Compiled by Phenix Kim
Monday, March 31, 2025 |
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Artificial intelligence: A strategy to pay nonprofits on time and relieve staffing pressures
Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic these days. It’s moving markets, underpinning public policy decisions, and redefining the workforce. Like many technology innovations, AI has been slower to gain traction in the public sector. In New York City, however, we can no longer afford to delay its adoption. Our city’s $20 billion nonprofit human services contracting portfolio is facing unprecedented economic hardship and sustainability concerns due to late contracts and invoice payments. A frequent refrain from government partners is that the procurement workforce is understaffed and undertrained. AI is a solution that can address both of these issues. AI-powered tools can automate tasks and are designed to quickly learn digital systems, like the city’s electronic procurement platform.
In a ChatGPT query, I asked: “How can AI be used in human services government procurement?” What follows is the chatbot’s general recommendations. Interviews with New York City procurement staff provided examples of specific applications and potential implications for integrating AI in New York City’s human services contracting portfolio. The city just released a request for proposals to enhance PASSPort functionality – this article urges the city to integrate AI functionality into future enhancements.
Read more here. - Jennifer Geiling |
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(PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MATEUSZ SLODKOWSKI/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES/SOPA IMAGES / CONTRIBUTOR) |
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A message from Children's Aid |
We're excited to announce the launch of our new podcast, "Every Step of the Way: Conversations that Inspire." From classrooms to board rooms, from struggles to triumphs, Children’s Aid alumni are making an impact every step of the way. Join us as we sit down with alumni that have transformed their lives and their communities. In each episode, we’ll bring you personal stories of resilience, of hope, and success. Subscribe and listen today.
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The National Council of Nonprofits recognizes these are uncertain times and that many nonprofits rely on federal funding for their programs. The council will be providing additional information as we learn more about the impact of the Trump administration’s actions on federal grants and contracts. These are some initial steps that nonprofits should engage in when they learn that their federal grant or contract is terminated by a federal agency. This checklist will provide a strong basis for next steps and understanding your rights.
Today, the Climate Justice Mayoral Forum will host New York City mayoral candidates at the CUNY School of Law to discuss their plans to protect the most vulnerable communities and ensure New York City is adequately prepared to face a changing climate. As global temperatures continue to rise, the city is likely to experience stronger and more dangerous climate disasters in the years ahead. Now more than ever, city leadership must pass bold climate legislation, fight fossil fuel interests, and prioritize climate and environmental justice. The forum will be hosted by Climate Works for All – a coalition of labor, community, faith, environmental justice, and climate organizations working towards building decarbonization in New York City – and allies in the fight for climate justice.
This Saturday, tens of thousands of Americans will take to the streets at over 600 events in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in “Hands Off,” the largest single day of action since Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term. Participants will call on Trump and Elon Musk to take their hands off the programs that the middle class and working families rely on. Ranging from rallies and protests to empty chair town halls and digital campaigns – the event will underscore the real-life consequences of these policies and show how communities are fighting back.
The MCU Foundation, the charitable arm of the Municipal Credit Union, announced that it has donated $100,000 to the Ronald McDonald House of the Greater Hudson Valley. This gift will go directly to providing support for families seeking treatment at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, many of whom are residents of the New York City area. The Ronald McDonald House of the Greater Hudson Valley provides support to hundreds of families each year while their children receive essential medical treatments and care, allowing families the ability to spend every minute possible at their child’s side.
The Sharing Shelf, a nonprofit clothing bank serving Westchester County, hosted a Family Volunteer Day with families with children ages six and up to address clothing insecurity and related basic needs. Volunteers assembled packs of donated clothing, ranging from layette kits for infants to school clothes for teens. Basic needs include infant essentials like diapers, wipes, bibs, burp cloths, and pacifiers. Hygiene kits with sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner for children with textured hair were also distributed.
The Urban Assembly celebrated a major milestone in its campaign to have social-emotional learning widely recognized in public schools, officially recognizing the passage of Resolution 13, which designates the second Friday in March as SEL Day in New York City. New York City Council Member Rita Joseph, a longtime supporter of The Urban Assembly and social-emotional learning being a part of the school system, presented a proclamation honoring the newly established SEL Day at The Urban Assembly Maker Academy in Downtown Manhattan.
