Fresh Loaf

Matchstic, a marketing firm based near Ormewood Park, and a few other partners are offering about $80,000 in services to the winning nonprofit that applies. The deadline is March 23, and surprisingly, the application isn’t filled with questions that most fledgling nonprofits won’t be able to answer. The “prize” includes a new logo, Web site design and development, promotional print materials (and the copy writing and actual printing services) and some help with strategy and brand positioning.

It’s true the “On the House” campaign will probably benefit the providers, too, but there’s no harm in supporting a community organization in the process, right? Last year’s winner was City Church Eastside.

Bookmark It

If you work at a Fulton County nonprofit, here’s an opportunity for you.

December 29, 2008 — Atlanta, GA — The Fulton County Human Services Department, Office of Grants and Community Partnerships has announced the release of the 2009-2010 F.R.E.S.H. and Human Services Grant Applications for Fulton non-profits this month. Each year, non-profit service providers from across the County are selected for grant funding in six key funding areas: Aging, Children and Youth, Disability Affairs, Employment, Homelessness and HIV/AIDS.

Past grant recipients have included: AIDS Survival Project, Atlanta Union Mission, Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, CHRIS Kids, Hands on Atlanta, Latin American Association, Project Open Hand, Senior Citizen Services of Metropolitan Atlanta, Partnership Against Domestic Violence and more. Each year over 200 Fulton County non-profits are selected for grant funding totaling nearly $6.5 million.

NEW THIS YEAR: Grant applications are available for online submission. However, all new grant applicants must contact Fulton County to obtain access to the online application. Past grant recipients have already received access to the online application. To obtain your official Grant Application Instruction Manual and access to the online application please contact (404) 730-7944 or email [here]. The application deadline is February 13, 2009 at 3:00 p.m.

Absolutely no applications will be accepted after the deadline; no exceptions.

Bookmark It

StoryCorps — the independent nonprofit that’s recorded the stories of more than 40,000 people — is celebrating the first annual “National Day of Listening” today.

This holiday season, ask the people around you about their lives — it could be your grandmother, a teacher, or someone from the neighborhood. By listening to their stories, you will be telling them that they matter and they won’t ever be forgotten. It may be the most meaningful time you spend this year.

It’s warm and fuzzy and will get you into heaven. But it’s also a great idea. I talked to my grandmother last night on the phone and she told me about the prejudice she faced as a young German immigrant in New York City. That and that “everything’s going to get worse, Thomas.” Love ya, nanny!

For more info about “National Day of Listening,” visit the site. They’ve got a do-it-yourself kit posted as well as a guideline.

Bookmark It

The state Attorney General’s Office filed suit today against Atlanta Councilman H. Lamar Willis, alleging that he sought and received donations for a scholarship fund in his name without first creating a nonprofit. State law mandates that charitable organizations must be registered with the Georgia Secretary of State before soliciting contributions.

The lawsuit also alleges that Willis failed to seek nonprofit-status with the IRS, according to a press release from the AG’s office:

[T]he fund, known as the H. Lamar Willis Scholarship Foundation, held itself out to the public and to donors as a charitable organization, and the foundation’s website maintained that donations to the foundation were tax-deductible because the foundation had been approved by the IRS as a charitable organization.  The suit alleges that Willis never obtained IRS approval for his foundation as a charitable organization.

According to the press release, the lawsuit claims that Willis “transferred funds from the foundation’s account to both his personal as well as his campaign account.  The lawsuit also alleges that Willis made cash withdrawals from the foundation account.”

The state is seeking an injunction that would prevent Willis from continuing to operate the foundation, and to turn over all donations the foundation has received.

Bookmark It