1 in 2 Americans are now poor or low income

Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.

"Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too 'rich' to qualify," said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty.

"The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal," he said. "If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years."

•Study: 1 in 5 American children lives in poverty
Congressional Republicans and Democrats are sparring over legislation that would renew a Social Security payroll tax cut, part of a year-end political showdown over economic priorities that could also trim unemployment benefits, freeze federal pay and reduce entitlement spending.

Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, questioned whether some people classified as poor or low-income actually suffer material hardship. He said that while safety-net programs have helped many Americans, they have gone too far, citing poor people who live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs.

With nearly 14 million Americans unemployed, a new child welfare study finds one in five children are living in poverty. Nearly one in three live in homes where no parent works full-time year-round. NBC's Chris Jansing reports.
"There's no doubt the recession has thrown a lot of people out of work and incomes have fallen," Rector said. "As we come out of recession, it will be important that these programs promote self-sufficiency rather than dependence and encourage people to look for work."

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Mayors in 29 cities say more than 1 in 4 people needing emergency food assistance did not receive it. Many middle-class Americans are dropping below the low-income threshold — roughly $45,000 for a family of four — because of pay cuts, a forced reduction of work hours or a spouse losing a job. Housing and child-care costs are consuming up to half of a family's income.

States in the South and West had the highest shares of low-income families, including Arizona, New Mexico and South Carolina, which have scaled back or eliminated aid programs for the needy. By raw numbers, such families were most numerous in California and Texas, each with more than 1 million.

The struggling Americans include Zenobia Bechtol, 18, in Austin, Texas, who earns minimum wage as a part-time pizza delivery driver. Bechtol and her 7-month-old baby were recently evicted from their bedbug-infested apartment after her boyfriend, an electrician, lost his job in the sluggish economy.

After an 18-month job search, Bechtol's boyfriend now works as a waiter and the family of three is temporarily living with her mother.

"We're paying my mom $200 a month for rent, and after diapers and formula and gas for work, we barely have enough money to spend," said Bechtol, a high school graduate who wants to go to college. "If it weren't for food stamps and other government money for families who need help, we wouldn't have been able to survive."

About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. That's up by 4 million from 2009, the earliest numbers for the newly developed poverty measure.

Read more here.

The Institute for Human Services Provider Newsletter: Upcoming Events and More!

Happy Holidays!

As 2011 begins to wind down, everyone at IHS would like to wish you a healthy and happy holiday season. We know that this is a busy time, but also wanted to share with you some of the exciting events we have planned for 2012. More information about each event will be available closer to the event date.

January, 24th: IHS Café: HR Issues & Trends in Nonprofits
February, 21st: Grantwriting Workshop
March 1st: STNED Meeting - Facebook with Sean Lucasik
March 21st: IHS Annual Conference
April 2012: Volunteer Conference
May 11th: Adolescent Health & Wellness Conference
June 7th: STNED Meeting
July 19th: Steuben Teen Pregnancy Prevention Task Force Annual Meeting & Training
August 3rd: IHS Cafe
September 6th: STNED Meeting
September 9th - 10th: NYSARH Conference
October 5th: IHS Cafe
November 17th: Rural Health Day
December 6th: STNED Meeting

Nonprofit Professional in the Spotlight
It's the end of the year, and we wanted to take the time to highlight the wonderful work of three nonprofit professionals working at three very different organizations.
Leah Hudson is the Coordinator of Education and Training at Southern Tier Hospice and Palliative Care. Learn more about her and her work.
Christine McLear is a sexuality educator at Planned Parenthood. Learn more about her and her work.
Lori Payne is the Program Coordinator for the Kids' Adventure Club Program at Pathways, Inc. Learn more about her and her work.

We are always amazed at the dedication and passion that nonprofit professionals in our region bring to their work, and look forward to highlighting more in the new year.

