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Letter from the Executive Director
Michael Stoller
Budget season is coming to a close and HSC continues to do all we can to keep the sector's issues in focus with the Mayor and City Council. Key to this work is providing information on the budget's impact to our members and their clients.
On May 7, HSC issued a report, Investing in Human Capital: How Investments in Human Services Support a Strong Economy, in conjunction with the Fiscal Policy Institute's report, Helping the Helpers Will Help Us All: The Economic Situation of New York City's Health Care and Social Assistance Sector. These reports demonstrate how the sector is both a supporter AND provider of jobs in New York. You can see our press release for more summary information.
On May 21, HSC co-hosted a City Budget Briefing for our members. We're thankful to the representatives from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), City Council Finance, and Independent Budget Office (IBO), who presented and answered questions about the Mayor's Executive Budget and its impact on the sector.
On May 22, I was on a panel entitled Securing the Social Safety Net: The Nonprofit's Role in a Changing Environment hosted by the Support Center for Nonprofit Management. The panel discussed how the human services sector has been affected by the current economic environment. I suggested that we need to go beyond the safety net to help support people who are striving in society, not just those surviving in society.
HSC is excited that Governor Cuomo appointed Fran Barrett as his new InterAgency Coordinator for Not-for-Profit Services. This new position was created to help coordinate efforts to reform the State's procurement systems and address challenges nonprofits face in their business relationships with State agencies. HSC has already begun conversations with Fran regarding the importance of the sector's input in the development of new approaches and looks forward to working with her on moving these important reforms forward.
As always, thank you for your support and please send this newsletter to friends who want to support the sector.
Many thanks,
Michael Stoller
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Our Sponsors
HSC is grateful to our members and funders who support our work on behalf of the human services sector.
Valued supporters of HSC include:
The Clark Foundation
IBM Corporation
Mutual of America
New York City Council and Speaker Christine Quinn
New York Community Trust
UJA-Federation of NY
United Way of New York City
Thank you again for your generous support!
If you'd like to contribute to HSC or the Who Cares? I Do campaign, you can make a tax-deductible donation by sending a check to: Human Services Council 130 East 59th Street New York, NY 10022
Or you can donate online using
the following link:
HSC donation
Thank you!
We would also like to thank our members for their continued
membership and support. We
realize that the not-for-profit
sector is facing the toughest
budgetary constraints in years
difficult trade-off decisions daily regarding where and how to
spend limited funds. We are
pleased and grateful to have
you with us!
Finally, you can help the sector by asking other not-for-profit human services agencies to join HSC. Our collective voice gets louder as we
add more members. Please see our website for our application form
and information about the benefits
of joining HSC.
212-836-1623
for more information.
HSC's mission is to strengthen
the not-for-profit human services
sector's ability to improve the
lives of New Yorkers in need.
The Voice of the Human
Services Community Please remember that you can follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook. We'd love to have you become our fans! |
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Budget News
On May 3, the Mayor released a FY13 Executive Budget with no additional cuts or restorations to human services. While human services were not hit as hard as in the previous two budget cycles, the cuts initiated in the Preliminary Budget and the loss of FY12 City Council funding will result in total FY13 budget cuts of over $175 million in vital human services. These cumulative cuts have a severe impact on the city's employment and economic outlooks, as detailed in a New York Nonprofit Press (NYNP) article. For HSC's analysis of this budget, please visit the members only section of our website. The approved budget is expected to be released by the end of June.
You can also read HSC's testimony to the General Welfare Committee about the budget proposal. On June 7, Michael Stoller participated in a press conference with New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio regarding budget cuts, where Michael emphasized the need for continued City funding for human services. |
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Advocacy News
On May 16, Governor Cuomo released the details of proposed regulations following his executive order to limit excessive executive compensation and administrative overhead of service providers receiving state funds. HSC advocated for transparency from the administration in implementing this order and ensuring nonprofits were included in the creation of the regulations. A NYNP article and an article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy quoted Michael Stoller, noting that the nonprofit sector encourages transparency and these regulations focus on the few outliers. We encourage groups to review the proposed regulations and submit comments by July 16.
