2020 CCUSA Annual Survey Preparation Webinar

The 2020 CCUSA Annual Survey and CLINIC Survey on Immigration Legal Services, will launch on Friday, February 5th. To help prepare, we invite you to register for the 2020 CCUSA Annual Survey Preparation Webinar on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 3:30 pm EST, where we will:

• Highlight notable changes to this year’s instrument
• Detail the submission timeline
• Provide suggested data collection processes, and
• Outline methods for technical assistance during the submission process.

The Webinar recording and presentation slides will be sent directly to all registrants for later viewing. All staff or leadership contributing or overseeing your agency’s submission are encouraged to participate in this instructional webinar. Please direct any questions or Survey contact updates to Ashley Rininger. Register here.

Register for Food and Job Training Readiness Workshop - ***REGISTRATION CLOSES, COB --- WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3***

Tuesday, Feb. 9, Tuesday, Mar. 9 and Tuesday Apr. 13, 2021 (3 Sessions – Must attend all) Join us for a virtual event sponsored by CCUSA and presented by FareStart's Catalyst Kitchens. The entire program includes 3, 3-hour sessions. The training, exclusively for Catholic Charities member agencies, will help you evaluate whether incorporating job training into food service programs is a useful addition to improve kitchen operations and to create new job opportunities for clients. The workshop will improve your food service even if you decide not to add a workforce training component. There is a modest fee for the 3-session training (9 hours), and the fee is discount because of CCUSA’s sponsorship. Space is limited. Questions about whether this program is a fit for your kitchen? Contact Steve Bogus. Ready to register? Click here.

Research-Practice Partnership Webinar: How Catholic Charities Agencies Can Evaluate their Programs with LEO

CCUSA’s Research and Evaluation team is hosting a webinar series with Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunity (LEO). Join us for one of the two webinar options, same content will be provided: (1.) Feb. 17, 2021 at 3 PM EST, Register here. (2.) Feb. 19, 2021 at 2 PM EST, Register here. We invite you to learn about LEO and their partnership process to conduct rigorous program evaluation. Two Catholic Charities member agencies - Catholic Social Services of Rapid City and Catholic Charities Atlanta – will be joining us to share how they have successfully engaged with LEO. This opportunity is for anyone looking to measure how specific programs and policies impact the people they serve in areas such as trauma recovery, health management, financial stability and mobility, educational attainment, housing stability, and time spent in institutional settings. Both CCUSA and LEO believe rigorous research is a powerful means to an end to poverty, and a new beginning for millions of families who are ready to thrive.

Strengthening 2Gen approaches through listening, engaging, and designing with families

Join our experts for a webinar where participants will engage in peer learning to develop and strengthen understanding of a Whole Family Approach (WFA). Additionally, we will focus on ways to become centered in key WFA concepts like racial equity, engaging and listening to families, and attending to system and policy changes that support parents and children. We will address how engaging and listening to customers can strengthen program design and build buy-in internally and externally while exploring multiple ways to connect organizations shifting to a Whole Family Approach (WFA). Date: Feb. 24, 2021 at 2:00 PM EST. Register here.

Open Wide Our Hearts virtual exhibit from Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay

Inspired by Open Wide Our Hearts,  the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2018 pastoral letter against racism, staff at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Green Bay launched the Open Wide Our Hearts photo exhibit in November 2019.  This exhibit features photos of Catholics from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, alongside written narratives that document what life in the church of the Diocese of Green Bay has been like for them as a person of color.  This past summer, due to limitations on in-person gatherings as well as the national response to the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, a virtual version of the exhibit was developed in order to be able to share these stories with a wider audience and continue these important conversations.  You can check out the exhibit here.

Grant Opportunities and Resources

Grant opportunity: CCUSA AmeriCorps VISTA program's request for proposals

CCUSA is taking applications for our Family Strengthening AmeriCorps VISTA program! The Family Strengthening program funds one-year AmeriCorps VISTA positions, which support Catholic Charities' programs through indirect activities, capacity building activities, such as fundraising and resource development, communications and social media, outreach, partnership building, volunteer management, and parish outreach, and much more! On January 28, CCUSA held a webinar (recording, slides) giving an overview of the VISTA program and the application process, highlighting sub-grantee expectations, estimated costs, and allowable activities. The application is due Friday, February 26 with a program start date of summer 2021. Please contact Sarah Hendley with any questions.

The Foundation for Financial Planning grant opportunity

The Foundation for Financial Planning is accepting grant applications (until April 30th, 2021) from nonprofit organizations whose programs link pro bono financial planners to people in need. Programs should include one-on-one engagements between Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) professionals and pro bono clients, and comply with COVID-19 safety guidelines. Grants are generally in the range of $5,000 to $40,000. For more information about eligibility and how to apply, please visit here. Nonprofits seeking to connect with CFP professionals who want to provide free, no-strings-attached financial planning and advice to underserved populations can register on FFP’s Pro Bono Planner Match website. On Pro Bono Planner Match, nonprofits can post volunteer opportunities that engage financial planners in one-on-one or interactive, small group (virtual) sessions with people in need. To access Pro Bono Planner Match, click here. For more information, please contact Rachel Roth.

Spread the word on how to access the recent Economic Income payment - particularly for those that are unbanked

The Treasury Department and the IRS are issuing millions of second Economic Impact Payments by prepaid debit card to speed delivery of the payments to as many people as possible. If the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov shows a date that a recipient's payment was mailed, they should watch their mail for either a paper check or debit card. The debit cards arrive in a white envelope that prominently displays the U.S. Department of the Treasury seal. The prepaid debit card, called the Economic Impact Payment card, is issued by Treasury's financial agent, MetaBank, N.A. The IRS does not determine who receives a card. The form of payment for the second mailed EIP may be different than the first mailed EIP. Some people who received a paper check last time might receive a prepaid debit card this time, and some people who received a prepaid debit card last time may receive a paper check. People should watch their mail carefully; EIP Cards are being sent in a white envelope that prominently displays the U.S. Department of the Treasury seal. The envelope states "Not a bill or an advertisement. Important information about your Economic Impact Payment." The EIP Card has the Visa name on the front of the card and the issuing bank name, MetaBank, N.A. on the back. Each mailing will include instructions on how to securely activate and use the EIP Card. These cards are being issued to eligible recipients across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Residents of the western United States are generally more likely to receive an EIP Card. People can check the status of their payment using the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov. For more information: EIP debit cards  Economic Impact Payments 

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.