Help with Doctoral Research Project
The Institute for Human Services is helping to connect a doctoral researcher in the School of Human Services at Capella University with community-based nonprofit organizations across South Central New York. His research study - entitled "Cashing Out: Fund Development Director Turnover in Nonprofit Organizations" is looking at turnover intent within nonprofits, specifically the positions held by development professionals. Dr. Ray Borges is supervising the research project and we encourage you and/or your development team to participate in the research study here.

For more information or to contact the researcher, Brian McConnell, email at bmcconnell2@capellauniversity.edu. Please also contact the researcher directly for a a copy of the informed consent form for your records. Thank you for your help.

Welcome New IHS Members!
Reverb Ministries, Inc.
O'Brien-Adams Financial Group
Twin Tiers Region Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Are You a Nonprofit Member of the Institute for Human Services? Find out how IHS can help you accomplish your mission!

Nonprofit Member Benefits include a complimentary membership to the New York Council of Nonprofits annually! Download the Nonprofit Member Application.

Call IHS Member Services today for a one-on-one consultation - 607-776-9467 x-226.

Charting a Decade of Online Donations

Charting a Decade of Online Donations
November 23, 2011, 11:04 am
By Cody Switzer
Only 4 percent of donors had given online in 2001. This year, about 65 percent have given to charity through the Internet.

That’s one of the comparisons made in a new graphic from Network for Good, a fund-raising and volunteerism Web site that celebrates its 10th anniversary this month.

In 2001, the average donation through the site was $226. But this year the average gift is $73, a change that Network for Good interprets as a sign that online giving has “gone mainstream.”

Here’s the full graphic:

NY comptroller says late checks hurt nonprofits

NY comptroller says late checks hurt nonprofits
Nov. 15, 2011, 3:01 a.m. EST
AP
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says late contract approvals and payments by the state are hurting nonprofit providers and jeopardizing services.

DiNapoli says state agencies last year were on average six months late in approving nine out of 10 contracts valued at $50,000 or more, often after services were provided.

An analysis of the first half of 2011 shows nearly 90 percent of contracts approved by the comptroller were submitted late by state agencies.

DiNapoli says nonprofits operate on thin margins and provide basic services ranging from health care clinics to work programs, with 22,000 active grant contracts totaling $16.8 billion.

The nonprofit sector employed 1.25 million people statewide last year.

You can access the article by Clicking Here.

STNED Holiday Social Networking Event

STNED Holiday Social Event

Where:
Three Birds Restaurant
73 East Market Street
Corning, NY 14830

Driving Directions

When:
Thursday December 1, 2011 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EST
Add to my calendar

Three Birds Restaurant, Corning

Please join Executive Directors and Senior Management Professionals at the STNED Holiday Social Event. The purpose of this event is to have an enjoyable evening of networking and light fare. A cash bar will also be available for your enjoyment.

The event will be free of charge for the first participant from a nonprofit organization and $10 for each additional person from that organization. Please RSVP via the online form below.

STNED was established for the purpose of providing education, peer support and the sharing of ideas for nonprofit executive and management professionals in the Southern Tier/Finger Lakes Region of New York State. STNED is a member of New York Nonprofit Executive Directors Network .

Our generous sponsors for the evening are:

Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning & the Finger Lakes

The Institute for Human Services, Inc.

ProAction of Steuben & Yates, Inc.

The Triangle Fund


REGISTER NOW

I Can't Make It

Nonprofit Knowledge Matters | Protecting the Charitable Giving Incentive

Protect the Charitable Giving Incentive

Using Our Outside Voices in the House … and in the Senate

Nonprofits are not used to raising our voices. We teach others to use their “indoor voices,” and we mediate disputes so others won’t yell in anger. We heal the wounded, silently. We feed the hungry, quietly. At times we play loud music and paint loud colors on canvases. But you get the picture: we are not used to yelling.

