Grant Recipient: BDPA Los Angeles ($5,260)

The BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is pleased to announce approval of funding request from BDPA Los Angeles in the amount of $5,260.00. This grant flows smoothly with our vision to achieve, through investment in education and technology, an informed minority community prepared to lead and leverage the knowledge revolution for the benefit of the community-at-large.

The funding will be used by BDPA Los Angeles chapter to support their Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. The photos are from chapter computer camp held earlier this month.

BETF directors expressed interest in working with Los Angeles chapter on funding for their 2010 SITES program. We look for them to explore increased funding opportunities through United Way, Combined Federal Campaign or joint grant proposals.

Join us in congratulating BDPA Los Angeles chapter president John Malonson on his success in this funding effort!

Apple Inc. Coco Camp -- Deadline: April 26, 2009

Cocoa Camp
August 17 - 21, 2009

Cocoa Camp is a week-long session at Apple Inc. headquarters in California for students who want to learn to build iPhone applications using Cocoa. This will be a lab-style environment with both lecture and exercies including hands-on training activities led by Apple engineers.

Apple will be responsible for the following expenses: [Read More]

This Week in BDPA (Mar 29 - Apr 4)

BDPA has 51 chapters around the nation. You can find programs, services or networking activity within BDPA and the BDPA Foundation on any day of the week. We strive to advance the careers of African Americans in the IT industry. Are you taking advantage of these programs?

Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the BDPA CollectiveX Calendar and :

• Mar 29: Columbus - Networking, 'BDPA Brainstorm Brunch'


• Mar 31: Washington DC - Program Meeting, 'Regional STEM Outreach Activities'


• Mar 31: National BDPA - Conference, 'Early Bird Conference Registration Rate Ends Today'

We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA CollectiveX Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events! Please let us know of other BDPA events that we may have missed. Most importantly, let us know if you plan to attend any BDPA events this week.

Please make tax-deductible online donation to the BDPA Foundation in honor of our past national president Ollie Morgan. Do it now!

Business Compute-N-Show: High School Computer Camp (Video)

BDPA Memphis chapter high school computer camp coordinator Jalona Edwards is interviewed on the Business Compute-N-Show by host Nancy Ford in Memphis, TN. This show originally aired September 2007.






Nancy conducts these community access television shows on a weekly basis. Our blog hopes to share them with you for posterity.

IT Elite Seminar -- Deadline: May 1, 2009

2009 IT Elite Seminar
August 2-7, 2009
at
P&G Global Headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio

The ELITE Seminar will provide Emerging Leaders in Information Technology with an incredible Experience. Over five intense days, participants will work with current P&G employees and senior managers to develop recommendations on a real Information & Decision Solutions (IDS) project within P&G that integrates business and technology.
We are looking for undergraduate students who will be graduating between Fall 2009 and Spring 2011. Students should be pursuing B.S. or M.S. in Business or Management Information Systems, Computer Science/Engineering, Math/Statistics, or Operations Research. Each candidate must be a U.S. citizen or national, refugee, asylee or lawful permanent resident.
The cost is free -- All Travel and accommdation expenses are covered by P&G.
[Read More]

Diversity in Science Carnival: Women in STEM - Past and Present

March is Women's History Month. One way that the month is being honored is thru the Diversity in Science Carnival: Women in STEM - Past and Present.

The blog carnival shares timely information on subjects such as:

• Women in science through history
  
• Big ideas
  
• Everyday heroes of diversity
  
• The lived reality of the scientific life
  
• Teachers and role models

I am proud that our blog contributed to this month's Diversity in Science Carnival. The next carnival will be May 20th (there will be no DiS carnival in April), hosted by DN Lee at Urban Science Adventures!, on the topic "Dealing With Diversity - what have you done with it, what obstacles have you faced, what success stories do you have".

Can We Raise $500 to Support Our Young People?

I have pledged to raise $500 to Stimulate the Interest of Young People in the Fields of Science and Technology.

