Tuesday, January 29, 2013
While it was once common to award grant money up front, the current policy is to repay organizations only after they’ve paid for the expenses and submitted their invoices.
The $70,000 Minnesota Department of Health grant holds big promise for the Somali community. Somali women's health education and advocacy group Isuroon is using the money to combat teen pregnancy and gather people together to discuss sexual health, an uncomfortable subject in a culture that considers it taboo. There was just one problem: While the state once awarded nonprofits grant money in advance, the current policy is to repay organizations only after they’ve paid for the expenses and submitted their invoices. Isuroon is a small, relatively new organization—and it had just $2,000 in its account when it received the grant. As a result, the Minneapolis nonprofit found it hard to round up the necessary upfront costs. “Now there’s $70,000 …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The Hopkins nonprofit must be out of its space by March 31 after its landlord declined to renew its lease.
Reach and Restore got an unwanted Christmas present this year. The Hopkins nonprofit learned just before the holiday that its landlord would not be renewing its lease, said founder Ronda Oliver. The organization had a three-year, reduced-rate lease, but the tenant next door wants to expand into Reach and Restore’s space. Now the organization must be out of its current location by March 31. “It was kind of a shock when we found out,” Oliver told Patch on Wednesday. Oliver, a Minnetonka resident, started Reach and Restore in her garage after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. She initially just wanted to help those who'd been forced from their homes but soon found herself helping more and more of her fellow Minnesotans. In May 2010, …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Hopkinsvolunteers.org helps residents find volunteer opportunities.
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Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Editor’s Note: The following guest column comes from Mike Bolin with hopkinsvolunteers.org, a newly started website that brings volunteers and those who need them together. Most people would agree that volunteers play an important role in our community. After all, most of our charitable, educational, healthcare, and civic organizations depend on volunteers, to one extent or another, to carry out their vital work. So if that’s true, how are we doing here in Hopkins? Do the organizations that provide services in our community have enough volunteers? Or do they need more help? With questions like those in mind, one local congregation started doing a little research to get some answers. Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church interviewed …
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Governmental and Educational Assistance Corp. and The Blake School both made the Star Tribune’s 16th Annual Nonprofit Report.
Two Hopkins organizations made the Star Tribune’s 16th Annual Nonprofit Report released Sunday. The report ranks Minnesota’s nonprofits by revenue. Hopkins-based Governmental and Educational Assistance Corp.—which provides low-income housing, senior living and nursing home facilities—came in at 70th this year with $47.1 million in revenue. That’s down 19.6 percent from last year, when the organization was not included on the list. The Blake School was ranked 84th with $36.5 million. Last year, the school’s $32.1 million ranked it 82nd. Eagan-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota topped the list again with more than $9 billion in revenue—about 10 percent more than the runner-up, Rochester’s Mayo Clinic. Click here to view the full …
Donna Duchene
9:02 am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
great column, Mike! more ›