Recently Tim Delaney, President and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, was in Georgia, Montana, and New York, encouraging nonprofits to raise their voices -- literally. In rooms filled with nonprofit leaders attending major conferences, he designated half the room the loud "Yes” crowd, and the other half the “Nos.” Tim then pointed to one side – “YES” came the refrain; then to the other side and louder “NOs” reverberated. After a few volleys, the friendly competition could be measured in deafening decibels. Tim then instructed the “Yes” side to remain silent – they weren’t allowed to use their voices. After a couple more volleys of loud “NOs” that were met with silence, Tim noted what policymakers hear: silence from the majority who are too busy and too unsure, versus resounding and unmatched “NOs” from the vocal opposition. Each time the “No!” voices boomed against the silence, members of the audience grasped the danger of remaining silent.

Silence is the nonprofit sector’s worst enemy. If nonprofits don’t raise our voices, we are powerless. Right now, it’s urgent that all nonprofits speak up.

The charitable giving incentive is at risk.
Congress is considering, on a tight timeline, how to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion. Slashing the deficit by that much guarantees that every option to save money will be on the table, without much thought as to the consequences – unless the downside is abundantly clear. The National Council – and so far, more than 20 other national organizations and 2,800 community-based nonprofits across America – think it is abundantly clear that if the Supercommittee recommends elimination of the charitable giving incentive, then individuals and communities served by nonprofits will suffer.

Raise your voice now!
Sign on to the Nonprofit Community Letter to protect the charitable giving incentive.
See which nonprofits in your state have already signed on.
Learn more about the charitable giving incentive.
Spread the word! Tweet: 
The #charitable giving incentive that supports #nonprofits is at risk! Take action now to protect it. bit.ly/olnPHp (via @NatlCouncilNPs)
or
#Nonprofits, tell the #supercommittee not to change the #charitable #giving incentive http://bit.ly/rZcH5q #takeaction (via @NatlCouncilNPs)
Advocacy by nonprofits is legal – and needed.
Join your State Association to keep informed about capacity building and policy issues that impact all nonprofits.

New NLRB Poster Requirement - new effective date of the rule is Jan. 31, 2012.

New NLRB Poster Requirement : new effective date of the rule is Jan. 31, 2012.

Below is information about the new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) required poster describing employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
The National Labor Relations Board has postponed the implementation date for its new notice-posting rule by more than two months. The new effective date of the rule is Jan. 31, 2012.
The Board’s jurisdiction extends to most small business owners. However, some very small employers whose annual volume of business is not large enough to have more than a slight effect on interstate commerce are exempted. In the case of retail businesses, including home construction, the Board’s jurisdiction covers any employer with a gross annual volume of business of $500,000 or more. The Board’s non-retail jurisdictional standard applies to most other employers. It is based on the amount of goods sold or services provided by the employer out of state (called “outflow”) or goods or services purchased by the employer from out of state (called “inflow”), even indirectly. Under this standard, the Board will take jurisdiction over an employer with an annual inflow or outflow of at least $50,000. See “Frequently Asked Question” Link below for more details about the Board’s jurisdiction standards.
A workplace poster that describes employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act is now available for free download from the NLRB website at www.nlrb.gov/poster
Private-sector employers within the NLRB’s jurisdiction will be required to display the poster where other workplace notices are posted. The National Labor Relations Board has postponed the implementation date for its new notice-posting rule by more than two months in order to allow for enhanced education and outreach to employers, particularly those who operate small and medium sized businesses. The new effective date of the rule is Jan. 31, 2012. The decision to extend the rollout period followed queries from businesses and trade organizations indicating uncertainty about which businesses fall under the Board’s jurisdiction, and was made in the interest of ensuring broad voluntary compliance. No other changes in the rule, or in the form or content of the notice, will be made. Employers who customarily post personnel rules or policies on an internet or intranet site must also provide a link to the rights poster from those sites. In addition, copies of the Notice will soon be available without charge from any NLRB regional office.
For further information about the posting, including a detailed discussion of which employers are covered by the NLRA, and what to do if a substantial share of the workplace speaks a language other than English, please see our Frequently Asked Questions. . For questions that do not appear on the list, or to arrange for an NLRB presentation on the rule, please contact the agency at questions@nlrb.gov or 866-667-NLRB.