Recorded Trainings
What We All Need to Know About Poverty in Massachusetts

Join us for an important webinar on the landscape of poverty in Massachusetts today, and on the role of Community Action through the years. MassBudget’s Nancy Wagman will summarize the findings of the recently released Obstacles on the Road to Opportunity: Finding a Way Forward report, written by MassBudget and commissioned by the Massachusetts Association of Community Action. Nancy will review the development and passage of the Great Society Programs that gave birth to Community Action and will focus on critical aspects of poverty in Massachusetts and how we work together to address it.
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Understanding Immigrant Rights – Recorded Live Webinar

In this recorded webinar, a PAIR lawyer shares resources and information you can use to empower the people you serve by helping them to understand the current situation on the ground, their rights when encountered by immigration officers, what they can do to prepare themselves and their families, and where to go for help.
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- Presenting: Irene Freidel, Access to Justice Fellow and volunteer lawyer with the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation (PAIR) Project
Promising Practices to Encourage Savings at Tax Time – Recorded Live Webinar

Register to watch for FREE! Learn to identify and use promising practices for how you offer saving opportunities to taxpayers. We will explore what has worked in VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program sites around the country, and share information with one another on what different Massachusetts organizations have tried and plan to implement during the current tax season.
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- Presenting: JC Craig, Principal at JC Craig Consulting, CFPB Consultant
Understanding Collective Impact – Recorded Live Webinar

Register to watch for FREE! In this recorded live webinar, you’ll hear from three different Community Action Agencies currently participating in collective impact initiatives, each at a different stage and with a different set of goals and responsibilities.
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- Presenting: Lev Ben-Ezra, Director of Youth Programs, Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire, and North Quabbin Regions, Tricia Pistone, Deputy Director, Montachusett Opportunity Council, Lilian Romero, Chief Program Officer, Lynn Economic Opportunity
Community Action IMPACT: An Overview of the Results Oriented Management and Accountability System

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- Presenting: Jess Benedetto, Nationally Certified ROMA Trainer and Training and Resource Manager at MASSCAP
Succession Planning: Ensuring a Smooth Transition

Register to watch – $25 per agency for unlimited use. Succession planning can be an uneasy subject that many boards and executive directors avoid. Boards avoid the discussion because they don’t want to offend EDs, while EDs don’t want their boards to worry they might be leaving. But the fact is, eventually, the ED will leave, and the Organizational Standards require a succession plan. This pre-recorded presentation will discuss the critical elements of succession planning, unveiling a template that will make it a rewarding experience for boards and EDs. You’ll see how your entire organization can benefit from a well-planned and effective method for developing executive bench strength.
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- Presenting: John W. Edwards, Jr. MPA, CCAP, NCRT, CLC, Principal Consultant with The Edwards Group Florida, Inc.
Strategic Planning for Boards of Directors

Register to watch – $25 per agency for unlimited use. Community Action Boards of Directors play an integral role in the strategic planning process. Great for Board meetings, this pre-recorded presentation explains the CSBG requirements of Boards in needs assessments and strategic planning, with examples from different agencies.
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- Presenting: Jess Benedetto, MASSCAP, Nationally Certified ROMA Trainer, Jennifer Carter, Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, Jill Dagilis, Worcester Community Action Council, Maureen O’Neill, North Shore Community Action Program Board Member, Patricia Pelletier, Planner, MASSCAP
Financial Oversight Responsibilities

Register to watch – $25 per agency for unlimited use. This pre-recorded presentation is designed for Boards of Directors of Community Action Agencies. As a result of this training, participants will be able to understand their fiduciary responsibility as a member of the Board of Directors, understand the requirements of the CSBG National Organizational Standards as they pertain to the financial oversight responsibilities of the Board of Directors, identify their responsibilities in relation to the agency’s annual audit and IRS Form 990, determine if they are receiving the information necessary to carry out their fiduciary responsibilities, determine if the agency has the necessary internal controls, and identify the warning signs that financial trouble might be around the corner.
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- Presenting: Kathleen McDermott
Roles, Expectations, and Responsibilities of the Board

Register to watch for FREE! In this recorded live webinar, we discuss the legal framework that governs a CAA tripartite board as well as explore key responsibilities of the CAA board, including its role in the implementation of the new CSBG Organizational Standards. The webinar is intended to provide a broad overview of all of the board’s responsibilities as they relate to the Organizational Standards.
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- Presenting: Eleanor Evans, Esq., Veronica Zhang, Esq.
Tools and Tips for Teaching Financial Education to Parents and Children

Register to watch for FREE! In this recorded live webinar you will learn about the children’s financial education curriculum along with tools and activities to implement the curriculum into the early education classroom. You will also learn about activities that parents can do with children to reinforce the financial education curriculum learned in the early education classroom.
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- Presenting: Deborah Hubbard, Montachusett Opportunity Council, Nancy Mahoney, Montachusett Opportunity Council, Kathy McDermott, KJ McDermott Consulting
Partnerships for Effective Financial Education Service Delivery

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- Presenting: Tina Alu, Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, Inc.
Integrating Financial Education into Teachable Moments for Parents

Register to watch for FREE! In this recorded live webinar, you will learn to identify what teachable moments are, such as: during intake, play groups, parent workshops, family events, home visits, case management meetings, and other contacts with parents, and how to identify what kinds of financial education activities are appropriate for the teachable moments. You will also learn how to develop a “teaching toolbox” with materials that can support financial education teachable moments.
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- Presenting: Patricia Pelletier, MASSCAP, Gail Fortes, Community Teamwork, Inc.
Poverty: Past and Present

Register to watch for FREE! In this recording of the MASSCAP Training Center’s inaugural webinar, two experts help us understand how addressing poverty became a national priority and offer a research-based snapshot of poverty in Massachusetts today. David Bradley, Executive Director of the National Community Action Foundation, will present a history of the war on poverty and community action programs. Noah Berger, President of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, will review important data about poverty in Massachusetts, the programs that have worked to address it, and how we can build on those programs to achieve our goal of ending poverty.
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- Presenting: David Bradley, National Community Action Foundation, Noah Berger, Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center