Staten Island NFP Association

ANNUAL REPORT

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As in recent years, 2010 has been a year of growth and expansion for the Staten Island NFP Association as we have continued to expand our program offerings and have extended our outreach among both local and regional communities. Of course our primary goal remains our mission to serve as a common voice and resource for Staten Island� s not-for-profit organizations, as is reflected in the review of our 2010 programs, services and activities described in this Annual Report.

As the Chair of the SINFPA for the past two years, I have had the pleasure of interacting with many of our organization� s members and have been pleased to be closely involved in planning and executing the Association� s activities. In this role I have achieved a detailed understanding of how our sector can increase our role in Staten Island� s civic life and become even more integral to improving the quality of life in the Borough.

In short, I firmly believe that it is imperative that Staten Island� s not-for-profit organizations use our collective power to shape and focus the destiny of our community. Our collective power consists of a significant work force, considerable intellectual capabilities, a strong ethical and moral compass, a passion for social justice, essential connections to our elected officials and some of the most cost conscious professionals that I have ever met. I also believe that in order to take full advantage of this collective power and to increase the strength of our position in our community, we need to take some additional steps, including: Ø Fully participating in our democratic process by engaging our elected officials in social, educational, health and cultural related issues that are so important to the quality of life in our community; Ø Participating in community forums and town hall meetings in an effort to make our voices heard and to protect those less fortunate and venerable. You are the voice of the not-for-profit community! Ø Engaging with the business community and consider getting involved with the Chamber of Commerce or the SIEDC; Ø Fully participating in collaborative organizations and actively work on creating new coalitions that provide opportunities for collective input, strategic planning and direction setting for our organizations and the community at large; Ø Volunteering or assisting in recruiting and sharing leadership volunteers from our agencies for the benefit of our sister agencies; Ø Serving as a mentor for a new or smaller organization, and last but not least, Ø Fully accepting the responsibility of becoming an organization that is helping to build a sustainable environment. I am pleased to be involved in the ongoing efforts to build an organization that serves as a model for effective partnerships among and between not-for-profit organizations, and I remain eager to work with the members of our community to increase the capabilities and achievements of Staten Island� s not-for-profit community.

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Several times throughout the year, we receive calls from a member of the staff of one of our local elected officials asking if we can provide assistance to one of their constituents who want to start a not-for-profit, or who have been awarded government funding for a worthy project but who require assistance completing the paperwork. Of course we provide the assistance requested, and often draw new members from those referred to us, but we don� t circulate an email or a press release when we do.

This quiet service is at the core of why it is so difficult to report on our advocacy efforts. Throughout the year we speak with elected officials, foundation leaders, reporters, and not-for-profit experts from throughout the City and State about the state of the not-for-profit community on Staten Island, but few of these private conversations are made known publicly.

In short, much of our advocacy efforts are concentrated on becoming a quiet and trusted resource to those who need information and guidance about issues affecting the not-for-profit community.

But some of our advocacy efforts have been conducted on a more public scale. In particular, we were pleased to host a session with Assemblymember Matthew Titone in 2010 that focused on ways in which Board directors can effectively advocate on behalf of their respective organizations. We co-hosted an advocacy training focused on ways to most effectively interact with elected officials with the citywide Human Services Council, an organization that we have also joined on behalf of all of our members to ensure that Staten Island� s not-for-profits benefit from the work of the City� s social services advocacy expert. And at the end of 2010 we worked with the Staten Island Advance to promote the benefits and importance of Board membership to individuals on Staten Island who might not otherwise have considered such an opportunity as a fine way to make a significant commitment to their community.

As much as our mission is focused on providing support to local not-for-profits, we also have a goal to increase the visibility of Staten Island� s not-for-profits on the Citywide stage. As such, we continue to create partnerships with Citywide providers of not-for-profit services who have an interest in reaching organizations operating in our Borough, but who lack the insight and information needed to effectively reach those in our local not-for-profit community. In the last year alone with worked with the Better Business Bureau of New York City, the Foundation Center, the United Way of New York City, the TCC Group, the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee, the Theatre Development Fund, the Nonprofit Finance Fund, and the Million Trees Initiative to be sure that local not-for-profits have access to the same programs and services as do their colleagues in other areas of the

