MCN Gulf Coast Update - July 14, 2008
Below please find information on the following topics:
Gulf Coast Trainings/Workshops
1) Have fun meeting new people! Speed Networking Event for Gulf Coast Nonprofits
will be held on Thursday, July 17, from 8:30AM to 10:00Am at Bethel Lutheran Church
in Biloxi (new location).
2) Webinar on Recruiting and Developing Your Staff July 23.
3) Workshop on Establishing a 501(c)(3) on July 31 from 9 to 4 at Gulf Coast
Community College.
4) Webinar on Understanding Leadership Styles July 31.
5) Software Trainings at YOUR nonprofit site on the following topics: Using Excel to
Develop a Grant Budget, Using ACCESS to Track Program Clients and Services,
QuickBooks for Administrators, and QuickBooks Training for Bookkeepers.
Gulf Coast Meetings/Conferences/Events
6) Register now for Champions of the People BBQ at the Church of the Redeemer July
27.
Positions Available
7) Information on consultants in Grant-writing, Website Development, Strategic
Planning, Accounting and Bookkeeping, and other nonprofit issues needed for Gulf
Coast. Contact sue@msnonprofits.org
Funding Information of Special Interest to Gulf Coast
8) New grant guide from the Foundation Center focuses on Grants for Community and
Economic Development, Housing & Employment.
9) Surplus property available to certain eligible nonprofits through MS. Office of Surplus
Property. Nonprofit must pay a service charge for each transaction.
10) Gifts In-kind provides donations to nonprofit organizations that register with them.
Small fee required.
Local Fundraisers for Nonprofits
11) Cool Coupons books to support your nonprofit, O’Keefe Educational Media, and
local businesses available from O’Keefe Educational Media.
Other News
12) Prepare now with Disaster Preparedness toolkit for nonprofits.
13) USM to offer a non-profit minor and American Humanics Certification Program.
14) 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book available from Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Training Details
1) The Knight Foundation, in partnership with the Mississippi Center for Nonprofits
(MCN), invites you to participate in Speed Networking for Nonprofits from 8:30am to
10am on Thursday, July 17th, at Bethel Lutheran Church, 2521 Pass Road in Biloxi (new
location). This will be an excellent opportunity to meet and exchange information with
many individuals from the Gulf Coast nonprofit sector in one short, fun-filled time period
There is no fee for this event, but due to limited seating, pre-registration is requested.
Please bring 50 business cards to the event. You may register for this event at
www.msnonprofits.org. Under the topic SERVICES please open WORKSHOPS.
Please see attached flier for more information.
2) MCN will present a webinar on Recruiting and Developing Your Staff on Wednesday,
July 23rd at 10am. The webinar will be led by Melinda Tidwell, Executive Director of the
United Way of Northeast Mississippi. Basic elements of recruiting and developing your
staff and methods for increasing in-house training and ongoing professional development
will be discussed. You may register for this event at www.msnonprofits.org. Under the
topic SERVICES please open WORKSHOPS.
3) JoG Pritchard will lead a workshop on establishing a nonprofit organization on
Thursday, July 31, from 9am to 4pm in the Executive Dining Room of the Gulf Coast
Community College/Jefferson Davis Campus. Information will be presented on the
following topics: How to create bylaws, set up a board of directors, create a funding plan,
incorporate with the Secretary of State, complete the IRS application for tax-exempt
status, and obtain approval to solicit contributions in Mississippi. You will also receive a
binder of informational tools to get you started. You may register for this event at
www.msnonprofits.org. Under the topic SERVICES please open WORKSHOPS.
4) Understanding Leadership Styles is the topic of the Webinar to be presented by MCN
at 10am on Wednesday, August 6. Deborah Tierce, Owner of Tierce Motivational
Training, will discuss how understanding the dynamics of one’s leadership style impacts
a leader’s competency and effectiveness in building relationships in the nonprofit world.
You may register for this event at www.msnonprofits.org. Under the topic SERVICES
please open WORKSHOPS.
