Adirondack Health Institute is offering free health insurance enrollment assistance services to individuals, families, and small business owners in eight North Country counties—Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington—during the upcoming open enrollment period.
Although the state enrollment period was extended to the end of 2020, the annual open enrollment period began Nov. 1 for new enrollees and starts Nov. 16 for those reenrolling in a plan. It runs through Jan. 31.
For those who wish to have their health insurance coverage take effect on Jan. 1, the deadline to apply is Dec. 15.
“Our enrollment specialists provide no-cost, unbiased assistance to help clients determine their health insurance eligibility for Qualified Health Plans, Medicaid, and Child Health Plus” said Joyce Porter, AHI’s Enrollment Assistance Services and Education (EASE) Program Manager. “Another option available is called the Essential Plan, a plan for lower-income New Yorkers who don’t qualify for Medicaid or Child Health Plus. This plan costs much less than other plans, as little as $20 per month, and in some cases no cost at all, yet offers the same essential benefits for those who qualify.”
Wellspring, A Nonprofit Serving Victims Of Abuse, Starts Building New Facility In Malta
Courtesy Wellspring
By Jill Nagy
After nearly 40 years in the same Saratoga Springs location, Wellspring broke ground in November for a new, larger facility in Malta.
Wellspring provides free services to victims of domestic abuse and violence in Saratoga County and sexual assault victims in Saratoga and Washington counties.
“We are here 24/7 at no charge,” Wellspring’s director, Maggie Fronk said.
“We have outgrown our space in Saratoga,” she said. In fact, the agency is using off-site offices in order to meet with clients and comply with COVID social distancing requirements.
The new building will be on Route 9, just south of Malta Avenue, a site chosen partly for its visibility, Fronk said.
Bonacio Construction is building the facility.
Designed by Saratoga Springs architects Balzer & Tuck, the 8,000-square-foot building will provide confidential space for client conferences; an area for children to play while they wait for adults to finish their appointments; a food pantry and an area where clients can obtain household items, school supplies, clothing and other necessities; space for community meetings and education programs; a workforce development room; space for prevention and community outreach programs; and a staff wellness room Fronk called “a welcoming space to take a break and breathe.”
The enlarged space will allow development of the workforce development program and community-focused training for police officers, doctors, and others in the general community, Fronk said.
Saratoga Warhorse To Use Resources To Help Veterans During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Courtesy Saratoga Warhorse
Saratoga WarHorse, a nonprofit organization that uses retired thoroughbred racehorses to work with service members and veterans with post-traumatic stress, plans to use the program to aid individuals mobilized during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Military Armed Forces program is designed to assist service members and veterans during the immediate aftermath of trauma and prevent the negative consequences of PST. It formally launches in December and is currently accepting participants.
Officials said that since April, more than 50,000 troops across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have been activated domestically to assist in their state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, approximately 25,000 retired and former U.S. Army medical personnel have volunteered their service.
Their frontline support includes mortuary affairs, serving at community-based testing sites and creating enhanced medical capacity for hospitals and healthcare professionals.
Saratoga Casino Hotel Kicks Off Campaign To Raise Money For Many Area Nonprofits
Courtesy Saratoga Casino Hotel
Saratoga Casino Hotel has kicked off its 30 Days of Giving campaign, committed to donating some $100,000 to 38 local and regional non-profit organizations in Saratoga and Warren counties.
Through Dec. 22, team members from Saratoga Casino Hotel will help to fill local food pantries, purchase essentials for families in need, and deliver checks to provide funding for non-profit programs and initiatives.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to support and recognize these organizations in our community,” said Skip Carlson, vice president of external affairs at Saratoga Casino Hotel. “This year, more than ever so many organizations and families are in need. Our goal behind our 30 Days of Giving program is not only to provide direct support to each group, but to also help increase the exposure of these amazing organizations.”
Each organization will be featured on Saratoga Casino Hotel’s social media pages highlighting their cause and promoting local support and assistance. Throughout the 30 days the casino will also feature four Player Choice contests on their Facebook page where fans can vote for particular organizations to receive a $1,000 donation. All organizations selected for the Player Choice contests will receive at a minimum $500.
The first recipient of the 30 Days of Giving is the Saratoga County Foundation receiving a $5,000 donation.
“We’re incredibly thankful to be the beneficiary of this generous donation from Saratoga Casino Hotel,” said Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce. “The money will be used for our Save Our Locals campaign and will go a long way in allowing us to continue our mission of helping local businesses that have been so heavily impacted by the pandemic”.
Business Report: Coaching For Today’s Nonprofit CEO
By Sabrina Hauser
The nonprofit world is filled with dedicated and passionate leaders and an organization’s CEO is no exception.
They exist and work in a demanding environment with constant challenges. The average nonprofit CEO spends between 60-70 hours of accountable time in a week, existing between the Board, directors and employees. This can be an isolated position, managing both upwards and down while driving the initiatives of the agency. Typically, the CEO lacks a right-hand person to co-manage with and often is called upon to make decisions alone, often in a vacuum. The mental load can be unnerving.
Coaching for today’s nonprofit CEO is a way for nonprofits to tap into an objective outside resource, who will guide the CEO in key administrative and strategic areas vital to the continued survival —and success—of an organization.
Finding and retaining an individual or company with expertise in the world of nonprofits is critical to the success of the coaching process. A coach will work with the CEO and her team to review and set strategies; develop action items and accountability; engage in motivating activities to support an agency’s employees, directors, board and donors; and build camaraderie between and among board members and support staff.
