News and Resources

On March 13th, UNH convened a meeting of the Board leadership of our 37 member settlement houses. UNH Board President Lew Kramer chaired this successful meeting, which brought together over 60 Board leaders and Executive Directors from member agencies for the first time in several years.

UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein opened the session with an overview of the UNH network of agencies as it exists today, as well as current and emerging challenges facing settlement houses in the current economic and political climate. She also highlighted for Board members some recent notable trends that have had an impact on UNH members.  For example, that City government has in the last several years  been focused on “economies of scale”, with procurement policies favoring larger citywide or borough-wide contracts rather than community-based ones;  this trend obviously challenges the settlement house approach.  Additionally, she discussed recent City requests for proposals (RFPs) that target specific zip codes as high need areas but will as a result  exclude or limit certain communities of need, especially those that serve public housing residents, from City funding opportunities.

Board leaders expressed their commitment to getting personally involved in convincing elected and government officials to maintain services that keep services community-based and allow families to continue working and contributing to New York City’s economy. There was a consensus in the room that this influential group of business leaders will be important to strengthening the voice of UNH and its membership. Board leaders pledged to become more involved with UNH’s advocacy work. UNH will also be creating a private social network for Board leaders to share best practices and other information across the settlement house community.

 The New York Nonprofit Press published an op-ed co-written by UNH Executive Director Nancy Wackstein and Executive Director of UNH Member University Settlement Society, Michael Zisser. This piece was a response to the recent closing of the historical Hull House in Chicago, one of the premiere settlement houses in this country, and tells the positive story about the effectiveness of settlement houses in recent decades in NYC.

"...The right story to tell is not about the unique issues confronting Hull House, which may never be fully known to the public, but instead about the incredible inventiveness, creativity, innovation, efficiency and effectiveness that has characterized the settlement house movement in recent decades. In New York City, there are now more than 37 independent settlement houses and community centers, which make up the membership of United Neighborhood Houses of New York. These  non-profit organizations serve more than 500,000 people each year across the five boroughs, operate from more than 400 sites, employ more than 10,000 staff, and have an aggregate budget from a combination of public and private sources that exceeds half a billion dollars each year.   UNH members are major employers in their communities and in many cases are significant economic engines, as well, through their purchase of goods and services."

Read the full op-ed. 

UNH members BronxWorks, St. Nick's Alliance, and University Settlement have been selected by IBM as project sites for the new Technology Services Partnership pilot. This pilot will focus on leveraging the latest technilogical advances in order to enhance each agency's client services and promote strategic planning and operational efficiency. At UNH's invitation, IBM presented information on the project to Executive Directors of UNH member organizations and asked interested organizations to apply to participate. After receiving many excellent applications, IBM chose BronxWorks, St. Nick's Alliance, and University Settlement based on their high level of interest in the project and their organizational commitment to enhancing human services with new technology. As part of the project, IBM will provide each organization with pro bono consulting services to help them create and implement technological solutions to meet their organizational needs. UNH will work with IBM to share lessons from the pilot project with all UNH members and the field.

On June 4th, 22 staff from 17 member agencies participated in IBM's Strategies for Social Media, an educational workshop designed to help not-for-profit organizations utilize social networking media to accomplish a wide variety of tasks such as promoting the launch of new programs and increasing the reach of fundraising. The workshop was made possible through IBM's 2010 Packaged Grants Program which provides organizations with support to enhance their IT infrastructure and their leadership and technology skills.

A graduation ceremony for the participants in the UNH Professional Development Program for Senior Managers at Baruch College's School of Public Affairs (SPA) was held in February.  The 13-week program, a new partnership with CUNY's Baruch College, was designed to help UNH member agency executive staff strengthen their leadership skills and develop new management tools. Feedback from program participants highlighted the value of this learning experience, including the opportunity to build relationships with peers from other agencies. One senior manager commented, "It was great to compare notes with UNH colleagues.  It was reassuring to know that we share some of the same concerns and successes due to our involvement in the settlement house movement and UNH."

To learn more about UNH Professional Development Programs, please contact Ken Walters, Director of Member Services.