...grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ's gift. Eph 4:7

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Highlights from CCUSA

Special Mass of Thanksgiving celebrating Catholic Charities’ 110 years of responding to the needs of people across US

On Friday, September 25 at 2:30 pm EDT, the Mass will begin with a welcome from Sister Donna Markham OP, President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, followed by a message from Cardinal Luis Tagle, President Caritas Internationalis. A Mass, celebrated by Bishop Frank Dewane, Diocese of Venice, Florida, and Episcopal Liaison to Catholic Charities USA will broadcast from Epiphany Cathedral. The events can be streamed live on the following links: Facebook and YouTube. We look forward to having you join us as we mark 110 years of work to reduce poverty in America. Blessings from all of us at Catholic Charities.

CCUSA affordable housing institute

The Housing Institute will be an opportunity for members of the Housing Community of Practice to provide input on goals and an agenda for the next year. The Institute will also feature affordable housing project presentations where attendees can learn about project structures and discuss project financing needs. Finally, the Institute will conclude with peer-to-peer breakout sessions where members seeking project consultations will be matched with experienced member agency developers. Register here.

Join your fellow Disaster practitioners and network experts for three days of education, networking, and fun as we bring together the Applied Institute for Disaster Excellence as a free virtual lite training. Participating in AIDE Lite is one of the best ways to be in the "know" about disaster response and recovery best practices, particularly when coupled with responding to the pandemic and systematic racism that has led to widespread community unrest. Click here to register.

Check out CCUSA's new podcast “Charities at Work”

CCUSA has a new podcast: “Charities at Work." It can be accessed on the CCUSA website as well as the following podcast platforms: Google Podcasts, iTunes, and Spotify. “Charities at Work” will focus on the work and mission of the Catholic Charities ministry in the United States, both the national office (CCUSA) and local agencies. Topics regarding the Catholic faith in general will also be featured. The first seven episodes of “Charities at Work” will explore the seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching as outlined by the USCCB: 1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person; 2. Solidarity; 3. Care for Creation; 4. Call to Family, Community, and Participation; 5. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable; 6. Rights and Responsibilities; and 7. The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers. See the CCUSA website for more information on each episode and the guest speakers.

Events and Webinars

CCUSA Innovation Challenge – Awardees Announcement Show

Join us for a webinar on Sep 22, 2020 at 3:00 PM EDT. We’ve reached the exciting conclusion to our CCUSA Innovation Challenge; one that began a year ago in Albuquerque, NM where we asked our member agencies to propose an innovative way toward alleviating, reducing or eliminating poverty. Our nine finalists presented their “Big Idea”and after voting by you and our esteemed panel of judges, we’re excited to share the three awardees who will share equally in the $1 million award. Join us as Sister Donna Markham OP, President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, announces the three awardees of the Innovation Challenge! Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Not able to rely on traditional funding sources, Catholic Charities of Acadiana developed alternative revenue programs including a Catholic bookstore. In this session CCA will share its journey from non-profit to small business owner in the interest of income diversification, and help you evaluate if there are opportunities for you. You will identify examples of social enterprise and charitable revenue generators that could provide alternative income to support programs outside of government or donor funding. You will apply practical experience in assessing an investment in an enterprise, create a vision and establish a ROI. Additionally, you will be able to evaluate the value of an enterprise of this nature beyond financial factors. NOTE: This webinar offers 1.0 Continuing Education Credit. Course completion requirements - To earn CE credit, participants must log in at the scheduled time, attend the webinar and complete an online course evaluation and CEC post-test. The post-test survey will close 7 days after you receive the link to your email. CE Certificates will be emailed within 10 business days of course completion. Date: September 29, 2020. Time: 3:00-4:00 PM EDT. Register here.

Impact Investing and Social Enterprise

This webinar is an introduction to impact investing in the context of Catholic Charities agency programming. Join us to explore the basic concepts, examples from Catholic organizations, relevance in different sectors with a focus on Social Enterprise, and resources available locally and from CCUSA. The presentation includes content to create a common definition of impact investing, identify program areas where impact investing could be useful, and explore additional resources for your agency. NOTE: This webinar offers 1.0 Continuing Education Credit. Course completion requirements - To earn CE credit, participants must log in at the scheduled time, attend the webinar and complete an online course evaluation and CEC post-test. The post-test survey will close 7 days after you receive the link to your email. CE Certificates will be emailed within 10 business days of course completion. Date: October 1 Time: 2pm-3pm EDT. Register here.

