CTCNetwork News February 2008

In this Issue

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From the Board President

 

Dear CTCNet Members,

Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet) has been growing and changing as most nonprofit organizations do as they revisit their mission, vision and goals in current funding climate. Our talented Board of Directors and staff have reviewed our past and present programs, looked at marketing, environmental shifts in technology, broadband, education and policy. As our issues in the community technology field continue to evolve and adapt, CTCNet has had to make difficult structural changes to make the organization more efficient and effective and prepare for the future. We have changed job titles and positions, as a result we no longer have a Director of Programs or Member Services Manager. Hanh Le and Stephen Quinn have been dedicated staff and committed to the work of CTCNet. They will surely be missed. We have added to our team Stephanie Gagné our new Managing Director.

Stephanie has more than 25 years of non profit experience in management, fundraising, and program development.  She is originally from Houston, Texas but now calls the Washington DC area home.  Her career path has included positions as fund development manager, vice president of human resources and volunteers, operations manager, executive director and board member.  She has worked for non profits ranging from membership associations, social service agencies, community centers and government agencies. She has been responsible for creating new programs and enhancing traditional programs. She possesses hands on experience managing and funding a community technology center.  Her extensive and wide array of skills and experience will be an asset to the organization.  Please join me in welcoming Stephanie to CTCNet.

Please welcome new Board members B. David Rogers, Associate Director and Chief Technology Officer, Mission West Virginia, Inc. , Patricia M. Jayne, Former Byte Back Executive Director, Washington, DC and Micheline Wilcoxen Instructor, FSS-Project T.E.C.H., and Rick Hermann, Manager, US Public Sector Initiatives, Intel Corporation.

Stay Connected, 

Shireen Mitchell, CTCNet Board President

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From the Managing Director

 

Dear CTCNet Members,

Technology continues to unfold at lightening speed reinforcing the vital role that Community Technology Centers play in lives of our communities. Now more than ever teamwork, partnership and collaboration will be invaluable in providing resources to our constituents. It will be imperative to build on successes and learn from challenges. The current environment in which we are operating will necessitate adjustments in order to enhance services, embrace expertise and maximize staff talents. This year’s environment will require us to streamline, be more creative, turn on a dime and stay flexible. We cannot underestimate the impact of every task, role and responsibility that we may be asked to contribute as we serve our communities.

Like many of you, CTCNet is addressing resource constraints and is implementing more efficient resource management. We reassessed our operations and merged positions which resulted in the downsizing of staff. We are prioritizing to ensure that membership services are not compromised. Short term decisions are required as we plan for a long term future. We will need to routinely assess our progress to meet our goals and as we move CTCNet forward.

As we face our challenges we are ever mindful of those that are depending on us. On behalf of CTCNet, we are committed to delivering the resources you need as you serve your diverse communities. As CTCNet’s new Managing Director, I want to thank you for your efforts and I look forward to working with you as we embrace a new year.

Warmest regards,

Stephanie Gagné, CTCNet Managing Director

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Important Announcements

SURVEY: CTCNet's 2008 Community Technology Conference

Inquiring minds want to know… when is CTCNet’s Community Technology Conference? CTCNet understands how important the conference is to the membership. CTCNet is in the process of identifying dates for the conference in October 2008 in California.

It is important that you share your feedback and comments with us to ensure that we can provide a conference that delivers optimal resources and opportunities as well as a conference that is financially feasible for all.

Please complete the survey by February 20th. Your responses will be integral in the planning of the 2008 Conference. Thank you for your patience and input.

Go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=NfedypjFfAz9DoFyaU7i8g_3d_3d and fill out the survey today!

CTCNet's E-Learning Series

In December, CTCNet launched our first-ever series of e-learning events, and it has proven to be even more popular than we anticipated. The series kicked off on December 12th with a webinar on “Outcomes Measurement & Evaluation for Community Technology Programs”, conducted in partnership with Communities Connect Network (CCN). The webinar was presented by Maureen MacCarthy of MGS Consulting and covered current trends in nonprofit outcomes measurement and evaluation, how to build and report on measurable outcomes, and ways to make effective use of evaluation methodologies and tools. As a bonus, the webinar also featured a 30-minute presentation of results of a Gates Foundation-funded evaluation of afterschool technology programs in Washington State.

