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Author Archives: Maria Di Mento
May 8, 2009, 4:15 pm
Two Women’s Health Groups Criticize President’s Budget
Officials from two women’s health and family planning groups have released statements expressing concern and disappointment over President Obama’s 2010 budget, released yesterday.
Officials from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health– said in new releases that they were discouraged that the Obama administration did not seek to strike restrictions on government financing of abortions.
“We are disappointed that the budget did not remove restrictions on women’s ability to access the full range of reproductive heath-care services, said Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood’s president. “Placing onerous restrictions on women is not effective public policy.” She added that her group plans to encourage the president and Congress to remove the restrictions.
Officials at National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health said…
May 8, 2009, 4:09 pm
Hispanic Group Expresses Concern Over Budget Provisions
Officials at the National Council of La Raza said in a new release that they are concerned over the President’s 2010 budget that was announced yesterday.
“What we have seen so far with the budget is discouraging and suggests that some of the key priorities of the Latino community are not those of the administration,” said Janet Murguia, the group’s President. “I am very surprised that the Obama administration in its first budget would mirror similar cuts made by the Bush administration.”
Ms. Murguia cited as an example the Obama administration’s decision not to increase spending for health programs that serves Hispanics, or unemployment programs for the country’s Hispanic population, even though, the group says, 11.4 percent of Hispanics are currently unemployed.
Yet the group also praised some parts of the budget.
For example, the budget requests $37-million for a program that…
May 8, 2009, 4:06 pm
Charities Criticize Obama’s Proposed Cut to an Education and Technology Program
The Obama administration’s budget proposal to cut the Enhancing Education Through Technology program from $269-million down to $100-million has raised the ire of several nonprofit organizations.
The Consortium for School Networking, International Society for Technology Education, Software & Information Industry Association, and State Educational Technology Directors Association released a statement saying such cuts harm efforts to increase American competitiveness.
“During the past several months, the Obama Administration has outlined a vision of educational innovation and improvement to enable our nation’s children to compete in the global economy. But today’s budget proposal falls far short of the targeted investments needed to ensure all students have the modernized classrooms and technology-rich instruction needed to achieve this vision.”
The groups urged President Obama to …
May 7, 2009, 4:29 pm
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Would Get Small Increase Under Obama Plan
President Obama asked Congress to provide $502-million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Included in that total is a $440-million two-year advance appropriation for the 2012 fiscal year, a $10-million increase from the amount the organization will now receive for 2011 programs.
Public broadcasting gets money in advance because its programs take a long time to plan; the advance budget allocation process also is designed to ensure that public broadcasters retain editorial independence in their program decisions.
Additionally, $36-million would support efforts to help public television and radio broadcasters convert from an analog to a digital signal.
Another provision in the budget seeks to makes $27-million available for the final phase of a joint project between the corporation and National Public Radio to replace and upgrade the public radio satellite system, and $25-…
May 7, 2009, 3:44 pm
Budget Requests 29% Increase for Corporation for National and Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service could get close to $1.15-billion under President Obama’s 2010 budget.
That is 29 percent more than is now being spent, and about $200-million more than President Obama had proposed earlier this year. The increase reflects a spending boost authorized by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act signed last month by President Obama.
The corporation is an umbrella agency that works with charities, religious groups, schools, civic groups, and other types of nonprofit organizations to provide volunteering opportunities for Americans.
Under the new budget, $220.9-million would support 500,000 Senior Corps volunteers programs such as the RSVP program, Foster Grandparents, and Senior Companions.
The new budget requests also expand the AmeriCorps program. The President is requesting that $692.3-million be directed toward four AmeriCorps…
May 7, 2009, 12:22 pm
Obama Budget Seeks 10% Increase for Peace Corps
President Obama’s 2010 budget, released this morning, seeks slightly more than $373.4-million for the Peace Corps, a 10-percent increase from the $340-million the organization now receives.
An organization that represents people who have served in the Peace Corps called the proposed increase inadequate.
“President Obama’s Peace Corps funding request is a step in the right direction, but it is only a step,” said Kevin Quigley, president of the National Peace Corps Association, in a statement on the organization’s blog.
Mr. Quigley said the Peace Corps needs much more from the government because more Americans are responding to President Obama’s call to service and more countries are asking for Peace Corps volunteers.
Mr. Quigley called the 10 percent increase the president is requesting “modest” and said it does not go far enough to help the agency fulfill President Obama’s go…
April 29, 2009, 11:06 am
New Report Shows Nonprofit Groups Where to Apply for Federal Stimulus Money
A report released this week by Giving USA and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University gives nonprofit leaders crucial information on how nonprofit organizations can apply for money in the new federal economic-stimulus law.
The report provides nonprofit groups with directions on how to seek different types of stimulus money, both to finance programs now in operation and start new ones.
The Center and Giving USA are urging nonprofit groups to act fast since the deadlines for applying for stimulus money are coming up quickly.
April 22, 2009, 5:58 pm
Nonprofit Leaders and Experts Examine Lobbying and Advocacy
While supporting a particular cause may be central to most nonprofit organizations, a lack of resources is forcing lobbying and advocacy efforts to the sidelines at most nonprofit groups, according to the findings of a meeting held by the Nonprofit Listening Post Project.
The project is dedicated to examining how nonprofit organizations are responding to pressures and challenges unique to this era, and is part of the Center for Civil Society Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies, in Baltimore.
Last summer a group of nonprofit leaders and experts gathered at the institute to explore ways to increase support for nonprofit advocacy, and what they found revealed that although nonprofit leaders are seeking increased support for advocacy, most worry that taking a strong stance on an issue will offend donors and board members.
The university has published a…
March 26, 2009, 7:02 pm
Foundation Center Shows Grants by Congressional District
The Foundation Center, in New York, has developed new tools to help identify how foundation and corporate support is distributed throughout U.S. Congressional districts, the organization announced this week.
The tools are available for anyone who is a subscriber to the center’s Foundation Directory Online, and gives users the chance to search for nonprofit groups, corporations, and grants by congressional district.
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