or a foundation for a gift but not knowing how to effectively fund raise.  How is fundraising accomplished by your board?  Is it assigned to a subcommittee of the board or does the entire board take an active role in fundraising?  Does your board have a fund development plan or strategy or do you just fund raise when the Executive Director informs you that a program has to end  or the agency cannot make payroll next month?

Looking at what policies and procedures are in place at your agency regarding fundraising can help you identify why your agency is or is not successful at fundraising.   Fundraising should not be done in isolation or independent of the rest of the agency.  Identifying what resources are needed now and in the future can go a long way in helping you determine a fund development plan.  Providing board members with the tools to be more effective fundraisers as well as talking about fundraising and its relation to the agency and survivors in the community can help change the climate of the board of directors regarding fund development.  Fundraising is not all that a board does, but it require some attention if the board is to be successful in furthering the mission of the agency.

To contribute to this discussion please provide your comments below.

Positioning Your Board For Effective Fundraising

Fundraising Success

Prepare Your Board For Fundraising

Fundraising Mistakes We Make With Our Boards

Energize Your Board For Fundraising Success

Build A Fundraising Board Today

Whether you are an Advocate, Prevention Educator, Volunteer Manager or Director; in today’s work place and economy it is a good idea to focus on updating your skill set.  Updating your skill set at minimal can allow you to become a greater asset to your rape crisis center and the community in which you work.  It will also afford you the opportunity to provide more comprehensive services to survivors of sexual assault. 

A skill set is defined as having the skills needed to accomplish a specific task or perform a given function.  When contemplating updating your skill set identify what skills are needed for your current job or for the the position that you desire to have; a good starting point is to review the job descriptions.

A 2009 survey conducted by Kelly Services, a workforce management company, surveyed 14,000 people.  82% of men and and 79% of women who responded believe that their current skills will need to be updated in the next few years to keep them abreast of advancement in the work place.

Another way to identify skill sets for your position is to read journals, blogs  or  current research in your job related field; this will keep you aware of current trends, changes in technology or policy and procedures.

Updating your skill set will allow you to provide a greater quality of service to survivors and also be a very valuable asset that is transferable to future job positions that you may acquire.

To contribute to this conversation please comment  in the box below.

Additional Resources for updating your Skill Sets

California Coalition Against Sexual Assault  (CALCASA)

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services

Local Public Library

Local Community College or University

Center For Nonprofit Management

California Nonprofit Resource Centers List

CALCASA strives to provide quality and targeted trainings, educational resources and technical assistance.  In order to improve upon the services provided; we have created an online CALCASA Member Survey for personnel of California Rape Crisis Centers to complete.  California Rape Crisis Centers who complete this survey will have their agency’s name placed in a drawing to win a FREE Registration and Travel Stipend for one person from that agency to attend the “Trauma Stewardship Training” with author Laura van Dernoot Lipsky in San Francisco on Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

To access the survey go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B3ZKJH3 or click CALCASA Member Survey

Please complete the survey by Friday, December 18, 2009.  The drawing will take place Thursday, January  7, 2010 and the winning agency will be notified.  If you have questions regarding this survey, please contact Kavin Black at kavin@calcasa.org/ (916) 446-2520 x305 or Cindy Marroquin at cindy@calcasa.org /(916) 446-2520 x313.

In September 2009 the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that California had an unemployment rate of 12.9%.  In the current economy should the employee of a rape crisis center be complaining about having too much work to do, having to work on weekends and late evening hours and not having enough support from management?  In the current economy should an Executive Director or Manager of a rape crisis center be concerned that their employee has too much work to do , works late evening hours and on weekends and has an increased level of stress?  

Work is important to one’s livelihood and not the sole part of why they exist and who they are.  Finding a work life balance can be difficult to achieve but once it is accomplished; there are numerous benefits for person and business.

