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NOVEMBER 10, 2008
Message from Executive Director Bill Sturges
 Governor Edward G. Rendell hailed the broad support Pennsylvania’s voters expressed on Election Day for a clean water referendum that he said will support thousands of jobs and enable communities across the state to make critical repairs and upgrades to their water and sewer systems. A majority of voters in 64 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties chose to approve the $400 million ballot question, which the Governor said shows that the public understands the need to invest in important infrastructure improvements for the good of the economy and Pennsylvania’s quality of life. Nearly two-thirds of voters statewide supported the referendum. The $400 million bond issue will allow the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, or PENNVEST, to award grants and loans for water treatment systems and pipelines. The money will be available for municipally owned drinking water and wastewater systems in every corner of the state, large or small, urban or rural. The funding will be available to the 183 publicly owned water systems in Pennsylvania that are facing federal mandates to reduce nutrient pollution in the Susquehanna and Potomac river basins and downstream in the Chesapeake Bay. The Sustainable Infrastructure Task Force that Governor Rendell convened early this year released a report citing at least $36.5 billion in capital repairs and upgrade that are needed statewide over the next 20 years to maintain service. In addition, the task force estimates the commonwealth will need to spend another $77.1 billion for operation, maintenance and debt service. The report is available online at www.depweb.state.pa.us; click on the “Clean Water referendum” link.
News from Around PA and the Nation
Secretary Wolff Kicks Off Annual Harvest Tour on Food Safety
Earlier this month, Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff kicked off his annual Harvest Tour, which this year is focused on ensuring a safe and secure food supply. Secretary Wolff is being joined by acting Department of Health Secretary Everette James on the tour that is part of Governor Rendell’s Strategy for Agriculture and Food Excellence (SAFE) initiative—comprehensive plan to address food safety and defense from the farm to the fork. The officials will be hosting round table meetings as part of the four-day tour where the public can share their thoughts and get answers to questions on food safety and security. As there are many people who have a role in food safety and security—producers, processors, food handlers, chefs, consumers, emergency response personnel and local health officials—it is critical that all of these stakeholders come together for a conversation about this very important topic. There will also be a question and answer session open to all attendees. Secretary Wolff encourages you to provide testimony at these meetings, and to pre-register by contacting Kelly ODonnell at (717) 705-3979 or by emailing Michael Pechart at mpechart@state.pa.us. The meeting dates and locations are: Nov. 10, Columbia County Extension Office at 7 p.m. and Nov. 17, Westmoreland County Conservation District Center at 7 p.m. A round table meeting will also be held in the future in Harrisburg.
Agriculture, Tourism Businesses Receive Aid Through First Industries Fund
A tourist attraction and a dozen farm operations in rural communities throughout the commonwealth will acquire land, buy equipment and build and renovate buildings with the support of new state investments approved by the Commonwealth Financing Authority through the First Industry Fund. The fund provides grants, loans and loan guarantees to strengthen agriculture and tourism in the commonwealth. The authority approved $2.2 million in loans through the program for 13 projects in 12 counties. The First Industry Fund has four components: Small Business First agriculture loans, Small Business First tourism loans, the Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund, and loan guarantees. The following projects have been approved:
Adams County
$58,000 tourism loan to the Adams County Economic Development Corp., on behalf of the David R. Gladfelter crop farm in Littlestown, to buy a tractor, sprayer and fertilizer spreader.
Berks County
$200,000 agriculture loan to the Greater Berks Development Fund, on behalf of David and Lila Burkholder, to purchase a 10.7-acre farm in Bethel. $325,000 to the J&J Dairy Farm in Myerstown to buy dairy cattle and milking parlor equipment.
Bradford County
$75,000 agriculture loan to the Northern Tier Regional Planning & Development Corp., on behalf of Leroydale Farms in Canton, to build a heifer barn.
Butler County
$62,680 equipment loan to Arlene Fusko, doing business as Destiny Acres Alpacas in Sarver, to purchase two alpacas and farm equipment.
