On July 8, 2014, Nonprofit Quarterly holds a webinar on Financial Cautionary Tales: How to Prevent Common Financial Breakdowns. Kate Barr, a financial analyst from the Nonprofits Assistance Fund, joins Nonprofit Quarterly in a discussion of familiar financial traps and how best to immunize an organization against financial woes. The webinar's target audience is nonprofit executives, Chief Financial Officers, and board members. Participants are encouraged to post scenarios or questions when signing up for the webinar, and the hosts will try to address as many as possible.

NBA star Kevin Durant's foundation and KIND Healthy Snacks have partnered to launch a STRONG & KIND movement that aims to challenge deep-rooted stereotypes and redefine cultural perceptions of strength and kindness. STRONG & KIND seeks applications from summer programs to support specialized programming that teaches youth how to be STRONG & KIND in their own lives. An organization's 2014 summer program must expose youth to a variety of disciplines and holistic experiences, such as academics, arts (visual and performing), athletics, community and team building, healthy living, and nutrition and wellness. In addition, applicant organizations must submit a lesson and/or project plan that will bring to life what it means to be STRONG & KIND. Selected organizations receive up to $10,000. The application deadline is July 9, 2014.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is seeking applications for its 2014 Smart on Juvenile Justice: Training and Technical Assistance to End Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System from nonprofit organizations that serve minority youth who are or are at-risk for involvement in the juvenile justice system. For selected agencies, this program provides education, training, technical assistance, and resources on the most promising systemic and programmatic techniques to address disproportionate minority contact and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities within the juvenile justice system. The resource center will build upon the most recent research on effective systems change strategies and programmatic interventions that address minority youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Applications are due by July 14, 2014.

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared a War on Poverty in his State of the Union address. Fifty years later, how have American children fared? The Children's Defense Fund's new report The State of America's Children 2014 finds that child poverty has reached record levels, and children of color are disproportionately poor. The report is a comprehensive compilation and analysis of the most recent and reliable national and state-by-state data on population, poverty, family structure, family income, health, nutrition, early childhood development, education, child welfare, juvenile justice, and gun violence.

According to Expanding Education and Workforce Opportunities Through Digital Badges, a report from the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Mozilla Foundation, digital badges offer students the opportunity to pave their own learning pathways and allow employers to verify necessary workforce skills. The report defines digital badges as “credentials that represent skills, interests, and achievements earned by an individual through specific projects, programs, courses, or other activities.” This report explores digital badges and how they can be used to improve student learning and outcomes, as well as expand vocational and interest-based skills for learners of all age. Read the executive summary or download thefull report.

Children who are proficient in reading by fourth grade are more likely to graduate from high school and to be economically successful as adults. A recent KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds that although reading proficiency rates have improved over the past decade, large disparities in proficiency levels still exist between fourth-graders from low-income families and their higher-income peers. This brief report examines those disparities and offers recommendations to communities and policymakers to support early reading.