The term work life balance  is somewhat misleading; this term does not refer to an equal number of hours worked in comparison to an equal number of hours of leisure and relaxation or personal time.  The Work Life Foundation states that work life balance

“is about people having a measure of control over when, where, and how they work.  It is achieved when an individuals right to fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society”

Below is a short list of ideas that management can contemplate doing to promote an employee’s work life balance:

• telecommuting
• paid time off
• health and wellness programs
• part-time options for some positions
• train management on work life balance issues

Beyond.com surveyed 5,000 workers through an online poll: 57% put a healthy work life balance as their most important workplace goal for 2008.  In another online poll, the Center for State and Local Government Excellence surveyed 1,200 workers; 70% said what they wanted most of all from a job was a flexible and family friendly workplace.

Understanding the importance of work life balance, why rape crisis center personnel should have it and why management and the board of directors should promote it is crucial to the center’s overall ability to help survivors of sexual violence and serve the community. 

If you wish to contribute to this conversation please use the comment box below.

Additional information regarding Work Life Balance

Work life balance : Ways to restore harmony and reduce stress

5 Tips for Better Work Life Balance

Ohio The State of Perfect Balance

Employers and Work Life Balance

Work life balance key to being the best

Sexual assaults, crisis calls, and community presentations are not bound by the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday schedule.  Often times, an employee’s job function and responsibilities require them to respond to the hospital at 3:00 a.m., participate in a community event all day on Saturday, be the primary responder to cover vacant volunteer shifts all weekend, or stay at the office until 11:00 p.m. preparing a grant proposal.  It is not unreasonable to expect an employee to perform these duties and provide the service at the time it is  needed; the stressor is when that same employee is expected to be at work the next day bright eyed and energetic at 8:00 a.m. because that is when the office opens.  Does every employee’s work hours at your agency have to mirror the office hours or should some employee’s hours be determined by the activities, events, and job functions that they perform?

Looking at the last 6 to 12 months of services provided, by whom and when they were provided;  in addition to looking at current staffing patterns and talking with staff can help you determine if having multiple work schedules is applicable to your department or agency.

For example:

If after looking at documents you noticed that 30% of your hospital calls for advocates came in between 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and you have difficulty with volunteer coverage during that time; then maybe you should adjust a staff person’s schedule to meet that need.

In the early 90′s when I worked at a rape crisis center in Fresno, CA it was realized that many therapy clients could not miss school or work for an appointment during the week.  The counseling department met and decided to offer therapy sessions two Saturdays a month from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  to meet that need.

Having alternative hours and work days for some positions within the agency can improve work efficiency to provide better services to the clients, the community and collaboratives partners; decrease staff burnout and increase staff morale.  Looking back 6 months can help you move forward to provide better services tomorrow.

Please included comments regarding this topic in the box below.

Going into partnership with another nonprofit organization is not a new concept.  If you have applied for a government or foundation grant; you were asked the question about how or with who you would collaborate.  With shrinking resources and higher expectations of better results for dollars spent; many foundations and government agencies are putting greater emphasis on agency collaborations.  Many nonprofits establish collaborations; far fewer do it well.

The act of collaboration involves the exchange of information and ideals, altering activities, sharing resources and enhancing the capacity of another organization for mutual benefit and achieving a common goal and purpose.  The more complex and integrated the collaboration; the more time is needed in the planning stages and in maintaining the partnership for a greater chance at success.

Some organizations will establish collaborations in order to be eligible for specific grants.  Whatever your motivation; it might be well worth the effort to be strategic when establishing these alliances in order to determine what organization would be the best fit for your agency and stakeholders and vice versa.  When looking at your collaboration strategically; there are twelve points  identified in “Accessing Your Collaboration: A Self Evaluation Tool” that will help you in making a more informed decision.  Finding the right partnership can make a good agency better.  Please use the comment box below to contribute to this topic.

Additional Resources

Nonprofit Collaboration & Mergers: Finding the Right Fit

Collaboration Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations

Principles and Practices of Collaboration

Oakland, CA – In downtown Oakland, representatives from rape crisis centers in the Bay Region gathered at the Bay Area’s Women Against Rape (BAWAR)’s office housed at the Family Justice Center to discuss pressing issues.  Christine Dillman, from the Tri-Valley Haven facilitated today’s meeting.  Representatives from San Francisco Women Against Rape, Tri-Valley Haven, Highland Hospital, and BAWAR were in attendance.  Representatives updated each other about their respective agency’s work and discussed what they would like to see at the upcoming Regional Training.

