Greetings!

A new book released this month is called "Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High Impact Nonprofits," by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant. The authors talk about how the best organizations often make their greatest impact outside of their organization, in ways that don't always show up as a concrete "outcome."

While the Governor's Grants Office thrives on performance measures, if you missed our annual conference, you missed the value of networking with others on both substantive topics and shared experiences. Helping people understand they are not alone in this often complex world of securing and managing scarce resources, and that this field involves skills that can be taught and learned, is just one of the non- quantifiable but satisfying outcomes we took away from this year's conference.

Eric Brenner, Director

This was a huge feat for our small office. We relied on our many good friends at State agencies, the federal government and local governments to assume roles at this conference. I thank them for taking time from their very busy days as well as the members of our conference steering committee, our tireless volunteers and the more than 60 speakers who presented at this year's conference.

We always conduct surveys at our trainings and conferences. This year, thanks to IT staff at the MD Department and Business Development, we were chosen to be the pilot project for creating the first online survey using software developed for the O'Malley Administration. Coincidentally, the IT Gurus' boss, DMB Secretary Eloise Foster was our Plenary Speaker, kicking off the day's sessions.

Overall, the conference received lots of praise, some useful criticism, and some really great suggestions for session content for our next big conference, as well as future trainings.

All the presentations submitted to us electronically are posted on our website in the What's New box - click on the link below to be redirected to our site.

2007 Annual Conference Speaker Presentations

A key initiative of the Foundation Center is to reach populations that have too few resources and and generally underserved throughout the United States, who are in need of information and training to become successful grantseekers. One of the ways the Foundation Center intends to accomplish this goal is by designating new Cooperating Collection libraries in regions that have the ability to serve the nonprofit communities most in need of Foundation Center resources. The Foundation Center is seeking proposals from qualified institutions (i.e. public, academic or special libraries) that can help them carry out this important initiative.

There currently are six cooperating collections housed throughout Maryland.

BALTIMORE - the first of the collections in Maryland, with a recently improved website www.http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/grants/index.aspx?id=1240 Enoch Pratt Public Library 400 Cathedral St. Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 396-5320
Andrea Snyder, Grants Collection librarian
look online or call for the schedule of free training seminars on a variety of subjects.

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY MEMORIAL LIBRARY Hyattsville Branch Library 6530 Adelphi Rd. Hyattsville, MD 20782 (301) 699-3500
mary.howard@pgcmls.info
Mary Howard, business librarian
There is a November 6th training about the Collection - call or email Ms. Howard for information.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY - Foundation Directory available only at the Rockville Library. It holds detailed descriptions of more than 6,200 foundations and public charity programs that fund individual grantseekers for a variety of needs. Rockville Library 21 Maryland Ave. Rockville, MD 20850 (240) 777-0140.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE EASTERN SHORE - Foundation Directory available at 1324 Belmont Ave. Salisbury, MD 21804 410-742-9911
contact: Erica Joseph or Nancy Owen
www.cfes.org - click on "non profit support programs" for more information.

CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY Foundation Directory P.D. Brown Memorial Branch 50 Village St. Waldorf, MD 20602 (301) 645-2864
Lisa Pochan, public services librarian
http://www.ccplonline.org - click on "Search for a Grant " for more information.

CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE LIBRARY Foundation Directory Online 1000 College Dr. Wye Mills, MD 21679 (410) 827-5860
Virginia Capute, instructional and reference librarian
http://www.chesapeake.edu\Library\Foundation\fdcmain.htm
Anita Plotinsky, director, Foundation Center, Washington, D.C. branch, will conduct a workshop entitled "How to Approach A Foundation," 1 p.m. Oct. 22. Register online or call Ms. Capute for more information.

Ulman said, "We believe a strong grants management program makes good business sense and will, over time, result in both greater effectiveness in the management of program resources, improve our ability to attract new grants, and better enable County Government to work with local non-profit organizations to build capacity and to compete more effectively for grants resources themselves."

In reviewing where Howard county was with respect to its grants management efforts, they soon realized it would make a great deal of sense to bring both greater uniformity and county-wide commitment to these efforts. Their goals include improved cash management, reduced interest costs, potential economies of scale in the resources required to manage grant funds effectively, and demonstrated management effectiveness to auditors.

Howard County asked GGO Deputy Director Merril Oliver to facilitate a two hour meeting with Howard County Executive Ulman and 60 staff members to help the county put into place a strategic plan to establish a uniform and comprehensive grants management program in Howard County.

Part of that plan includes ongoing staff training in specific targeted areas and the development of a comprehensive Grants Procedures Handbook. In addition, Howard County will be migrating to a new Financial Management System over the next several years which will include a grants management module.

Since DHCD began operating the Shelter and Transitional Housing Grant program, they have financed 47 homeless facilities with 1,783 beds. The program is primarily financed through State appropriations, utilizing $18,457,821 in funding to date. DHCD has also used federal HOME and CDBG block grant monies, as well as Appalachian Regional Commission monies and federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits towards these projects, providing an additional $8,272,365 in DHCD funding . Project sponsors have leveraged an additional $31,642,188 in financing for building the projects, utilizing a wide array of resources. This leveraging has included funding as varied as the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta to Hospital Foundations to hay rides.

DHCD also received the Sterling Achievement in Housing Award at this same conference for its House Keys 4 Employees program. For information on both programs, please visit DHCD's website at www.mdhousing.org.

Read on...

In this case, Diane Pawlowicz, Executive Director, Court Research and Development, is searching for a full-time grants coordinator at the Administrative Office of the Courts in Annapolis. Click on the link below for the position announcement.

Grants Coordinator position announcement