If you think that our cause is worthy ... make a donation ... even a small one. We need to demonstrate support of our own programs if we expect others to support us.

Won't you help us meet this $500 target?

Grant Declination: New York Community Trust

BDPA New York Chapter and BDPA Education & Technology Foundation submitted a joint grant proposal to the New York Community Trust in January. We have been informed that our proposal was declined.

Dear Mr. Hicks,

We read with interest your proposal of January 22, 2009 requesting support to train 25 youth in computer technology.

I am sorry to tell you that we won't be able to help. Competition for our funds is vigorous and we just don't have enough money to do all the things that need doing.

We appreciate the time you took to write us and hope you will find the money you need from other sources.

Sincerely,
Joyce M. Bove
Senior Vice President
Grants and Special Projects

We will continue to see funding in support of the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program in New York City. Please let us know if you have any ideas for us on funding sources!

Grant Award: Best Buy Children's Foundation

Best Buy Children's Foundation approved a $3,000 Tag Team Award for programs and services in our BDPA Dayton chapter.

Charles Crawford IV (HSCC Alumni, Class of 1999-2001) led this funding effort based on discussions he had with executives at Best Buy. He is truly a special brother and a marvelous example for all of our HSCC alumni around the country.

The funds will allow participation by Dayton-area students in the Student Information Technology & Scholarships (SITES) program. The program includes the Midwest Regional High School Computer Competition (HSCC), Youth Technology Camp and the national BDPA HSCC in Raleigh, NC on August 5-8, 2009.

Former BETF Director Reggie Gardner Shares Insights on Corporate Leadership Selection

Dr. Reginald Gardner has a strong role in the legacy of BDPA. Over the years he served as BDPA Chicago chapter president, National BDPA vice president (member services) and BDPA Foundation director. I am proud to have served with him on the National BDPA Board of Directors for many years.

Reggie published a book earler this year entitled, Corporate Leadership Selection: Impact on American Business, Employees, and Society.

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This book is an unbiased account of events in numerous business scenarios that I have either experienced, observed, or researched. The objective is not to paint a negative picture of corporate selection processes or behavior, but to reflect upon the leadership selection decisions and the consequences of those decisions - both positive and negative. This book also summarizes the steps of conducting a qualitative research study, and provides a glimpse of the impact to American business and American society as a result of corporate leadership selection.The intent of the excerpts in this book on leadership selection is to touch the conscious of those who willing contributed to unethical/immoral corporate leadership behavior; strike a nerve in those who have the moral courage to blow the whistle on their observed corporate wrongdoing; and open the hearts of those who will encounter questionable leadership activity in the future to respond and curtail such events. This book is geared toward existing corporate leaders; newly selected corporate leaders; those who aspire to become corporate leaders; and students who study and research corporate leader selection. The U.S. remains the greatest country in the world. It is fueled by successful American corporations. However, like any other entity or process, there is always room for improvement.

Reggis currently serves Chief Information Officer for a privately-owned luxury motor coach company. I hope that the BDPA Family reaches out to support his foray into the book world!

Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation

The mission of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation is to reduce health disparities around the world. They seek to realize the power of health solutions by strengthening and integrating community-based healthcare worker capacity and supportive services.

The Foundation actively engages partners to develop, execute, evaluate and promote strategic and innovative programs to improve the health outcomes of populations disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa, hepatitis in Asia, serious mental illness in the United States and cancer in Europe. By sharing lessons learned and showcasing the innovative work of their partners on this web site and elsewhere, they also hope to be a useful resource to patients, healthcare professionals, public health experts, community organizations, healthcare advocates and policymakers who are committed to building bridges to health for all.

Nonprofit organizations in communities where Bristol-Myers Squibb maintains a facility should submit their requests for company contributions. Apply for grants if your program takes place in Connecticut, Indiana, New Jersey or New York.

