Announcements
Work With Us! Flamboyan Foundation Recruiting a Director of Communications
We are looking for a strategic and bilingual (English/Spanish) Director of Communications who will be responsible for overseeing and implementing Flamboyan’s external and internal communications efforts in Washington, DC and Puerto Rico. The ideal candidate brings a successful track record of communications, experience in education, excellent writing in both English and Spanish and a strong outcomes orientation. Please click here to view the job description.
Puerto Rico Donors’ Education Collaborative
The Puerto Rico Donors’ Education Collaborative (PRDEC) was established by four local foundations in partnership with the transnational organization Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP), for the purpose of creating a common fund dedicated to providing capacity building grants to local education nonprofits. The Ángel Ramos, Banco Popular, Flamboyán, and Segarra-Boerman Foundations joined HIP’s Funders’ Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities, which matched the contributions of the local foundations.
The goal of this network of funders is to strengthen the organizational capacity and leadership of a promising group of education nonprofit organizations which have already had a significant impact on the lives of thousands of students in Puerto Rico. The funds are directed at increasing the operational stability and sustainability of the organizations that were selected and deepening these organizations’ role as leaders in providing children with high quality educational opportunities, both locally and internationally.
The seven local organizations that make up the Puerto Rico Cohort are:
Alianza para la Educación Alternativa / Alternative Education Alliance
Received a 3-year grant to conduct an organizational impact evaluation to develop common indicators to guide the development of and feed a collective data system. It is dedicated to serving young people between the ages of 16 and 21 who are out of school or at risk of dropping out. The Alliance is formed by five nonprofit organizations: Proyecto Nacer, ASPIRA, Centros Sor Isolina Ferré, Nuestra Escuela, and PECES.
Jóvenes de Puerto Rico en Riesgo / Puerto Rico Youth At-Risk
Received a 2-year grant to develop and implement a social enterprise (CIMERA) to attain sustainability for the organization. It was founded with the mission of developing and implementing prevention programs to help at-risk youth develop their potential for success. They offer mentorship and workshops in personal and social development to the young people, their families, and their teachers. The organization also offers tutoring centers and safe spaces in schools as well as significant work and service experiences.
Received a 3-year grant to develop an outcome evaluation system for English, Spanish and Math subject matters to improve offering and effectiveness of academic model. It was founded in 2000 for the purpose of offering educational services to young people who have dropped out of school. The organization’s approach is comprehensive intervention, personalized education, and psychosocial development. They are located in the municipalities of Caguas, Culebra, Loíza, and Vieques.
Centro Esperanza / Center for Hope
Received a 1-year fundraising capacity grant to create a development plan that addresses knowledge transfer to staff, create internal capacity and board development. It was established for the purpose of offering educational services to underprivileged children in the municipality of Loíza and nearby towns. The Center’s mission is to provide peace education based on the Montessori philosophy.
Instituto Nueva Escuela / New School Institute
Received a 1-year fundraising capacity grant to develop a fundraising plan focused on federal grant proposal writing and private donations. It is an organization created to address the need to transform the work environments in public schools into places of academic excellence guided by the Montessori model. The project’s mission is to promote collective work, teacher transformation, community participation, and appropriate curricula.
Received a 1-year fundraising capacity grant to create a detailed long-term development plan to optimize funding opportunities and secure long-term sustainability. It was for the purpose of improving the quality of public education in Puerto Rico by creating a diverse and informed network of changemakers who advocate for a positive transformation of the educational system. All its efforts are aimed at improving academic achievement, optimizing the school environment, and recruiting members for the movement known as Coalición por la Equidad y Calidad Educativa (Coalition for Equity and High Quality Education).
Received a 1-year fundraising capacity grant to develop grant writing skills and a model grant proposal to expand sources of income. It is an institution that delivers education and rehabilitation services to children and adults with physical, orthopedic, and neuromuscular disabilities, promoting the vision that disabled people can live lives of equality, dignity, and self-sufficiency.
From left to right, Executive Directors Guiomar García, Sofía Martínez and Beatriz Polhamus from Flamboyan Foundation, Segarra-Boerman and Banco Popular Foundations, respectively, Presidents Diana Campoamor and Rafael Cortés from Hispanics in Philantropy and Ángel Ramos Foundation, respectively, and former HIP Board Chair Janice Petrovich
Attention Nonprofits in Puerto Rico! New Tax Incentives for Charitable Contributions
On January 31, 2011, Puerto Rico adopted a new Internal Revenue Code (2011 PR Tax Code) that contains amendments to the section governing deductions for charitable contributions. Effective immediately for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, the 2011 PR Tax Code increases the allowed deduction to individuals and corporations for donations made to nonprofit organizations in Puerto Rico.
