SHAHEEN ANNOUNCES $250,000 FOR THE NEW HAMPSHIRE CENTER FOR NONPROFITS

(Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen announced today that the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits has been awarded $250,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) Strengthening Communities Grant program.

"During these challenging economic times, even long-established groups cannot maintain services without engaging in strategic planning," said Shaheen.  "This funding will allow the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits to aid organizations that provide assistance to low-income families, including job training and counseling, so that people who need help are able to continue to get it as our economy recovers."

This funding will allow the Center, partnering with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Endowment for Health, to assist dozens of large and small nonprofits in the Greater Nashua and Concord with fundraising, grant development, businesses planning and community outreach.  Nonprofit organizations in New Hampshire have been hard-hit in this economic recession, and this grant will help them continue offering critical services to people in New Hampshire while also planning to stay viable in the future.

In June, Shaheen wrote to the Administration for Children & Families in support of the Center's application. The full text of the letter follows:

June 29, 2009

Mr. Curtis L. Coy
Acting Assistant Secretary
Administration For Children & Families
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447

Dear Mr. Coy,

I am writing to express my strong support for the Strengthening Communities Grant application submitted by the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits for $250,000 to fund capacity building programs for New Hampshire nonprofit organizations.

For more than 20 years, The Center has worked to strengthen the effectiveness of New Hampshire nonprofits.  In this application, The Center is partnering with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Endowment for Health to bolster the state's nonprofit sector at a time when demand for services has increased significantly.  Despite the recession's dramatic effect on endowments and annual budgets, these applicants have developed a plan to accelerate the recovery of the nonprofit community.

This grant will allow The Center to help large and small nonprofits in the Greater Nashua and Concord areas build capacity and deliver a broad range of services to help low-income families.  Organizations that will benefit have a long history of providing job training and counseling services to those in need.  In the midst of recession, however, even long-established groups cannot maintain services without engaging in strategic planning.  Funding will allow The Center to assist dozens of nonprofit groups with fundraising and grant development, business planning and community outreach.  This capacity building will create sustainable organizations and improve the services to families across the state.

I was proud to support the provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that have expanded the resources available to rebuild our nonprofit sector and help low-income families weather the storm of this economic recession.  Nonprofit organizations throughout New Hampshire need additional resources to meet new demand, and I am pleased to support their efforts.

I fully support the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits' application and urge your careful consideration of this worthy project. 

Sincerely,

Jeanne Shaheen
United States Senator