The State University of New York and City Year New York, an AmeriCorps education service program, are expanding their partnership to prepare more college students to enter an increasingly competitive job market for bachelor’s degree holders. Now, young people serving as Student Success Coaches will receive college credit for their service in New York K-12 public schools and a new part-time Student Success Coach role will enable SUNY students to pursue service and education at the same time. Following a pilot program in California that increased Student Success Coaches by 691%, this is the second City Year-university system partnership and will set the model for the rest of the country.
City Harvest, New York’s first and largest food rescue organization, has launched its annual, city-wide Passover Food Drive. The food drive will collect kosher Passover food items to support kosher-observant families during Passover, and will run through April 28. As nearly one in five Jewish households in New York City live below or near the poverty line, City Harvest is committed to addressing the need for food among the Jewish community through the organization’s kosher food program. The program serves Jewish New Yorkers experiencing food insecurity, ensuring they have access to free, nutritious food for Passover.
Citymeals on Wheels, the largest meals on wheels program in the country also will provide essential connection and food to older Jewish New Yorkers with kosher meals this Passover. Delivering 42,000 meals – traditional kosher for Passover food – to 3,000 homebound older New Yorkers across all five boroughs for the holiday, these Passover boxes contain eight Kosher meals including traditional favorites.
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A message from City & State |
Speaking opportunities are now available for NYN Media’s 10th annual Nonprofit OpCon: Streamlining Processes for Nonprofits on June 5! We’re actively looking for moderators and panelists to discuss a range of topics — from nonprofit talent acquisition to digital strategies and board management. Email us if you or a colleague is interested in speaking or moderating.
Sponsored by: Ameritas; Incline Pension Consulting; T-Mobile for Government; Denham Wolf; Kiwi Partners; Trinet; Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP |
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Social Services: The department awarded $925,000 to the Shorefront YM-YWHA Of Brighton Manhattan Beach Inc. and $925,000 to Sunnyside Community Services Inc. towards the New York City Benefits and Child Care Supplement Program. The department also awarded $750,000 to the Haitian Americans United For Progress Inc., $750,000 to Samuel Field YM & YWHA Inc. and $750,000 to the Arab-american Family Support Center Inc. towards the New York City Benefits program.
Youth and Community Development: The department awarded $50,000 to the Rosedale Jets Football Association and $50,000 to the Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities Inc. for neighborhood youth team sports. |
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* Seven thousand New York City families could lose child care subsidies each month under the state’s proposed budget – a move that advocates say would leave parents unable to work and force day care centers to close their doors, Gothamist reports.
* Nearly all of the U.S. Institute of Peace’s staff members in the United States were fired on Friday, a sharp escalation of the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE team’s efforts to eliminate the government-funded independent nonprofit, according to current and former staff members and termination notices, The New York Times reports.
* Health care costs could rise for New York City employees as a key fund that pays for employees’ health benefits has run dry, opening up a $600 million hole in the city budget and threatening potential cuts to public workers’ health benefits, The CITY reports.
* In 2024, nonprofits brought in more than 1.9% in donations than they did the previous year, according to the 2024 Trends in Giving Spotlight by the Blackbaud Institute. The report, which is one of the first that gives a hint about how giving looked last year, found that fundraising growth didn’t keep pace with inflation, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.
* As President Donald Trump seeks to extract concessions from elite institutions and punish his perceived enemies, some of New York’s most powerful people are suddenly confronting excruciating decisions, The Times reports. * Ahead of tomorrow’s budget deadline, state lawmakers are pushing back on a proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul that would result in New York City’s school system receiving $350 million less than expected, Chalkbeat reports.
* Jean Rice, who for decades scratched out a living, nickel by nickel, picking up deposit cans in New York while becoming a well-respected advocate for the homeless, died on March 12 in Queens. He was 85, The Times reports.
* Anti-poverty groups have identified property taxes as a culprit in the affordable housing shortage, finding that rental apartments are assessed at far higher rates than houses, according to a report by the The Community Service Society and Progress and Poverty institute, The CITY reports.
* The growing wave of anti-trans legislation in the U.S. has forced many transgender people to consider whether they can safely remain in the country. While some are preparing escape plans and exploring international relocation options, others face significant barriers – financial, legal, and logistical – that make leaving nearly impossible, Nonprofit Quarterly reports.