Centre County
$200,000 agriculture loan to the SEDA Council of Governments, on behalf of the Henry S. Stoltzfus dairy farm in Woodward, to buy a 55-acre dairy farm.
Franklin County
$200,000 tourism loan to the Franklin County Area Redevelopment Corp., on behalf of Route 5 Retail Stores and Timberwolf Properties, to be used by the new owners, William and Kimberly Smith, to purchase the real estate of the retail gift store in Chambersburg.
Juniata County
$150,000 agriculture loan to the SEDA Council of Governments, on behalf of Shad and Kristi Ehrisman, to purchase a 61-acre poultry farm in Richfield.
Lancaster County
$200,000 agriculture loan to EDC Fina Corp., on behalf of Brian D. Eckman, to purchase a 108-acre farm for a dairy and hog farm in Peach Bottom.
Lycoming County
$200,000 agriculture loan to the SEDA Council of Governments, on behalf of Melvin E. Swisher Jr. and Marylee H. Swisher dairy and crop farm in Unityville, to build a swine-finishing barn.
Perry County
$150,000 agriculture loan to the SEDA Council of Governments, on behalf of John B. and A. Christine Sauder, doing business as the Saudercrest Farm, to purchase 63.5 acres of pasture land in Ickesburg.
Union County
$200,000 agriculture loan to the SEDA Council of Governments, on behalf of Kenneth and Dorothy Martin layer farm, to purchase 133 acres in Mifflinburg.
York County
$200,000 agriculture loan to the Small Enterprise Development Co., on behalf of co-borrowers Belview Valley Farms and Eric Gemmill, to purchase a 101.5-acre farm in Delta.
The Private Side of Grantmakers: Tips and Tactics
By: Denise S. Schlegel, Alutiiq LLC
The private world of philanthropy is filled with resources for funding just about everything related to community, people, the environment, our world and its sustainability. Sorting through the more than 88,000 foundations in the United States to find the right match for your project may seem daunting, but the search is not as stressful as you might think. Developing a partnership and relationship with a private grantmaker can prove to be a rewarding and fulfilling adventure.
Time is the major factor in identifying the right prospect for the purpose your organization has in mind. Foundations and other grantmakers may not be able to fulfill all of your organizational needs but can play a major role as a partner in helping your organization accomplish its goals. Never make the mistake of limiting your search for the “perfect” funder. Approach your search with the basic criteria that meet your needs and an open mind for selecting several candidates for your consideration. Match your mission with the grantmaker’s mission. You must also consider what type of support you are seeking. There are grantmakers that support general operating expenses, capacity building or projects.
Grantmakers typically fund nonprofits. For government entities, this is a good opportunity to develop traditional and non-traditional partnerships within your community. You might consider schools, community groups, senior programs, environmental organizations, or health care providers, for example. This partnership will lend you the nonprofit 501 (c) 3 IRS status needed to obtain the funding desired. Grantmakers are looking for potential grantees that demonstrate a strong relationship with their community and for that reason encourage partnering.
The Foundation Center is the premier site for beginning your research on foundations. The center has the largest collection of training materials, research resources, publications and a directory. Spend time at its website to learn about foundations, how to find them and how to approach them. The center’s directory provides the most complete profiles available of all 88,000 foundations.
Once you have selected some potential funders, you will need to dig deeper to determine which of these potential candidates are best for you. There are three basic research strategies you can use to define and identify a funder. You can divide your search into subject matter, geographic approach and type of support.
Grant seekers should complete their research on a funder by looking for other sources of information, in addition to the Foundation Center directory, to round out the prospective grantmaker’s profile. These resources are websites, annual reports, 990-PF tax returns, the foundation’s own guidelines and request for proposal documents, newsletters, press releases and grant lists. The Foundation Center website will provide information on how to obtain many of the documents you need to complete your research. Please keep in mind that less than 4,000 foundations have community websites, so you’ll need to use other resources besides the Internet. Always do your homework, research and groundwork before you ever contact a potential grantmaker. It is best to send appropriate applications to the right grantmakers than to send the same concept proposal to many potential grantmakers. This can have rather tragic results as the foundation staff can usually see through this type of campaign. And they all know when you have not done your homework.
