The JVA Consulting team would like to extend its gratitude to those who contributed to the Edgewater food drive that benefited homeless students at Jefferson High School and families in need in the Edgewater area and was sponsored by For Such a Time as This (FSTT). The food drive was also supported by Edgewater Enterprisea coalition of Edgewater-based business owners who are using their resources to strengthen the local community.
To learn more about how you can continue to make a difference in the lives of homeless students at Jefferson High School and families in need in the Edgewater area, contact Beverly Gadbois of FSTT at 303.525.7685. (more…)
Need the perfect last-minute holiday gift idea? Two JVA Consulting clients are offering calendars that support important causes. The Society for Creative Aging, a Boulder-based group that works to give older adults opportunities to discover their creative potential, is currently selling Act Your Age! calendars for 2010. The calendar includes images of older adults in lively activities that reflect this population in a positive light. The Act Your Age! calendar is an earned income project of the Society for Creative Aging. As nonprofits struggle with the challenges of economic instability, earned income projects such as these calendars are an opportunity to create an additional income stream that also furthers the mission of the organization.
The Jefferson Center for Mental Health’s annual calendar, Through The Art of Hope, also recently went on sale. The calendar features artwork produced by Jefferson Center consumers. (more…)
The Denver Business Journal recently published key findings from a survey released by the Colorado Nonprofit Association and the Community Resource Center (CRC). The survey, which is titled “Weathering the Storm,” asked Colorado nonprofits about how the current economy has affected their organizations.
According to the article, 56 percent of respondents reported an interval over the last 12 months when total expenses exceeded total revenue. Sixty-five percent said a major donor reduced or eliminated support due to the economic downturn. Overall, 64 percent said the economy had a negative impact on obtaining funding from foundations, government agencies and corporations. The article also reported that 32 percent of nonprofits responded to the funding gap by ramping up face-to-face solicitations, 42 percent requested more foundation grants and 27 percent asked board members to contribute more money. (more…)
Check out the recently released video on JVA Consulting’s Executive Director Academy (EDA) to learn what the buzz is all about and to hear what recent graduates had to say about this intensive seven-week, 13-session training.
And, through the end of the year, you can sign up for the next EDA and get a $100 discount. It’s a great last-minute Christmas or Hanukkah gift idea. The next EDA runs from April 13, 2010, to May 27, 2010, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3–6 p.m. (Click here or call Kim Marker at 303.477.4896 to register.) (more…)
Lambda Community Center (Lambda) has the mission to be a resource center for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Two-Spirit, Same-Gender-Loving, Questioning and Ally (GLBTIQQA) community in northern Colorado through support, education, outreach, advocacy and collaboration.
The organization works to create an inclusive environment that promotes understanding, acceptance and appreciation of issues and culture, while building equal opportunities for GLBTIQQA individuals within the northern Colorado community.
Lambda has held this mission for over 16 years. As a consultant who has been fortunate to work with this organization’s leaders over the last three years, I am reflecting on what skyrocketed the organization in 2009. Skyrocketed is not an exaggeration. Lambda grew its budget by 55 percent and increased the number it served from a few hundred a year to over 1,000 in 2009. What are the factors that made this possible? (more…)
The Starbucks Foundation has opened the application period for Starbucks Shared Planet Youth Action Grants. These grant opportunities are available to nonprofit organizations that provide service opportunities to people ages 6–24. Grant awards will range from $10,000 to $25,000 each for one year.
The purpose of these grants is to inspire young social entrepreneurs to create positive solutions to real local needs they see in their neighborhoods. Supporting young social entrepreneurs can lead to real change in local communities and can inspire additional individuals to take part in community service. Click here for information on how to apply.
Locally, there are social enterprise opportunities for organizations in Colorado that serve and engage people in the boomer age group. In Year 3 of the Colorado Compassion Initiative (CCI), faith-based and community organizations that are committed to the boomer population will be able to receive technical assistance (TA) in social enterprise in addition to other TA tracks and grant funding. (more…)
The AARP recently conducted a poll on the Internet usage of Americans in the age groups 50–64 and 65 and older. The findings show that the boomer population is turning to the Internet for information and to stay connected.
