Civitans are “everyday citizens who come together in communities around the world to socialize, learn and serve their neighbors.” Their mission is to “build good citizenship” with volunteerism dedicated to serving individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.

Connecticut has groups in Windsor, Bloomfield, Simsbury and The Farmington Valley, Wethersfield, Middletown, Meriden-Wallingford, Torrington, and Waterbury

The entire report is worthwhile and makes progressive, sensible recommendations; librarians should be able to glean much information for policy and budgetary hearings from the report.

Two of the Commission’s recommendations are of particular note:

Recommendation 6: Integrate digital and media literacy as critical elements for education at all levels through collaboration among federal, state, and local education officials.

Recommendation 7: Fund and support public libraries and other community institutions as centers of digital and media training, especially for adults.

Beginning with the foreward, the report is here.

The Commission seeks to start a national discussion – leading to real action. Its aims are to maximize the availability and flow of credible local information; to enhance access and capacity to use the new tools of knowledge and exchange; and to encourage people to engage with information and each other within their geographic communities.

Based on a poll of a hundred nonprofits, the sixth annual Nonprofit Pulse Survey (12 pdf pages) found that almost a third of the region’s nonprofits have no reserve funds (25 percent) or have depleted them (6.4 percent); that the percentage that have begun to tap their financial reserves doubled from 15.1 percent in 2008 to 31.9 percent in 2009; and that the number considering a merger with another organization rose from 20 percent in 2008 to 25 percent in 2009.

Despite slight increases in volunteer and in-kind support, the survey suggests that nonprofit leaders expect the challenge of meeting increased demand for services with fewer resources to persist for some time.

Partnering with these organizations can only help libraries, bolstering our reputations as community anchor institutions deserving of broadband and other funding from government and other funding sources.

Arts Council of Greater New Haven
New Haven, CT
$25,000
CATEGORY: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Local Arts Agencies

Institute for Community Research
Hartford, CT
$25,000
CATEGORY: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Folk and Traditional Arts

New Haven Symphony Orchestra
New Haven, CT
$50,000
CATEGORY: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Music

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Hartford, CT
$50,000
CATEGORY: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
FIELD/DISCIPLINE: Museums