For individuals, this means a 100% deduction of the amount donated, up to 50% of the taxpayer’s total adjusted gross income for the taxable year. For corporations, the amount of charitable contributions that they can deduct increased from 5% to 10%.
The amendment to the charitable contributions section of the 2011 PR Tax Code was the result of a collaborative, educational effort initiated and led by Flamboyan Foundation and Red de Fundaciones with key support from volunteer professional experts and government officials, to stimulate giving and strengthen the nonprofit sector in Puerto Rico.
For Nonprofit Organizations
Make sure your nonprofit organization is in compliance with the State and Treasury Departments of Puerto Rico. If you are unsure whether or not your organization is in compliance, use the provided resource named “Hoja de Cotejo – OSFL Cumplimiento” to learn more. Below, find information on the new law and useful tools for developing fundraising messages and strategies to take advantage of it.
Nonprofit organizations which educate donors about the 2011 PR Tax Code can potentially increase their giving. A better law is an incentive, but a law in and of itself does not promote giving, so organizations should engage current and potential investors strategically. Here are some suggestions for doing so:
- Invite current and potential donors to see your work in action.
- Create a one page organizational overview or frequently asked questions document for current and potential donors.
- Know your budget and be prepared to answer questions about how donor’s investment dollars are spent.
- Send information to current donors about the new tax code and ask them to share it with a friend.
- Share your ideas with us and we will post them on our website.
Resources (only available in Spanish):
- Ley 1, sección Deducciones por Donaciones a OSFL
- Reglamento 8104 – Donativos Corporaciones a OSFL
- Reglamento 8105 – Donativos Individuos a OSFL
- Carta Circular Hacienda – 12-03 sobre Exención Contributiva
- Modelo DECLARACIÓN JURADA – Carta Circular 12-03
- 100 deducible logo
- Ejemplo Carta Recibo Donación Corporativa
- Ejemplo Carta Recibo Donación Individuo
- Hoja de Cotejo – OSFL Cumplimiento
Attention Individuals and General Public! New Tax Incentives for Charitable Contributions in Puerto Rico
On January 31, 2011, Puerto Rico adopted a new Internal Revenue Code (2011 PR Tax Code) that contains amendments to the section governing deductions for charitable contributions. Effective immediately for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, the 2011 PR Tax Code increases the allowed deduction to individuals and corporations for donations made to nonprofit organizations in Puerto Rico.
For individuals, this means a 100% deduction of the amount donated, up to 50% of the taxpayer’s total adjusted gross income for the taxable year. For corporations, the amount of charitable contributions that they can deduct increased from 5% to 10%.
The amendment to the charitable contributions section of the 2011 PR Tax Code was the result of a collaborative, educational effort initiated and led by Flamboyan Foundation and Red de Fundaciones with key support from volunteer professional experts and government officials, to stimulate giving and strengthen the nonprofit sector in Puerto Rico.
Resources (only available in Spanish):
- Ley 1, sección Deducciones por Donaciones a OSFL
- Reglamento 8104 – Donativos Corporaciones a OSFL
- Reglamento 8105 – Donativos Individuos a OSFL
Do you want to give? Everyone can give – you don’t have to be rich, famous or old.
If each of us contributes effectively with a donation to a social cause we feel most passionate about, little by little we can improve the quality of life in Puerto Rico. The outcomes that successful nonprofit organizations achieve impact all of us and we benefit from their hard work. The stronger and better prepared they are, the more they contribute to our common good.
We invite you to share this information with your friends and family to motivate them to support nonprofit organizations, while earning a substantial tax benefit. The more people know about the economic benefits of giving in Puerto Rico, the more they will be motivated to donate to nonprofit organizations, which for years have proven to be a significant engine for economic and social growth in Puerto Rico.
You can take the following actions to make a difference, invest in Puerto Rico’s quality of life, and benefit from the 2011 PR Tax Code:
- Think what cause you want to support.
- Seek information on the Internet about how your cause is being addressed in Puerto Rico and elsewhere.
- Learn which NPOs are making a difference for that cause.
- Visit one or more of those NPOs and have a list of questions ready when you go.
- Ask the organization, what they will achieve with your donation?
- Pull out your checkbook, make a donation, and ask for a receipt.
