RAP Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 24 - October 2019
In This Issue:
Welcome Christine DeMonaco, Newest RAP Team  Memb er


We would like to introduce our newest RAP Team member, Christine DeMonaco. Christine has taken over as the CNA Services Manager, replacing Jennifer Braun who decided to pursue other opportunities. We hope for the best for Jennifer.
Christine recently served as a Development Coordinator with Friends of the Cultural Center at the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert. In that position, she supported the Development Team with fundraising projects and events. Christine earned a Master's Degree of Management in Business. She will support CNA's efforts to introduce innovative and successful programs to strengthen nonprofits. She also brings her knowledge of several leading software programs used by our organizations.
Christine lives in Palm Desert with her husband, Joseph and they enjoy taking long drives, hiking and spending time with family.
When asked why she decided to take on the duties and responsibilities of the CNA Services Manager, Christine responded:
 
"I'm looking forward to learning the needs of our community and how we can help support each member/agency through relevant data and hands on resources.
 
"I hope to engage, maintain and build member/agency relationships at the Center for Nonprofit Advancement," she said. "I am proud to be part of a team that helps people, provides resources, and develops leadership in our community."
 Desert Fast Pitch

This year's Desert Fast Pitch competition is underway. Over the last two months, local nonprofit leaders have been meeting with coaches and mentors who have expertise in Marketing, Social Media and Branding/Public Relations. The nonprofit professionals are expected to put together a proposal aimed at cultivating future supporters for their respective organizations.
 
In addition, the seven nonprofit leaders will be expected to deliver a compelling three minute "Pitch." This year's participants are:

Boo To Bullying/Dimitri Halkidis
FAIR Foundation/Cathy Teal
Desert Best Friend's Closet/Connie Golds
Cabot's Museum/Irene Rodriguez
Desert Mountains/Colin Barrows
CREATE Center For The Arts/Debra Mumm
Coachella Valley Housing Coalition/  Pamela Grogan
 
Three prizes will be awarded: The Top Prize $20,000; the Most Innovative $15,000 and Audience Choice Award $10,000.
 
This year's Desert Fast Pitch event is scheduled for November 20 at UCR Palm Desert from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
 
For more information Click here and to purchase tickets click here.


CNA Corner

Stephanie Minor, CNA Director

We are excited to announce the launch of the Center For Nonprofit Advancement's new website. Please visit www.CenterForNonprofitAdvancement.org and let us know what you think of it. Be sure to visit the site often as we continue to add essential resources and share information that is valuable for nonprofits.

We are also excited to announce the opening of a brand new resource here at the Center For Nonprofit Advancement. We now have a Media Studio that our CNA members can access via appointment. This studio features a seamless, Chromakey green screen, a seamless white screen, and a seamless black screen that serve as backgrounds for your videos or photos! We have umbrella lights and reflectors as well. Our members can also access our brand new video camera camcorder complete with a built-in microphone. Simply bring your own SD card and your ideas, and you can bring your videos to life!

Members can choose to create videos in front of the colored screens, or they can sit in our interview area that contains two chairs and with a table in between them. The choice is yours!

We created this space because we know that capturing your story and brand message on video is important, but not everyone has the funding or the space to create a studio. Problem solved! Please reach out to Christine DeMonaco at cdemonaco@rapfoundation.org to schedule a time to use the studio. We can't wait to see your videos!
Desert Legal Foundation

The Desert Legal Foundation (DLF) was originally formed for the purpose of helping people-middle management people, especially-who had been treated unfairly by their employers; it evolved into an organization which potentially helped anyone who was being taken advantage of by an employer. A modest funding amount set up by former County Supervisor Patricia "Corky" Larson, founding Board Member Richard Cromwell III, and investor/philanthropist T. Boone Pickens, was parlayed into legal interdiction by the Foundation.

Although DLF disbanded, their Board of Directors made up of Corky Larson, Aurora Wilson, Richard Cromwell III, Sue Stedding and Michael O'Connor voted unanimously to give their remaining funds of approximately $40,000 to RAP in the hope that the money will be used by nonprofits facing legal issues.

This grant will allow RAP to increase its Center for Nonprofit Advancement Program (CNA) resources meant to develop nonprofits' capacity to serve their clients. While CNA currently provides full or partial financial assistance for consultants with expertise in a particular area (for example: Strategic Planning, Human Resources, Marketing Nonprofits, etc.) up until now its consultant pool did not include attorneys.

However, a nonprofit can now apply to CNA for financial assistance if it is in need of addressing legal issues such as, but not limited to: Formulating Bylaws, Addressing Nepotism, Conflicts of Interest, Creating MOUs to Merge Nonprofits, and Board Development.  Feel free to contact CNA Director Stephanie Minor by email SMinor@RAPFoundation.org for more information.
Supporting Nonprofits' Search for Grants

Besides having a lending library of many books in nonprofit topics, RAP provides free online research services at our facility.

The Foundation Directory Online delivers detailed grant information, description of grants awarded and types of grantmaker funding support and so much more.

This online resource service is available to nonprofits and can be easily viewed at the RAP office. Contact CDeMonaco@RAPFoundation.org   or call at 760 674-9992 to make a reservation.
CEO Report
Lety De Lara, CEO

Greetings! Autumn has arrived and there are so many activities kicking off the season. I would like to share some information about recent or future activities here at RAP.

