The latest from Citizens’ Committee for Children ... Goodwill Industries ... NYC contracts

Two members of the board of Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York sat down for a Q & A on the nonprofit’s blog. Ronnie Dillon and Arlette Ferguson Mathis discuss their time at the organization, expectations for the year ahead – and, of course, their most impactful memories.

“Something that comes to mind is visiting a juvenile detention center years ago,” Mathis said in the interview. “I had to leave all my belongings behind and walk through a door, and then I heard the door slam shut. When I heard the slam I almost started crying. Then I walked through another door and heard that one slam shut, and then I saw kids, some nine and ten years old, in the center.”

Jessica Cavagnero, a partner at SeaChange Capital Partners has something to say about mergers – a recent phenomenon among New York nonprofits – including the most recent one, between Rising Ground and Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families:

“Allison Sesso (executive director of the Human Services Council of New York) is right to elevate the vital importance of addressing inadequate public and private funding support for nonprofit general operations. But we all know this will take time. In the meantime, mission-driven organizations must do all they can to strengthen their programs and sustainability today. Many organizations – like Rising Ground and Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families – are exploring long-term collaborative arrangements that include programmatic and administrative partnerships, divestments/asset transfers, and, yes, mergers and acquisitions. While administrative savings may be one objective, these deals are often driven by strong programmatic or geographic complementarities, such as those outlined between these two organizations. Formal collaboration is just one of many strategies that nonprofits – and their funders – should consider to ensure that essential safety net services can be preserved with quality in a rapidly changing fiscal and regulatory environment.”

Need something to watch at night? Here’s a list of the best adoption-related movies on Netflix, according to No Bohns About It. International adoptions, twins separated at birth and a transracial teen from Sierra Leone all have roles in the list, originally compiled in 2016.

Two nonprofits have received new contracts from the New York City Department for the Aging. SBH Community Service Network Inc Sephardic Bikur Holim received two contracts of $115,000 and $183,995, respectively, to deliver senior services on behalf of the city. Phipps Neighborhoods received a contract for $222,000 to deliver similar services.

There is a new member of the board of directors at Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and New Jersey. Deborah Weinswig – founder and CEO of Coresight Research, a global think tank and advisory firm – was named to the role after the final meeting of the board for fiscal year 2018, according to an Aug. 6 press release.

“Deborah Weinswig’s years of leadership in retail and the intersection of fashion and technology make her a strong addition to the Goodwill NYNJ Board of Directors as we look to the future of thrift and how to create jobs in the new retail sector,” Katy Gaul-Stigge, president of Goodwill NYNJ, said in the press release.

Send your press releases, photos, and word of your latest happenings to editor Zach Williams at zwilliams@nynmedia.com.