NAPC Archives
Farewell to NAPC's old logo!
A new logo was commissioned by the NAPC Board in the fall of 2003 ... see it throughout the website.
Planning Councils' Values and Core Competencies
Now on the website: NAPC's statement of the shared values and core competencies of planning councils. These are key to councils' uniqueness and value. Nancy Findeisen led a process through which the Board and members worked together at a series of meetings in 2000 to complete this work. Special thanks to Nancy and to all who participated in these discussions!
"Member
surveys" section of
the website
The NAPC website now has a "member surveys" section. It is used to survey the membership, then report results, on a variety of topics of interest to members -- building NAPC's information base about our membership and aspects of members' work.
NAPC's visit to the Points of Light Foundation
NAPC is a National Partner of Connect America, an initiative of the Points of Light Foundation.
While in Washington, DC for the 2002 national conference, NAPC representatives met with colleagues from the Points of Light Foundation at the Foundation's offices on May 1, 2002. Martha Blaine (President), Joseph W. Lapilio III (incoming Vice President), and Sharon Clark (Administrator) exchanged information and ideas with the staff leaders of a number of Foundation initiatives.
NAPC appreciates Bandana Shrestha, Manager of Partnership Initiatives for the Foundation, for coordinating this productive meeting!
NAPC encourages communities to consider participating in this Points of Light initiative:
"The Unity in the Spirit of America initiative is a call to action for Americans to REMEMBER those lost on September 11, RESPOND to the attacks in a positive and uniquely American way, and REBUILD communities through volunteer service." To learn more please visit the USA initiative website at www.usa.pointsoflight.org."
NAPC California
trip, January 2002
NAPC President Martha Blaine and NAPC Administrator Sharon Clark went to Sacramento in January 2002 to attend the first annual Human Services Institute sponsored by the Community Services Planning Council in Sacramento, California. The Institute was excellent; congratulations to Executive Director Nancy Findeisen and her colleagues for an outstanding event! (Pictured, below left, foreground -- Sharon and Martha, enjoying the post-Institute reception; right -- Nancy and Martha.)
The morning after the Institute, Martha and Sharon enjoyed a visit to the Council and joined in a celebration brunch with CSPC staff. (Pictured, left -- arriving at the Council's offices. Right -- Katrina Middleton, Nancy Findeisen, Sharon and Martha. Katrina is a CSPC staff member who served as team leader for the NAPC social indicators report, presented at the May 2002 national conference (see above).
Next, they visited Ed Schoenberger, Executive Director of the Northern California Council for the Community, at the Council offices in downtown San Francisco. (Pictured, below left -- Ed Schoenberger, Martha Blaine, and NCCC staff member Larry Best, who is part of the NAPC social indicators project. Below right -- Ed, Martha and Sharon. Last photo -- Ed in the Council foyer, surrounded by awards.) These visits helped lay the ground work for NAPC's 2003 national conference, to be co-chaired by Nancy and Ed at the Asilomar Conference Center on the Monterey Peninsula.
2001
NAPC
regional meeting - Dallas
On October 5, 2001, NAPC sponsored its first Regional Meeting. Hosted by the Community Council of Greater Dallas, it provided opportunities for executive directors and staff from NAPC organizations in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arizona to gather mid-year, between national conferences, to discuss high-interest topics and explore common interests. All agreed it was valuable, and plans were made for future regional meetings.
NAPC Participates in TANF Reauthorization Discussion
NAPC President Martha Blaine represented NAPC at "The New World of Welfare: An Agenda for Reauthorization and Beyond" conference in Washington, D.C. February 1-2, 2001. It is NAPC's goal to share some of the information provided by social indicators to support and inform public policy positions at all levels of government.
Transitions: News about NAPC members & organizations
NAPC honors the life and accomplishments of Curt Johnson, long-time colleague and friend. He dedicated 26 years of service to improving people's lives through his work in local United Ways and at United Way of America. He is greatly missed.
The Council of Community Services of New York State, Inc. has moved to: 272 Broadway, Albany, NY 12204.
The Northern California Council for the Community has moved (February 2003) to: 221 Main Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94015.
Welcome to Judy Pannullo, new Executive Director of the Suffolk Community Council (Islandia, NY).
Best wishes to Steve White, Executive Director of the Community Research Council in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who left the council to become Executive Director of Chattanooga CARES AIDS Resource Center.
The Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa moved in the summer of 2002 to 16 East 16th Street, Suite 202, Tulsa, OK 74119.
Best wishes to Jim Phillips, former Executive Director of the Community Council of St. Charles County, MO.
Best wishes to former Executive Director Tom Williams, who left the Suffolk Community Council to become Director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
The Hawaii Human Services Council has moved to: 33 S. King Street, Suite 500, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.
The Community Council of Kanawha Valley in Charleston, WV has joined with United Way to form a new organization, United Way/LifeBridge. NAPC Board member Paul Gilmer is Senior Vice President of LifeBridge.
Dan Duncan has resigned as Executive Director of the Council in Indianapolis; all best wishes to Dan in his new endeavors.
The Human Services Council of Mid-Fairfield has moved. As of July 9, 2001, the new address is One Park Street, Norwalk, CT 06851. The council has also changed its name -- it is now The Human Services Council.
United Community Services of Johnson County, KS has moved: 12351 W 96th Terrace, Suite 200, Lenexa, KS 66215, 913-438-4764, fax 492-0197, karenw@ucsjoco.org, www.ucsjoco.org.
The Metropolitan Council for Community Services has announced a name change: they're now the Community Research Council, Inc. Exec. Director Steve White writes, "New technologies are rapidly making the old way of doing things obsolete. We are changing in many good ways with a focus on research capabilities."
United Way of America journal on community building features NAPC
United Way of America (a long-time valued NAPC colleague, now also a member of NAPC) has launched a publication: "Community: A Journal of Community Building for Community Leaders." It can be found online at http://national.unitedway.org/commmags.cfm.
A highlight of the second issue was Lisbeth B. Schorr's article, "Sustaining, Expanding, and Integrating Community Building Initiatives." (The Journal's last page recommends selected Internet resources, including this NAPC website.)
The journal's first issue featured a wonderful article by Nancy Findeisen, Executive Director of the Community Services Planning Council in Sacramento, California. Nancy is a founding member and past President of NAPC. Her article traces the strong historical roots of community building in America, and notes the need to reinterpret tradition to meet new conditions. "It takes vision and courage to invest time and resources for long-term sustainable community improvement in the current bottom-line, results-oriented climate ... Building social capital in a community--strong relationships, problem-solving, group decision-making skills, and the ability to collaborate and get work done--requires focus on processes," not just task accomplishment. "At its core, successful community building of the future must engage people in new and authentic ways to build the social capacity necessary for sustaining and enhancing community health." Nancy Findeisen's article can be found at: http://national.unitedway.org/commmag/CommMag1298.pdf -- the article is on page 9 of the PDF, page 7 if you look at the page numbers of the magazine. (This is a fairly large document and requires Acrobat Reader -- but downloading it will be well worth it!)
See the United Way of America website's section on community building -- http://national.unitedway.org/cmtybldg.cfm -- including principles of community building, at http://national.unitedway.org/cbprncpls.cfm. There is also a section for community mobilization, at http://national.unitedway.org/mobilization/index.cfm.
To suggest a topic or volunteer an article for a future issue, contact Nancy K. Mason at United Way of America, 701 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-2045, phone 703 / 836-7112, ext. 537.
(NOTE - 2004: some of the links in this section are no longer active)
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