Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee was honored today at CABLE’s “Power of Inclusion” luncheon for their diversity programs. The event is in its fifth year, and focuses on including  individuals with disabilities in the workplace. At the luncheon held at the Cool Springs Marriott, Nashville businesses and nonprofits that champion all types of diversity were recognized.

Eileen Kennedy Byrne is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the University of New Orleans Foundations. She is a frequent speaker having served as faculty of numerous professional development programs including the SACUBO College Business Management Institute, the National Association of College and University Business Officers, and the National Emergency Management Association.

Following the flood disaster, she reached out on the CNM blog and offered help to the Middle Tennessee nonprofit community. As a result of Katrina, Eileen has vast experience working with FEMA on disaster relief  and she wanted to share what she has learned with our community. Click here to read “Through the Looking Glass: Working in a Topsy Turvey World,” an article she put together about how to rebound when your service area has been deemed a “national disaster.”

A letter from President and CEO Jan Jones:

 Dear friends,

The last few days have been some of the most trying we’ve seen in the Middle Tennessee community. The floods were sudden and devastating, and we mourn the losses of life and homes. Our hearts were broken due to the devastation, but our hearts are full as we begin the process of recovery and healing.

Alive Hospice has received inquiries about how we as an agency weathered this storm, and we’ve been touched by your concern. We feel very blessed to report that Alive Hospice remained in operation throughout the weekend and that we sustained no damage to our facilities.

 Alive Hospice caregivers gave their all to make sure the needs of our patients and families were met. As the rain continued to fall:

• Alive Hospice began contacting our home care patients — more than 400 in all — to make sure they were safe and had everything they needed. Staff who were unable to leave their homes joined in this effort, checking on each of their patients by phone and coordinating with staff who could respond to immediate needs in person.
• We worked with emergency responders to ensure rescue for patients in danger.
• For patients displaced by the storms, we provided a safe haven at our inpatient facilities: Alive Hospice Residence Nashville, Alive Hospice at Saint Thomas Hospital and Alive Hospice at Skyline Madison Campus.
• Many employees took on extended shifts at Alive Hospice’s inpatient units when others couldn’t make it to work due to the storms.
• Staff who were able to drive continued visiting patients in their homes as normal and volunteered to take on additional patient visits for colleagues who were immobilized.

This is Alive Hospice at its best, and it’s yet another reminder of the dedication our caregivers bring to their work every day.

Continue reading ‘Alive Hospice Tells Story of Action During Flood’

Community Resource Center has a temporary warehouse and is working with the Mayor’s Office. Check out their blog for pics of how the flood impacted their office and storage space:

If you have the time and the means, donate. CRC is the official arm of the Mayor’s Office for pushing out donations to those who need them most. We are working with Hands On Nashville to get them distributed. Bring your donations to A+ Storage, 911 Division Street, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Contact information is on our website.

So here’s a personal story – as if this were not personal enough already – to end for tonight. We got a frantic call from a Hands on Nashville staffer at the Bordeaux center today. He needed EVERYTHING. We had just gotten our wholesale shipment in but didn’t have much else, it being the first day and all. We told him to come on and we’d get him what we could. An hour later, before he arrived, Jae Nash from WVOL 1470 radio station brought in everything he needed. The “stuff” came in. It went right back out. And that’s the point, of course.

Many, many people will be working for weeks and months to come to help our most fragile citizens. Do not forget us. Please, I beg of you, do not forget us.

CNM is unable to get into our office in Metro Center. We want to hear from you-what is the condition of your office? Please use the comments section of the blog to share your stories and ask for anything that you need.  Click on the comments section below this post. We want you to use the blog to give us a status update. If you are able to give your time to to help your neighbors, visit www.hon.org to find out where your help is needed. Be safe!

Update: Please be advised, CNM’s workshop, “Conducting a Capital Campaign” scheduled for Tuesday, May 4th and the workshop “The Four Toughest Talks in the Workplace”  scheduled for Thursday  is cancelled. The Salute Panel Orientation scheduled for Wednesday morning is also cancelled. Please check back here for rescheduling information. CNM staff does not currently have access to email. We will keep you updated.

Video montage of some of the damaged areas from local photographer Michael Deppisch:

Join the Nashville Business Journal for their debut Corporate Philanthropy Awards Nonprofit Tradeshow, which will precede an awards luncheon on May 13, 2010 at Loews Vanderbilt Plaza. This is a great opportunity for nonprofits to network and showcase their work in front of potential donors and volunteers.