The workshop will highlight two approaches that support families impacted by incarceration. 1) A prison ministry model that works across rural Iowa utilizing volunteers who serve as mentors via Circle of Support group. Additionally, highlighted is the role of restorative justice in their work. 2) Catholic Charities New Orleans has an innovation public/private partnership with the Plaquemines Parish Jail and other community partners allowing staff to work, pre-lease that supports housing and employment. Join our presenters to scan some of the network's ministries to those impacted by incarceration. Date: Oct. 13, 2020, at 3:00 PM EDT. Register here.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on how to help people receive stimulus payments

On Monday, September 14, CBPP launched a final 30-day push to help eligible people get their stimulus payments. People who were excluded from automatic delivery of payments must sign up by October 15 to get their money this year. Here are resources that can support stimulus outreach efforts during these final 30 days:

We ask that you encourage your network to contribute to stimulus outreach efforts during these final weeks. Here are 3 ways they can get directly get involved:

Those who don’t work directly with people can share on social media and through personal networks about the October 15 deadline and the available stimulus outreach resources. Know that our collective outreach efforts are making a difference! On June 23, CBPP released a paper estimating that the non-filer population included 12 million people. On September 8, the IRS shared that more than 7 million people have used the online Non-filer form to sign up for their payments.

Join this webinar to learn about PREPARES, a Catholic Charities USA Innovation Challenge finalist which presently engages over 500 volunteers from 159 parishes who have served 12,000 families. This parish-based program engages a network of parish volunteers, professional staff, and aligned programs to accompany pregnant and parenting women, men, and families with children under five who live in poverty and lack a healthy support network. PREPARES successfully alleviates poverty, increases health care access, and protects children at risk of abuse and neglect. Created by the bishops of Washington state in 2013, funding from the USCCB and CCHD enabled three state Catholic Charities agencies to begin implementation, including Catholic Charities Eastern Washington as featured in this webinar. Date: October 14, 2020, at 3 PM. Register here.

CCUSA Webinar - How to Educate Your Staff: A Catholic Charities of St. Louis Case Study

Date: Nov 11, 2020 at 3:00 PM EST. An overwhelming need in all organizations is to provide professional development for staff on a consistent basis. Catholic Charities of St. Louis embarked on a journey to meet that need in a coordinative fashion by creating the Federation Training Program. This program provides professional development to staff at all levels in clinical topics, management development, personal enrichment, and safety on an ongoing basis. This presentation will describe the evolution of this program, demonstrate the resources used, the multi-level evaluation processes applied, and the performance improvements to elevate this initiative on an ongoing basis. Finally, the presentation will also include the results of a comprehensive analysis to monetize the value of these trainings and discuss how these concepts can be applied in the audiences’ organizations. Register here.

Catalyst Kitchens 2020 National Summit

Catalyst Kitchens by FareStart has worked with CCUSA and several member agencies over the years. Its program development model features 1) Empowerment through job training, 2) Sustainability through social enterprise and 3) Collaboration through community engagement. Next month any interested CCUSA agency representatives are invited to the Catalyst Kitchens 2020 National Summit, a free virtual event for those interested in workforce development, social enterprise, and developing solutions that will help to alleviate poverty and joblessness during COVID-19. This virtual conference is designed to bring together practitioners from across culinary job training programs and the broader industry to problem solve for our challenges in 2020, including increased emergency meals demands, adapting to virtual culinary training, and building anti-racist internal policies. This event is radically accessible this year in a virtual platform and free to all. If you have questions, reach out to Steve Bogus at CCUSA. To get more information or to register go here.

Grant Opportunities and Resources

Grant Opportunity – CCUSA Financial Education AmeriCorps Program

CCUSA is currently looking for additional grantee(s) for the Financial Education AmeriCorps program to fulfill one full time slot or one half time slot or both a full time and half time slot! The AmeriCorps members in this program will use the FDIC Money Smart curriculum to educate clients of all ages on how to enhance their financial skills and create positive banking relationships. This program will help clients improve financial literacy and navigate financial decisions more efficiently. If your agency is interested in hosting an AmeriCorps member to serve in your community, please reach out to Teiara Turner at [email protected].

Request for information to solicit public input regarding economic mobility

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Secretary issued a request for information to solicit public input regarding economic mobility. This information will be used to inform the priorities of a federal interagency Council on Economic Mobility (Council). The Council is interested in feedback that provides insight to how the Council can promote economic mobility, recovery, and resilience. The Catholic Charities USA Social Policy team is working to coordinate a response from the Catholic Charities network. To assist with this effort, we ask that you complete a brief survey by COB September 25. Link to brief survey. If you have questions, please contact Lucreda Cobbs, senior director policy and legislative at [email protected].