The meeting took place a few days after a 15 year old girl was gang raped at Richmond High School and bystanders did not report the incident to authorities.  Representatives discussed the urgency to engage in a community response and be as supportive as possible to our colleagues working at Community Violence Solutions.

For more information about the meeting, contact Christine Dillman christine@trivalleyhaven.org or Livia Rojas at livia@calcasa.org.

Every organization will experience some amount of turnover with staff.  In 2008 Compdata Surveys indicated that non-profits had a 16.8% staff turnover rate.  Depending on the position, the staff’s experience and their connection to the community; the void they leave  can be difficult to fill.  This is especially evident when the personnel that departs is the Executive Director.  Regardless of if the Executive Director relinquishes their position on good terms or in a chaotic event; without a succession plan the board of directors, management and staff can be left with increased levels of stress and mounting questions of agency viability, all while trying to accomplish their basic daily duties.  This will be the first of a monthly series dedicated to topics related to board members titled Dear Board Member

One of the key characteristics that successful businesses have in common is their ability to plan for various situations.  They have a plan for a worst case scenario as well as a growth plan when things are going great.  Planning gives you the luxury of time to work on a protocol for an event before it actually occurs.  When an Executive Director leaves and you are forced to look at a critical situation very quickly; sometimes the solution you come up with is not the best solution.

As a board member you can use this as an opportunity to start a conversation with other board members regarding what you will need to do in order to have a succession plan in place at your organization.  You are probably aware of agencies who have had a successful succession plan and those who had no plan at all.  Organizations without a transition plan after an Executive Director has vacated their position are in danger of losing staff and volunteers and trust from constituents and the community.  Not having a succession plan can be very costly to your organization.

Whether transition in leadership is already a challenge for your organization or you are being proactive and have time to develop a plan, CALCASA can provide you with resources to be of assistance.  If you have experience or insight that can be beneficial to your peers regarding transition in leadership, please included the information in the comment box below.

Additional Resources

Leadership In Transition

Board Member Guide to Transition

Building Leaderful Organizations

Emergency Succession Planning

Succession Planning & Sustainability

Time is a very valuable commodity.  When someone chooses to give you their time you have an obligation to maximize it and not waste it.  This has never been more evident than in relation to the monthly board meeting.  Many Executive Directors, Directors, and Board Members strive to have more effective board meetings.  This pursuit of happiness can be a daunting task that causes headaches and upset stomachs.  There are several factors that can increase the probability of your board having more effective meetings.

Purpose – Do your board members know their purpose within the organization?  By understanding and remembering their purpose, the board can assemble with the appropriate attitude to conduct agency business.

Quorum -A board meeting can only be effective if the majority of the members are present.  Agency business cannot be officially conducted by your board until a quorum is achieved.  The specific number for your quorum is identified in your agency’s bylaws.

Appropriate Behavior – Board members should be encouraged by their peers to put their personal feelings and agendas aside, remember the importance of the agency’s mission, and treat everyone with respect.

Come Prepared – Board members should take the necessary time to review all documents distributed to them (I.E. Board Packet) in order to be an informed participant in agenda items.

Leadership – The board president and or chair needs to remain on target and move the agenda forward without denying discussion by members but denying people the opportunity  to digress.

Last but not least,  agency management is extremely vital to ensuring that a board meeting be effective.  Management should work with the board president or chair in putting together the agenda for the meeting.   Management should have at bare minimum the following items for a board packet:

• Minutes from prior meetings.
• Written management reports.
• Current and accurate financial reports.

This board packet should be sent out to board members well in advance of the board meeting.  If any board members have questions or need clarification; you have time to respond and bring the answers to the meeting.  This will in turn decrease the number of items that  need to be tabled for a future board meeting.

Please comment on this blog if you have additional ways in which your peers can make their board meetings more effective.

Additional Resources

Effective Board Meetings

Keys to Effective Board Meetings

Why People Dislike Meetings

If a natural disaster or emergency occurred which temporarily disrupted or closed your organization, does your agency have a disaster protocol?  Does your staff know what the disaster protocol is?  Are there key things you should be doing regardless of the type of emergency.  Natural disasters and emergencies are unplanned but it does not mean you have to be unprepared.

