National CAP

Introduction to Community Action
2021-12-14 16:00 - 17:00 UTC
The Community Action Network serves 99% of America’s counties providing life-changing services that build pathways to opportunity. And while we reject the one size fits all solution to poverty, there are core Community Action ingredients that are part of our makeup today and have been since Day 1. Join NCAP CEO Denise Harlow for a discussion on the core elements of Community Action and how we embed our history into today.
Click here to register.

CCAP Candidate Data Form (CDF) Guidance
2021-12-14 15:00 - 16:00
Presented by CCAP Commissioners Tiffany Keimig and Charles McCann:
Completing the Candidate Data Form (CDF) is the first step in the process of becoming a Certified Community Action Professional (CCAP). It is formatted for you to document your education and learning and experiences in the field of Community Action. In this webinar you will explore each part of the CDF in great detail and gain valuable insights on how you can complete your own first step toward national recognition as a CCAP.
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Empowering Communities: Fair Districting & Community Action’s Role
2021-11-18 15:00 - 16:00
The decennial districting process is in full swing! New congressional, legislative, and local elected official districts are being drawn and some have already been finalized. At the Partnership, our Fair Districting project is up and running, ready to assist the Network as it engages on this issue. Join NCAP staff and our subject matter experts to get an overview of the districting process, learn how to find information on how the process works in your state and community, and what role our Network can play in this crucial process.
Click here to register for the webinar.

Board Minutes and Resolutions Made Easy
2021-11-18 13:00 - 14:00
Community action agency (CAA) boards perform vital governance and oversight functions for their organizations. Nowhere is this more evident than at board meetings, where board members hear reports, deliberate, and make decisions that guide organizational efforts. Understanding the key functions of board meeting minutes and resolutions, as well as the differences between them, is fundamental for boards using these tools to document compliance and fulfill their duties. Join this session to learn how to take effective board minutes and document board actions using the new CAA Board Meetings: Template Meeting Minutes and Index of Form Resolutions developed by CAPLAW.
Click here to register for the webinar.

Combining Utility Assistance, Wraparound Services and Roof Repairs in Weatherization
2021-11-10 14:00 - 15:00
Shama Mounzer serves as the Integration Executive Director at Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, and oversees the Agency’s multi-faceted Utility Assistance Program, which serves communities within Wayne County, Michigan. Three years ago, the Agency implemented the initial phase of its roof repair program with an interest list of clients, and limited funding. In an effort to help residents improve their housing conditions, a partnership was formed with the State of Michigan and the City of Detroit to include wraparound services. In this webinar Shama describes how they integrate utility bill payment assistance and multiple home repair funds to reduce deferrals and maximize the Weatherization Assistance Program.
Click here to register.

Pathways to Excellence: 2022 Launch
2021-11-03 14:00 - 15:00
Join us to learn about how your agency can pursue excellence in 2022. Pathways to Excellence has adopted a new multi-leveled Tiered Approach for agencies interested in moving beyond minimum requirements and taking the next steps for achieving agency-wide excellence based on the thirty-five CAA Standards of Excellence. The CAA Standards of Excellence represent the very best practices of the very best agencies. The Tiered Approach offers new levels of engagement and encourages any agency to take the first initial steps and move forward at your own pace for becoming a high-performance, ever-improving Agency of Excellence. Click here to register.

Braiding Funds For Weatherization Recruitment & Retention
2021-10-27 14:00 - 15:00
Christopher Vought, Director of Housing Rehabilitation, Energy Conservation & NH Electric Assistance Program at Community Action Program, Belknap-Merrimack Counties, Inc. in Concord, New Hampshire has a strong Weatherization crew and hopes to expand it. To attract quality candidates he’s using a combination of funding sources to offer a starting salary over $40,000 per year. “Minimum wage is $7.25. Wal-Mart starts at $15 an hour. This is a good opportunity”, he explained. In this webinar, Chris will describe how he delivers competitive salaries with federal, state and utility funds, and how he is learning to work with technical colleges and high schools in the area to recruit and train quality candidates.
Click here to register.

2021 Executive Directors / Board Chair Institute
2021-10-25 - 2021-10-29
These two and a half day trainings are designed to help new executive directors or new executive directors and their chair’s to achieve a deeper understanding of their role, the work of Community Action, and current operating environment of the Community Action Network.