This foundation is not a good fit for BDPA. However, it might be worthwhile if your chapter has members who work for Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Letter of Inquiry * Carnegie Corporation of New York (BDPA IT Corps)

BETF submitted a letter of inquiry to Carnegie Corporation of New York on behalf of the BDPA IT Corps project. We are grateful to National BDPA vice president Kimberly Davis and her business area for support in this funding effort.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding." Under Carnegie's will, grants must benefit the people of the United States, although the Foundation has a growing emphasis on Commonwealth Africa. The BDPA IT Corps project opens with an exchange of students and programs in Africa. We hope that we have a good fit with Carnegie's goals.

Carnegie accepts requests for funding at all times of the year and welcomes inquiries from potential grantees whose work fits their strategic guidelines. There are no application deadlines.

If Carnegie is pleased with our letter of inquiry, we will be contacted and asked to submit a full-fledged proposal. We will keep you informed of our progress. In the meantime, we hope that you will consider stepping up to make an a secure online donation. God likes the child who has her own!

Celebrating Women Who Made History in Science and Technology

The Diversity in Science Carnival will continue to celebrate the people of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and share their stories of triumph, success and perseverance.

Last month's inaugural carnival celebrating Black History Month was a success. I would love to share stories of BDPA members who are Women Achievers in STEM- Past and Present! This is a great time to learn and recognize some of the unsung heroes in our midst. Do you have anyone in your chapter that you would like to see us submit for this month's blog carnival?

DN Lee (Urban Science Adventures) encouraged me to submit my post on the all-Black all-Female flight crew. I also submitted blog posts on two BDPA Hall of Famers ... Diane Davis and Betty Hutchins ... for this month's carnival. What other women achievers from BDPA should be added to the mix?

If fact, let's try to list the Top 10 Women in BDPA History. Who would you have on that list?

Twitter Tip * Use Hash Marks to 'Go Viral'

Milt Haynes suggested that it is time for BDPA to 'go viral' in honor of our past national president Ollie Morgan. The process can begin immediately at your upcoming program meeting.

Get signed up with Twitter right away. The BDPA Foundation is on Twitter! Did you know that Twitter grew 900% in the past year. In fact, it's grown 33% since New Year's Day ... currently with 8 million users .... estimate is that they will be up to 50 million users by the end of the month. It is time for your chapter to take advantage of Twitter. Are you ready to 'make it so'?

Invite the Twitter community to buzz about your next program meeting. At the beginning of the meeting ask attendees to feel free to tweet about the meeting. Encourage them to use a hash tag, and then tell them what it is.

A hash tag is the character # followed by a short word that describes the event, or a particular topic, on Twitter.

For example, program meeting attendees can mark their tweets by typing "#BDPA" within each one.

That makes it easy for other BDPA members, including those that can't attend the meeting in person, to go to Twitter's search box and type in "#BDPA" to find all the tweets about the event.

You might be asking: Why would BDPA want the rest of the world to take advantage of information at an event that only members and their guests can attend?

Here's why:

1. It creates interest in BDPA programs, services and memberships. I guarantee that if you search for all the "#BDPA" tweets and read them, you will find at least three tips you can start using today to increase your bottom line. BDPA has a miniscule presence on Twitter right now. Shouldn't we get on this wave early in 2009 as we build towards the annual conference?
2. 51 chapter program meetings over the next 30 days ... if only 5-10 people at each meeting has a Twitter account ... that gives us 250-500 people each month tweeting about a technology topic or some other aspect of program meetings designed to advance the careers of African Americans in the IT industry. Each of these 250-500 people have 'followers' on Twitter. Some of those followers might think the tips are so valuable that they're worth "retweeting," thereby exposing thousands more people to BDPA.
3. No more whining about "BDPA being the best-kept secret in America." By using hashtags, we turn our entire program meeting audience into journalists and let THEM report on the BDPA for us. Often, their reach on Twitter will be far greater than the reach of many media outlets in your city. Plus, those tweets live online forever, just waiting for the search engines to find them.

Are you on Twitter yet? Are you ready for BDPA to 'go viral'?