California is all too familiar with natural disasters such as wild fires, flooding, winter storms, and earthquakes.  The Small Business Administration states ” 25% of businesses do not recover after a devastating natural disaster.”  Planning for disasters and emergencies in advance, keeping plans updated and getting everyone familiar with the information can help ensure the survival and recovery of the nonprofit agency to be there for survivors and the community.  Below are several resources with items such as emergency plan templates, guides and protocols for specific disasters.

CalEMA Preparedness Branch

CalEMA Plans & Publications

FEMA Emergency Management Guide for Businesses

CDC- Emergency Preparedness and Response

Christina Vasquez - CALCASA's WOC North Caucus Representative

CALCASA is excited to announce, and introduce, the new addition to CALCASA’s Leadership. Yesterday, Christina Vasquez from SafeQuest Solano, was elected onto CALCASA’s Council as the new Women of Color (WOC) North Caucus Representative.

Christina is the Volunteer Outreach and Training Coordinator at SafeQuest Solano, a Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Center in Fairfield, CA.  She has been with SafeQuest since 1995 and has held various roles at the agency. She has instructed Self Defense classes and has provided direct advocacy to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, both as a volunteer and as a paid staff member.  In reference to applying for the WOC North Caucus Representative position, Christina shares:

I am committed and dedicated to the work of CALCASA, the work that you do to provide [member] agencies the tools and resources to continue the work to end sexual violence, advocating justice, providing leadership and technical support.

CALCASA is excited to welcome Christina to CALCASA’s Council and Leadership.  We look forward to working with her and know that she is a valuable asset to the movement. Please join us in Welcoming Christina to CALCASA as the newly elected WOC North Caucus Representative!

If you are a WOC advocate at a CALCASA Member Rape Crisis Center (North Region) and are interested in learning more about the WOC North Caucus, please feel free to email Christina Vasquez.

Benefits that are offered to employees by California nonprofits are diverse, sometimes complex and constantly changing.  In this current economy of drastically decreasing agency budgets and increasing unemployment, do you feel that employees should be provided benefits or is having a job and receiving a paycheck benefit enough?

For this article, when referring to employee benefits I am excluding mandatory benefits such as Workers Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, and Family Medical Leave; as these are governed by state and federal statue.

Employers have used and continue to use employee benefits as a way to attract and retain highly qualified staff.  The employee benefits that employers offer have only been limited by agency budget constraints and or management’s imagination.  Some of the benefits that are offered by California nonprofits are medical, dental, and vision insurance, chiropractic services, acupuncture, retirement plans, long term care insurance, adoption assistance, child care benefits, transportation benefits, paid vacation, sick leave, paid holidays, bereavement leave, employee assistance program, relocation assistance, etc.

Every year Executive Directors, Directors and Managers spend hours and sometimes weeks discussing and reviewing documents to accurately forecast their next year’s financial situation to determine a workable personnel, program, and overall agency budget.  With nonprofit’s budgets decreasing and layoffs and anxiety increasing; management is taking a concise look at if the agency can afford to continue to offer full, partial or any benefits at all.

There are many difficult decisions facing agency management.  If your primary premise behind decreasing or cutting all employee benefits is solely financial then you may not have all the facts.  There are some things that cannot be measured in terms of money:

• Increased employee morale
• Increase pride in the agency
• Increase productivity and dedication of the employee
• Mutual appreciation of employee and employer

Providing employee benefits or not providing employee benefits is a crucial question for you to consider. 

Contact Kavin Black  at CALCASA for more information related to this topic.

Additional Resource:

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Taxability of Employee Benefits

Society For Human Resource Management

California Department of Personnel Administration

“They are often invisible in the crime statistics and they frequently find community organizations such as domestic violence and sexual assault programs inadequately prepared to fully understand and meet their needs.” ( Impact – Volume 13 Number 3 Fall)
You may be asking yourself, who is “they”.  The “they” in the above passage are women with disabilities.

How accessible are the services at your rape crisis center for persons with disabilities?