Sixty-eight percent of the respondents in the 50–64 range said that they used a computer at home. Fifty-three percent of respondents in this age group said they bought products online, and 68 percent researched topics of interest online. Sixty-four percent used the Internet to send and receive emails and instant messages. (more…)
For Such a Time as This (FSTT), a nonprofit organization in Edgewater, CO, has been battling hunger in its community since 1995 and has monthly food pantry distributions and community dinners that feed the poor throughout the year. FSTT is asking the community to support its current food drive effort by donating food and other items that will benefit homeless students at Jefferson High School and families in need who live in Edgewater and surrounding areas.
You can support this effort through December 17 by contributing toiletries, nonperishable food items and monetary donations. JVA Consulting’s Denver headquarters serves as a dropoff station for the food drive. Items can be dropped off from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. JVA’s office is located at 2465 Sheridan Boulevard.
Another organization battling hunger in our community is the Colorado Coalition to End Hunger (CCH). This recently launched partnership between Colorado Anti-Hunger Network and the Colorado Food Bank Association is committed to ensuring that no Coloradan goes hungry. JVA was fortunate to serve these organizations in facilitating discussions that helped form their partnership, creating a more powerful force to fight hunger.
CCH addresses policy change, collaborative programming, strategic resource development, targeted awareness building and measuring progress. It joins the talent and passion of the five Feeding America affiliates, along with seasoned anti-hunger advocates, to create a recipe for success. (more…)
JPMorgan Chase has announced the launch of a $5 million community giving program on the social networking site Facebook that it hopes will inspire a new approach to corporate philanthropy.
The Chase Community Giving program invites Facebook users to nominate nonprofit organizations with operating budgets of no more than $10 million working in the areas of education, housing, the environment, health and human services, arts and culture, and animal welfare to receive a grant from Chase. The initiative is in addition to Chase’s traditional philanthropic efforts to higher-profile nonprofits. If the effort is successful, the bank will likely commit more of its annual giving through this method of crowdsourcing nominations of smaller local charities. (more…)
JVA Consulting is excited to announce that the application period for Year 3 of the Colorado Compassion Initiative (CCI) has officially begun. CCI is a capacity building program for faith-based and community organizations that provide services to people 55 and older and involve this population as leaders and volunteers. JVA first launched CCI in 2002 when it was selected as one of 21 organizations nationwide as an intermediary of the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Over the past seven years, JVA has provided more than 6,000 hours of technical support and/or funding to more than 500 organizations through CCI. (more…)
Teamwork, paid staff and focus on capacity building = transformation
Tags: Boulder County OASIS, Boulder Pride, Colorado Anti-Violence Program, Colorado Legal Initiatives Project, Colorado Progressive Coalition/Action, Equal Rights Colorado, Gill Foundation, GLBT Resource Center at Colorado State University, GLBT Resource Center at the University of Northern Colorado, GLBTIQQA, Human Relations Commission for the City of Fort Collins, JVA Consulting, Lambda Community Center, LGBT, The Center in Denver, University od Denver Center for Multi-Cultural Excellence
by Ashley Kasprzak, JVA Consulting
Lambda Community Center (Lambda) has the mission to be a resource center for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Two-Spirit, Same-Gender-Loving, Questioning and Ally (GLBTIQQA) community in northern Colorado through support, education, outreach, advocacy and collaboration.
The organization works to create an inclusive environment that promotes understanding, acceptance and appreciation of issues and culture, while building equal opportunities for GLBTIQQA individuals within the northern Colorado community.
Lambda has held this mission for over 16 years. As a consultant who has been fortunate to work with this organization’s leaders over the last three years, I am reflecting on what skyrocketed the organization in 2009. Skyrocketed is not an exaggeration. Lambda grew its budget by 55 percent and increased the number it served from a few hundred a year to over 1,000 in 2009. What are the factors that made this possible? (more…)