City of Philadelphia Awards Community Service Proclamation to BDPA

BDPA Philadelphia chapter was recently honored during a ceremony at City Hall. The Mayor's Commission on Technology recognized BDPA with a proclamation from the City of Philadelphia for contributions in planning the 10th Anniversary of Black Family Technology Awareness Week (BFTAW).

Hayward West (5th from the left in the photo), the chapter’s president-elect accepted the award on behalf of the chapter. BDPA Philadelphia chapter is committed to shaping the lives of future generations by demonstrating the importance of careers in math, science, engineering and technology fields.

"We are very pleased to join with the City of Philadelphia in its efforts to cultivate the next generation of inventors, scientists and engineers.” said Monique Berry, President of BDPA Philadelphia. “Our goal is to get minority youth interested in technology by showing them how challenging, fun and exciting the field of IT can be."

BDPA events during 2009 BFTAW included local school visits, family technology night and The Legacy event at the African American Cultural Center.

Knight Center of Digital Excellence

The Knight Center of Digital Excellence is dedicated to facilitating development of sustainable technology strategies to benefit communities and enable citizens to connect with each other and the world. The Knight Center of Digital Excellence will collect and share research and best practices, nurture collaboration and provide on-the-ground support for the Knight communities.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's funding of the Knight Center of Digital Excellence creates the first national, nonprofit resource center, initially dedicated to addressing the needs of Knight's 26 communities across the country and then expanding to help advance the vision of creating universal access across the United States. Knight has pledged up to $25 million over the next five years to accelerate digital access projects in the 26 U.S. communities where the Knight Brothers owned newspapers.

The Knight Foundation has partnered with OneCommunity, an internationally recognized leader in creating connected communities, to bring the Knight Center of Digital Excellence to life and make universal access an obtainable reality. The Knight Foundation and OneCommunity announced the creation of the Knight Center of Digital Excellence in April 2008.

The Knight Center staff will work the Knight communities to identify specific objectives; develop opportunities; and promote universal access, local partnerships and transformative applications. Teams will explore programs for economic development, workforce development, community building, education, health care, social services delivery, e-government, public safety, democracy and journalism and any other community priority that can be positively accelerated through an expanded broadband infrastructure.

The Knight Center of Digital Excellence is headquartered in the original Knight community of Akron, Ohio.

The Knight communities are: Aberdeen SD; Akron OH; Biloxi MS; Boulder CO; Bradenton FL; Charlotte NC; Columbia SC; Columbus GA; Detroit MI; Duluth MN; Fort Wayne IN; Gary IN; Grand Forks ND; Lexington KY; Long Beach CA; Macon GA; Miami-Dade/Broward FL; Milledgeville GA; Myrtle Beach SC; Palm Beach County FL; Philadelphia PA; San Jose CA; St. Paul MN; State College PA; Tallahassee FL; and Wichita KN.

Knight Foundation

The Knight Community Partners Program aims to improve the quality of life in 26 U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. They recognize the uniqueness of each of their 26 communities. In every one, Knight Foundation's program directors look to local advisory committees to provide critical insight and help identify opportunities.

The six (6) priority areas funded by this program are:

1. Education: To help all residents gain the knowledge and skills necessary to reach economic self-sufficiency, remain active learners, be good parents and effective citizens in a democracy. To provide an environment in which talented individuals refine and develop their abilities.
   
2. Well-being of children and families: To provide all children and youth with opportunities for positive growth and development and to give all parents resources they need to strengthen their families.
   
3. Housing and community development: To provide all residents with access to affordable and decent housing in safe, drug-free neighborhoods. To provide a continuum that includes everything from services for the homeless to affordable opportunities for home ownership.
   
4. Economic development: To help all adults gain access to jobs. To build alliances among government, business and nonprofit sectors to create economic opportunities for residents.
   
5. Civic engagement/positive human relations: To encourage and enable all residents to participate effectively in the democratic process, form ties to local institutions and strengthen relationships with one another.
   