“Rates of women with disabilities experiencing  violence ranges from 31%-83%; double or quadruple the rate among women without disabilities” (Sobsey D., Women are abuse in the lives of people with disabilities: The end of silence acceptance – Paul H Brooks Publishing Co)

From 2007-2008 I had the opportunity to participate on the Prevention of Violence Against Women with Disabilities task force sponsored through Transforming Communities.  The most prominent issue highlighted by the task force was the heightened frustrations and concern regarding how difficult it is to connect their clients with disabilities to other service providers that did not have persons with disabilities as their primary focus.

It is imperative that rape crisis centers put forth a conscious and direct effort to make their services available and accessible to persons with disabilities.  Here are few suggestions to help you get started:

• Establish and or have an active collaborations with your local persons with disabilities organizations.
• Provide appropriate and ongoing training to your staff regarding issues related to persons with disabilities.
• Create an action plan regarding adapting your services for persons with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Several years ago I attended a meeting for parents of children with disabilities where a mom addressed the school board and said “I feel my daughter is unseen and excluded from being a part of this school.  What are you going to do to change that?”

I propose a similar question to you.  What are you going to do to ensure that clients with disabilities at your agency are visible and included in your overall agency plan?

CALCASA has several documents addressing how you can make your services more accessible for persons with disabilities.

Additional resources

Stop Violence Against Women with Disabilities

Disability Gov

American With Disabilities Act

US Department of Labor

Memphis, TN – September 22-23, 2009 marked two days of challenging and rewarding dialogue amongst women of color in the field to end violence against women in the U.S. Tracey Wright of the National Sexual Assault Coalition Resource Sharing Project, Monika Johnson Hostler of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and Luz Marquez from National Organization of Sisters of Colors Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA) facilitated challenging discussions on the shared experiences of women of color working to end sexual assault.  The Roundtable served as a wonderful opportunity for advocates to network with representatives from across the United States and the territories, including Guam.

Before the start of the conference, participants were encouraged to tour the National Civil Rights Museum a few minutes away from where the Roundtable discussion would ensue.  The National Civil Rights Museum was built around the Lorraine Motel where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968.  The museum narrates the struggle of African Americans in the  United States fighting for civil rights and the intersection of oppression that connects people across identity markers such as race, gender, class, sexuality, age, persecution based on political or religious beliefs, language, and nationality.  Visiting the museum was a powerful beginning for the two-day Roundtable that brought advocates together.

The Internal Revenue Service states that by May 2010 an estimated half a million nonprofit organizations in America could be in danger of losing their exempt status because they did not file a Form 990 in 2008.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 requires exempt organizations that do not meet the income thresholds for Form 990-EZ to file a new return with the IRS.  The IRS created Form 990-N for this purpose, and smaller nonprofits began using this to report tax years ending on or after December 31, 2007.

The Pension Protection Act also mandates that the IRS revoke the tax-exempt status of any organization that fails to file a Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, or 990-N for three consecutive years.   Revocations will happen automatically beginning in May 2010.  A nonprofit that loses its exemption because of failure to file will have to reapply to the IRS for exemption.

The IRS is making an effort to inform small nonprofits about the Form 990-N by mailing every organization that their records indicate is required to file the new return.  In addition the IRS provides online training for tax-exempt organizations.   The site includes workshops and mini courses on topics of interest to tax exempt organizations.

There is one easy way to avoid the headache and drama of losing your non-profit exemption; file the appropriate Form 990 in a timely manner.  An Executive Director once told me: ” There are three people that I make sure are always taken care of, the I the R and the S.

What is the financial condition of your agency? Is it more frightening to ponder the idea or not knowing what your current predicament is?  Many people talk about having diverse funding, creating a fund development plan, and doing financial forecasting.  All of these are excellent ideas that should be considered by your agency.

Before that bridge is crossed, you need to ask yourself, ” As of today, what is the financial condition of my agency?”

• How is my agency ‘s current cash flow?
• Do I have enough cash to cover this month’s payroll and operating expenses?
• What are my on-going monthly operating expenses?
• Are my billings to funders for reimbursements current?  What has been reimbursed and what is still outstanding?
• What checks have cleared versus what checks are still outstanding.
• What is my agency’s budget?  What are my revenues versus my expenses?

This is not an exhaustive list of questions but having these answers will give you baseline data to make informed decisions on financial matters.

