News for Nonprofits February 2008

• Senate Committee Chairmanships and Memberships
• Budget and Legislative Update
• Where you can find me in the District: “Education Update”
• Regional Announcements

As we begin the second year of our 2007/2008 session, I would like to give you an update regarding the committees which I chair and of which I am a member.

• Chair, Environmental Quality
• Member, Appropriations
• Member, Budget and Fiscal Review (Budget Subcommittee on Education)
• Member, Business, Professions and Economic Development
• Member, Education
• Member, Energy, Utilities and Communications
• Member, Transportation and Housing
  
• Chair, Select Committee on California’s Master Plan for Education
• Chair, Select Committee on Coastal Protection and Watershed Conservation
• Chair, Select Committee on Privacy

This year I will also continue my work as a Senate representative to the State Allocation Board which oversees the distribution of billions of dollars for the construction and modernization of local public school facilities, and to the Coastal Conservancy, which partners with local entities to protect and restore access to California’s coastal resources.

On January 10, the Governor announced a fiscal emergency and called a special session of the Legislature to deal with current year budget issues. The Department of Finance estimates a $3.3 billion deficit during the current 2007-2008 year, with the problem growing to a $11.2 billion deficit in the 2008-2009 budget year.

The Governor has suspended Proposition 58, allowing him to delay payback of “economic recovery bonds” ($1.509 billion) and has announced plans to sell $3.318 billion in new economic recovery bonds. In addition to this, he proposes a 10% across-the-board cut of almost all state departments both for the remainder of this fiscal year and next.

The Governor’s continued commitment to work with the Legislature in a “post-partisan” fashion is both welcome and encouraging. However, the notion that we can solve a $14 billion budget shortfall with across-the-board cuts –– in education, health care and public safety –– is simply unrealistic. I’m particularly concerned about the Governor’s proposal that the state suspend Proposition 98, the voter-approved minimum guarantee for education funding. I believe the real solution is as challenging as it is simple: Spend less. Collect more. Do it now.

The next few weeks will be critical as the Governor’s declaration of a fiscal emergency requires the Legislature to act within 45 days. The Senate Budget Committee on which I serve will be meeting twice weekly to determine which of the Governor’s mid-year cuts we will accept.

I encourage you to educate yourself on the budget since virtually no state funding is left untouched. The Governor’s proposal is available on the Department of Finance’s website: www.dof.ca.gov. You may also find some useful information on the Senate’s website: www.sen.ca.gov. Once on the site, you can click through to the “Budget and Fiscal Review Committee” and then to “Information,” where you will find a “Quick Summary” of the proposal that breaks down the information into a manageable format. Finally, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), California’s nonpartisan fiscal and policy advisor, also provides in-depth overviews of the state budget on their website: www.lao.ca.gov.

On the legislative front, the Legislature reconvened on January 7. As this marks the second half of a two-year session, legislators are making every effort to move their bills through the process and onto the Governor’s desk. A bill that my office has already received several calls about is Assemblymember Joe Coto’s AB 624, which would require foundations with assets over $250,000,000 to collect and disclose race, gender-related, and sexual orientation information about its board of directors, staff, and grantees. The bill would also require that these foundations post this information online and in their annual reports. AB 624 passed out of the Assembly and is waiting to be assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In order for me to better serve our school communities, it’s important that I stay in touch with the education leaders and advocates in our region. As a member of the Senate Education Committee and the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education, and as Chair of the Senate Select Committee on California’s Master Plan for Education, I hold “Education Update” meetings to discuss the education aspects of the Governor’s budget proposal, and to provide an update on K-12 policy proposals in California. On January 26, I held the first one of a pair of “updates.” The next one will be in Santa Cruz on Thursday, February 7.

I hope you’ll attend. I’m particularly anxious to hear from folks given these tight budget times and the Governor’s proposal that the state suspend Proposition 98, the voter-approved minimum guarantee for education funding. The meeting is open to the public, and will be held as follows:

Thursday, February 7, 2008 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Santa Cruz County Government Center Board of Supervisors’ Chambers 701 Ocean Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Please call (650) 688-6384 or (831) 425-0401 to RSVP. I look forward to seeing you, and hearing your insights and suggestions.

• Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley (RTSV) has set February 22 as the deadline for applications for free facility improvement projects for nonprofits this April 19 and 26. RTSV (Santa Clara to San Jose) uses volunteers to complete repairs such as safety modifications, painting, minor plumbing, electrical, carpentry and more. Call (408) 578-9519 to check out proposed repair needs or visit www.rtsv.org to apply.

