Seton Hall MPA Student/Alumni Forum

Congratulations to Courtney Page who wrote an abstract that was accepted for the 2013 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Global Assessment Report is the world’s leading report on disaster reduction, published once every two years.

The Global Assessment Report (GAR) is a major initiative of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). It contributes to the achievement of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) through monitoring risk patterns and trends and progress in disaster risk reduction and through providing guidance, to governments and non-governmental actors alike, on why and how they can, together, reduce disaster risks.

Courtney will also be presenting at the Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Conference, hosted by FEMA’s Emergency Training Institute and the Department of Homeland Security on June 7th.

There are four things nonprofit boards can do to make things better for themselves, their organization, and the population they serve

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tedgavin/2012/05/01/four-steps-to-saving-a-nonprofit-from-its-own-board-of-directors/

In recent months the Republican governor’s administration has amped up efforts to privatize government services, which would generate short-term revenue and cut the number of benefit-receiving employees. State parks, public schools, and Atlantic City Expressway toll booths all have been opened to outside companies.

At least a dozen functions of state government are being filled by companies or are targeted for privatization, public documents show, with the Christie administration considering proposals from firms to maintain highways, repair state vehicles, cook prison food, and process child-support payments.

The next piece of New Jersey government that may hit the market could provide the biggest windfall – and the biggest controversy. The Treasury Department has sought information from vendors about privatizing the $2.6 billion state lottery.

To read more – http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-29/news/31475041_1_privatization-state-parks-christie

Nonprofit hospitals in the Charlotte region are respected community institutions. They save lives, heal the sick and provide good jobs.

At the same time, most of them are stockpiling a fortune.

Their profits have risen along with their prices. Top executives are paid millions as their hospitals expand, buy expensive technology and build aggressively.

Gov. Chris Christie Wednesday signed an executive order creating the Interagency Council on Homelessness as part of what he describes as an effort to end homelessness with 10 years.

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/christie-creates-council-to-examine-homelessness-in-new-jersey

With dwindling resources and greater demand for transparency from the Internal Revenue Service and funding sources, nonprofits in New Jersey will need to invest in strategic planning and outsource accounting and technology operations to improve their financial performance in 2012, a nonprofit services executive with The Mercadien Group said.

http://www.njbiz.com/article/20120412/NJBIZ01/120419936/To-compete-nonprofits-must-consider-outsourcing-accounting-tech-operations

Nonprofit organizations and charities have distinct needs compared with other sectors of the economy. To get perspectives on the risk management and insurance problems that nonprofit managers face, Michael Henry (Executive Director of Volunteers Insurance Service Association, Inc.) turned to several independent insurance agents and brokers who are experienced in the nonprofit market.

http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2012/04/11/nonprofit-coverage-needs-blind-spots-and-misconcep?t=es-specialty-business

In his January budget address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo singled out a downstate nonprofit that pays its CEO $2.2 million a year.

Virtually all of the unnamed entity’s income comes from state contracts, which means New York taxpayers are footing the bill for its executive’s seemingly excessive pay.

“How do we justify this spending to the taxpayers of this state? It has to stop. It has to stop this year,” Cuomo said.

Many nonprofit board members rarely take the time to meet rank-and-file employees of their organizations or the people those organizations serve. Their interactions often are solely with top management, which may leave them ignorant of what’s really going on.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/improve-oversight-of-nonprofits-630411/

As part of an ongoing commitment to give back to the community in which it serves, Dunkin’ Donuts, America’s all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, announced today the launch of a new charitable program, “Wishes DelivereD.” Beginning with a partnership with non-profit organization Make-A-Wish Foundation, Dunkin’ Donuts in the New York Metro Area* kicks off a month-long campaign to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions in five local markets; Metro New York, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Fairfield County, Connecticut and New Jersey.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/02/4384378/dunkin-donuts-launches-wishes.html