Washtenaw Coordinated Funders will be awarding $225,000 in capacity grants to support local human service agencies.

Posted: Aug 28, 2012 at 3:24 PM [Aug 28, 2012]

The Washtenaw Coordinated Funders – an innovative funding partnership between the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, the Office of Community & Economic Development (which represents the City of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County and Washtenaw Urban County), and the United Way of Washtenaw County - are pleased to announce grant guidelines for the Coordinated Funding initiative’s Fall 2012 capacity grants.

Human service agencies active in Washtenaw County in one or more of the Coordinated Funding initiative’s six priority areas are eligible to apply: aging, early childhood, housing, hunger relief, safety net health, and school-aged youth.

$225,000 in grants will be awarded to support three categories of capacity building:

1. Shared Operations - $50,000

    Approximately $50,000 in funding will be available to support groups of
    agencies proposing to consolidate aspects of their operations to achieve
    greater impact and sustainability.
     Deadline to apply is Friday, September 28, 2012 at 5 PM.

2. Enhancing Services for Ypsilanti & Willow Run Youth - $130,000

   Approximately $130,000 in funding will be available to support nonprofit
   agencies and grass-roots organizations seeking to increase their capacity
   to serve youth age 0-6 and/or school-aged youth in the Ypsilanti and Willow
   Run areas. Deadline to apply is Friday, September 28, 2012 at 5 PM.

3. Senior Talent Development & Transition - $45,000

    Approximately $45,000 in funding will be available to strengthen human
    service agencies’ core leadership and plans for major staff transitions.
    Grants will be up to $5,000 each and distributed on a rolling basis through
    several deadlines. Application deadline and details will be finalized and
     announced in September, 2012.

Nonprofit organizations interested in applying are required to review the online guidelines at www.aaacf.org/grants/coordinated-funding .

After reviewing the guidelines, agencies should email Neel Hajra at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation at nhajra@aaacf.org to schedule a time to discuss potential concepts to ensure a funding request will be appropriate in focus and scope.

The Washtenaw Coordinated Funders coordinate local funding for human service programs in Washtenaw County around shared priorities. A coordinated approach seeks to strengthen our community by:

Supporting shared, community-wide strategies,
Reducing service gaps and redundancies,
Focusing attention on community-wide outcomes, and
Stretching community resources to the greatest extent possible.

In 2011, the Washtenaw Coordinated Funders jointly awarded $4.6 million in total grants to support local human service programs: $4.1 million in competitive grants to support 63 programs and services at 39 agencies, $310,000 to support six lead agencies that strengthen collaboration among nonprofits, and $225,000 in capacity grants that invest in new strategies.

For more information on the Washtenaw Coordinated Funders, please visit www.communitygrants.org/coordinated-funding.