February 4th - City Council funding session with the chiefs of

staff of all local Councilmembers

February 18th - Disaster Planning session with New York City

Office of Emergency Management

February 18th - Advocacy session with Assemblymember

Matthew Titone

April 29th - SI Conference 2010 presentation with the Chief

Adjudicator for the New York State Department of Labor

May 11th - BoardServe NYC training co-hosted with the United

Way of New York City

May 25th - Succession planning session co-hosted with the

Support Center for Nonprofit Management

May 28th - Fundraising and Development Special Interest Group

grantwriting session

June 10th - Strategic Planning session with the TCC Group and

the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York

June 22nd - Meeting of the SINFPA Communications and

Marketing Special Interest Group with Kathryn Carse from the

Staten Island Advance

June 28th - SINFPA Annual Meeting with special presentation

by Dr. Joseph Salvo of the New York City Department of City

Planning

October 5th - Joint session with the Human Resources Council

of New York to teach Staten Island not-for-profits how to

advocate to City and State elected officials

October 20th - Human Resources Special Interest Group

meeting regarding new immigration filing regulations with the

Department of Justice and the New York City Commission on

Human Rights

November 3rd - Facilities Management Special Interest Group

focusing on when and how to evaluate vendors and contractors

of goods and services

November 16th - Joint session with the Nonprofit Finance Fund,

a national technical assistance provider, on the topic of

“Communicating Your Resource Needs Story”, or how to make

the case for increased funding to donors and foundations.

December 2nd –Prospect Research session with the Foundation

Center

December 7th – Presentation of risk management and internal

controls by partners from the accounting firm Eisner Amper LLC

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At the core of the Staten Island NFP Association� s work throughout the year is the comprehensive series of professional development activities that we offer to the executives, staff, and Board directors of our member organizations. Ranging from small group discussions regarding vending and contracting issues to large meetings focusing on large-scale demographic trends, the professional development sessions hosted by the Association are designed to provide a forum through which those working at Staten Island� s not-for-profits can gain access to the information and resources that they need to serve their constituents most effectively.

The most common way in which we have provided professional development services to members of the SINFPA has been through our collection of Special Interest Groups. In the past year meetings of these Special Interest Groups have focused on issues such as identifying and cultivating individual donors, complying with complicated federal immigration laws, establishing risk management and internal controls for Board directors, working with media outlets, and vetting and choosing vendors. These critical meetings of not-for-profit professionals offer two important benefits to the Staten Island not-for-profit community, in that they provide professionals with experience in these fields with a chance to learn about best practices and trends in their specific areas of expertise while also offering those without a long history of experience in these fields with an introduction to the work in which they are engaged.

Additionally, a key component of the Staten Island NFP Association� s ability to serve the needs of its member organizations through the Special Interest Group program is its ability to serve as a local agent for regional assistance providers who have little access to the Staten Island not-for-profit community. These assistance providers have long histories of providing high-quality professional development services to New York City not-for-profits, but have little history of doing so on Staten Island.

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Last year the Staten Island NFP Association completed our first strategic planning process through which we devoted our time and attention to identifying the factors that comprise both our strengths and our weaknesses, as well as the areas on which we should focus as we continue to grow the organization to future accomplishments.

Among the most robust organizational strengths that we identified was our ability to quickly respond to the questions and concerns of our members. Because the Association concentrates specifically on the needs of the local Staten Island community, we have an in-depth understanding of the needs and challenges of the not-for-profits operating in the Borough. The most prominent way in which we exhibit this strength is through the regular and direct responses to inquiries made of us by member organizations. These inquiries focus on a wide range of questions regarding not-for-profit management such as regulatory compliance, human resources processes, Board recruitment and development, and fundraising. Either we provide guidance and support ourselves, or we call upon our network of professionals throughout the City who represent true experts in their not-for-profit fields.

In 2010, as in years past, the Staten Island NFP Association provided more than 100 such direct services to member organizations and to those with an interest in the not-for-profit community on Staten Island.

As an example of our direct technical assistance efforts - this past fall the Association reached out to hundreds of smaller and less experienced not-for-profits on Staten Island who were unaware of the recent changes made to the IRS Form 990 regulations, and who faced the very real danger of losing their charity status. Only through direct outreach by the Staten Island NFP Association were 22 of these groups able to maintain their designation; all of the 22 groups that responded to our outreach stated that had they not heard from the Association they likely would not have taken any action and would have lost their status.

