Stand Up and Be Counted: Why the U.S. Census Matters to Nonprofits

March 26th, 2010 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

By now, you have probably seen several public service announcements about the importance of filling out your U.S. Census forms. You have probably received your Census forms in the mail as well.

But did you know that the Census is one of the most valuable tools available for federal, state and local government and planning officials? Data from the Census is utilized to create plans and distribute funds for schools, roads, government redistricting and more. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy article “Foundations Pour Millions Into Efforts to Improve the Census,” the Census count currently results in $1,415 in funds per person annually, adding up to $14,150 per person for the whole decade.

In addition, according to NonprofitsCount.org:

  • $4 trillion in federal funds will be distributed to states over the next decade based on Census data.
  • Texas received $23.1 billion in Census-based federal funds during 2007 alone.
  • Each Texan counted in the 2000 Census earned $968.36 in federal dollars for our state.

Part of those funds will come in the form of taxpayer dollars that go toward contracting with nonprofits to deliver services. Unfortunately, many of the people who rely on nonprofits for services—particularly people with young children, homeless people and people whose primary language is not English—are often underrepresented in the Census. Without everyone’s participation in the Census, communities cannot effectively plan to meet the true needs of all of their residents, and nonprofits may not receive enough funding to continue serving their clients effectively.

But your nonprofit organization can help ensure that everyone—especially those who might need help the most—can stand up and be counted in the Census! Your organization can:

How is your organization promoting Census participation? Tell us in the Comments section!

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OneStar’s Service Project: LifeWorks

March 18th, 2010 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

We raked and bagged leaves at LifeWorks’ Transitional Housing Center.

Here at OneStar, we recognize the importance of service as a strategy to tackle community challenges. We also recognize the value of collaboration, and the importance of strong working partnerships to help strengthen the nonprofit sector. So every few months, OneStar employees get together with two of our national service partners—the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) State Office, and Texas Center for Service Learning—for a day of volunteering and discussions.

Our most recent meeting was Friday, March 12, 2010. We spent the morning at LifeWorks, an Austin nonprofit that provides counseling, education and housing services to youth and families. We raked leaves, planted bushes, scrubbed doors and cleaned out rooftop gutters at their Transitional Living Services facility, which provides housing and case management to young adults who have aged-out of the foster care system. We truly enjoyed working on the facility, making it more welcoming for its residents. Thanks go out to Susan Akin, Steve Bewsey, Mitch Weynand and all the LifeWorks staff and residents, who made us feel so welcome during our project.

In the afternoon, our partners and several OneStar staff members listened to a fantastic presentation from Fred Lugo, Director of Travis County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), and Graham Duncan, a Travis County RSVP volunteer. Their program connects people ages 55 and over with volunteer opportunities that utilize their skills and their interests. They discussed the program’s success, stressing the importance of effectively matching volunteers to the right opportunities while also offering volunteer recognition events. Their program has around 1,100 volunteers at any given time, which they credit to positive word-of-mouth referrals.

After the Travis County RSVP presentation, three representatives from College Forward spoke: Emily Steinberg, Associate Director; Adriana Gomez, AmeriCorps*VISTA leader; and Max Arzola, AmeriCorps*State member. Steinberg talked about the origins of College Forward, and how much of their program’s success can be attributed to its unique collaboration between AmeriCorps*State and AmeriCorps*VISTA members. With 99% of its participants getting into college—a full 100% of those who have applied were admitted to four-year schools—College Forward is having tremendous social impact in the Central Texas region.

We’d like to thank everyone from Travis County RSVP and College Forward who took the time to meet with us in the afternoon. We learned a tremendous amount during both our service project and our afternoon presentations. We truly appreciated the opportunity to celebrate our partners’ successes while also getting involved and helping directly!

(Go here to view more pictures from our service project on Facebook!)

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Social Investment Programs Offer Internships and Leadership Opportunities

November 11th, 2009 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

Click on image to download document
Click on image to download

Did you know that Shell Oil Company has social investment programs that connect interns and trainings with Houston-area nonprofits? Shell’s Nonprofit Internship Program provides grants to qualified nonprofits, allowing them to hire college students as interns during the summertime. In addition, the Shell – United Way Leadership and Capacity Development program serves as a structured training and mentoring opportunity for new and emerging nonprofit leaders. You can read more about these innovative programs here.

For more information about Shell’s Nonprofit Internship Program, visit Volunteer Houston’s Web site.

For more information on the Shell – United Way Leadership and Capacity Development program, see the United Way of Houston’s “Leadership Development” Web page.

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Projects on National Day of Service and Remembrance

September 11th, 2009 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

Today is the first September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, as designated by the federal government as part of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. In addition, today is also the conclusion of President Obama’s United We Serve campaign.

We would be honored if you shared your stories of service with us in the comments section:

  • Tell us how your United We Serve project went.
    • What did you or your organization do?
    • How many people were engaged?
    • What level of impact did you have together?
    • Are you are planning to continue the initiative beyond this summer?
  • Tell us about your September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance project.
    • What do you plan to do?
    • How do you hope it will benefit your community?

In addition to posting your stories of service here, please share them at Serve.gov and 911dayofservice.org.

We hope that United We Serve has encouraged you to make volunteering a part of your life, not just one summer. In addition, we hope that you find meaning and solace on this day, whether through engaging in a service project, honoring current and past military personnel, spending time with friends and loved ones or simply quietly reflecting.

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Foundations’ Remarkable Return on Investment

July 21st, 2009 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

Currently, the U.S. Senate is considering measures to reduce budget shortfalls. Given these recent conversations, we thought it would be interesting to discuss the return on investment that nonprofits generate, and why investing in them is a wise idea.

Recently, OneStar analyzed “The Social and Economic Value of Private and Community Foundations” by Robert Shapiro and Aparna Mathur. According to the study, “…On average, each dollar that private and community foundations provided in grants and support in 2007 produced an estimated return of $8.58 in direct, economic welfare benefits.” This means that nearly $468 billion in direct returns came from an approximately $43 billion investment.

The benefits leveraged by these grants can be seen in both direct and indirect manners, including financially. Shapiro and Mathur note that, in addition to the direct benefits received by clients as a result of nonprofit activities, community and private foundation support also produced additional indirect benefit for communities (through increased household income and job creation) and increased tax revenues for local, state and federal governments (as a result of the economic activity).

OneStar’s Research, Learning and Evaluation team analyzed Shapiro and Mathur’s study and commented on its importance as a call to action for the nonprofit sector. Read our analysis here.

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