Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants. Ps 119:76

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Highlights from CCUSA

O'Grady Advanced Leadership Institute: Registration Now Open!

Register now to attend the Catholic Charities USA O’Grady Advanced Leadership Institute, to be held from May 16-20, 2022, at the Bethany Center near Tampa. The Institute offers an in-depth consideration of the particular knowledge and skills necessary for effective Catholic Charities leadership, and is designed for Catholic Charities agency directors, other senior leaders, and those who have completed the foundational O’Grady Leadership Institute (either virtually or in-person). Early action is encouraged, as space is limited. Click here to learn more or to register. Questions may be directed to Scott Hurd.

Daily Lenten reflections from CCUSA

Ash Wednesday, March 2, marks the beginning of Lent. Once again, CCUSA will offer daily reflections on each day's Mass readings, authored by Catholic Charities employees and other social concerns ministers. The reflections will arrive by email first thing each morning. Sign up here to receive them.

Series of CCUSA Immigration and Refugee Services CoP Monthly meetings

You are invited to the CCUSA Immigration and Refugee Services Community of Practice meeting. During this meeting, we will hear from the field about pressing Immigration and Refugee Services issues and receive a policy update from CCUSA, MRS/USCCB, and CLINIC. Dates & Times: Feb 16, Mar 16, Apr 20, May 18, Jun 15, 2022 at 2 PM EST (US and Canada). Register here for the series. 

CCUSA Advocacy and Social Policy Initiatives

Be sure to check out CCUSA's Advocacy and Social Policy webpage where you can read recent letters and statements, action alerts, and advocacy resources. You can sign up to receive Washington Weekly, the Advocacy and Social Policy team's newsletter that considers events from Congress and the administration with Catholic Charities in mind. Also be sure to text "CCUSA" to 50457 to receive our action alerts on your phone.

A Partnership to Support Haitians

Supporting Haitians, a partnership between Catholic Charities USA, CLINIC, USCCB, and Catholic Charities of NYC. Join us to explore more the following aspects of this process: Discuss background context, current context including possible status issue/NTAs, etc.; Service barriers for Haitians; Where Haitians are going and current efforts that may be replicable around the country; Find ways to support Haitians in a meaningful way/not reinventing the wheel/not infringing on Haitian-led efforts. Date: Feb. 16, 2022. Time: 12 PM ET. Register in advance for this webinar here.

AmeriCorps VISTA Funding Opportunity

CCUSA is taking applications for our Family Strengthening AmeriCorps VISTA program! Applications Due Friday, February 25^th at 5:00 pm EST. Watch this webinar, and review these slides to learn more about AmeriCorps VISTA and how this program could help expand your existing programming through the power of national service. The Family Strengthening program focuses on the foundational services that Catholic Charities provides, allowing it to be a broad-based program that can support a variety of program types and interventions. VISTAs in this program support strengthening families 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! Bring your creative ideas to the session and consider if this program is right for your agency. Apply here!

AmeriCorps State and National Funding Opportunities

CCUSA COVID-19 Response AmeriCorps Program CCUSA is currently looking for additional grantees for the CCUSA COVID-19 Response AmeriCorps Program! The AmeriCorps members in this program will primarily provide supportive services related to disaster case management to clients affected by COVID-19.  Through the disaster case management model, members will work with clients to have their basic needs met and increase their self-sufficiency.

CCUSA Financial Education AmeriCorps Program CCUSA is currently looking for additional grantees for the Financial Education AmeriCorps program! The AmeriCorps members in this program will primarily use the FDIC Money Smart curriculum to teach clients how to enhance their financial skills and create positive banking relationships. AmeriCorps members can also provide other asset-development activities, including tax preparation, financial counseling, IDA enrollment, and much more. This program has a goal to help clients improve their financial literacy and navigate financial decisions more efficiently.

CCUSA Nutrition Education AmeriCorps Program CCUSA is currently looking for additional grantees for the Nutrition Education AmeriCorps program! The AmeriCorps members in this program will primarily use the American Heart Association’s Healthy for Life curriculum to teach clients how to improve behaviors regarding food and nutrition. Members demonstrate cooking techniques and prepare delicious and healthy food with the help of volunteers, enabling clients to acquire new skills to prepare more nutritious meals, as well as provide culturally relevant healthy recipes to clients, increase their level of comfort with healthy foods, & educate clients on budgeting and shopping for healthy foods.

