Hugh Jackman is Guest of Honor at Children of the City Gala

Last week Hugh Jackman, Tony and Emmy Award winning actor and producer, was the Guest of Honor at the Brooklyn, New York-based Children of the City Benefit to help raise awareness of the educational needs and social challenges of underprivileged children in Brooklyn communities. The evening was hosted by WABC Features & Lifestyle reporter Lauren Glassberg as the guests gathered at New York's Pier Sixty.

Rocco Basile, chairman of the board of directors of Children of the City was honored by District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, for his efforts in supporting the non-profit. Brooklyn Retail Market Manager for TD Bank Eileen Holmes, was honored with the 2010 Children’s Champion Award.

The benefit was an opportunity to bring about awareness of the challenges the children have to face. Founder and President Joyce Mattera, who has dedicated her life to helping disadvantaged and neglected children talked about the fact that there is a 48 percent dropout rate in the Brooklyn community, which as more than 30,000 children. One out of four are living in abject poverty.

Children of the City is dedicated to changing the culture of poverty. Visit www.childrenofthewcity.org.

Rocco Basile and Children of the City Provide Family Services to Prevent Child Abuse

Every year there are more than 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States and those reports often include multiple children. 5.8 million children were involved in an estimated 3.2 million child abuse reports and allegations in the year 2007. Fortunately the incidence of child abuse and neglect has been decreasing in recent years. But statistics reveal that children in low socioeconomic families have more than three times the rate of child abuse and seven times the rate of neglect than other children.

Basically, child abuse can involve children who were victims of neglect, or when a parent or guardian failed to provide for the child's basic needs. Forms of neglect include also educational, physical and emotional neglect. There are also children who are victims of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.

In 2007, an average of four children died every day as a result of child abuse or neglect.

There is no single group of children immune from being a victim of child abuse. However girls are more often the victims of sexual abuse than boys. Statistics are about equal for boys and girls for all other types neglect or abuse. Children of all races and ethnicities can be victims. Nearly one-half of all victims of child abuse and neglect in 2007 were white, one-fifth were African-American, and one-fifth were Hispanic.

Typically it's the youngest children that are the most vulnerable, although children of all ages experience abuse and neglect. Almost 32 percent of the victims of child abuse and neglect are under the age of four years. Plus children whose parents are unemployed have about two times the rate of child abuse and two to three times the rate of neglect than children with employed parents.

Children living with their married biological parents are at the lowest risk for child abuse and neglect, while living with a single parent and a live-in partner increased the risk of abuse and neglect to more than eight times that of other children. City organizations nationwide, like Children of the City, have increased the number of programs and mentors willing to educate and support families going through difficult times, in order to strive to change the culture of poverty.

In 2007, 57 percent, or more than half of all reports involving child abuse made to CPS agencies came from professionals who had come in contact with an abused child -- such as teachers, lawyers, marriage counselors, police officers, or social workers. Furthermore, professionals from these fields are required by law to report suspected abuse or neglect.

However, many reports, about 26 percent, came from nonprofessional sources, such as relatives, friends, and neighbors and parents, with seven percent of all reports in 2007 being anonymous.

For more information including the latest trends on educating children, and organizations in communities that assist in preventing child abuse and neglect, go to www.roccobasile.org.

--Rocco Basile

Source: "The Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect report.

Title IX and Nondiscrimination

Vice President Biden today announced that the Administration has issued a 'Dear Colleague' letter that withdraws a 2005 interpretation of Title IX policy. Joining the vioce president for today's announcment were Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls.

What is Title IX? It was enacted in 1972, mandating that any educational institution receiving federal funding for programs and activities cannot discriminate on the basis of sex.

In 2005 this policy included compliance standards that were criticized nationwide for being inadequate and inconsistent with Title IX's nondiscrimination goals. Today's announcement reverses this interpretation, and returns to a more thorough test for assessing compliance with Title IX.



-- Rocco Basile

Rocco Basile on Fund Raising and the Economy

At this year's Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) economists said that fund raisers should begin to prepare to take advantage of the economy's slow recovery. (Source: Economist Susan Raymond, Changing Our World).

As you know I enjoy researching and learning about different trends and ways that I can keep up with fund raising ideas for my charities like Children of the City.

