TRAVERSE CITY, MICH, March 20, 2007 – NorthSky Nonprofit Network, under the auspices of Rotary Camps and Services, today announced it has received a $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that will be paid over four years. The grant will help NorthSky create a sustainable model for providing nonprofit management support services throughout rural, northern Michigan.
"This critical and significant grant will literally impact hundreds of nonprofit organizations throughout our region and the communities they serve," said NorthSky Executive Director Debra McKeon. "It mandates that NorthSky develop its own sustainability and at the same time, design the most affordable, efficient and effective services and delivery methods possible to nonprofits." More than 20 nonprofit management support organizations (MSOs) currently operate in Michigan, though NorthSky is one of the first to serve rural areas.
Gail Imig, Program Director of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, said "this is very important work for the future of rural communities. By supporting the development of the capacities of these nonprofit organizations and leaders, it is a significant investment in the potential for serving the issues and opportunities of rural areas." Kellogg cited NorthSky’s large, rural service area as a major factor in making the grant.
The nonprofit sector in Northern Michigan has already begun to benefit from the first installment of the Kellogg grant. NorthSky has quickly ramped up to expand its breadth of service and geographic reach across a broad cross-section of regional nonprofits. Manistee-Benzie Community Mental Health and NorthStar Soccer, Inc. are two recent examples that highlight NorthSky’s work to help nonprofits share their stories with their communities and find opportunities to partner and share resources that deliver services to the greatest benefit of the communities.
Ingemar Johansson, Director of Operations, Manistee-Benzie Community Mental Health, explained, "The new trend in the disability community is for people with disabilities to become entrepreneurs and develop micro-businesses that produce income, self-esteem, products, and services that people want to purchase. With our idea as a basis for the project, NorthSky Nonprofit Network was able to link us to the Manistee Economic Development Office resulting in this unique partnership that also includes Michigan Department of Community Health. The bridge that NorthSky built was instrumental in bringing together the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, leveraging assets and resources to give the greatest value to the community at large, and in the end providing an innovative way for people with disabilities to lead meaningful lives."
"Through consultations with NorthSky Nonprofit Network, NorthStar Soccer, Inc is developing a roadmap for gaining visibility for our organization as well as establishing a roadmap for raising funds," said Darrell Rogers, Director, NorthStar Soccer, Inc. "As a successful nonprofit organization we have a great vision but resources are limited. NorthSky provides the knowledge and training to help us better leverage these resources and communicate our value to the community".
With Kellogg grant resources, NorthSky has also expanded its professional and volunteer development programs as well as consulting work with individual nonprofits. BoardConnect, Break for Lunch series, special workshops, meeting facilitation, strategic planning, organizational assessments, connecting nonprofits to the information or services they need, are examples of the breadth of services now available to nonprofits. A primary goal is to provide services as affordably as possible from $5 to attend the Break for Lunch series to affordably priced multi-day workshops. As soon as these programs became available, nonprofits began using them. The Old Town Playhouse and a board member of the Women’s Resource Center recently commented on their experiences with these programs.
"Working with NorthSky was key for my boards to address the new challenges before us; enabling us to move forward with a focus and clear purpose," said Phil Murphy, Executive Director, Old Town Playhouse. "As a result we have contracted with them to provide further facilitation services to help us implement the changes that have been derived by earlier interactions. I see NorthSky as an important consultation resource for nonprofits throughout the region, and this is only one aspect of the services they have to offer. Their education programming can be eye opening to any person affiliated with nonprofits especially at the board level. I also sit on the Board and work with the Traverse Area Arts Council that has contracted additional services from NorthSky that make the management of that nonprofit far more efficient."
"I found my participation in NorthSky's BoardConnect program to be very valuable and certainly worth my investment. Pam Hayes did a wonderful job of providing a lot of information through a very smooth and engaging workshop session," said Marcia Bellinger, Board Member, Women's Resource Center.
About W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 "to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations." To achieve the greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward specific areas. These include: health; food systems and rural development; youth and education; and philanthropy and volunteerism. Within these areas, attention is given to exploring learning opportunities in leadership; information and communication technology; capitalizing on diversity; and social and economic community development.
Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe.
For further information, please visit the Foundation's Web site at www.wkkf.org.
About NorthSky Nonprofit Network
NorthSky is a management support organization (MSO) providing capacity, leadership, and sustainability support to nonprofits throughout northern Michigan. NorthSky Nonprofit Network evolved from the Great Lakes Nonprofit Institute (GLNI) originally formed in 2004 through a partnership between Rotary Charities and Northwestern Michigan College. NorthSky is currently operating under the auspices of Rotary Camps & Services until NorthSky has obtained tax exempt status. Offices are located in the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce building. Information on NorthSky can be found at www.northskynonprofitnetwork.org, by calling (231) 995-2537, or e-mail info@northskynonprofitnetwork.org.
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