On January 10th, CTCNet hosted a teleconference entitled, “A Good Job Can Transform a Life: Partnering with the Workforce Investment System to Change Lives” presented by Erica Pelman of the US Department of Labor’s Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Registration for the event filled up just one day after registration opened. Presented free of charge, the teleconference included an overview of the workforce investment system, including One-Stop Career Centers and Workforce Investment Boards, and a discussion of strategies for successful partnerships between community-based organizations and the public workforce system.


Is Your CTCNet Membership Current?

The new year brings emerging opportunities for the community technology field, and we need you on board as we lead the way to support your efforts. Stay part of this powerful network as we work to connect and advance the field. Through our cooperative efforts, more than ever before, people in underserved communities are gaining access to technology and education that can strengthen individuals, families, and neighborhoods.

Here are a few great reasons to renew your CTCNet membership:

If you are not sure whether your membership is current, please email tcasbarian@ctcnet.org.

Renew by Fax or Mail: You can submit payment by printing the following invoice and mailing it along with a check, or by filling in the enclosed credit card authorization form and faxing it to us at 202-462-3892.

Click here: CTCNet Membership Renewal Invoice


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C4All Best Practices

 

CTCNet Presents Best Practices for CTCs and Technical Assistance Providers

CTCNet’s Connections for All (C4All) program enhanced the capacity of CTCs to serve people with a broad range of abilities by offering opportunities for training, for funding, and to access other tools and resources. Funded by a grant from AT&T, the program was a collaboration between CTCNet and the Alliance for Technology Access (ATA). In April 2007, CTCNet awarded $20,000 Accessibility Grants, which included 30 hours of technical assistance to 14 CTCs across the country. The grants were used to expand the capacity of CTCs to serve people with physical and learning disabilities, enabling them to have greater access to educational, vocational and social opportunities. In addition, they provided targeted professional development to CTC staff and provided assistive technology resources and guidance for CTCs in order to create more inclusive community-based environments for all people.

CTCNet has taken the information contained in C4All Accessibility Grantees and technical assistance provider reports, the program evaluation, and case studies to develop best practices for increasing the accessibility of CTCs. These best practices for CTCs and technical assistance providers offer guidance to CTCs on simple steps they can take to increase their ability to serve people with a broad range of abilities.

Best practices for CTCs include:

Best Practice: Make sure clients know what your CTC offers

Grantees included an accessibility statement in all outreach and training materials. The statements include both accessibility status and the commitment to being inclusive, e.g., “Our center is fully physically accessible and we are working on making all of our services and communications more accessible to people with disabilities. We welcome your calls with specific access questions.” Grantees also made sure that people know what they offer – they included computer classes and hours of operation in monthly calendars and posted this information on doors, bulletin boards, and in common areas. They created press releases, flyers and email broadcasts. Grantees also revised their registration processes to make them more accessible. For example, instead of requiring people to register for classes in person, they allowed them to register by phone or online.

Best Practice: Engage the Community

Grantees formed new partnerships and strengthened existing ones to increase their outreach and share expertise. Partners included local organizations that serve people with disabilities, housing authorities, local schools, libraries, and other CTCs. As part of these partnerships, grantees gave presentations on their programming and demonstrated accessible technology, which illustrated how they were relevant to the partners’ clients. Partnership allowed the grantees to leverage resources and share ideas. Partnerships also enable the grantees to sustain the impact of their projects.

These are just a few of the best practices. To learn the all the best practices for CTCs and technical assistance providers, visit www.ctcnet.org!

 

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Out and About with CTCNet

Digital Cities Expo

Digital Inclusion Forum – December 10th, Washington, DC

In December, staff members Stephen Quinn and Hanh Le attended the inaugural meeting of the Digital Inclusion Forum, an initiative of the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) created to share best practices and promote effective public policies to support digital inclusion in local communities . In addition to the W2i, founding organizations of the Forum include Microsoft, Intel, IBM and One Community.

The meeting was a day of expert panels and small group discussion addressing best practices in digital inclusion programs and policies from communities around the country. Highlighted projects included the City of Miami’s Elevate Miami initiative; Riverside, California’s SMART Riverside program; and state and regional initiatives such as the E-NC Authority; NetLiteracy (IL); ConnectKentucky; and OneCommunity (OH). The event also featured a keynote address from Tom Dowd, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration at the US Department of Labor, underscoring the importance of digital inclusion as a priority for meeting the country’s workforce development needs.