They urged fund raisers to pay more attention to economic trends, including the high unemployment rate because the unemployment rate has a big influence on individual giving. The Department of Commerce doesn't anticipate the unemployment rate to drop to 5 to 6 percent, where it was in 2007, until the year 2013.

Also, America's recovery will depend on export products, forcing it to rely on the strength of foreign economies - so watch Europe.

In December 2009, 39 states were expecting new budget deficits in 2010 which is disasterous for philanthropic organizations that rely heavily on government support. The economists urged foundations to help educate local lawmakers about their roles.

However the good news is that overall, the nonprofit sector has huge opportunities including innovation towards strategies to diversify their revenue. Some ideas might include: marketing to female donors who are more financially conservative and philanthropic; exploring cause-related marketing; figuring out ways to take steps to access their situation and decide out how to overcome the psychological impact of the downturn on donors; then embrace change and plan to difersify revenue.

Other ways to do this include seeking funds from program-related investments, and social enterprises. Overall, the days are gone when nonprofit groups can rely on donations alone.

-- Rocco Basile

Has the Recession Harmed Philanthropies?

This was just released in March 2010 - A recent report on the 2010 State of the Nonprofit Sector said that 18 percent of the more than 1,300 nonprofit leaders surveyed expect their organizations to end 2010 in the black. In 2009, 35 percent of organizations ended the year with an operating surplus. But, 12 percent have no cash and 61 percent of those surveyed said they have less than three months of cash available. (Source: The Foundation Center.)

Basically this means is that the field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of the world’s economic crisis.

About 80 percent of these nonprofits expect to see an increase in demand for their services in 2010. On the other hand, only 49 percent expect to be able to fully meet that demand.

Many charity organizations are taking steps to maintain, and expand during these recessionary times. 52 percent stated they have collaborated with other organizations to provide programs; 43 percent have expanded their offerings; 18 percent have expanded the geographic area served by their programs. A big 60 percent said that they have become more involved with their board.

Overall, the impact of the economic situation on foundations is as follows:
1) There is a clear expectation among grant makers that the field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of having weathered the economic crisis. 2) The long-term impact of the crisis on their own foundations are forcing engaging in “more robust strategic planning,” “more focused use of the foundation’s capabilities,” and being “more focused and disciplined in executing our strategy.”

There have been declines in overall consumer demand and our country’s highest unemployment figures in a quarter century, so it is no surprise that the future outlook for the nonprofit community has been impacted by the recession.

One charity thatI work closely with and sit on their Board, is known as Children of the City in Sunset Park near Brooklyn, New York, however, is not suffering at all since the recession. It is growing.

-- Rocco Basile

Rocco Basile Reports: Mathew Encourages Talent

“My job is to encourage talent.”


As you know I report things happening at my charity Children of the City, as well as add information to my website on educational trends and such at www.roccobasile.net.

But here's a really inspiring story I wanted to share ... Mathew is a tutor in Children of the City’s Create Success After School Program in Sunset Park near Brooklyn, NY.

He basically teaches kids the skills they need to come up with a strategy for learning. And he believes that creativity is the key. Matt inspires confidence and boosts his students' self esteem.

He mixes it up with drama, games, and group presentations like last semester's reading of Shakespeare’s “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream.” This helps promote public speaking, listening skills and comprehension.

A communications major, Matt grew up in Sunset Park. He was making a documentary in El Salvador when he realized he wanted to teach, so he moved back to his old neighborhood and rearranged his work schedule to free up his afternoons to help teach the kids at Children of the City.

-- Rocco Basile

Rocco Basile Report: Trends in Education for 2010

Technology is truely evolving at the speed of light, so here is a list of trends that will influence education in the new year:

Check out eBooks -- the latest in reading, eBooks will proliferate, although they will not replace traditional textbooks anytime real soon. But the consulting firm - Frost & Sullivan in Atlanta - say the devices will gain traction in the K-12 arena in the year 2010

Netbooks and their functionality will grow in 2010 -- These are expected to become even more popular sd they become affordable, with prices of $200 - $300. Small, computers like this are helping bridge the technology between schools where students don't have access to computers.

Interactive Whiteboards -- These are large display systems allowing teachers and students to work together and they are gaining ground in the K-12 schools. The tools have been around for a quite some time, but the educational arena wasn't ready to use them ten years ago. Now they are.

-- Rocco Basile