Executive Director’s Institute: Oct. 25-27
Board Chair Institute: Oct. 27-29

Helping All Eligible Families Get the Child Tax Credit
2021-10-15 14:00 - 15:00
NCAP is honored to have the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) join us in our 30 day push to get families enrolled in the Advanced Child Tax Credit. The 2021 Child Tax Credit expansion provides a historic opportunity to reduce child poverty in the United States by more than 40 percent! Non-filer families can submit their info to the IRS through November 15, 2021. Your efforts to help people get advance CTC payments are essential. Join this session to learn what’s new with the Child Tax Credit and how families can get it with special focus on the non-filers. Find out answers to common questions and resources to support people who need more assistance.
CBPP is a nonpartisan research and policy institute pursuing federal and state policies designed to both reduce poverty and inequality and to restore fiscal responsibility in equitable and effective ways.
The CBPP staff presenting for this webinar are:

Roxy Caines, Get it Back Campaign Director
Janne Huang, Outreach Campaign Strategies Manager
Christine Tran, Outreach Intern

Please join us and learn more about helping families get the money they deserve!
Click here to register for the webinar.

Fall Season Kickoff: Resources and Opportunities for Community Action
2021-10-06 14:00 - 15:30
Join the National Community Action Partnership as we kick off fall with a review of the new resources and opportunities for the Community Action Network. Partnership staff will preview what is to come from major initiatives including the Learning Communities Resource Center, the relaunch of Pathways to Excellence, Covid-19 Response, the Center of Excellence, and much more!
Click here to register.

How to Become the Resilient Leader Your Mission Requires
2021-09-16 14:00 - 15:30
Resilience is a concept we have all learned much more about in the last year. Organizational resilience is key to continued operation and growth in complex times. Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, will be presenting an eight-part webinar series on developing more resilient organizations with practical tools for non-profit and public organizations. Each webinar will feature concrete, hands-on approaches to building resilience from the inside out. Melanie will break down the concept of organizational resilience into the eight key themes we all need to learn and know to strengthen our agencies and our teams. The webinars are being released in conjunction with a robust, interactive Resilience Toolkit also available through the Partnership.
This final webinar of the series explores the qualities, traits, and skills of resilient leaders — the very type of leaders that organizations in an uncertain world require. Learn what you can do to become a leader who helps others ‘bounce back’ from downside risks your agency couldn’t avoid and draw potent learning opportunities from failures, mistakes, and near misses.
Click here to register.

Accessing Resilience Resources from Public and Private Sources
2021-08-19 14:00 - 15:30
Resilience is a concept we have all learned much more about in the last year. Organizational resilience is key to continued operation and growth in complex times. Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, will be presenting an eight-part webinar series on developing more resilient organizations with practical tools for non-profit and public organizations. Each webinar will feature concrete, hands-on approaches to building resilience from the inside out. Melanie will break down the concept of organizational resilience into the eight key themes we all need to learn and know to strengthen our agencies and our teams. The webinars are being released in conjunction with a robust, interactive Resilience Toolkit also available through the Partnership.
Join Melanie Herman, CEO of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, for a fast-paced tour of resilience resources from various credible sources. This session explores federal and state government websites, law firm and CPA firm sites, educational publishers, membership associations, and specialty organizations. These trusted authority sites offer many free and low-cost resources available to help your agency build resilience. Learn how to maximize and adapt your agency’s learning to suit the needs of your mission.
The final webinar in this series will be How to Become the Resilient Leader Your Mission Requires. Register today to join this timely webinar.
Click here to register.

Measuring Family Centered Community Change: A Fireside Chat
2021-08-18 14:30 - 15:30
This webinar features a discussion of the experiences and lessons learned in the performance measurement efforts of Family-Centered Community Change (FCCC), a community change strategy, funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation from 2012 to 2019, to improve outcomes for children and parents living in high-poverty communities through two-generation approaches. Topics covered in the webinar include an overview of the performance measures selected for FCCC and how they changed over time, who was involved in deciding what to measure and how, ways that the partners balanced using performance measurement to inform practice and track collective impact, and how the data were analyzed and used to improve implementation.
Panelists will include Anna Minsky (Metis Associates), Sebastian Schreiner (United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County) and Kimberly Spring (The Annie E. Casey Foundation).
Register Here