6. Vitality of cultural life: To provide all residents access to a wide variety of artistic and cultural pursuits. To nourish creativity in children, youth and adults.

Local grants in the Communities Program improve the quality of life in the Foundation's 26 communities of interest. To be eligible for consideration, funding requests must benefit one or more of these communities, although the organization submitting the request may be located outside the project area.

The Foundation also encourages proposals that address these communities' opportunities on a regional level. Requests for support of local projects outside of these 26 specific communities will not be considered by the Knight Foundation.

Please note that many of these 26 communities are co-located with a BDPA chapter. That means that your chapter's youth education programming is perfect program to complement the grant-making guidelines from Knight Foundation. BETF would be very interested in partnering with any local chapter interested in sending a joint grant to this foundation. Please confirm that your chapter is one of the 26 communities ... if so, let us know of your interest in submitting an online letter of inquiry.

2009 Early Bird Conference Registration Extended to 3/31/2009

We learned today that the early-bird registration period for the 2009 BDPA Technology Conference has been extended to 3/31/2009. Don't procrastinate any longer ... get registered today!

Letter of Inquiry * Best Buy Store (Raleigh/Durham NC)

BDPA Triangle chapter partnered with the BDPA Foundation to submit a letter of inquiry to Best Buy Store #174 (2034 Skibo Road; Fayatteville NC) requesting products and services.

Each Best Buy store has a donation budget to support local nonprofit organizations. Product Donations come directly from the local Best Buy store.

• Donations are given to schools, libraries and after-school clubs
• Donations are made in the form of product or Best Buy Gift Cards
• Local store employees decide how to support their community

We will keep you informed on the response to our letter of inquiry.

In the meantime, we are open to any other chapter interested in approaching their local Best Buy store for a product or gift card donation. If your chapter is interested then we need three things specific technology product(s) that you seek and the mailing address for Best Buy store that is local to your chapter.

HSCC Testimonial: Derek Griffin (Chattanooga)

Derek Griffin
BDPA Chattanooga Chapter
HSCC Alumni 2005-2007
[EDITOR’S NOTE – Derek is a 3-time participant in the national BDPA high school computer competition (HSCC). He earned a Bemley Scholarship at the 2007 national competition. Ironically, his coach in 2007 was Wes Williams (2001 national HSCC champion)].

When I began training for the 2007 Chattanooga HSCC team, I knew what to expect. I had done this twice before, 2005 in Detroit and 2006 in Los Angeles, and I was excited to be going to Washington D.C. We had a new coach and we knew with a little work we could go all the way. What we did not know was that little work, turned out to be a lot of work.

We worked every Saturday morning. We determined that wasn’t enough, and it was not, and started to have practices what I believe was every night in the library. This was a lot after everything else I had to do, but I did not mind the work. However, the competition was fast approaching and I just knew it was almost over.

Our preparation for the journey to Washington D. C. was almost over. The night before we met at Coach Wes’ house, our coordinator, seeing we had to leave at 4:00am–Yes am. We worked all that night and I believe I got 10 minutes of sleep. We woke up at 4:00 am. We went to pick up our third teammate and the trip commenced. It was a hard 9-hour trip to D.C. I again could barely sleep, we got a ticket, and I finally fell asleep and heard some of the harshest words I have ever heard, “Derek you ready to study some.”

Upon arrival, we went out to socialize and “let everyone know we had arrived.” We get a little down time including watching the then newly released, 300. I started to doze, comfortable at last, and then the worst words I really ever heard, those that torment me to this very day, nearly two years later, “Derek let’s go over the code some more.”

I was ready to get this all over with, and we went in for the test, we got all but one of the oral questions, and we did very well on the written, and it became obvious all of our studying had paid dividends. However, the portion we had really trained for was the 8-hour beast, the room of doom, the only computer lab that causes nightmares, the web design competition. I was determined; I had not deprived myself of sleep for nothing. We were prepared and we performed magnificently. The only thing that surprised us was the ruthlessness of the other teams. Some teams resorted to lying to throw us off. We believed at first but it did not affect us, we gave a killer presentation and were relieved to see the end.