• Avenidas Village was launched on October 1 by the Palo Alto-based senior center, Avenidas. Modeled after the Beacon Hill Village in Boston, it offers an array of service and support options for independent seniors who would like the benefits of living in a retirement community without having to move from their homes. It is the first such program on the West Coast. Included are prompt and professional customer service from dedicated Avenidas staff, access to pre-screened vendors, discounts on services, transportation to and from medical appointments (when no longer allowed to drive) and more. Participants are adults 50+, living in Palo Alto, Mountain View, Stanford, Woodside, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto or Portola Valley. Annual dues (which may be paid monthly) are $750 for a single, $900 for a couple. Call (650) 289-5405 or see www.avenidasvillage.org for more information.

• The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County is a private nonprofit law firm providing civil legal services to low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities and domestic violence survivors. With an ever-increasing number of seniors victimized by relatives or caregivers, the Elder Abuse Prevention Project in partnership with Kaiser Permanente is believed to be the first legal services project targeting health-care providers who treat seniors in the Bay Area. Other programs serve domestic violence survivors at permanent-restraining-order hearings; pediatric primary-care clinics; grandparents and other relatives caring for someone else’s child; and pregnant and parenting teens. For more information, contact Marcie Storch, (650) 375-0185, ext. 3305.

• Your clients who are participants in the Medicare Part D drug plan will be receiving notices regarding the program in 2008. Many low- and middle-income seniors are eligible for financial assistance to help pay for prescription drugs under the Low Income Subsidy feature of Part D. Those who automatically qualified for a subsidy without applying in 2007 will no longer be eligible unless they fill applications for 2008. The notices will be gray letters and will include postage-paid return envelopes with applications which recipients should be sure to fill out and send in. Another Part D mailing will go out with changes in the co-payments required under the program in 2008. This one is on orange paper.

• Four recent studies focus on foundation support for core operations. Several studies underscore how foundations strongly prefer making grants for innovation, leaving them much less likely to support general operating needs over the long term. While many foundations will support general operating needs to some extent, the grants tend to be small and limited in duration, making nonprofits reluctant to rely on them – an approach particularly hard on smaller and community-based nonprofits. For more information:

  • Paying for Overhead: a Study of the Impact of Foundations’ Overhead Payment Policies on Educational and Human Service Organizations at www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/Research/WorkingPapers/PayingforOverhead.pdf

  • In Search of Impact: Practices and Perceptions in Foundations’ Provision of Program and Operating Grants to Nonprofits available at www.effectivephilanthropy.org/images/pdfs/CEP-In_Search_of_Impact.pdf

  • Getting What We Pay For: Low Overhead Limits Nonprofit Effectiveness available at www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/311044_NOCP_3.pdf

  • General Operating Support: Research on Grantmaker Policies and Practices at www.usfca.edu/inom/research/Fnd_General_Operating_Support.pdf.

• Seen but Not Heard: Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy published by The Aspen Institute’s Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program provides new research findings about the extent of nonprofit advocacy while also detailing the barriers and incentives for nonprofits engaging in policy activities, including lobbying. Price, $15. To order, visit the bookstore at www.aspeninstitute.org.

• RSVP (the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of Mills-Peninsula Senior Focus Volunteer Services) invites volunteer coordinators and agency directors to announce their future orientation and training programs through its newsletter, Seasoned Citizen. The publication reaches RSVP’s San Mateo County members. Send your information to (650) 696-7660, fax to (650) 696-363 or mail to 1720 El Camino Real, Suite 10, Burlingame, CA 94010.

• More than 350 student projects from at least 45 public and private schools, grades 5 through 12, will be on display February 4 to 7 at the San Mateo County Science/Math/Technology Fair held at the Hiller Aviation Museum, 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos. Top award winners will go on to the Bay Area and California science fairs. The annual event is open to the public.

• Silicon Valley SCORE (Counselors to America’s Small Business) provides counseling to nonprofits as well as small businesses. It is sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The experienced volunteers in SCORE give general advice ranging from how to write a business plan to cash-flow management and more. Mary Davey, who has been counseling nonprofits for five years, holds free counseling sessions at the Palo Alto and Mountain View Chambers of Commerce and at the Martin Luther King Library in San Jose. [Call the SCORE office at (408) 288-8479 for the schedule.] Attendees from outside the county are also welcome. Four seminars on Non-Profit Management will be held at the Center on February 12 (start-up), May 13 (business plan), August 19 (board development, fundraising) and November 18 (management, marketing). Fee is $35 online, $40 at door. You can pre-register by visiting: www.acteva.com/go/ecenter