MANP Applies for Federal Nonprofit Capacity Building Grant

On Friday, July 3rd, MANP submitted a grant to the Federal Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.  This grant is the result of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and comes from “Part B” of the Strengthening Communities Fund.

In order to apply for this grant, MANP had to be designated by a State, Local or Tribal Government to apply on its behalf.  Governor Baldacci signed an Executive Order authorizing MANP to apply.

Should we win this $250,000 grant this September or October, we will use the funds to provide free training and technical assistance to Maine nonprofit organizations.  Programs will include:

• 4 ARRA webinars highlighting ARRA grant opportunities and related capacity needs – open to all 5,877 nonprofits in Maine
• 24 SkillBuilders including board governance, fundraising, collaboration, technology, and increasing operating efficiencies topics
• 2 Nonprofit Sector Viability Clinics-providing in-depth TA to individual nonprofit organizations hard hit by the recession
• 2 Leadership Institutes for Executive Directors building the relationships, capacity, and knowledge necessary to create lasting collaborative efforts in regions hard hit by the economic downturn
• Networks for Social Change development project for two emerging networks focusing on building collaborations in two subsectors a) organizations key to helping people apply for federal benefits and tax credits; and b) organizations providing job training aimed at helping low income people obtain and retain employment

The ARRA Grant Project Abstract offers a little more detail on the above and this one-page overview of our capacity building programs gives more detail on the individual programs.