CTCNet Board member Rick Herrmann facilitated several portions of the event in his role as Manager of US Public Sector Field Programs for Intel. Catherine Settanni, a long-time leader in the CTCNet community and a lead organizer of the community benefits agreement included in Minneapolis’ wireless initiative, facilitated small-group work to identify public policy recommendations to be incorporated into the Digital Inclusion Forum’s platform.

The event was a unique opportunity to take part in discussions with government, nonprofit and private sector stakeholders to identify collaborative approaches to increasing digital inclusion, and CTCNet looks forward to ongoing dialogue!

For more information from and about the Digital Inclusion Forum, visit http://www.digitalinclusionforum.com/.

 

CYFAR

CTCNet and River City Youth Foundation at 2008 CYFAR Conference

CTCNet will be teaming up with River City Youth Foundation to present about CTCNet’s Youth Visions for Stronger Neighborhoods program at the May 6–9 Children Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Conference in San Antonio, TX.  The CYFAR Conference brings together professionals working with limited-resource families and at-risk-youth to learn and to share resources with colleagues from across the country. 

River City Youth Foundation, an Austin-based CTCNet member and past Youth Visions grantee, and CTCNet will present a “program showcase” about using multi-media tools and training to empower youth to effect positive changes in the neighborhoods where they live. 

If you plan on attending the CYFAR conference, please send us an email at membership@ctcnet.org and let us know.  To learn more about CYFAR, visit the Children Youth and Families Education and Research Network at www.cyfernet.org.  

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Tips from the Resource Center

This month’s teleconference training, A Good Job Can Change a Life: Partnering with the Workforce Investment System to Change Lives, (see article above) was extremely popular – all fifty slots were taken less than 48 hours after registration opened! Clearly, there is a high demand for information about how to work with the public workforce development system, so this edition of “Tips from the Resource Center” brings you several resources on this topic.

Partnering with the Workforce Investment System to Change Lives: This presentation, from our January teleconference, is now available for download in the Resource Center.

Link: Partnering with the Workforce Investment System to Change Lives

Employment Assistance is One-Stop Away: Produced by the Department of Labor’s Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, this is a useful and detailed overview of the Workforce Investment System and includes descriptions of the various opportunities for community-based organizations to partner with the workforce system though grants and partnerships.

Link: Employment Assistance is One-Stop Away

Developing Quality Grant Proposals: This presentation, developed by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, is a helpful guide to developing a competitive federal grant proposal, and even includes a complete sample proposal.

Link: Developing Quality Grant Proposals

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Member Spotlight:

Located in Oxnard, CA, El Concilio del Condado de Ventura is a non-profit community-based organization focused on increasing the quality of life for under-served and low-to-moderate income Ventura County Latino families. CTCNet spoke with Gabriela Chavez, the Administrative Assistant at El Concilio, to learn more about their community technology center.

What services does El Concilio provide to the community?  

El Concilio provides Citizenship/Immigration services, Family Education & Literacy - under which the technology center resides - and lastly our Youth Development department which houses our pregnancy prevention education program- Breakthrough Youth for Success.

Can you briefly describe what your technology-related programs are about and what they offer the community?

Our Technology Center offers free Microsoft programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) to anyone interested in adding to their current skills.  The Center also offers a web based program for our ESL students to advance their English speaking and pronunciation skills. The community benefits from these skills by assisting them to acquire better paying jobs.

What impact does El Concilio have on the individuals/community it serves?

It’s remarkable how many individuals are planning on using the PowerPoint program to present their business to banks for small business loans.  What you have to recognize is that the majority of these individuals have gone through our citizenship classes and have filed for citizenship through El Concilio so this is just one more step towards success for them.  The sky’s the limit.

What are the challenges, demands, and pressures facing your organization?

The largest challenge I would say is the current political situation that has our community very concerned.  The demands are mostly of political change and getting our voice heard with funders (issues of Spanish literacy don’t seem to go over well – yet, how do we teach ESL if the individual doesn't’t have a point of reference with their own language?) Pressures facing the organization, I’d say are those of finding enough funding for the multitude of needs in our community.  We struggle to provide excellent services with minimal funds.

For more information on El Concilio del Condado de Ventura, visit http://www.elconcilioventura.org/.

If you would like to see your organization featured in a future edition of the CTCNetwork News, contact Taylore Casbarian-Wilson at tcasbarian@ctcnet.org for more information.

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CTCNet Welcomes Two New Members

 

People's Resource Center

Wheaton, IL

Battlegrounds 640

Richton Park, IL

 

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