An agency bank statement cannot be used by itself to get the information to the above mentioned questions.  Below are some action steps  that can help you know the financial condition of your agency. 

• Generate a document that shows monthly expenses, year to date expenditures and identifies  how grant are allocated.  This can be useful in helping you determine spending deficiencies and over spending in categories.
• Routinely reconcile your General Ledger with your bank statements and accounts payable.
• Generate Cash Flow projections documents to identify when you may need more cash for the agency and where you many need  to control or decrease spending.
• Set aside a specific time every month to dedicate to billing funders for reimbursements.

This article is in no way an exhaustive list of suggestions or scenarios for the financial condition of your agency.  Knowing the financial condition of one’s agency should be on the radar for all Executive Directors, accountants, bookkeepers and Board Members of nonprofit organizations.    

When getting physically fit, one needs to establish a fitness routine to help you achieve your desired goals;  why should it be any different when getting your agency financially fit to navigate the constantly changing economic climate.  If you have not established  a “Financial Fitness Routine” for your agency; why not make an concerted effort to start one today. 

For additional resources, please contact Kavin Black, Organizational Service Coordinator at (916)446-2520 ext 305,  kavin@calcasa.org.

These days  when you read a newspaper or magazine article on business; it refers to how crucial it is to have good leadership and management of a organization or business during this time of economic uncertainty.

While this is true, it is an excellent protocol to have a solid and accurate understanding of the principles and practices of good management and leadership for all seasons.  When your organization has sound practices and principles regarding management and leadership, it will improve your chances to sustain and or prosper through what ever economic climate comes over the horizon.

Preparation, planning and implementation of good management and leadership principles can be beneficial to the organization’s Board of Directors, staff and volunteers; in addition to ultimately allowing the agency to better address the needs of their clients.

I have attached two documents regarding management and leadership concepts that were distributed during the Management Track at the CALCASA Statewide Leadership Conference “Ending Sexual Violence 2.0 – The Future is Connected”.  If you need additional resources or technical assistance on this topic, please contact Kavin Black, Organizational Services Coordinator at CALCASA.

Management Handbook

Leadership vs Management

Day Long  Institutes, The TechSoup Kitchen, Public Policy 101, Position Specific Networking Forums, Region and Caucus Meetings, the Social Event and the Annual Meeting.  Just thinking about all that took place during the CALCASA Statewide Leadership Conference  ” Ending Sexual Violence 2.0 -The Future is Connected” has me exhausted!

If you attended the conference, we would like your input on the content of the training and on the various events that you participated in.  We will use  your responses  as a template for improvements on future CALCASA trainings, conferences and institutes.   Click here to access the evaluation.

The Social Event - Great conversation and music.

We listened and responded to the voices of CALCASA members by bringing back the Positions Specific Networking Forum to this year’s CALCASA Statewide Leadership Conference: “Ending Sexual Violence 2.0 – The Future is Connected”.   

The Position Specific Networking Forum is an excellent opportunity for attendees at the conference to network, problem solve and be reenergized by peers that have similar positions or responsibilities at their perspective agencies.

This year I had an opportunity to be a part of the Managers and Diretors Position Specific Networking Forum.  One of the main topics discussed was STAFF STRESS  and ways to REDUCE that stress.   Managers and Directors sounded off on how the current climate of financial uncertainty, staff downsizing, greater expectations to do the same amount of work with less resources and specific community problems have increased the level of stress among their staff.  The question was asked  by a manager, “what do you do at your agency to reduce the level of stress among staff.”    The list below are some of the responses that were generated by Managers and Directors:

• A Staff Retreat – half  of the day is staff training, other half of day is food and fun activities.
• Group Activity: Staff is divided into several teams for fun competition (i.e.  brain games, softball)
• Office Yoga , Tai Chi, Meditation.
• Once a month staff breakfast or lunch.
• Staff milestone celebration with cakes, anniversary and birthday cards.
• Communication sessions regarding staff member stress
• Groove Thang Breaks: periodically music is played and the entire staff dances.
• Acknowledgement Meetings:  Stress is identified along with identifying what are reasonable expectations of staff by management and vice versa.
• Debriefing Sessions – After a stressful event staff  decompresses in a meeting to analyze the situation.
• Time Off  / Lunch Breaks -  Encourage and require that staff take their vacations , lunches and breaks in a timely manner.
• Simple Acknowledgement – Public praise and thank you for a task well done from management to staff.
• Management Respect -  Have management create an environment of mutual respect for the value of the staff. 

