Hello, Ana, hope you're doing well. Regarding the burden of getting a checking account and a Tax ID number, it's really not that much of a burden at all. You can get a Tax ID online in 5 minutes. Also, community services has a list of contacts at different banks that would be able to help open an account. So, it's a non-issue, as far as I'm concerned. I do think that the individual CAC's have no business handling money. However, if you have a CAC that has no Neighorhood Associations or HOA's to apply for funds, they should be able to get an exception made. Community Services has a list of all the registered Associations, so that would be easy to confirm. I would also say, however, that the best way to go for CAC's in that predicament would be to go out and encourage people to form their own Neighborhood Associations, rather than applying for a grant directly. That's what we've done in Mordecai, and it's actually helping our CAC attendance. It's growth from the bottom up, and it's very rewarding. John D Mordecai CAC Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 15:23:00 -0400 From: acpardo(a)gmail.com To: rcac(a)eastraleigh.org Subject: [RCAC] Reminder: Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program Review Hey everyone, This is a friendly reminder: tomorrow is the deadline to get our comments to Dwayne regarding changes to the Neighborhood Improvement Grants Program! Does everyone have a copy of the most current program description? If not, let Dwayne know by e-mailing him at Dwayne.Patterson(a)ci.raleigh.nc.us. Please post your comments to RCAC(a)eastraleigh.org, so that they may be seen by everyone and perhaps spark more comments from others. To get the ball rolling, a couple questions: At the March workshop we discussed whether or not CACs should be eligible to apply for funds through the Neighborhood Improvement Grants Program. There was a lot of debate regarding this. Some people felt that CACs should NOT be eligible because they aren't technically "neighborhood organizations" and that the money should go directly to neighborhoods. Many of those same folks also felt that CACs shouldn't be eligible for grant funds because they don't have a structure in place for dealing with money. Others thought that unorganized neighborhoods, which would otherwise be ineligible for city funding, could benefit from grant funds secured by a CAC. A CAC could use the funds to help the neighborhood organize and thereby directly help the neighborhood establish its own organization while also solidifying that neighborhood's connection with the CAC to which it belongs. What do y'all think about this issue? If CACs were allowed to apply for city grant funding, how do you think the money should be administered? If CACs are not eligible for these grants, what are some other routes by which grant funding can be made available to help unorganized neighborhoods get organized? What about the requirements for checking accounts and tax ID numbers? Is that too much of a burden for unorganized, low-income and/or aging neighborhoods, or will the grant funds be impetus enough for those neighborhoods to self-organize? I look forward to hearing folks' responses! Ana Duncan Pardo Chair, Hillsborough CAC Chair, RCAC (919) 818-5933 _________________________________________________________________ Quick access to your favorite MSN content and Windows Live with Internet Explorer 8. http://ie8.msn.com/microsoft/internet-explorer-8/en-us/ie8.aspx?ocid=B037MS…