Nonprofits advised to collaborate to secure grants
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer

PARIS – With funding sources shrinking or uncertain in years ahead, the message to nonprofit groups is clear: collaborate.

At a first meeting Friday of the Oxford Hills Grant Network, Lydia Maier of the Maine Association of Nonprofits said more and more foundations are looking for evidence of collaboration and a regional approach when they make funding decisions.

“Regionalism is really globalism on a small scale,” said Maier to the gathering, representing eight nonprofit organizations. “We need to think about ourselves as an economic center” and begin networking together as a group of nonprofits, she said.

Maier said the economic impact of nonprofits is significantly higher in Maine than in other states. At the same time, funders are getting more sophisticated in their requirements.

Nonprofits need to start to think more like a business, and consider developing partnerships with business, she said.

“The biggest mistake you can make is to say how many more workshops you’re going to have,” said Maier to the group of 14 people attending the meeting at the offices of the Growth Council of Oxford Hills. Rather, nonprofit organizations need to think about how the funding is going “to link the rest of the community with your organization.”

Lori Allen, the growth council’s community development director, said the Oxford Hills Grant Network will be about sharing information, collaborating and educating one another about techniques of successful grant writing. She’d also like to create a local directory of nonprofits, and develop demographics about the region for grant-writing purposes.

Maier encouraged those attending to consider attending the Maine Association of Nonprofits annual conference May 20.

She also encouraged people to check out the assocation Web site, www.nonprofitmaine.org.

The next meeting of the Oxford Hills Grant Network will be held at 11:30 a.m. May 9 in the growth council offices on Main Street.