Have you ever had the opportunity to meet CALCASA’s Leadership? Do you know who CALCASA’s Board President is? How about CALCASA’s Executive Director? Region and Caucus Representatives? Well, here is a great opportunity to meet CALCASA’s Leadership as well as have your voice heard as we vote on the slate for the 2009-2010 Board of Directors and a new membership structure for CALCASA’s members.

We will also be celebrating advocates around the state who have been recognized by their peers as outstanding advocates in the field as well as agencies who have celebrated their 20th, 25th, 30th and 35th anniversaries! CALCASA’s Annual Meeting will take place on: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 from 10:00am to 1:00pm at the Hyatt Regency Hotel , 1209 L Street, Sacramento, California.  Don’t miss out!!!

Every year, CALCASA solicits nominees from CALCASA member agencies for the following awards: Outstanding Board Member, Outstanding Intervention Staff / Volunteer, Outstanding Prevention Staff / Volunteer and Outstanding Executive Director or Sexual Assault Program Director. The CALCASA Member Recognition Awards Committee has worked tirelessly over the past six months on guidelines, criteria and finally the selection of recipients of for these four prestigious awards. Please join me in congratulating the following individuals:

• Robert Buelow, Prevention Educator , UC Irvine Campus Sexual Assault Resource Education (CARE) – Outstanding Prevention Educator

• Debbie Ruiz, Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Advocate, Community Solutions – Outstanding Intervention Staff

• Sherrill Nickerson, Board Treasurer, Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center, – Outstanding Board Member

• Kim Goldberg Roth, Sexual Assault Program Director, Valley Trauma Center, Outstanding Sexual Assault Program Director

Each recipient received an award and free lodging, travel expenses and registration to conference.

I would also like to thank the selection committee that consisted of Nina Alcaraz, Christine Dillman, Yesenia Curiel, Yvette Lozano, and Sonia Rivera along with CALCASA staff.

Yes, there is ALWAYS room for FUN in the movement And CALCASA’s 2009 Annual Leadership Conference is just the place for that, of course, there will also be time for the serious stuff!! Join us for CALCASA’s Annual Social Event and Reception, hosted by CALCASA’s Council Members, on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 from 6:30pm to 9:00pm for some games, music, food, no-host bar and just plain FUN!

Take some time to relax with some yoga and stick around for some door prizes. You can’t miss this great opportunity to be surrounded by your fellow advocates from around the state for some time to network, laugh, and just engage in some fun times!! As they say, “laughter is the food for the soul,” so come and FEED YOUR SOUL!!! See you there!

Join us for even MORE networking!!

During CALCASA’s 2009 Annual Leadership Conference, you will have an opportunity to convene with advocates from your specific regional areas and those who share similar experiences as Women of Color, Queer Women and Persons with Disabilities. CALCASA’s Council will be hosting meetings throughout the Conference for you to attend and network. If you have not had the opportunity to attend a Region or Caucus meeting in the past, this is a great opportunity to meet other advocates as well as you Region and Caucus Representatives. Caucus and Region Meeting times are as follows:

• Women of Color North and South Caucus:  A  caucus  for women in the Northern and Southern regions of CA who ethnically and/or racially identify as women of color and are staff of member agencies of CALCASA. Tuesday, August 18, 2009 5:00pm – 6:30pm

• Queer Women’s Caucus: A  caucus  for lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning women involved in CALCASA Member agencie throughout the State of California. Tuesday, August 18, 2009 1:00pm – 2:00pm

• Advocacy Caucus for Persons with Disabilities: A prevention and advocacy caucus for people with disabilities, disability advocates and allies from Member rape crisis centers in CA. Tuesday, August 18, 2009 8:30am – 9:30am

• All CALCASA Regions – North Region, South Region, Valley Region, Bay Region, Central Coast, Mid-Coast – will be meeting during the same time on: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 11:30am – 1:15pm.   Grab your lunch and come join us for the region meeting!