December 2020
Help People in Need Just by Drinking Coffee!
If that sounds crazy easy to you, that's because it is! We worked hard to make donating to the NCCAA network as easy as drinking coffee every day. How? We developed a custom coffee blend called NEW Grounds Coffee. All the proceeds go directly to the NCCAA network so we can keep fighting poverty! These funds are unrestricted, which means they allow us to fund new projects, put more money behind our current programs, and fill the gaps that currently exist.

This is the perfect Christmas gift for your employees, family, friends and yourself!

Drink that cup-o-joe each morning knowing you just helped another family in need. All you need to do is what you normally do: drink coffee! Buy our coffee blend today and get it delivered to your door! It comes in whole beans, drip, french press, espresso, turkish, and percolator.
Case Management and Head Start Family Engagement Certifications
Want to train your new staff members, or give your current staff a professional development opportunity? Our next certification cohorts are an excellent choice for professional development and training. They come highly rated by our past participants, are 100% online, last 8 weeks and come with a university-sealed certificate.

Our next Head Start certification starts December 7 and the Case Management certification starts January 4. Learn more and register below!
Agency News
Success Story: Provided by I-CARE
We are so proud of all the success our agencies achieve! These stories have been collected, adapted, and edited for clarity.
The Normans are a senior couple. The steps into their home were becoming dangerous for them to use, especially Mr. Norman who is partially blind. Thanks to funding provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, I-CARE was able to install a new ramp and small porch. Mrs. Norman says “this is the best program I’ve ever applied for. The new ramp is a God-send. It takes so much stress away and will prevent any falls.”

Congratulations on the new ramp and porch! And thank you I-CARE for helping this couple improve the safety of their home. It's partners like Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina that make these projects possible. We are grateful to have partners that understand the impact of social determinants of health and invest in the health of their community! Prevention is a great form of medicine. 


This story represents one of thousands of customers enrolled in a program at their local community action agency. Community Action Works!
Want to share your success stories? Send them to mariah.handy@nccaa.net
Community Action News, Publications and Features
"The Center for Workforce Inclusion Inc. awarded Blue Ridge Community Action, Inc. a grant of $526,100 to help train workers age 55 and older. Almost 90 percent of this grant, originally from the U.S. Department of Labor, will provide temporary employment to no less than 97 low-income older North Carolinians living in Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, and Rutherford counties. These older adults will participate in the Senior Community Service Employment Program, a cornerstone program of the Older Americans Act. SCSEP is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year."

Congratulations Blue Ridge Community Action! This sounds like an excellent opportunity!
Greene Lamp is hosting an Angel Tree Program for their Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Without donations, these children would go without. 81 students are in need of gifts this season.

Contact Audrey Mewborn at amewborn@greenelamp.org or 252-549-1890 or Cristina Villagran or cvillagran@greenelamp.org or 252-549-1894 to request a family or child. Gifts are due by Friday, Dec. 11.
"[Harnett] county plans to pursue $900,000 in state funding with a large portion of the money benefiting families struggling to pay bills as a result of COVID-19. Harnett County entered into a partnership with Johnston-Lee-Harnett Community Action, an agency that specializes in maximizing similar grants."
Not even the coronavirus pandemic has stemmed the tide of volunteers streaming to Rich Square once a month to help unload trucks from the Albemarle Food Bank, pack boxes and load automobiles. Even though the volunteers “are not letting anything stand in their way,” Sallie Surface, Executive Director of CADA, said, they’re still being wary of the virus that has claimed more than 250,000 lives in America and more than one million worldwide.

Mountain Projects has partnered with local organizations to gather and distribute Thanksgiving themed food boxes. These boxes not only included most of the major staples for a Thanksgiving dinner, but also included information on local resources low-income families can take advantage of. Great work, Mountain Projects!
Last month, YVEDDI's senior center hosted a drive-thru flu shot clinic. The event held in partnership with D-Rex Pharmacy was a huge success.

This is innovative thinking YVEDDI! We are so proud of all the work you do to help senior citizens!
"The group packed 358 backpacks for the children of Bruns Elementary School. All backpacks included age-appropriate books, masks for children and parents, sanitizer, hand wipes, personal items, school supplies, and water bottles. COVID workbooks for the children and COVID Safety information in English and Spanish were also provided."
The North Carolina Center for Nonprofits is gearing up for their 2020 virtual conference, Rebuilding for Resiliency, December 8-10. This 3-day event features keynote speakers Dr. S. Atyia Martin, CEO & Founder of All Aces, Inc. and Adrienne Cole, President & CEO of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce; pre-conferences, including Nonprofit Financial Resilience: Understanding Full Costs; 16 concurrent sessions, a virtual exhibit hall, and networking events.

They are offering the NC Community Action network four scholarships for attendance, two of which have been claimed. If you're interested in attending this conference by claiming one of the scholarships, act quickly! You can click the title of this section to see more information including the agenda or click the link below to register.

