BETHEL — Mahoosuc Arts Council has been awarded a two-year $30,000 grant from the William Bingham II Betterment Fund to build capacity among a large number of organizations in the western Maine region by piloting a project to share an executive assistant with the Bethel Area Nonprofit Collaboration.

“BANC appreciates the opportunity to engage in a collaboration with MAC that will enhance our ability to serve our nonprofit members here and now. We are also excited to pilot a project that can be expanded upon by other BANC organizations in the future, which will further enhance the ability of those groups to serve the community,” said Amy Scott, BANC facilitator.

The funding environment for nonprofits has been changing over the past eight years. During this time, funders have asked nonprofits to innovate, seek partners and to reduce costs by sharing resources, according to Aranka Matolcsy, MAC executive director.

While there have been numerous successful collaborative programs launched and supported among the members BANC, one of the biggest obstacles to evolving these collaborations has yet to be overcome: how to share much-needed staff support for multiple organizations. This grant will cover operations, strategic planning and consultation to propel the program.

“We are thrilled and grateful to the trustees of the Bingham Betterment Fund for having a broad vision for the value of collaboration to small nonprofit organizations that provide big community benefit by supporting this exciting project,” noted Matolcsy.

The MAC and BANC will develop a project timeline and begin advertising for the position. For more information, visit www.mahoosucarts.org or www.bethelmainenonprofits.org.