- Take advantage of the deduction in your income tax return. Tell your friends, colleagues, and family what you are supporting and ask them about the causes they are most interested in helping.
Links to Nonprofit Organizations in Puerto Rico:
Home Visit Trainer Opportunity for Flamboyan Foundation Partner Teachers
Flamboyan Foundation is pleased to invite Flamboyan partner teachers to apply for a part-time Home Visit Trainer consultant position. We are also requesting that teachers and principals suggest parents who might also be a good fit for this program. During the upcoming school year, parent and teacher trainers will train Flamboyan Foundation partner school teachers in the Parent-Teacher Home Visit Project (PTHVP) model.
Any teacher who has conducted at least 15 home visits and possesses passion for home visiting and excellent speaking ability is encouraged to apply.
Please click here to view the application. Teacher applications are due by Sunday, March 18th.
If you have questions about this opportunity, please contact Nathan Driskell by e-mail at ndriskell@flamboyanfoundation.org or by phone at (202) 315-2415.
Fellowship Opportunity for D.C. Middle and High School Teachers
The Flamboyan Foundation is pleased to invite middle and high school teachers in Washington, D.C. public and public charter schools to apply for Family Engagement Middle and High School Teacher Fellowships ($2,000). The Fellowship is designed to recognize middle and high school teachers in DCPS or Washington, D.C. public charter schools who do a good job engaging families in ways that accelerate student learning and are interested in growing the knowledge base of what works in family engagement at the secondary school level. Up to ten teachers will be chosen for this thirteen-month opportunity to strengthen their own practice and adapt tools, templates, and programs for family engagement to better fit the middle and high school context. The Family Engagement Middle and High School Teacher Fellowship application process is not time-consuming, and we urge you to consider applying and/or to share this information with other teachers who might be interested in this opportunity. Applications are due to Lela Spielberg at lspielberg@flamboyanfoundation.org at 9 a.m. on April 12th.
New Partnership Opportunities Available for D.C. schools
Flamboyan Foundation is excited to announce the release of a Request for Proposals for Family Engagement Partnerships for 2012-2013. The Family Engagement Partnership will provide intensive coaching, technical assistance, and funding to schools that want to strengthen their family engagement approaches and practices, and, ultimately, be models for other D.C. schools interested in improving their family engagement efforts. These partnerships are designed to build school, and especially teachers’, capacity for family engagement that accelerates student learning. Early childhood, elementary, and preK-8th grade D.C. public and public charter schools are invited to apply for the Family Engagement Partnership.
Interested school principals are encouraged to register for an informational webinar and can do so clicking on the following links:
- February 16th from 4:00-5:00 PM at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/221708215
- February 23rd from 4:00-5:00 PM at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/323014119
- February 28th from 7:15-8:15 AM at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/701737383
Applications (which are brief) for the Family Engagement Partnership are due by 5:00 PM on Monday, March 5th. If you have questions or need assistance registering for a webinar, please contact Helen Westmoreland, Director of Program Quality, by e-mail at hwestmoreland@flamboyanfoundation.org or by phone at (202) 315-2438.
Flamboyan-P.R. Executive Director Guiomar Garcia a Featured Panelist at National Urban Fellows Leadership Conference in San Juan
Flamboyan Executive Director-P.R., Guiomar Garcia, will be a featured panelist at the National Urban Fellows Leadership Conference Saturday at the San Juan Marriott Stellaris Resort & Casino. This year’s conference theme is “Leadership Diversity in Public Service: A National Imperative”.
Funding Solutions in Diverse Communities will take place from 3:00-4:30 pm. The panel will be moderated by Tamara Carpenter, Vice President of School Development, MidWest Region of K12 Inc., and will also feature Charisse R. Lillie, President of Comcast Foundation and Angelo Falcon, Donna Frisby Greenwood, Program Director, Knight Foundation, Sharnita C. Johnson, Senior Program Officer, Skillman Foundation, Lorraine Vega, Senior Vice President, KeyBank Foundation, and Luis Alvarez, Board Member, Aspira of America and Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico.
Ms. Garcia was chosen for this panel to provide insight on how Flamboyan Foundation is working with communities in Puerto Rico on the priorities for action in diverse communities, based on her extensive knowledge of the field of philanthropy on the island.