Answering the $1 Billion Question: Data-Driven Strategies for Demonstrating Impact from CARES-Funded Activities
2021-08-12 13:00 - 14:00
CAA’s have been at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic from Day One. This is one of the reasons Congress entrusted the Community Action Network with $1 billion to support critical Readiness, Rapid Response, Recovery and Resilience activities across the Network. As we begin to look back at the past year, how do we effectively tell the story of our work? Which data should we highlight? More specifically:

How have we differentiated customers related to CARES funding from customers we would have otherwise served and how do we use the data from those two groups effectively. Or, if we only have one group – customers – how do our data show CARES funding really did provide our communities with the ability to reach more families?
How are we capturing outcome data in an environment where immediate, urgent services are the priority?
How are we preparing our community stakeholders for differences between what we “officially” report through the CSBG Annual Report and the work we have actually done?

Join the National Community Action Partnership’s Data Ambassadors for a discussion of how CAAs can effectively “connect the dots” for community stakeholders to demonstrate the tremendous work the network has accomplished and the impact it has had on families and communities across the country.
Click here to register for the webinar.

Targeting Homelessness Prevention to Those at Greatest Risk: Diversion Assistance
2021-08-11 14:00 - 15:00
How are frontline providers helping people seeking shelter identify alternative housing options to prevent homelessness and shelter stays? This third webinar in a series focusing on targeting prevention assistance to those at greatest risk of homelessness will explore diversion practice. Participants will learn about effective problem-solving conversations, strategic points of intervention, the growing use of flexible financial assistance to accompany the intervention, and the impact diversion is having in alleviating shelter entries.
Click here to register for the webinar.

Utilizing Property-Tax Aide to Improve the lives of Seniors
2021-07-28 14:00 - 15:00
Are you from one of the below states? If so, join our upcoming webinar to learn about a free AARP Foundation Property Tax-Aide Tool to connect seniors to property-tax aide.

Eligible locations: New Hampshire, New York, New York City, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington D.C., North Carolina, Florida (Miami-Dade County), Illinois (Cook County), Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Arizona.

During this webinar, the AARP Foundation will explain how you can expand your services and partner with them to utilize their innovative technology and volunteer training. This webinar series with the AARP Foundation will provide a presentation and demonstration on their best in class digital tool to support eligible homeowners and renters, in select states, apply for property tax relief.

Click here to register for the webinar.

The State of Women and Poverty Centering in Intersectional Narratives and Implications for the Future
2021-07-26 12:00 - 13:00
Register Here

The State of Women and Poverty Centering in Intersectional Narratives and Implications for the Future
2021-07-26 12:00 - 13:00
The alarming number of American women living in poverty is a recurring trend. With more women than men living in poverty in the US, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only endangered the economic security of women but has put families at increased risk of falling into poverty and remaining there. During this webinar, an intersectional analysis of women in poverty will consider the implications and opportunities for families and their health and well-being and imagine a new economy using an equity lens.
Register Here

Preventing Homelessness: Finding Families at Highest Risk
2021-07-21 14:00 - 15:00
Wednesday, July 21 at 2 p.m. EST, the Partnership will hold the second webinar in a series examining strategies to prevent homelessness for those who are at the highest risk. This webinar will feature innovative service providers who are working to identify and support families before they become homeless. Speakers will describe how they are working with school districts and public social service programs to support and stabilize families residing in hotels or doubled-up situations who are at risk of entering shelters. Speakers will also share how they utilize diversion strategies in their homelessness service system to help people identify alternatives to entering shelters.
Presenters:

Dr. Sharon McDonald, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Washington, DC
Dr. Cicely Dove, Crossroads Rhode Island, Providence, RI
Theresa McDevitt, Crossroads Rhode Island, Providence, RI
Cindy Moussavou, Housing Families First, Richmond, VA
Andrea Makriyianis, Chesterfield/Colonial Heights Dept. of Social Services, Chesterfield, VA