Once you have identified the right prospect, completed your research and understand how the funder wants to be contacted the first time, you need to prepare a concept paper, which is typically a “letter of interest” to the grantmaker. This letter will contain a summary of your project, identification of the target population, the costs, goals, expected outcomes and benefit of the funding partnership to the community. It is a “mini presentation” of the project you want them to fund. The grantmaker will review this letter and then contact you to either invite you to apply or to turn you down. Yes, we all get turned down at some point! Just don’t let this stop you from pursuing other potential candidates. The turn down usually does not have to do with the quality of your proposal but is more closely related to the grantmaker’s priorities for funding at that time.
The relationship that developed with the “right funder” brings many rewards to your organization and your community. There are many funders who would like to meet you and support the work you are doing for your community. But just like anything else worthwhile, it will take some effort.
For more resources, training and information, please spend some well invested time with the Foundation Center website at www.foundationcenter.org If you every have the opportunity to visit one of the Foundation Center offices, you will find a lot more information and world-class support from their staff.
Best wishes for successful funding!
TV Converter Box Coupon Program
The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has launched the TV Converter Box Coupon Program (Coupon Program), as authorized in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005. All U.S. households are eligible to request up to two coupons, worth $40 each, to be used toward the purchase of up to two, digital-to-analog converter boxes. For more information, contact http://www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/index.html
Property Tax/Rent Rebate Application Deadline December 31
Time is running out for the state’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate program. Interested individuals have until December 31 to apply to receive a rebate up to $650 based on their rent or property taxes paid in 2007. The program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians who are 65 years and older, widows and widowers 50 years or older and those who are 18 years old or older with permanent disabilities. Homeowners and renters earning up to $15,000 annually are eligible to receive between $500 and $650 in rebates while homeowners earning between $15,001 and $35,000 annually are eligible to receive $250 and $300. For more information, visit http://www.revenue.state.pa.us/ptrr/site/default.asp
Conferences and Events
November 17- 18
The Pennsylvania Wind Energy Symposium: Power for the Future, will be held at the Penn Stater Conference Center, State College, PA on November 17-18 and will explore the regional challenges and opportunities of wind energy--the fastest growing renewable electricity source in the world. This is an outreach program where economic development professionals, industry representatives, business owners, research and community groups can learn more about the wind-energy industry; key technical and development challenges in harnessing wind energy; the supply chain needs of the industry; workforce required; the role of renewable energy source in addressing the needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and more. For more information, visit www.psiee.psu.edu/windenergy/symposium.asp
November 18 – 19
2008 Homes Within Reach Conference, sponsored by the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania at the Hilton Harrisburg and Towers, Harrisburg, PA. For more information, visit www.housingalliancepa.org
December 3 – 5
National Rural Housing Conference, sponsored by the Housing Assistance Council at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. For more information, call (202) 842-8600 ext. 108 or contact hacconference2008@ruralhome.org
December 10 – 11
Natural Gas Summit, an outreach program of Penn State University, and sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Independent Oil and Gas Association of PA, Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center at Penn State Dickinson School of Law, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, and the Governor's Interagency Team on Marcellus Shale Gas at the Ramada Inn, State College, PA. For more information and registration, visit http://www.outreach.psu.edu/programs/natural-gas/index.html
January 9, 2009
Operation Ranger Program is accepting 2009 award applications for 2009 Polaris Ranger 6x6 utility vehicles for first emergency responders. Applications and all supporting materials must be postmarked by Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 to be considered. The Operation Ranger Committee will begin reviewing submitted applications in February 2009 and hopes to begin announcing award recipients in the spring. For more information on the program, please call the Operation Ranger information line at (203) 817-3368 or visit http://www.ustinc.com/corp_giving/operation.asp
January 10 – 17
2009 Pennsylvania Farm Show, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture at the Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, Harrisburg, PA. The 2009 theme – Keeping Pennsylvania Growing – sets the stage for sharing the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for all Pennsylvanians. For more information, visit www.agriculture.state.pa.us/farmshow/site/default.asp
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