At the urgings of United Way Agency Council members, St. Mary’s County Library Director Kathleen Reif and Lexington Park Branch Manager Terri Tresp sought to build a Grantseeker’s Resource Center within the county. Tresp was instrumental in the process, collecting an array of statistics and preparing a packet for the opportunity to host a cooperating collection of the Foundation Center.
Non-profit groups, college students and others can utilize the Lexington Park Library’s public computers to access a wealth of grant related information or find reference texts on the shelf.
“Having this collection in your backyard makes grant programs easier to access,” said Tresp. She commented that with budgets tight, many groups are seeking to supplement with foundation or corporate grant funding.
Church groups, community support groups and even individuals can visit two databases, narrowing down their search and collecting information on how to connect with available corporate and private giving for their specific purposes. Students, artists, researchers and church groups can take advantage of the resource and potentially connect with the funds they need.
The Three Oaks Center, CareNet and Christmas in April were among many local organizations that offered letters of support and hope to benefit from the resource.
During an August 18 meeting, Reif and Tresp invited United Way Agency Council members to attend an upcoming training session led by Andrea Snyder, Manager of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library Non-profit Resource Center. Tresp said, “It’s really more than just getting money… the Foundation also focuses on managing non-profits, getting better fundraising results, writing winning proposals and becoming skilled in the grant-seeking process.”
Tresp explained that, surprisingly, statistics show that giving is up, with more than 92,000 foundations offering funding. Good news for many local government agencies and community-based non-profits hit hard by county and state cuts while facing a greater public need.
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