We went out on the town and prepared for the big night. After we were ready, we found our tables and we sat being the most confident team there. We knew we at least won second place. We would have been ok with third. When announced as fifth place winners, we were so sure she had made a mistake; we did not even get up. She had not made a mistake; we were the fifth place winners. Not first but winners nonetheless, so we walked up there, some of us hobbled, we received our award, and we proudly took our seats. I know without a doubt we did our best, and though we may have deserved more, how can I argue with five-hundred dollar scholarship?

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BETF needs your help in our efforts to increase the Bemley Scholarship Fund so that we might continue giving to our students. You know that times are tight ... however, we must answer the call to get our young people into college. Won't you make a small donation today in support of our Bemley Scholarship Fund?

You can use the COMMENTS option to below to make a pledge or you can go directly to our website and make a secured donation with your credit card. What say u?

Message from Philadelphia Chapter President

BDPA Philadelphia is the defending 'Chapter of the Year'. The chapter is led by Monique Berry. Here is the message shared by Sis. Berry with her chapter stakeholders earlier this month:

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Can you believe that it"s already March? There are only 20 days until spring and the new life that comes with the season is stirring - in more ways than one with BDPA.

On Saturday February 7, 2009, BDPA chartered a new chapter in Hampton Roads with 66 members. Stakeholder communities in Virginia's Tidewater region include Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Yorktown. Colleges, universities, and HBCU/MIs within the chapter's region include Elizabeth City State University, Hampton University, Norfolk State University, and Old Dominion University.

The results from our College Student Membership Drive are in, we added 35 new college student members to our ranks. Our goal is to mentor a student chapter at each of the Philadelphia area campuses.

BDPA also hosted or participated in numerous Black Family Technology Awareness Week and Black History Month activities such as "The Legacy" networking event, Amtrak's Black History Celebration and the Philadelphia STEM initiative and the Black Professional Organization Fair.

We ended the month on a high note Thursday, February 27, when City Council and the Mayor's Commission on Technology recognized BDPA with a proclamation from the City of Philadelphia for contributions in planning the 10th Anniversary of Black Family Technology Awareness Week.

This month in celebration of Woman's History Month, Professor LeAnn Erickson is the guest speaker at our meeting on March 18th. Professor Erickson,independent video/filmmaker and professor at Temple University, will discuss the untold story of the women and technology that helped win a war and usher in the modern computer age.

I am looking forward to BDPA reaching greater heights in advancing African Americans in the information technology industry and know that each and every one of you will do your share by volunteering at the chapter or national levels, donating to the scholarship fund and encouraging people to join BDPA.

Stay tuned for our upcoming newsletters for future events. In the meantime, I hope to see you at our March 18th program.

Regards,
Monique F. Berry, President
BDPA Philadelphia Chapter

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Monique is one of the best chapter presidents that I have ever seen in my BDPA career. I hope that the new chapter in Hampton Roads and many of the other 49 chapters are emulating some of the 'best practices' from Monique!

Grant Proposal: The Kroger Co. Foundation

BETF and BDPA Middle Tennessee chapter submitted a grant proposal to The Kroger Co. Foundation. We requested funding to support the SITES program in Nashville TN.

The Kroger Co. Foundation was established in 1987 to support charitable activities in the communities where Kroger customers and associates live and work. The Foundation awards nearly $2.7 million to non-profit organizations each year. Eligible organizations may submit proposals at any time through the community relations department of the local retail division office. The Foundation relies on personnel in the retail operating units to recommend the most appropriate and effective use of Foundation resources in the community. Please click here to see the list of their retail division offices.

For a copy of their contribution guidelines, please click here.

Are African Americans Relevant in the Internet Age?