On May 22, HSC, along with Council Member Annabel Palma, Chair of the General Welfare Committee, hosted a press conference to highlight proposed cuts to human services programs and the impact this will have on clients and the City's overall economy. The press conference, moderated by HSC Board Chair Joel Copperman, was held prior to the General Welfare Committee's executive budget hearing. Advocates and City Council members braved the rain to speak out against debilitating cuts to Childcare, HASA programs, and homeless services. These services provide bridges out of poverty for many New Yorkers, as well as paths and support for employment.
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L-to-R: William W. Rapfogel, Marla Simpson, Marilyn Gelber, Steven Choi, Frederick Shack, and Council Member Domenic Recchia |
On June 7, HSC co-hosted a panel discussion on the state of the City's nonprofit human services sector with Council Member Domenic Recchia. HSC would like to thank Council Member Recchia and the other panelists - Steven Choi,
Marilyn Gelber, William E. Rapfogel, Frederick Shack, Marla Simpson, and Moderator Ronnie Eldridge - for their open exchange regarding sector issues. Read our blog and a NYNP article for more details about the event.
On June 14, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released the Prompt Contracting Annual Report, which found that late approvals of contracts with not-for-profits rose to 80 percent in 2011, putting the services nonprofits provide at risk and leading to interest payments that cost taxpayers nearly $200,000. |
Technology News
HSC would like to thank IBM for their generous 2012 grant in support of technology initiatives including the technology section in this newsletter, training, and technical assistance to the New York City nonprofit sector.
Is your organization dealing with a troublesome technology issue? You may be able to find a solution through Code for Change, a competition aimed at addressing some of the biggest technology challenges facing nonprofits in New York City. The project will gather input about technology challenges from nonprofits and government agencies and then invite technologists to develop innovative solutions to address those challenges. Nonprofit organizations can enter information about their technology challenges at the Code for Change site starting June 28.
The Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services is happy to announce the HHS Accelerator system will start going live in December 2012. The first phase will include the ability for providers to open an account and store those documents frequently requested by the City and grantmakers in the procurement/grant-making process (aka "The Document Vault"). Providers will also have the ability to share their documents with the City, grantmakers, or other providers, as well as apply to be eligible to compete for future NYC issued procurements of Client and Community Based Services. Phase 2 of the system will include the issuance of solicitations and the receipt of proposals via the system. This is scheduled to start in the Summer of 2013.
The HHS Accelerator team acknowledges and thanks all the HSC members who have and continue to dedicate their time and effort providing critical feedback on the many parts of this system: the Standard Human Services Contract; the Business Application; the Standard Fiscal Manual; and the Client and Community Based Services Taxonomy. If your organization would like to be engaged in this process, for example, by hosting meetings for colleagues in your service networks or neighborhoods, please contact the HHS accelerator team at info@hhsaccelerator.nyc.gov. |
Member News
Essensa, the City's group purchasing partner, is now offering insurance options to New York City nonprofits. Contact a representative at 866-430-5330 or at info@essensa.org for more information.
The Nonprofit Help Desk has an online library of training videos created from their workshops, available free to community-based nonprofit organizations. Video topics available include grant writing, budgeting, financial statements, reporting, and internal controls.
Community Resource Exchange (CRE) is conducting a study exploring the development director role in nonprofit organizations. Executive Directors/CEOs or senior level development staff at nonprofit organizations are invited to complete an online survey by June 30.
Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York (NPCC) is updating its Employee Benefits survey. Nonprofits with paid employees are encouraged to complete the 2012 edition by July 9 to accurately represent what nonprofits are offering their employees.
Job Opportunities
Center for Urban Community Services is seeking to fill several positions. |
Welcome to HSC
HSC extends a warm welcome to our new team of interns: Sara Abraham-Oxford, Nicole Brown, Nandi Dozier-Lewis, Ben Johnson, Rachel Siegel, and Danny Yu. You can meet them on the Staff page of our website. Please join us in welcoming them to the human services sector.
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L-to-R: Nandi Dozier-Lewis, Sara Abraham-Oxford, Rachel Siegel, Nicole Brown, and Danny Yu
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We'd also like to thank our amazing interns from the spring: Ambre Auzanneau, Ana Billingsley, Karen Broderick, Zariely Garcia, Yirlene Mertens, and Elise Stukenberg. Their commitment and outstanding efforts were instrumental in helping us achieve our sector goals and objectives. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
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