April 2025

VACAP REGIONAL MEETINGS

Join your fellow community action peers from across the state at VACAP's Regional Meetings in Williamsburg and Wytheville. Please register with the date and location that works best for you and your agency. You may register for both meetings as well. Please also click “I cannot attend” with the regional meeting date and location that does not work for you (so that you don’t receive future reminders). Agencies with weatherization programs are encouraged to attend the May 12th half-day Weatherization Leadership Pre-Conference Opportunity in Wytheville (use the Wytheville registration).

May 8 - Williamsburg

College of William & Mary's School of Education,

10am-2:45pm

Wiliamsburg Registration

May 13 - Wytheville

Wytheville Meeting Center 9:30am-2:45pm

Wytheville Registration

Upcoming Training and Events

Introduction to ROMA (May 20-22) - This virtual course will be facilitated by Brandi Day of People Inc. and Molly Buckwalter-Fairfield of New River Community Action Agency. Participants will learn the vital components of a mission statement and discover the significance of conducting a comprehensive community needs assessment. Attendees will also identify outcome measures, measurement tools, and best practices for successful service implementation. Participants will also create a detailed ROMA Logic Model. Course manuals need to be ordered from Amazon. Once registration is closed, registrants will be notified of next steps. Registration deadline is May 1. Register

Foundations of Self-Care (Webinar June 12, Deep Dive June 18) - This two-part webinar series is designed to provide community action staff with practical self-care techniques to enhance well-being, resilience, and effectiveness in their roles. In the first session, explore the critical role self-care plays in sustaining energy and focus while addressing the unique challenges faced by community action staff. The second session provides an interactive space to discuss role-specific self-care challenges and opportunities, explore real-life application strategies tailored to your work, collaborate with peers, and engage in a Q&A session. Webinar Register | Deep Dive Register

Fireside Chat Series: Change Makers Designing & Innovating Part 3 - Breaking the Mold with Your Theory of Change (April 17, 10-11:15am) - This series is designed to guide community action agencies in developing and applying a Local Theory of Change that aligns with evolving community needs in a constantly shifting landscape. (Visit LearnWorlds to access recordings of the first two sessions.) Register

Previously-Recorded Training

Grant Writing Lunch & Learn - Seasoned grant writer Karen Thomas offers valuable tips on both identifying and writing successful grants. Community Action Peer Leader Gillian Barney also shares her insights, drawing from her many successful grant writing and award experiences with Thrive Virginia. Watch Now

The Everything ROMA Podcast - Season 1 of our podcast series has wrapped and all episodes are available on demand now! These short, bite-sized episodes reveal ways to enhance processes, apply ROMA principles, and cultivate a culture of performance management essential to your mission of serving communities. Listen Now

CAP Plan Webinar - The Office of Economic Opportunity Team reviewed the 25-26 Community Action Plan in a live webinar on March 11th. Community Action Plans are due May 1, 2025. - Watch Now

For a complete list of upcoming community action training and events, visit https://vacsbg.learnworlds.com/calendar.

Agency Resources

For more resources, visit https://vacsbg.learnworlds.com. Select the Resources Tab and choose from a wide range of subjects including Program Resources, Executive Director Resources, Board Resources, Fiscal Resources, and more! Do you have a great resource you'd like to share? Send an email to gail.doyle@dss.virginia.gov and we'll get the word out!

How to get AI to Work for Your Agency

We're excited to share our brand new one-page fact sheet designed to help Community Action Agencies harness the power of AI in their daily operations. Whether you're looking to streamline tasks, enhance communication, or improve decision-making, this quick and practical guide breaks down how AI can make a meaningful impact—no tech background required. Download it now and start exploring smart, simple ways to work more efficiently!

Download

May is Community Action Month - The Community Action Partnership established Community Action Month in May to highlight the critical role that Community Action Agencies play in helping low-income families achieve economic self-sufficiency. This is a great opportunity for your agency to host events that help put a face to families struggling to gain self-sufficiency and/or celebrate achievements and success stories. If you have client stories you'd like the OEO to amplify, please email gail.doyle@dss.viginia.gov. Here are a few tools and resources to get you started on your plans for the month:

Community Action Board Discussion Guide for Uncertain Financial Times - Financial uncertainty can challenge an organization’s ability to sustain its mission. Boards play a key role in guiding the agency through these challenges by overseeing financial strategy and ensuring long-term sustainability. This guide equips Community Action Agency boards with a structured approach to assess financial health, ask critical questions, and navigate tough decisions. It offers tools for scenario planning, decision-making, and balancing risk with opportunity.

The ECCE Supply/Demand Dashboard - This new tool has been introduced by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) for Ready Regions and stakeholders to target investments and make strategic decisions regarding education in their regions. The dashboard contains integrated data from a variety of data sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Virginia Department of Education, VECF, and the University of Virginia. Unique features of the dashboard include information that is not available elsewhere, such as locality-level Early Head Start/Head Start data, estimates of children who are income-eligible for publicly funded ECCE services, and on-demand analysis of any combination of localities and/or Ready Regions.

LearnWorlds Virginia CSBG Learning Management System

Virginia Department of Social Services - CSBG Office

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