FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  
Doug Sauer, CEO
1 (800) 515-5012 ext. 103
dsauer@nycon.org
www.nycon.org

Jennifer Lockwood, SCF Program Manager
1 (800) 515-5012 ext. 152
jlockwood@nycon.org   
www.nycon.org  

NYCON ANNOUNCES FIRST ROUND OF NEW YORK CITY STIMULUS GRANT AWARDEES

New York, NY—June 3rd, 2010   The New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc. (NYCON) announces the first round of Strengthening Communities Fund (SCF) grant recipients. NYCON received a nationally competitive $1 million, two-year stimulus grant from the SCF Nonprofit Capacity Building program, created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  NYCON will award $600,000 of the grant to community and faith-based nonprofits in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx who are providing services that are vital to the economic recovery efforts.

“The first round of SCF awardees are an exceptional and diverse group of organizations that address the city’s economic recovery issues head-on by providing critical, responsive and innovative services, “ says Doug Sauer, Chief Executive Officer of NYCON. “They directly assist low-income individuals in developing job skills, obtaining better quality jobs and help to increase access to state and federal benefits as well as tax credits.”

Thirty-three (33) community and faith-based organizations, known as “Program Participants" will have access to trainings offered by NYCON, and our training partners including the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc., the Support Center for Nonprofit Management and the Women’s Center for Education and Career Advancement. Seventeen (17) of the 33 organizations, known as “Project Partners”, will also receive technical assistance and financial assistance awards aimed at improving their effectiveness and enhancing their capacity to provide economic recovery services. A total of $282,580 in financial assistance grants will be awarded in the first of two funding rounds.  The application deadline for the second and final round is November 8, 2010.

Program Participants are:
ACE Mentor Program of Greater NY
American Indian Artists (AMERINDA)
Bertha Mae Williams Foundation
Brighton Neighborhood Association
Broadway Community
Bronx Parent Housing Network
ECQ Group
Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE)
Grace International / Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger
GreenWorks Community Development Corporation
Metropolitan NYC WIC Association
Project Re-Generation
Resilience Advocacy Project (RAP)
The Single Parent Resource Center
Welfare Rights Initiative
We Stay / Nos Quedamos Committee

Project Partners are:
Arab American Association of New York
Ariva
Brooklyn-Queens-Long Island Area Health & Education Center
CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities
Jewish Community Council of Canarsie
MAICO
Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center
Muslim Consultative Network
People’s Production House
PowerPlay NYC
Sakhi for South Asian Women
Shorefront Jewish Community Council
The Bookkeeping Center
The Financial Clinic
Upwardly Global
Westchester Square Partnership
Women’s Venture Fund

About the New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc. (NYCON)
Formerly the Council of Community Services of New York State, Inc. (CCSNYS), NYCON has been working to help strengthen nonprofits and communities in New York State for over 83 years.  NYCON is a statewide, membership-based charitable nonprofit organization specializing in bringing nonprofits across New York State the services and training they need to achieve their nonprofit missions and goals. With over 1,700 diverse members, NYCON’s comprehensive menu of programs and services includes training for nonprofit boards of directors, administration, and staff; providing insurance; legal services; information on public policy and ethics; financial management assistance; community needs assessments and planning; as well as group purchasing and cost savings programs. NYCON has offices in Albany, Poughkeepsie, Buffalo, Oneonta and New York City. To learn more about NYCON, visit www.nycon.org.