Please reach out to Abby Qualliotine if you are interested in learning more.

Workshop proposals for the 2022 Annual Gathering are now being accepted!

The 2022 Catholic Charities USA Annual Gathering will be held in-person September 27-29 in Baltimore, Maryland. Our schedule will once again include workshops and we ask you, the experts, to consider submitting a proposal for consideration.  To access the form and review the guidelines go to 2022 Annual Gathering Call for Proposals. Forms must be submitted by the deadline of Monday, March 28, 2022.

2021 CCUSA Annual Survey

The 2021 Annual Survey is live! Be sure to review the 2021 Annual Survey Preparation Webinar on the Annual Survey Resources section of the Member’s Portal and complete your agency’s submission before the survey closes on April 18, 2022. Please note that all staff who will contribute to your agency’s submission must have access to a personalized link. If you need to request links for any staff at your agency, contact Ashley Rininger. In addition, please don’t hesitate to contact Ashley via email if you have any questions or need any technical assistance throughout your preparation and submission process.

Events and Webinars 

CCUSA-CFPB Financial Empowerment Capacity Building Series

You are invited to the Catholic Charities USA, (CCUSA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Financial Empowerment Capacity Building webinar series. CCUSA and CFPB are coordinating a series of webinars to bring free financial empowerment training and resources to Catholic Charities staff. Participants will receive training and resources to help build their skills and better support financial wellness with the communities they serve. Join us the first Tuesday of each month to focus on the following topics:

March 1       The CFPB, financial empowerment, setting goals, resources
April 5          Making ends meet with cash, public benefits, and tax returns
May 3           Understanding credit reports and scores
June 7          Dealing with consumer debt, debt collectors
July 5           Choosing financial products and services
August 2      Protecting your money

This webinar series offers 1.0 Continuing Education Credit per session. For those interested in earning a CEC credit, participants will need to participate in each session in its entirety and complete an evaluation/post-test questions. When: Mar 1, April 5, May 3, June 7, July 5  and  August 2, 2022 at 3:00 PM EST. Please submit any further questions or comments to Jane Stenson. Register here.

Grant Opportunities and Resources 

“Synod on Synodality” Slack Workspace

To facilitate intra-Catholic Charities conversations and resource sharing on the “Synod on Synodality,” inaugurated by Pope Francis, a dedicated Slack workspace has been established. Catholic Charities leaders engaged in the synodal process may join this workspace by contacting Scott Hurd for a time-sensitive signup link.

Foundation for Financial Planning is accepting grant applications (until April 30^th, 2022)

Nonprofit organizations whose programs link pro bono financial planners to people in need may apply. 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 click here.

New EITC outreach toolkit is here

EITC and CTC Outreach Resources 2022 – Get It Back (taxoutreach.org). The EITC Outreach Toolkit contains messaging and earned media materials, social media toolkit, call and text scripts and newsletter copy, and flyer and mailer. Below are some ways you can use the toolkit to spread the word: Share the entire toolkit with partner organizations and encourage them to engage outreach efforts; Post on social media: the toolkit includes Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts with images; Issue a press release; Send a newsletter to networks of employees or clients to inform them of their potential EITC eligibility; Print and distribute flyers to community members. Feel free to use and adapt the toolkit in any way that fits your outreach efforts. Your involvement is especially critical as we seek to reach the 17 million working adults not raising children in the U.S. between the ages 19-24 and over the age of 65 who are now eligible for the expanded EITC. Please reach out to our outreach team, either Roxy Caines ([email protected]) or Janne Huang ([email protected]) if you have any questions or concerns. They will keep you informed of additional resources to help promote the EITC.

More toolkits

We’ve released two new toolkits for EITC and CTC outreach. We also have put together guidance on how to use the toolkits that includes key dates during the tax season, audience-specific recommendations, and best practices for earned and social media. You can find everything at TaxOutreach.org/coronavirus.

Employment Opportunities 

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 Nick Paige. 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.