The Harvest Foundation and the United Way of Henry County and Martinsville are partnering with the Center for Nonprofit Excellence in Charlottesville, Virginia to offer a new program that improves the resiliency of local nonprofits.
The United Way and the Harvest Foundation “understand that the past year has been incredibly challenging for nonprofit organizations throughout our community,” a release stated. “Disruptions in service delivery, operations, and funding have undoubtedly affected each and every nonprofit in Martinsville and Henry County.”
To help, the agencies are supporting the COVID-19 Sustainability Program, which will provide unrestricted grant funding bundled with training for board and staff to help with the sustainability and flexibility of nonprofit organizations.
The program will solicit applications from local nonprofits which volunteers will review for participation in the program. Selected organizations will participate in two training modules provided by the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. The training will be delivered in a cohort–based environment via Zoom with 6 to 8 local nonprofits participating in each cohort.
· The Program Scenario Planning module asks nonprofit staff and board members to: identify possible program scenarios; identify current response strategy to changes; and begin building a plan to operate in different environments.
· The Financial Modeling Scenario asks nonprofits to assess program funding, revenue variability, revenue probabilities and expense variability.
Participating nonprofits also will receive additional technical assistance as they work through these modules from the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. After completing the training modules, each organization will receive a one–year membership to the Center for Nonprofit Excellence and may participate in free training opportunities throughout the year.
In addition to training, unrestricted grants will be provided to each organization participating in the training program. To receive the full amount, organizations must complete both training modules. Grants will be disbursed at the rate of 50 percent of total award after the completion of each training module. Grant awards will be between $5,000 and $7,500, depending on the size of the organization.
Executive Director of the United Way Philip Wenkstern said, “We know this year has been incredibly difficult for our entire community. Non-profits, like countless businesses throughout the nation, have been seriously impacted by COVID-19.
“Over the summer we realized that we needed to figure out a way to not only disburse grant awards that were flexible to the needs of each organization, but also equip them with training that will improve their overall resiliency and sustainability as we all work together to address the countless challenges that have emerged over the last year,” Wenkstern said, adding “we are incredibly grateful for the support of the Harvest Foundation for their help in putting this plan together as well as their support for flexible grant awards to local organizations.”
Interested organizations can apply at https://bit.ly/CovidSustainability. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, according to India Brown, Program Officer with The Harvest Foundation.