5) The MS Center for Nonprofits recently received a grant from AT&T to provide
technology trainings at the offices of grassroots Gulf Coast nonprofits serving underserved populations. Workshops will be offered on the following topics to fit the particular
needs of eligible nonprofits: Using Excel to Develop Grant Budgets; Quickbooks for
Administrators; Quickbooks for Bookkeepers; and Using ACCESS to Track Program
Clients and Services. The workshops will be provided for five to six nonprofit employees
at a nonprofit’s work site (small nonprofits can meet together) using MCN laptops. Please
contact Sue Weishar, MCN Gulf Coast Coordinator, to arrange a technology training to
fit the technology needs of your nonprofit at 228-575-9148 or sue@msnonprofits.org.
Gulf Coast Meetings/Conferences/Events
6) Everyone is invited to a day of fun and fellowship for the whole family as Gulf Coast
organizations honor Mississippi Gulf Coast legislators, local officials, community
organizations, and advocates at a Champions of the People BBQ at the Church of the
Redeemer, 610 Water Street in Biloxi, on July 27, 2008, starting at 4:30pm. Please see
attached registration form. For more information contact Marlene Urbani at MS Interfaith
Disaster Task Force, 228-432-9310, or Julie Propst at Coalition for Citizens with
Disabilities, 601-813-6907.
Nonprofit Positions Available on Gulf Coast Details
7) Talent Needed! We are seeking to build a data base of talented persons willing to work
as consultants to Gulf Coast nonprofits with expertise in the following topic areas:
accounting; bookkeeping; grant-writing; fundraising; marketing; strategic planning; and
technology. Please send contact information on the talented consultants you know to
MCN Gulf Coast Coordinator Sue Weishar at sue@msnonprofits.org. Thank you!
Funding Information of Special Interest to the Gulf Coast Details
8) The Foundation Center recently published Grants for Community & Economic
Development, Housing & Employment, with information from 1,045 foundations. See
www.fdncenter.org and click open “Shop”.
9) Surplus property-including recently reported supplies for Katrina survivors that FEMA
declared as surplus-is available for a service charge from the Mississippi Office of
Surplus Property to public agencies and certain nonprofit organizations (including
“educational” non-profits or “public health” non-profits) that meet federally determined
eligibility requirements. The kind of surplus property available includes office furniture,
household furniture, appliances, vehicles, work clothing, as well as the items donated to
or purchased by FEMA for Katrina survivors, such as household supplies, dinnerware
sets, towels, clothes, and cleaning items. All surplus property must be used in-house by
the nonprofit agency, unless it meets federal guidelines as a Homeless/Needy provider. In
all cases, the public agency or the nonprofit must pay a service charge to obtain the
surplus property, which is used to cover the overhead of the MS Office of Surplus
property. To learn more about this program and to download an application form, please
see www.dfa.state.ms.us
10) Gifts In Kind America makes donations of building materials, office equipment and
supplies, software, hardware, furniture, clothing, toys, medical equipment and more
available to nonprofit organizations registered with Gifts In Kind. Registration fees are
based on a sliding scale fee, staring at $125 for nonprofits with an annual budget of less
than $1 million. For more information see www.giftsinkind.org.
Local Nonprofit Fundraisers Details
11) “Cool Coupons” books contain 58 coupons for Gulf Coast restaurants and other
businesses, including several free and “2 for 1” specials. Nonprofits can sell the coupon
books to raise money for their nonprofit. Each book sells for $10, of which $5 goes to the
nonprofit and $5 to O’Keefe Educational Media to support projects for people with
disabilities in Mississippi. For more information contact Janie O’Keefe, Project Director,
at 228-669-7897 or office@okeefemedia.org.
Other Details
12) It is critical that Gulf Coast nonprofits be prepared before the next disaster strikes.
The attached list of forms, checklists, and resources from the Louisiana Association of
Nonprofit Organizations (LANO) will help your nonprofit prepare for continuity of
operations in the event of a disaster.
13) The University of Southern Mississippi is now offering students a minor in NonProfit Studies, or a certificate program, called American Humanics, to educate, prepare
and certify professionals to strengthen and lead non-profit organizations. For more
information call Ann Marie Kinnel, Director of Non-Profit Studies, at 601-266-5339 or
Jack Anthony Covarrubias, Gulf Coast Coordinator-Nonprofit Studies, at 228-214-3260.
14) The 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book, released June 12, 2008, is a national and stateby-state profile of the status of America’s children which tracks ten indicators of overall
child well-being. You can search the Data Book on-line at
http://www.kidscount.org/datacenter/databook.jsp
Thank you!
Mark McCrary
Sue Weishar