Register Here

Ready to Serve: How to Build and Equip a Crisis-Ready Response Team
2021-07-15 14:00 - 15:30
Resilience is a concept we have all learned much more about in the last year. Organizational resilience is key to continued operation and growth in complex times. Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, will be presenting an eight-part webinar series on developing more resilient organizations with practical tools for non-profit and public organizations. Each webinar will feature concrete, hands-on approaches to building resilience from the inside out. Melanie will break down the concept of organizational resilience into the eight key themes we all need to learn and know to strengthen our agencies and our teams. The webinars are being released in conjunction with a robust, interactive Resilience Toolkit also available through the Partnership.
This webinar explores three critical stages to create and support a crisis response team: 1. Reflect, 2. Plan, and 3. Practice. You’ll learn how and when planning and response teams differ (in composition as well as emphasis), how to ‘bake in’ lessons from previous crisis events into your planning and response strategies, and why and how the substance and style of your planning activities matter. The webinar also explores approaches to ‘practicing’ what you’ve built before your next crisis is at hand, rules of thumb for your crisis team, and takeaways you can apply to create a crisis-ready response team.
Future webinars in this series will be held on the third Thursday of each month and will focus on topics such as Accessing Resilience Resources from Public and Private Sources and How to Become the Resilient Leader Your Mission Requires. Register today to join this timely series.
Click here to register.

NCAP Community Action Agency Leaders Webinar on OCS CSBG CARES Act Rapid-Cycle Impact Projects
2021-07-12 15:00 - 16:00
This new FOA will support the CSBG CARES Act Rapid-Cycle Impact Projects goal of adapting current service models to effectively respond to immediate community needs while also testing innovative community approaches and strategies developed to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the effects of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Grantees will be responsible for implementing community-based projects focused on priority areas identified by OCS. Grantees will be expected to incorporate a rapid-cycle learning, or continuous quality improvement, approach into the implementation of their project to strengthen the implementation and effectiveness of programs and service strategies. Grantees will receive support from OCS on all aspects of this rapid-cycle learning approach and assistance in implementing it in their projects.
Click here to register for the webinar.

Utilizing Property-Tax Aide to Improve the Lives of Seniors
2021-07-07 14:00 - 15:00
The most vulnerable older adults in your community may be surprised to learn they may qualify for property tax credits or refunds that put money back in their pockets.
Learn from AARP Foundation Property Tax-Aide about how you can expand your services and partner to utilize their innovative technology and volunteer training. This webinar series with the AARP Foundation will provide a presentation and demonstration on their best in class digital tool to support eligible homeowners and renters, in select states, apply for property tax relief.
Property Tax-Aide is a free program currently available in – New Hampshire, New York, New York City, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington D.C., North Carolina, Florida (Miami-Dade County), Illinois (Cook County), Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Arizona.
Speakers–Kylie Brock Property Tax-Aide Partnership Manager and Karen Tan Property Tax Aide Program Manager
Register Here

Racism and Health Equity in Community Action
2021-06-30 14:00 - 15:00
This webinar will explore the intersections of poverty, health and racism in America. The webinar will also introduce the Community Action Network to the American Public Health Association’s six-part webinar series, Advancing Racial Equity, which explores racism as driving force for the social determinants of health.
Presenters: Georges C. Benjamin, M.D., Executive Director, APHA | Denise Harlow, Chief Executive Officer, NCAP
Moderators: Tia Taylor Williams, Director, Center for Public Health Policy, Center for School, Health and Education, APHA | Tiffney Marley, Sr. Vice President, Practice Transformation, NCAP
Register Here

Preventing Homelessness: Exploring Strategies to Reach Those At Greatest Risk
2021-06-22 14:00 - 15:00
Are your locality’s emergency assistance programs reaching people who are at the greatest risk of homelessness? This kick-off webinar will examine the research on homelessness prevention and explore strategies Community Action Agencies may consider to find and assist people who are frequently overlooked by traditional eviction prevention programs.
Register Here