Booths are only $150, and with the purchase of a booth, you will receive a $35 discount on any tickets you purchase to the awards luncheon.

Call Caroline McCool at (615) 846-4274 for more details and an order form. You can also visit the Nashville Business Journal website for more information: http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/event/21891.

Corporate Philanthropy Awards
Loews Vanderbilt Plaza
May 13, 2010

Tradeshow: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Registration: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Lunch: 12:00 PM
Speaker Sam Beard: 12:25 PM
Awards Program: 12:40 PM
Dismissal: 1:15 PM

The Nashville Business Journal reports on longtime CEO David Lifsey’s  departure from Goodwill:

Lifsey is quick to praise the board members he answers to and the employees who work for him, but under his leadership Goodwill saw major expansion in the area. When he joined, the local Goodwill had 89 employees, served 111 people with its programs and had a handful of stores. Today it employs 1,400 workers, serves 11,000 people and operates 33 stores.

Lewis Lavine, president of Nashville’s Center for Nonprofit Management, a nonprofit consulting organization, said Lifsey “personifies” and was an early practitioner of “social entrepreneurship,” or running an organization like a business, for social benefit. That mix of competency and compassion, Lavine said, contributed to Goodwill’s growth over the years.

“He cares about this community and the people who benefit from Goodwill services,” Lavine said.

Lifsey said he’s looking forward to growing orchids, woodworking and spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren. He also plans to volunteer, perhaps for Habitat for Humanity, but does not plan to lead another nonprofit.

The decision to leave, he said, was gradual, and he knows he’ll miss that mix of running a business and helping people learn to make their own living in the process.

“That just catches you,” he said.

2010 is an election year in Tennessee, and with that in mind, local nonprofit attorney Stewart Clifton put together this guide on how 501(c)(3) organizations can advocate for their cause, while staying within the law:

501 (c) 3’s,

Nonprofit lobbying and nonprofit partisan electoral activity

Legislative and administrative advocacy: yes

Partisan electoral advocacy in campaigns as nonprofits: no

Many nonprofit staffers, board members and volunteers have learned over time that involvement in public policy advocacy is not only a permitted activity for nonprofits (within certain limits) but also a necessary activity at times. Sometimes our organizational mission and a concern for our clients almost demand involvement in public policy decision-making. But we need to remember that this policy involvement is totally different from a tax and a legal point of view from active involvement in electoral politics. Here are three important points to remember.

1. Can’t support or oppose candidates using work time and/or equipment. Those of us who work on a paid or even volunteer basis for groups with 501(c)(3) status simply cannot endorse or use work time and/or equipment to support or oppose candidates for public office. What we do on our own time is generally up to us, although some boards may have official or unofficial thoughts on that matter.

2. Can’t work in various nonpartisan ways. However, there is plenty that nonprofits can do in a nonpartisan way. See the website for the Nonpartisan Voter Engagement Network for details. http://www.nonprofitvote.org/501c3-Guidelines.html

3. Can shore up relationships for later policy efforts.The third point that public policy will remain important for the nonprofits we serve. Therefore, relationships will remain key. For members who may have missed it, a key policy advocacy truth is that relationships made prior to the need for a legislator’s vote or for a Governor’s support for your cause is crucial. Policy decisions are probably more reflective of an elected official’s relationship with a person asking for support than ideological commitment to a cause or principle. Continue reading ‘Advocacy Do’s and Dont’s for Nonprofits’

From the Nashville City Paper:

For the past 13 years, (Laurel) Creech has worked for Lightening 100. Most recently, she’s been director of the radio station’s outdoors club known as Team Green.

As the mayor’s chief service officer she’s tasked with developing and implementing a citywide strategy to increase volunteerism. A progress report on the plan is to be completed by December. The position –– new to the mayor’s office –– is funded through a grant awarded to Nashville by Cities of Service and the Rockefeller Foundation.

“Nashville was one of only 10 cities awarded this prestigious grant from the Rockefeller Foundation,” Dean said. “It is a huge honor to have this opportunity, and we have a lot of work ahead of us. Laurel has spent the last 10-plus years organizing community events and service projects through Team Green. I know she’s up for the task.”

From the Nashville Post:

Chris McCarthy will retire as president and CEO of Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity at the end of this year. The nonprofit group has launched a search for a successor to McCarthy, who led the organization for eight years.

In a statement announcing McCarthy’s plans, Habitat officials called her tenure – which was marked by sixfold growth – “the biggest turnaround for a nonprofit organization in Nashville’s history.”