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* As nonprofits are struggling, these emergency funds are offering help. The philanthropic response to the federal government’s defunding of nonprofits has been sluggish, but rapid response funds are starting to emerge, Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. |
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* We’ve forgotten what college is for – it’s for probing the human condition, not lining up a good internship. However straight a line can be drawn between college and “career,” wealth is not the only value a life may be measured by, writes Scott Parker for the Chronicle of Higher Education. |
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NYN Media Jobs
To view all jobs, please visit jobs.nynmedia.com. To advertise your employment opportunities with NYN Media email jobs@nynmedia.com. Functional Family Therapist - The Children’s Villages, Bronx NY
The Children’s Villages uses Functional Family-Child Welfare (FFT-CW) as a treatment modality within its General Preventive Programs. FFT-CW is a strength-based, short-term, high quality intervention program. At its core is a focus and assessment of risk and protective factors that impact the families and their environment. Specific attention is paid towards interfamilial and extra familial factors, and how they present within and influence the therapeutic process. Learn more here!
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Anat Gerstein, founder and president of Anat and Elvin García, director of government affairs, New York University; tomorrow to Michael Nozzolio, social work supervisor, Holocaust survivor support systems of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island; on Wednesday to Danny Kanner, vice president of response management at the National Basketball Association; on Thursday to Yasmin Arianna John, development and communications associate of the Seamen's Society for Children and Families; on Friday to Michael Rivadeneyra, vice president of government affairs at YMCA, Ryan Davis, co-founder of and COO for People First, Matthew Dunbar, vice president of external affairs at Habitat for Humanity New York City and to Erik Kriss, associate state communications director at AARP New York; on Saturday to Schillivia Baptiste, CEO of Laland Baptiste and on Sunday to Moe Magali, senior manager at Public Works Partners.
MOVING ON:
Martin Mulkeen, will join the Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s Board of Trustees; the New York Apartment Association has hired Woody Pascal as senior vice president and Women’s Health Access Matters announced the appointment of Peter Pitts as strategic advisor to The WHAM Life Sciences Collaborative.
Have a birthday, career change, birth or death to announce? Email editor@nynmedia.com. |
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In person: April 1 – Nonprofit Matters - Strategic Planning: Driving Organizational Success, Westchester Library, Westchester April 1 – The Museum of Jewish Heritage Spring Women’s Luncheon, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Manhattan
April 1 - Bloomingdale School of Music's 60th Anniversary Spring Benefit: "Generations", Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, Manhattan
April 3 – Enduring Culture Spotlight: Morris Park History & Community, Municipal Art Society of New York, Bronx April 8 – 2025 Nonprofit Leadership Summit, Purchase College, Harrison April 26 - Brooklyn Org Volunteer Day, Multiple locations, Brooklyn, NY
April 27 – Annual Gathering of Remembrance 2025, the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust,Manhattan
April 29 – Fair Housing Justice Center’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, Trinity Church Wall Street, Manhattan
May 1 – The Circle of Friends Dinner & After Party hosted by The Children’s Village, The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, Manhattan
May 2-4 – Jane's Walk NYC 2025, the Municipal Art Society of New York, all boroughs May 18 – Birch Family Services 5K Forward: Fast Track to Empowerment Race, Hudson River Park, Manhattan May 28 – Selfhelp Community Services' 2025 Gala, Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers, Manhattan
June 23 – Birch Family Services Fourth Annual Golf Classic, Muttontown Club, East Norwich Nov. 13 – 50th Anniversary Soirée: annual gala,The Lighthouse Pier 61, Manhattan Online: April 1 – AI for Nonprofits Sprint online webinar
April 1 – Nonprofit Matters - Strategic Planning: Driving Organizational Success April 4 – First Fridays
April 6 – Past, Present, and Future: The Passover Third Seder and 125 Years of the Workers Circle April 9 – AI for Nonprofits Sprint online webinar
April 9 – Instant Yiddish: Passover Edition April 16 – Four Winters: Sharing Partisan Stories through Documentary Film
April 16 – Jane's Walk Informational Session April 17 – How to be an Effective Advocate
April 9 – AI for Nonprofits Sprint online webinar May 8 – How to build a monthly giving or sustainer program
Submit your event by sending a short description and a working link to editor@nynmedia.com.
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