Soulclap to Cliff Samuels who shared the following personal rant on his blog:

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Are we as African Americans relevant in this Internet Age?? I was watching Download: The True Story of the Internet and noticed that WE are not there in the revolution. Google, Yahoo, Excite, Sun and the dozens of other break through companies were started by either people from Asian, India, White males and females or a combination of all but NO one of African descent. Is this bad reporting, are our idea's being stolen or are we not relevant in the Internet Age. Is it too late for us to make a difference??

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Well, BETF-Blog Readers, what say u?

This Week In BDPA (Mar 8-14)

BDPA has 51 chapters around the nation. You can find programs, services or networking activity within BDPA and the BDPA Foundation on any day of the week. We strive to advance the careers of African Americans in the IT industry. Are you taking advantage of these programs? Here is a weekly preview of upcoming events gathered from the BDPA CollectiveX Calendar and :

• Mar 10: Richmond - Program Meeting, '2009 Strategic Direction'


• Mar 11: Northern Delaware - Program Meeting, 'Information Security - Why?'


• Mar 12: Cincinnati - Webinar, 'Increase Sales and Improve Operations ... Even in an Economic Downturn'

We encourage all BDPA leaders to take advantage of the centralized BDPA CollectiveX Groupsite Calendar to post your upcoming events! Please let us know of other BDPA events that we may have missed. Most importantly, let us know if you plan to attend any BDPA events this week.

Please make tax-deductible online donation to the BDPA Foundation in honor of our past national president Ollie Morgan. Do it now!

Money on the Table

If you’re not writing grant proposals for stimulus dollars, you’re leaving money on the table; it’s as simple as that.

Communities across the U.S. stand to lose significant money when it comes to building a broadband infrastructure. There is no national game plan, which means regions must craft their own – and the regions that strike first are likely to win.

Here’s what’s at stake: $7 billion in stimulus funding earmarked for broadband expansion.

And that is not counting other initiatives that could affect broadband projects. Business interests such as Intel, Google and Qwest are planning accordingly. Public interests should do no less.

Here is the rest of the article.

Grant Declination: Whole Foods Market (BDPA Atlanta)

BETF and BDPA Atlanta chapter partnered on a request for in-kind food donation from Whole Foods Market to support the chapter's SITES program. Whole Foods Market sets aside a portion of its budget to support worthwhile events and projects within our community. For the most part, donations are not made in cash. Unfortunately, our request was denied.

The marketing team leader at the Atlanta store wrote, "Mr. Hicks, We will not be able to assist with your donation request at this time. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to e-mail me. Best, Kate"

BETF will continue to seek funding support for the SITES program on local and national level. Let us know if you have any fundraising ideas that could help our Atlanta chapter.

Tips for Entering Your Nonprofit into the Social Media Environment

"Social media" doesn't have to be scary. Do you Tweet? What's your Facebook page got? Ever think of how to promote your nonprofit on YouTube? Follow any bloggers? What's an "influencer," and should you be, well, influenced? More important, are your target audiences socializing in cyberspace, not just for fun but for the purpose of deciding how and where to invest their time or financial resources? ... Read more

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Mar 2009, Membership)

There are 51 BDPA chapters in the nation. BDPA chapter added a new chapter in Hampton Roads VA last month. Each chapter averages 52 members. The top ten chapters in terms of membership as of 3/1/2009 are:

1. Chicago - (all-time record high, 532 members)
2. Philadelphia - (jumped up 1 place this month)
3. Richmond - (dropped 1 place this month)
4. Atlanta
5. Washington DC
6. Cincinnati - (jumped up 2 places this month)
7. New York - (dropped 1 place this month)
8. New Jersey - (jumped up 2 places this month)
9. Detroit
10. Cleveland - (jumped up 1 place this month)

Seven of these chapters are in the BDPA Century Club with at least 100 members. BDPA Education & Technology Foundation provides funding to support these programs and services at local level. Our hope is that you will consider making a donation to BETF this year. You can securely donate online or you can give BETF a call on (513) 284-4968 to discuss your pledge offline. What say u?