Child Tax Credit Awareness Day Webinar with OCS, OHS, and NCAP
2021-06-21 15:00 - 16:00
NCAP is pleased to announce that Dr. Lanikque Howard of the Office of Community Services (OCS) and Ann Linehan of the Office of Head Start (OHS) will be joining us for the National Community Action Partnership Child Tax Credit (CTC) Awareness Day webinar on Monday, June 21st at 3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM CT / 1:00 PM MT / 12:00 PM PT.
The CTC is a critical component to ending poverty in America, and is a proven method to cut child poverty in half. The Network plays a vital role in creating this reality. Community Action and Head Start staff connect directly with customers almost every day and they are trusted messengers. They play a key role in elevating the visibility and impact the CTC benefit can provide for families, even those who did not file taxes. The process will also allow families who may not have received the previous stimulus payments to receive those funds now. In some cases, this would be a substantial amount of money, lifting their families up during this challenging time.
It is important to share this information with staff who engage directly with families and have them register to attend. You and your staff can register for the event here.
To learn more about the Child Tax Credit, visit the new White House CTC Expansion page. Also, view the Biden Administration’s announcement of Child Tax Credit Awareness Day and click here to view a flyer about the CTC from the White House.

Ready. . . or Not? Creating Practical, Action-Oriented Readiness Plans
2021-06-17 14:00 - 15:30
Resilience is a concept we have all learned much more about in the last year. Organizational resilience is key to continued operation and growth in complex times. Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, will be presenting an eight-part webinar series on developing more resilient organizations with practical tools for non-profit and public organizations. Each webinar will feature concrete, hands-on approaches to building resilience from the inside out. Melanie will break down the concept of organizational resilience into the eight key themes we all need to learn and know to strengthen our agencies and our teams. The webinars are being released in conjunction with a robust, interactive Resilience Toolkit also available through the Partnership.
This webinar begins with an overview of the features and elements that make an action plan truly actionable and continues with an overview of strategies to evaluate your agency’s readiness to face the risks you can’t avoid. Next, learn how to apply 6 tips and techniques for creating plans that will increase your Community Action Agency’s resilience and readiness. The webinar will wrap up with practical tips and takeaways you can put to use immediately.
Future webinars in this series will be held on the third Thursday of each month and will focus on topics such as Ready to Serve: How to Build and Equip a Crisis-Ready Response Team, Accessing Resilience Resources from Public and Private Sources and How to Become the Resilient Leader Your Mission Requires. Register today to join this timely series.

Data Strategy Considerations – From Collecting to Communicating
2021-06-16 14:00 - 15:30
What is your agency’s strategy around data? We often get overwhelmed by data – how to collect it, what to collect, aggregation, data quality, analysis, visualization, reports, telling the story… it can feel complicated! It doesn’t have to be. Join this webinar to take a moment to consider your agency’s overall data strategy, as well as ways to simplify and connect the pieces of the process from collecting to communicating your data. We don’t promise magic, but small steps of improvement toward making data not so scary and instead, useful and powerful.
Presented by the National Community Action Partnership’s Center of Excellence.
Click here to register.

The Center for Excellence and Community Action Highlighted Initiatives: Catalysts for Change
2021-05-27 16:00 - 17:00
Join the National Community Action Partnership (The Partnership) for a closer look at some of the incredible projects underway as part of the Center of Excellence on Human Capacity and Community Transformation initiative through the Community Action Network.
Click here to register.

Transforming and Aligning Systems to Advance Social and Economic Mobility for Children and Families
2021-05-20 16:00 - 17:00
NCAP will present this webinar. This session will provide an overview of whole family approach including key hallmarks for advancing social and economic mobility for children and the adults in their lives together. Additionally, the presentation will highlight opportunities for transforming and aligning systems to support this important innovation.
Presenters:

Tiffney Marley, CCAP, Vice President, Practice Transformation, National Community Action Partnership
Cynthia Croom, Ed.D., Executive Director, Metropolitan Action Commission
Liz Kuoppala, CCAP, Executive Director, MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership

Click here to register.

Crisis Management and Crisis Communications
2021-05-20 11:00 - 12:00
In their book, “The Risk Intelligent Enterprise,” authors Funston and Wagner write that “the crisis you plan for may not be the one you experience, but any preparation will serve you well.” While it’s virtually impossible to forecast the timing, source, and scope of the next crisis you’ll face, there are steps every Community Action Agency can and should take to build crisis management and crisis communications readiness. This webinar outlines practical steps you can take this year to establish best-in-class crisis management and crisis communications capabilities. Attendees can expect to explore everything from forming crisis teams and critical operations teams to drafting statements that can be adapted to suit the crisis and more.

Click here to register for the webinar.
