Funders' Forum 2010

by
Maryann Miller

Billed as a conference to "Bring Funding Solutions to Rural Problems, the 9th Annual Funders' Forum was held in Winnsboro from June 2 through the 4th. It brought federal and state agencies and private foundations together with non-profit organizations and community leaders to assist in grant writing and fund-raising for programs and projects. The Forum was started by A Circle of Ten, a non-profit corporation that emphasizes a Network for Collaboration. In that spirit of collaboration, staff and volunteers from Circle of Ten have worked with Shane Shepard and the City of Winnsboro to organize the forum.

There were a number of volunteers from city offices, local businesses and organizations who helped with all the tasks that keep a conference going throughout the three days. "The logistics of registering and feeding and directing this many people can be overwhelming," says Kathy Holdway, President of A Circle of 10. "We have a small staff and some great volunteers, but we needed a lot of help from Winnsboro and people stepped up."

Kathy is pictured here with just a few of the Winnsboro people who helped in many ways; giving presentations, hosting, moderating panels, and making sure people were comfortable. (L-R: Winnsboro Mayor, Carolyn Jones; Gus Gustafson, Community Liaison for the City of Winnsboro, Becky Pickett, President of the Board of Winnsboro Center For The Arts, Shane Shepard, Winnsboro Economic Development, Kathy Holdway.)

The three-day event included presentations, panels, and one-on-one consultations with the funders to address specific needs of a non-profit or a small business. The value of this type of networking opportunity is considerable, according to Gary Allen, (R) of Workforce Solutions, who has been at every Forum since the program started. "It is a great opportunity to meet individuals and find ways to help them," he says.

Workforce Solutions offers a number of services to businesses related to employees, as well as services to individuals who are looking for work. "We do our best to put the two together," Gary says. "We pay for training and we offer child-care services to job seekers."

There were two representatives from the US Department of Agriculture-Rural Development. Don Williams, (on right) Community Development Specialist who offices in Mt. Pleasant, and John Milligan, Area Specialist. John works out of a Canton office, but his home is in Winnsboro.

The men have been business associates for seven years and have collaborated on some projects, as well as doing individual ones. Don has worked on a lot of water distribution projects for East Texas and was just named as the Renewable Energy Coordinator.

John, whom many area folks will recognize from theatre productions at the Winnsboro Center For the Arts, most notably, Scrooge, is pleased about the possibility of the Art Center receiving a Community Facilities Grant. He is not handling the grant - it is being handled by Denise Bentley and then the State office - but "as a community member and actor, I do have hopes," he says. "But as a USDA representative I have no official opinion."

If approved, the grant would be for renovating and restoring the building housing the Art Center at 200 Market Street, as well as the adjoining building. Winnsboro VISTA worker, Phyllis Martin wrote the grant and is finishing up the application process.

John's responsibilities center around multifamily and single family housing, as well as housing preservation and he is excited about the next faze of grants for housing through Community Services, Inc. "They provide low-income housing," John says. "And that augments some of our home project we do every year."

One of the highlights of the conference was the dinner that was provided by Northeast Texas Community College at their restaurant "Our Place" in Pittsburg. This is a lovely renovated building that is used for special events, such as the Funders' Dinner, and the delicious catfish dinner was prepared and served by students in the Culinary Arts department. Entertainment was provided by Winnsboro's own, KMG, a trio featuring Mia Tallant, Kevin Tinney, and Gus Gustafson.

To start the evening, Dr. Brad Johnson, President of Northeast Community College welcomed everyone, then he introduced Winnsboro Mayor Carolyn Jones, who officially welcomed everyone to Winnsboro. She shared a great story about a friend who told her in 1988 that Winnsboro would never prosper, and would probably not even exist in 20 years. "I am so glad my friend was wrong," Carolyn said. "And the success that Winnsboro has today is because of the dedication of city staff, council members, and community supporters who have worked so hard to bring new business and new life into our city."

During the forum, a number of the presenters geared their talks specifically to the East Texas area. Courtney Groves, Manager, Public & Legislative Affairs for OneStar Foundation said, "Part of our reason for coming here is to find ways to bring our services and programs to rural areas."

OneStar Foundation: Texas Center for Social Impact is a statewide nonprofit that works to improve the nonprofit industry so it can more effectively serve Texans. It provides nonprofits across the state access to high quality learning opportunities and grants related to leadership development, nonprofit business practices, social impact, social innovation and more. Information about services, support, and grant opportunities can be found on their Web site.

Courtney outlined several programs available through OneStar and was especially enthused about Impact Texas, an intense training seminar for CEOs and Executive Directors. "We help them learn how to motivate staff and volunteers," she said. "How do you influence people as opposed to telling them to do something?"

Tim Wilson, Director of Small Business Development for Northeast Texas, is currently based in Texarkana, and his associate, Beverly Austin, is based at Northeast Texas Community College. He will be moving from the Texarkana office to the NETCC site as of October 1, 2010, and he would like to open a satellite office in Winnsboro. "I've been here before," he said. "We did a seminar for small businesses here a couple of years ago and it was well attended. In fact, I remember Conrad Wolfman came to the seminar because he was thinking about opening a retail store. And now he has his place on Main Street."

Tim is looking forward to the possibility of having the satellite office in Winnsboro and has already talked to Shane Shepard to get the project moving. "I love this town," he said. "I would like to get a counselor here to provide one-on-one counseling to business owners. We would also have a library of resources, such as business plans, for people to take advantage of."

There were 37 funders/presenters in all, and only a few of them were familiar with Winnsboro before they came to the Forum, but all of them were quite taken with our little town. They enjoyed the hospitality of the restaurants, the local B&B's, as well as other local sites, and raved about the good food and friendly service. Sonya Hosey stayed at the Double S Ranch and was thrilled with her first experience to be so far out in the country. "It was so beautiful out there," she said. "When I was looking for a place to stay, I found them Online, but I wasn't sure about staying on a ranch. But I loved it."

When the conference ended Friday at noon, Kathy Holdway took a moment to sit down and give a quick assessment of how the Forum went. She is a woman of boundless energy and never-ending optimism, so she didn't even appear tired at the end of three grueling days that had been preceded by weeks of planning and organizing. She was quick, however, to credit her staff and volunteers for all the success, as well as all the volunteers from Winnsboro.

"We simply could not have done this without all the volunteers," she said. "But we could use even more."

(Kathy is pictured here on the right with Carol Berger, who was named 2010 Volunteer of the Year by Circle 10 at the Funders' Dinner on Wednesday.)

Kathy said they normally hold the Forum in the same city two years in a row, and she is hoping to come back to Winnsboro next year. "What I'm asking myself is how can we better serve Winnsboro," she said. "How does our mission and services match the future growth of the city. Collaborations are necessary and we are stronger because of it."

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This type of conference is of great benefit for non-profit organizations and businesses that want to learn how to access more money for their projects and programs. A vital resource recommended by a number of presenters is the Web site grants.gov It is a starting point for finding out what government entities have funding opportunities and how to apply for them.

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