Staff Reports
GREENFIELD — The Hancock County Community Foundation recently announced a new name and brand for its nonprofit support resources.
The Partners in Excellence initiative will include the customary grant and programming services the foundation provides to nonprofits. But it also will offer two new grant-making features and one new programming feature.
The LevelUp Grant Program’s goal is to support nonprofits and leaders so they can more effectively advance the mission and vision of their organizations. The program consists of four elements: a capacity-assessment and planning phase; a grant of up to $10,000 to hire a consultant to focus on one area of organizational development; peer round tables to foster idea sharing; and mentorship from leaders who have previously gone through the program. The program is currently by invitation only.
The Excellence Academy program is an educational deep dive into core capacity-building topics for small and mid-size nonprofit organizations. It is a three-year program providing an in-depth curriculum and a learning community. The curriculum is currently under development, and the program will be launched in August 2019. The program is currently by invitation only.
Since its inception in 1992, one of the foundation’s roles has been to serve as a funder for charitable causes. Over the years, the role has evolved to include support services, such as guidance on grants; networking events and workshops; an online resource page; and a monthly newsletter.
The new programming feature that Partners in Excellence is offering is a community calendar. The re-vamped HelloHancock.com launched earlier this month to serve as a scheduling tool for community events.
“The foundational purpose of this website is to serve Hancock County’s nonprofits, service clubs, schools and government entities with a powerful scheduling tool, one to be referenced before choosing a date,” said Mary Gibble, president of the foundation. “It is our hope that scheduling conflicts will be reduced and the calendar will connect community members.”
