10-17-16 NEUAC Board Notes

Notes from the Executive Director

Good morning NEAUC Advisory Board Members! Fall is upon us, and that means winter is coming. My family has been doing some pumpkin carving at home. We roasted the seeds – for those who have never roasted pumpkin seeds, here is how we do it at my house:

 

ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Separate the pumpkin guts from the seeds.

Wash seeds. Toss with olive oil, garlic powder and salt to taste. You can experiment with cayenne, cinnamon, sugar, etc.

Bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet at 350F. Takes about 40 minutes, until they are golden and crunchy.

 

 

If your company is promoting something special on social media, I will do my best to help you promote your event or success by liking and sharing. Twitter parties and Facebook posts are good promotions for our programs and customers!

 

A few additional messages/notes/updates/reminders to start your week:

Membership

The NEUAC 2017 Membership Drive is officially underway! We will make a big push for each and every one of you to renew your membership and will be reaching out to new partners and inviting them into our ever-widening circle. The drive lasts until March 31, 2017. Share NEUAC with your colleagues and encourage them to be part of the solution to energy poverty, join our conversations and support our advocacy and education efforts for important programs like LIHEAP .

 

New this year: Membership is HALF PRICE for first-time NEUAC member organizations. For non-profits, membership costs are based on size of the annual operating budget. Also, the cost of membership is included in all sponsorship packages. We want membership in NEUAC to be accessible for all, and we want your support to continue to fight energy poverty. You can renew your organization’s membership today HERE. 

 

Fundraising

NEUAC relies on the support of our members for our conference annually and to support educational and advocacy events including LIHEAP Action Day. Please consider matching or exceeding your donation from last year and helping NEUAC to grow into a stronger, more robust organization with the resources needed to fight energy poverty. For your convenience, you may download our electronically fillable form, and return to us by mail. Alternatively, you may donate online by credit card or E-Check/ACH. Here is our latest W-9 should you need it for payment.

 

Some things you can do to help:

ü  Share our membership drive and sponsorship materials with your professional circles

ü  Reach out to speak before a group in your community about NEUAC – tell them why being a part of NEUAC is important to you and why you support NEUAC (ideas: community service organizations like Rotary and Kiwanis, Community Action Agencies, Area Agencies on Aging, senior groups, veteran’s groups).

ü  Invite Katrina to speak to your professional group or organization about NEUAC, its purpose and mission, and distribute membership and sponsorship materials.

ü  Share contact information via email with Katrina of people or organizations that may be interested in becoming new members.

ü  Be a good ambassador for NEUAC. When performing your regular duties, take advantage of opportunities to promote NEUAC, the annual conference, LIHEAP Action Day, the All-Parties Letter, and other projects.

ü  Renew your organization’s membership promptly and maximize the level of sponsorship from your organization.

 

Thank you for being supportive – everyone is working diligently to raise funds and raise the profile of NEUAC in 2017!

 

LAST CALL: LIHEAP All Parties Letter

SIGN HERE: https://neuac.wpengine.com/advocacy/2017-all-parties-letter/

 

You have until OCTOBER 31 to sign the current LIHEAP All-Parties Letter. After that, we will be preparing the next letter and posting to the website, as discussed by Chris Hickling at the board meeting last month. Congratulations to the following states, where a big push has led to 10 or more signatures in the past few weeks:

 

§  California

§  Massachusetts

§  Florida

§  Idaho

§  Nebraska

 

Florida continues to lead all states with 104 signatures. Go Lou and Steve!

 

We are up to 760 signatures total – keep them coming! You can check if you or your organization has signed at the bottom on the page. We need your support! Please share with your grantees and professional contacts.

 

LIHEAP Action Day

… will be here before we know it! Mark February 14-16 on your calendar, kiss your sweetie goodbye (or bring them with you) and hop on a plane to DC to advocate for LIHEAP. Schedule:

 

2/14/17: Training Day

2/15/17: LIHEAP Action Day

2/16/17: NEUAC Board Meeting @ AGA

 

Annual Conference

We have established a team of tech-savvy experts to explore four different apps and make recommendations on the right one for NEUAC. The conference schedule is coming together and I think people will be excited about the content – we are hitting on all the right topics and it is a balanced mix of new programming and traditional programming. Track leaders should be working to finalize details on all sessions including bios and descriptions. Send final versions to Tanya Brothers ASAP at Tanya.Brothers@heartshare.org.

 

December Board Meeting

The details for registering and attending the December Board Meeting are now online at the NEUAC website on the calendar page: https://neuac.wpengine.com/events-calendar/ Please go here for information on hotel and location and to register, which will give us an accurate meal count.  

 

February Board Meeting

For those of you who like to get a head start on travel plans, the February 16 Board Meeting has been added to the calendar: https://neuac.wpengine.com/events-calendar/. The meeting will be hosted by the American Gas Association here in DC following LIHEAP Action Day.

 

Calendar of Events

November 3: 1 p.m. All Chairs Call — Phone number: (515) 739-1020, Code: 971971#

December 7-8: Board Meeting hosted by Entergy, Washington DC

February 14: Training Event, pre-Action Day

February 15: LIHEAP Action Day

February 16: NEUAC Board Meeting, hosted by AGA