Learn Spanish at the Esperanza Center, Catholic Charities of Baltimore, this Fall!

All 10-week autumn classes are online and begin the week of September 28. We will be offering 1A (Beginning), 1B (Beginning with some Spanish) and 2A (beginner-mid, early conversational). We offer morning (10a-12p) as well as evening (6:30-8:30p) classes. The cost of the 10 weeks is $150; please note that your registration is considered a donation that helps support the Educational Services Programs at Esperanza. A link to the ZOOM class will be sent the week prior to the class. Registration links for morning classes: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays. Registration links for evening classes: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays.

Create a culture of healthy eating

Nutrition is at the root of much of the ill health of the poor, and the importance of underlying health conditions has been brought home at tragic levels through COVID-19. For 80 years, Edmundite MIssions has served Selma, Alabama, the poorest city in the poorest county in one of the poorest states in the nation. In a year of effort, the Missions has shown how to combine food provision and improved nutrition in extremely poor populations not only to walk the talk of the nutritional value of its work in measurable ways, but also to create nutrition advocates among its young, including the high school football team, an Alabama icon. And all for pennies on the dollar. The speaker is: Susan Raymond, Ph.D., Chief Innovation officer and Vice President, Program Integration, Edmundite Missions, Selma, AL. Register here.

Sterling Volunteers offering FREE basic background checks to Catholic Charities agencies

Sterling Volunteers, a valued Catholic Charities USA partner, is extending a helping hand to our network to help safely mobilize trusted volunteers around essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sterling Volunteers is offering FREE Basic Background Checks, along with reduced pricing for MVR’s and other screening packages (click here for full details). This COVID-19 special offering has been extended through December 31, 2020. If interested, CLICK HERE to connect with Sterling on this offering and any other specific needs. Please note, the special pricing is not retroactive nor automatic for existing customers; please contact SV if you are interested in utilizing the discounts.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau releases Financial inTuition Podcast

We’re excited to introduce our Financial inTuition Podcast. The goal of the podcast is to educate, inform, and engage students, parents, and practitioners with tools and resources created to help them make more informed financial decisions. This podcast will help listeners with tips and strategies to find their inner financial intuition, one money topic at a time. We released the first three episodes of the “Money Management Series” which focuses on financing your future and how to pay for higher education, managing money as a young adult, and understanding and protecting your credit. Future episodes will cover managing and repaying student loans, interviews from practitioners, real student loan borrowers and their family members, and more. Please visit our podcast page to find out more. Start listening.

Veterans services professional interest LISTSERV signup

CCUSA is currently looking expand information and opportunities in the Veterans Services program area. If you’re interested in joining this revamped professional interest section, be sure to sign up for the Veterans Services Listserv to stay up to date on upcoming trainings, webinars, funding opportunities and more! Sign up for the Listserv here.

Federal Grant Opportunity: Migrant and Seasonal Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Grants

In 1969, the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) program was established to provide services to the children of migrant farmworkers. The program provides funds to grantees that offer Head Start services to low-income, farm-worker families that migrate during the harvest season to engage in agricultural labor. In 1998, language was added to the Head Start Act that allowed migrant programs to serve the children of low-income, seasonal farmworkers. Learn more here. Application due 9/21/20.

Federal Grant Opportunity: Early Head Start Expansion and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Grants

New or existing Head Start, EHS, and EHS-CC Partnership grantees can apply to use funding to partner with local child care, including family child care providers to provide comprehensive, high-quality services to eligible infants and toddlers through EHS-CC Partnerships. These EHSCC Partnerships will enhance and support early learning settings to provide full-day, full-year, comprehensive services that meet the needs of low-income working families; enhance access to high-quality, full-time child care; support the development of infants and toddlers through strong relationship-based experiences; and prepare them for the transition into preschool. EHSCC Partnerships play an important role in the child care system by both expanding high-quality early learning services to infants and toddlers and applying resources and lessons learned from EHS to build the system's capacity. Learn more here. Application due 9/21/20.

Employment Opportunities

Catholic Charities job opportunities now listed on CCUSA website

Anyone can view the job opportunities by clicking on the "Careers" tag on the footer of the CCUSA webpage. To post a job opportunity, one must be a member and have access to the members' portal in order to fill out the submission form (click on "Careers" tag on members only portal homepage). If you have any questions about the new job opportunities submission form, please contact David Werning. Please click here to access job opportunities.

CCUSA Photo Gallery

Did you know that one of the benefits CCUSA provides to member agencies is access to a professional photo gallery? Visit our Flickr photo pages to explore our albums and photos. If you would like a high-resolution version for your agency's use, please email CCUSA with photo number.