Mount awards $80,000 to area nonprofits

HOPE receives $12,000 to improve its information systems

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — Mount Wachusett Community College’s Institute for Nonprofit Development awarded $80,000 in grant funding to 11 area social service agencies during a Sustainability Awards Ceremony Thursday. The additional funding was made available in fall 2007 through a three-year federal Compassion Capital Fund grant to provide intensive, collaborative strategic and financial planning to the regions nonprofits. The Compassion Capital Fund grant enables the Insitute for Nonprofit Development to award a total of $80,000 each year for the next three years to competitively selected agencies. Each year, the agencies will receive training and assistance in the five critical areas of capacity building: leadership development; organizational development; program development; revenue development strategies; and community engagement. “Mount Wachusett Community College is pleased to be able to continue our investment in creating a vibrant and healthy north central Massachusetts,” said college President Daniel M. Asquino. “The nonprofits awarded these funds have already demonstrated an understanding of the necessity for deep organizational change, as well as the tremendous amount of follow through and accountability required to not only survive, but to thrive in these uncertain economic times.” One area nonprofit that received additional funding through the grant program was the House of Peace and Education, money Executive Director Joanne Foster said will help forward the improvement of their technological systems and processes. “This money is going to allow our staff to engage in the process over the course of the next year to look at two primary systems: information and technology, and our program and delivery and evaluation,” said Ms. Foster. According to Ms. Foster, staff members will re-evalute the technology used at the nonprofit and will reconsider the way they share and store information about their clients. “We are going to look at the way we collect information, share information, analyze information and we will even be looking at concrete, more broad questions like how we file the information itself,” said Ms. Foster. “We will also look at our technology like our servers, and whether we need to upgrade them. We aren’t going to go buy new computers, but we may implement some software enhancements.” When considering funding toward the way the nonprofit delivers their services, Ms. Foster said the additional grant money will help them serve a larger portion of the needy in the community. “We are looking at ways to become more efficient and effective,” said Ms. Foster. “We would like to be able to serve people better, and possibly even more people.” The recipients of the first round of grants are: The Bridge of Central Massachusetts Inc.: $3,000 for Web site development to promote its new revenue venture, The Training Institute; Cleghorn Neighborhood Center: $7,557.50 for donor software and organizational development; Cornerstone Performing Arts Center: $8,000 for a feasibility study regarding a facilities plan; House of Peace and Education Inc.: $12,000 for systems and process improvement; Literacy Volunteers of the Montachusett Area: $3,847.50 for donor software and to participate in a board of directors training collaborative; Montachusett Interfaith Hospitality Network: $3,847.50 for donor software and the board development collaborative; Montachusett Addiction Council: $3,847.50 for donor software and the board development collaborative; Multi-Service Center: $10,800 for organizational development; TeenAIDS-Peer Corps: $7,100 for the board development collaborative and interactive Web site technology; Warmer Winters: $10,000 for business plan development; Young Entrepreneurs Society Inc.: $10,000 for equipment, training and the hiring of a web developer and marketing consultant. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 9/5/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 210)