9/11 Police Aid FoundationA Very Special Place, Inc.Alice Austen House MuseumAmazing Grace Interfaith MinistryAmerican Cancer SocietyAmerican Red Cross in Greater NY, Staten Island OfficeAmethyst House, Inc.Art Lab, Inc.Art Lab, Inc.Bloomfield ConservancyBrothers CareBusy Beach Day CareC'Est Ma Vie HomesCamp Good GriefCarmine and Robert DeSantis Charitable FoundationCasa Belvedere Central Family Life CenterCentury Dance ComplexChildren's Cord Blood Bank and Research FoundationCity Access NYCCoalition of Staten Island Women's OrganizationsColumcile Irish Cultural CenterCommunity Agency for Senior CitizensCommunity Health ActionCommunity ResourcesCouncil on the Arts & Humanities for Staten IslandCreative Photographer's GuildCross-Road Foundation Inc.Dewey Does FoundationDr. Theodore Atlas FoundationEden II ProgramsElks Lodge # 841Fisherman's Conservation AssociationFrank J. Reali III Family FoundationFriends of Abandoned CemeteriesFriends of Blue Heron ParkFriends of the Battle of the Bulge PlazaFriends of Westerleigh ParkGaribaldi Meucci MuseumGoodhue CenterGrace Foundation of NYGreenbelt ConservancyHave a Heart Foundation

Health PlusHelping Hands InitiativeHillel at the College of Staten IslandHope for a Healthier Humanity FoundationIluminart ProductionsImmigrant's Information CenterInternational Rescue CommitteeIsland VoiceItalian Club of Staten IslandJacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan ArtJewish Community Center of Staten IslandKayak Staten IslandLady Tigers Fast Pitch SoftballLow Riders Motorcycle ClubMary's PenceMeals on Wheels of Staten IslandMetropolitan Fire AssociationMighty String DemonsMt. Loretto M.I.V.Musical Chairs Chamber EnsembleNAMI NYC Staten Island, Inc.New Directions ServicesNew York Center for Interpersonal DevelopmentNew York State Institute on DisabilityNorth Shore Rescue SquadNorth Shore Waterfront ConservancyNorthfield LDCNothing NewNYC Arts CipherOffice of Jewish Community AffairsPort Richmond CERTPreservation League of Staten IslandProject HospitalityRainbow's HopeRichmond Choral SocietyRichmond County OrchestraRichmond Home Needs ServicesRichmond Senior Services, Inc.Richmond University Medical CenterRiverside Opera CompanyRocco Laurie Scholarship CommitteeS.I.S.O.S. (Staten Island Supports Our Soldiers, Inc.)Sandy Ground Historical SocietySCORESeamen's Society for Children & FamiliesSecond Chance Gospel Music ConventionSerenade

SI TracSisters of Charity Housing Development Corp.Sky Light CenterSnug Harbor Cultural CenterSt. Edward Food PantryStaten Island Ballet TheaterStaten Island Behavioral Network, Inc.Staten Island Center for Independent LivingStaten Island Children's MuseumStaten Island Economic Development CorporationStaten Island Federation of PTAsStaten Island Fleet WeekStaten Island Friends for Hospice CareStaten Island Heart SocietyStaten Island Historical SocietyStaten Island Inter-Agency Council for the AgingStaten Island Mental Health SocietyStaten Island MuseumStaten Island PhilharmonicStaten Island Rebels Athletic AssociationStaten Island Shakespearean TheatreStaten Island Sports Hall of FameStaten Island University HospitalStatue of Liberty Cultural Arts Association of GatewaySundog TheatreTen Penny PlayersThe College of Staten Island FoundationThe Conference House AssociationThe New York Foundling HospitalThe Salvation ArmyTheatre Rehabilitation for YouthTravis Fourth of July Parade CommitteeTurnaround Friends, Inc.United Activities Unlimited, Inc.Universal Temple of the ArtsUniversity HospiceUrban League of Staten IslandUtopia OutreachVisiting Nurse Association of Staten IslandWagner CollegeWest Brighton Local Community Development CorporationWest Shore Little LeagueWhere To TurnWorld of WomenYMCA of Greater New York

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David SorkinChairJewish Community Center of Staten Island

Meg VentrudoVice ChairJacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art

Dina RosenthalSecretaryStaten Island Children’s Museum G. Carl RutbergTreasurerAlice Austen House Museum

Diane ArnethCommunity Health Action of Staten Island

John DemoleasStaten Island University Hospital

Carol DunnStaten Island Inter-Agency Council for the Aging

Samir FaragSCORE

Dr. Joanne GerenserEden II Programs

Dana MageeCommunity Resources

Thomas MannixElks Lodge # 841

Dr. Kenneth PoplerStaten Island Mental Health Society

Reverend Terry TroiaProject Hospitality

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