A coach can be a crucial resource for educating the CEO and team in best practices for attracting talent to your agency, as well as maintaining the expanding upon engagement with donors, supporters, and board members.
Saratoga County Agreement With Verizon Brings Wireless Service To Four Rural Towns
Saratoga County has entered into an agreement with Verizon Wireless to bring wireless communication services to four communities in the Adirondack Park near the Great Sacandaga Lake.
The expansion of Verizon Wireless services will provide access to wireless phone and high-speed data services to Verizon customers including residents, visitors and first responders.
“I am proud to announce the agreement between Verizon Wireless and the County of Saratoga to bring Verizon cellular and Internet access to the communities of Edinburg, Day, Hadley and Providence,” said Preston Allen, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman.
In the past year, Verizon worked with the Saratoga County Office of Emergency Services to develop new wireless facilities in northern Saratoga County targeting rural communities, roads and recreational areas along portions of Great Sacandaga Lake and Sacandaga River.
County Emergency Services Commissioner Carl Zeilman said Verizon Wireless has co-located communications equipment and an antenna on existing county-owned communication monopoles and towers in the towns of Providence, Edinburg, and Day. Construction to co-locate equipment on the county-owned monopole site in the Town of Luzerne in Warren County is set to begin shortly.
The 4G LTE Verizon wireless voice and data services, which are either new and significantly improved, will be expanded into these areas including several miles along County Route 4 (North Shore Road) and County Route 7 (South Shore Road), and into the Hamlets of Edinburg, Batchellerville, West Day, Day Center, Lake View and Hadley.
Communications Technology Like Zoom Is Helping Business People Meet During COVID
By Jill NAgy The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the dynamics of how offices run and how business meetings are held as companies work to meet health and safety standards. “Everyone’s jumping on the Zoom,” said Rose Miller, head of Pinnacle Human Resources, an Albany company with an office in Saratoga Springs. Miller is quick...
Business Report: Protect Your Biggest Investment
By Michael Cruz
When working on annual planning, we often look at the company’s strengths and its weaknesses. Most often, I see “our people” as a strength. I often see “bench depth” as a weakness.
My advice always is to build on your strengths. Then, do what is reasonable to mitigate your weaknesses. There is one simple thing you can do to reduce that bench depth pain. Invest in the people you already have. We already know that it costs less to keep our customers than it does to acquire new ones.
The same is true about the people that work for you. Hiring is difficult, it is expensive, and it is not a 100 percent solution. Many years ago, I worked for a very fast-growing software company. When I joined it, the company’s sales were $18 million. When I left, seven years later, sales topped $450 million.
One of the most stunning attributes of that industry was that we were all fairly young and inexperienced. We were a young company and we were a young management team. We worked to figure out our weaknesses and we brought in experts to address them. And that personal growth kept me loyal to the company even when I was offered more money to leave.
I outlasted every person that joined the company when I did. Many others quit. When asked why I stayed, I said the growth afforded me opportunities. Remember, it is cheaper to keep customers.
It is also cheaper to keep customers than it is to replace them. The same is true of employees. They are harder to find than customers. They are hard to train. The whole process is expensive. You want to keep your better employees. And your better people want to stay. They want to grow with you.
AARP Report Says 26 Percent Of Those Over 55 Are Victims Of Cyber Identity Fraud
A report in November from AARP shows that 26 percent of Americans aged 55-plus have been victims of identity fraud, according to the organization.
However, more are taking additional precautions to prevent losses of personal information, as 29 percent have placed credit freezes on their credit bureau information following an identity theft incident. More than half have enrolled in identity protection or credit monitoring services, the report said.
The report, “Identity Fraud in Three Acts,” was developed by Javelin Strategy and Research and sponsored by AARP.
“Older Americans are leading more digitally infused lives, with two-thirds using online banking weekly, so it’s encouraging to see that many are taking proactive steps to protect their identity following a data breach,” said Kathy Stokes, director of AARP Fraud Prevention Programs. “Passwords still represent a security threat, however; using repeated passwords across multiple online accounts makes it easy for criminals to crack one of them so that all of your accounts, including financial accounts, become accessible.”
According to the report, consumers 55-plus want to bank using stronger security authentication. Roughly 90 percent state a desire to use more fingerprint scanning, and 80 percent view facial recognition capabilities as trustworthy forms of technology for financial transactions and private business matters.
The report also said identity fraud victims age 65-plus do not necessarily change how they shop, bank or pay following a fraudulent event, with 70 percent exhibiting reluctance to change familiar habits.
Business Report: Nonprofit Economic Relief During COVID-19
By Matthew Young
Generosity is the lifeblood of a nonprofit organization. Donations can often sustain a charity for generations. But among the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on local communities this year is, unfortunately, the understandable decrease in charitable donations.
This has resulted in many nonprofit organizations experiencing unanticipated financial difficulties. In such times, organizations often look to their institutional funds for support.
Institutional funds, such as an endowment fund, typically consist of donations established either through a gift agreement or estate planning document, such as a will or trust. Donors are oftentimes interested in the long-term survival of the organization and want to ensure that the charitable services will be available to their communities for years to come.
For this reason, donors often place restrictions on access to the principal (original gift amount), only allowing the organization to access the income (interest) generated by the fund. Normally, this model can sustain a charitable organization, but it can be challenging during times of financial crisis.
Fortunately, New York law provides for a procedure under the doctrine of “cy pres,” which means at or near the donor’s intentions when they cannot be precisely followed. This doctrine allows an organization to modify or release donor restrictions placed on the use of charitable gifts (including gaining access to principal) to provide greater flexibility to weather difficult financial times. Two options are available when seeking cy pres relief.