PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With so many event cancellations and closures due to COVID-19 over the last year, Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce recognizes the hardships placed on many of our area’s non-profits.
Although there is pandemic relief funding still available, some organizations have not taken advantage of these opportunities due to lack or perceived lack of grant writing experience.
As such, CACC is partnering with Presque Isle Historical Society to bring a comprehensive but affordable grant-writing workshop to the area. The workshop is being offered via Zoom and is only $75 per person. LaNiece Sirois, executive director of the Chamber said, “It is important to provide training at an affordable price in these challenging financial times. However, the low cost of the workshop definitely does not speak to the quality of knowledge participants will gain.”
The workshop is being taught by Presque Isle Historical Society’s Kimberly Smith. Smith, who has been writing grants and offering grant workshops for over 20 years, is also the resource development officer (grant writer) for the City of Presque Isle. Smith gained her experience in the grant arena by serving as executive director for four non-profits, one of which was a grant making foundation. She holds a master’s in business administration from Husson University and a diploma in non-profit management from Shenandoah University in Virginia.
The workshop is open to anyone interested in learning to write grants – whether as a new skill to add to a resume or as a staff member or volunteer of a non-profit organization. Topics covered include: terminology, documents needed, who gives grants and where to search, types of research one should do, elevator speeches, logic models, components of a grant application, writing a goal or objective, preparing a budget, letters of inquiry and what happens after you have been notified of award or denial.
The grant-writing workshop will be held on Saturday, April 3 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and includes a question & answer session. Proceeds of the workshop will benefit the historical society. The deadline to register is March 31. To sign up for the workshop, go to https://www.cognitoforms.com/CentralAroostookChamberOfCommerce/GrantWritingSeminar, contact the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce by phone at 207-764-6561, by email at info@centralaroostookchamber.com or visit the event’s Facebook page at http://bit.ly/ChamberGrantSeminar.