Contact Mariah Handy at mariah.handy@nccaa.net if you want to claim one of the scholarships
"September 11th is Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance. AmeriCorps, formerly the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced funding that will bring American’s together to focus on service to others through national days of service. Greene Lamp was the only organization in North Carolina to be awarded this grant which will support volunteer activities on the annual September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance and throughout the year. 
'This grant will focus on expanding volunteerism in the community that will honor the sacrifice of the families affected by September 11th and draw positive attention to all first responders, military personnel, and veterans,' said Priscilla L. Wiggins, Director of Senior and Volunteer Services." 
"Covid fatigue, not to be confused with fatigue as a symptom of the COVID-19 infection, can be characterized by denial, defeatism, and careless or reckless behavior in response to feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by a constant stream of pandemic-related information. And since COVID-19’s impact on our lives has been both profound and long-lasting, the fatigue is further pronounced by such prolonged exposure to intense stress. Conflicting information about the seriousness of the virus does little to provide relief. Instead, emotions are extra muddied by uncertainty about how stressed we should really be feeling."
The NCCAA has released a hurricane recovery plan which highlights important information and resources for those counties at risk of hurricanes.

The NCCAA has also released a disaster recovery packet which includes easy checklists and planning materials for families who may be affected by a disaster.
The NCCAA has partnered with the NC Head Start Association and I Love Choice FM radio to do a weekly radio talk show covering the issues Community Action agencies address and face. You can listen to the Listen Up NC radio shows on our Facebook page or on our YouTube! Feel free to share these on your platforms.
You may have noticed we have highlighted various projects over the last few months under the heading of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). What exactly are these social determinants and more importantly, why should you be interested? Simply put, social determinants are all about PLACE. And place matters, and often, matters a lot. Our health is determined by several key conditions, including where we are born, where we grow up and where we live. Read more about SDOH here.

To impact the determinants of health and health inequalities, community action agencies work at the local, state, national, and even global levels, to create positive, long-term change in the social, built and natural environment of our clients and our communities. Stay tuned to this space and our monthly updates for more information and progress of this new grant initiative for NC Community Action Association. We will be sharing success stories from around the state and opportunities to collaborate in the weeks and months to come. For more details, contact Elle Evans Peterson, Community Impact Manager, at the NCCAA state offices:  elle.evanspeterson@nccaa.net 
NCCAA: SHOUT OUTS
Shout out and Congratulations!...... Alex Rivera, who works in the Weatherization program at Central Piedmont Community Action, for being awarded Employee of the Quarter!

His supervisor said, "I'd like to nominate Alex, as he continues to find ways to help the Weatherization Program become more cost efficient. Since Alex started he has come up with better ways to blow attic insulation. He has now found another way to save the agency money by using old pallets. Instead of us throwing away the pallets that our material comes on, he cuts them up to use the wood to tack up the plastic under the houses we weatherize. Alex is always using his skills to leverage materials. Alex’s dedication and teamwork has helped the agency receive many notes of thanks from those residents who have had their homes weatherized by our program. It is an honor to work with Alex."

We are so thrilled to have your as part of our network, Alex! And we look forward to your continued contributions to the NC Community Action network!
NCCAA Events
Donate to NCCAA this Giving Season!
Please consider donating to our network this giving season! We help hundreds of North Carolinian's EACH DAY! We provide a wide variety of services from self-sufficiency classes to home repairs to education and job training to public transportation and housing. We believe in elevating people, not just giving them a handout. With 55+ years of success, we know your money will be put to good use. Donate using the button below! Every dollar goes to helping someone in need.

This month we are issuing a 12 Days of Christmas challenge to each of our 34 agencies. Each agency will provide 12 families in every county with a food box and Christmas presents for the entire family. That's 1,200 families! Please help us give 1,200 families a wonderful Christmas this year! Due to COVID concerns, we are only accepting monetary donations at this time. Please donate using the button below!
Become an NCCAA Member!
We are a strong network of 34 agencies and hundreds of members. Our members get all kinds of perks, like discounted tickets, advocacy, free webinar and webinar recordings, discount trainings and more! Membership for an individual is as little as $25 a year, and for an organization it's as little as $300!

If you are a staff member of a Community Action agency, you're already a member! Learn more about the benefits you get just by fighting the good fight with us!
Webinar Training Series
Miss any of the webinars in our series? Email us at info@nccaa.net to get the recording! Recordings are available at no cost to NCCAA members.
Training on Demand
We provide training on demand based on your specific needs and goals. Whether you want training on ROMA, marketing, human resources, board training, strategic planning, or special topics like secondary trauma and motivational interviewing.

Request a training by emailing info@nccaa.net and tell us what you're looking for!
Funding Opportunities
Application Deadline: December 7

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR) is accepting applications for its Community Progress Fund until December 7, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. (noon).
 
Sometimes, a local organization, idea, issue or project needs that extra boost at just the right time to continue to make progress toward an end goal. ZSR’s Community Progress Fund seeks to support local communities by making time-limited investments at key moments and is intended to build on existing momentum to help move an issue, idea or organization forward.


Application Deadline: December 15, 2020

Duke Endowment focuses on two main areas:
  • Prevention and Early Intervention for At-Risk Children: Programs that focus on replicating evidence-based programs, and building North Carolina capacity to implement evidence-based models.
  • Out-of-Home Care: Programs that help the child welfare system improve well-being through better assessment and the exclusive use of high-quality providers that offer a range of services during and after care


Application Deadline: December 15

Cape Fear funds programs and organizations that promote health education, disease prevention, and provide direct medical and health services in southeastern North Carolina. These counties include Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, Pender, and New Hanover.


The Awesome Foundation awards $1,000 grant each month for brilliant ideas. If you don’t currently have an idea don’t worry, this grant is available each and every month!


Application Deadline: December 31

Walmart funding offers an open application process for local nonprofit organizations that operate locally and directly benefit the service area for which funding is requested for.


Mark Your Calendar