Flamboyan President Kristin Ehrgood Profiled in Bucknell’s Alumni Magazine
Today, Kristin Ehrgood is the driving force behind Flamboyan Foundation’s goals, which center on education advocacy and family engagement in Washington, D.C., and on fostering strong school leadership and building the island’s philanthropic and nonprofit communities in Puerto Rico. Though new and small — just 10 employees — Flamboyan has helped train 450 D.C. teachers on conducting productive home visits with student families and worked to change the tax code in Puerto Rico to be more conducive to philanthropic giving. Read more here.
Flamboyan’s Capitol Hill Panel on Family Engagement Featured in Ed Daily
DCPS builds teacher-parent relationships with home visits
Although some parents were at first wary at the thought of school officials coming into their homes, the District of Columbia Public Schools and the Flamboyan Foundation worked with the community to get both teachers and families comfortable with the idea of home visits.
Besides decreasing absenteeism and increasing student achievement, Flamboyan President Kristin Ehrgood said family engagement is foremost about fostering “relationships between teachers and families that are about the child, to help the child.”
Speaking during a briefing on Capitol Hill, panelists said positive teacher-parent relationships are prevented by misperceptions that teachers only call parents when their children get into some trouble in school and that parents are too busy to care. Read more here.
Flamboyan Foundation Founders’ Unique Approach Highlighted in Venture Philanthropy Partners’ Newsletter
Kristin Ehrgood and Vadim Nikitine: A unique couple with an original approach to philanthropy. Read more here.
Flamboyan Foundation Honored As Promising New National Partner at the Parent-Teacher Home Visit Project’s Fifth Annual Conference: Foundation President, DCPS Teacher and Parent Highlight the Importance of Building Trusting Relationships to Accelerating Student Learning
Washington, D.C. –Today, Flamboyan Foundation is being showcased at the Parent‐Teacher Home Visit Project’s (PTHVP) fifth annual national conference for their leadership in bringing the PTHVP relationship‐building model of home visits to Washington, D.C. public schools. PTHVP is honoring Flamboyan’s commitment to identifying family engagement strategies that work in D.C., and the foundation’s role in securing funding and spearheading the organization of the local home visit program.
“Home visits give teachers and parents the opportunity to build trusting relationships of mutual respect and create a collaborative partnership,” Kristin Ehrgood, President of Flamboyan Foundation, said. “Working with PTHVP, our home visit program is making strides in D.C., with hundreds of teachers seizing on this proven strategy for driving student learning.”
For more information, please click here.
D.C. Teacher Home Visiting Program Recognized on the Front Page of The Washington Post
Recently, home visits were featured on the front page of The Washington Post. Reporter Kevin Sieff highlighted the hard work of D.C.-area teachers who are visiting their students’ homes to build trusting relationships and engage their families as partners in their students’ education in his piece: “Teachers increasingly use home visits to connect with students’ families.”
Mr. Sieff’s story included a quote from Flamboyan Foundation’s President, Kristin Ehrgood, and recognized the Foundation’s work supporting D.C. public and public charter school teachers’ efforts around home visits. In 2011, Flamboyan Foundation partnered with the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project (PTHVP) of Sacramento, CA to train 407 teachers at 47 D.C. public and public charter schools. We provide extensive logistical and financial home visiting support to five schools in D.C. Teachers in our five partner schools have conducted over 480 visits to date.
Following publication of Mr. Sieff’s story, The Washington Post printed a letter to the editor written by Pamela Ross of Oyster-Adams Bilingual School: “Teachers’ home visits can benefit all students.” Ms. Ross, a 3rd grade teacher, stressed that home visits were valuable for all families, not just those who are disengaged or have children who are struggling.
Please click here for more.
Flamboyan Foundation Convenes Home Visit Trainings for D.C. Teachers as Part of Ongoing Family Engagement Efforts
As part of its ongoing partnership with D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) and D.C. Charter Schools, Flamboyan Foundation today announced its home visit teacher training program for the 2011-2012 school year. Flamboyan is holding eight professional development training sessions Aug. 11-18, which are expected to teach 300 D.C. educators about building trusting relationships and accelerating their students’ learning through home visits. Please click here to learn more.
Flamboyan Foundation’s Helen Westmoreland Named “Emerging Leader in Family Engagement”
We are thrilled to announce that the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) has honored Director of Program Quality Helen Westmoreland as one of its “Emerging Leaders in Family Engagement,” and published her work in the May 2011 issue of the HFRP FINE newsletter. In this article, Helen lays out her vision for the family engagement field and looks at the work Flamboyan and others are doing to make family engagement more purposeful and learning-focused. Read it here: Philanthropy for Innovation: Promoting Family Engagement Through Strategic Funding and Program Development.