Annual Report

RAP's funding year runs from July 1 to June 30, so there was a great deal for the Board to act on at the September meeting. First, the Board adopted the 2018-2019 Annual Report. We are excited to share with everyone information about the programs and events we supported in the last year. Although we listed all of the numerous organizations we supported, we decided to highlight a few funded organizations which clearly illustrate the impact of our funding in the Community.

Audit Season

Next, the RAP Board adopted our Annual Audit. We are pleased to have the process finished, and also that all is as it should be. Because of the source of our funds, we are especially committed to ensuring transparency and accountability.

Reclassifying Health- Mental Health Committee

As many of you may know, the RAP board had a Mental Health Initiative for the last five years. However, in acknowledgement that a person's whole well-being includes both physical and mental health, the Board decided to re-designate a committee as Health and Mental Health and it will be responsible for making recommendations for our Request For Proposals (RFPs) in the current year.
Stay tuned for the next RFP announcement in early November.

Recent Grants

The RAP Board recently allocated grants to the following organizations:
  • Galilee Center's Our Lady of Guadalupe Center
  • Family YMCA's Swim Lessons
  • Flying Doctors' September 28 Oasis Event
  • Association of Funding Professionals Desert Communities Chapter's National Philanthropy Day Awards Event
  • California Partnership's Education and Enrollment of Transitional Age Youth into MediCal
  • Riverside County Office on Aging's Desert Volunteer Connect
  • Youth Leadership Institute's Que Madre Media Collective
  • City of Blythe Police Department's "Car Seat Clinic"
  • Reynaldo J. Carreon Foundation's Annual Scholarship Event
 
Great weather for outdoor activities. Enjoy!




Sincerely, 
Lety De  Lara, CEO

 

Recently Released
 
No Place Like Home 
 Round 2 Notice of Funding Availability
and Final Guidelines
 
Register to Attend a Workshop!
 
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is pleased to
announce the release of the 
Notice of Funding Availability  (NOFA) for approximately $622 million in Round 2 funds for the No Place Like Home (NPLH) program.
 
Applications are due  January 8, 2020 .
 
Register to attend a workshop or webinar!
 
Riverside Workshop
October 22, 2019
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Home Front at Camp Anza
Officers Club
5797 Picker Street
Riverside, CA 92504

Webinar 
November 6, 2019
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

 
Background  - The NPLH program provides deferred payment loans to counties or their Development Sponsors for the development of permanent supportive housing for people living with serious mental illness who are experiencing homelessness, chronic homelessness, or are at-risk of chronic homelessness.
 
For more information, visit our    NPLH webpage.   
 
Questions?  Email  NPLH@hcd.ca.gov . 

Community Development Block Grant Appreciation

At a recent meeting, the RAP Board extended their appreciation to Fourth District County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez for the County's allocation from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) of $250,000. The grant will improve RAP's parking lot and sidewalks to address access issues and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  
We anticipate that the project will be complete in early 2020. The twenty six nonprofit tenants and many other organizations using our meeting rooms will benefit from these improvements.
 

Picture: Coachella Valley Disaster Preparedness Network Workshop at RAP's CNA facility on October 2.
Grants Corner

Eva Guenther-James, Grants Manager

Happy Fall Everyone!

I recently attended the Southern California Grantmakers 2019 Annual Conference in Los Angeles in early September. This year was a record attendance of 700 funders and grantmakers.   The theme this year was Foresight Philanthropy and Christine Essel, President and CEO, stated that "it offers us the opportunity to learn from changemakers who are readying our country for a host of demographic, economic and environmental shifts." Experts invited to present are renowned for examining the trends that shape the future across the fields of gender justice, racial equality and inclusiveness. Attendees were reminded through the various sessions and key note speakers the importance of social justice, equity and inclusion within the philanthropic world. The nonprofit sector needs to know that as much as those are important to live by in the world of the grantmakers, it is also expected of the nonprofit organizations.

Additionally, emphasis was again, as last year, placed on the philanthropic sector to promote and encourage collaboration and partnership of the public and private sectors. I had the opportunity to learn from a panel who developed an amazing collaboration between nonprofit LIFT, UCLA and the Los Angeles County Dept. of Health Services as well as a couple of financial supporters JPMorgan Chase & Co. and California Community Foundation.   This collaboration showed how the toxic stress of poverty-a critical social determinant of health during childhood and over the life time-can be alleviated with intentional collaboration across sectors and disciplines within a medical-financial partnership. A great example of the success was a client of LIFT who shared her experience of living through financial and health recovery because of this innovative collaboration.

So, what are you doing to make sure that your organization models social justice, equity and inclusion for the target population being served? What are you and your organization doing to break out of the silo mentality and embraced collaboration that makes sense and moves the needle?

Best, Eva


From Top Left to Right : Stephanie Minor (CNA Director), Joyce Corporon (Accountant), Mireya Reyes (Facilities Manager), and Eva Guenther-James (Grants Manager)

From Front Left to Right: Christine Demonaco (CNA Community Services Manager), Leticia De Lara (CEO), Angie Nieto (Office Assistant), and Ruth Christian (Volunteer)



(760) 674-9992

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