The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority

January 1, 2006

Welcome to this List Serv sponsored by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, Rural Funding Coordination Project.  These messages provide information about current government and private grants, conference and training opportunities, publications, and potential funding sources, with an emphasis on rural Alaska.

The State Division of Behavioral Health, Treatment and Recovery Section is soliciting applications for its Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority (AMHTA) Mini Grants.  The Mini Grants are an important component of a system delivering "client centered" services to promote recovery and stability.  Requests must be made on behalf of Beneficiaries who qualify as a "chronic alcoholic with psychosis and/or a seriously mentally ill adult."  Awards will be granted to applicant agencies on behalf of identified Beneficiaries, and will not exceed $3,500 per Beneficiary.  The deadline is March 3.  For more information, contact Elizabeth Clement at 907-465-3370 or visit

http://notes4.state.ak.us/pn/pubnotic.nsf/PNByDeptActive?OpenView&Start=1&Count=30&Expand=8.2#8.2.

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority is accepting proposals for its Small Projects Funding program.  The program is designed to create new services of direct benefit to Trust beneficiaries.  These services are not normally funded by another part of government.  They can be innovative, new program ideas, or substantially improve and supplement existing activities.  They can also significantly increase the quality of ongoing projects.  Each small project is limited to a maximum of $10,000.  The intent is to spend one-half of the Small Projects Fund ($250,000 yearly) on projects that serve beneficiaries in rural areas.  The next deadline is February 1.  For more information, call 907-269-7960 or visit www.mhtrust.org.

The State Department of Health and Social Services is accepting proposals for its Bring the Kids Home Program.  Approximately $674,000 is available for Group Home Development and Therapeutic Foster Home Improvement capital funds for organizations serving severely emotionally disturbed (SED) children and youth.  Only applicants receiving funding from the Bring the Kids Home: Community Based Capacity Enhancements operating grant program may apply.  The deadline is February 6.  A pre-proposal teleconference will be held on January 12, and the notice of intent to apply is due on January 20.  For more information, contact Larry McBride at 907-465-1873 or visit http://notes4.state.ak.us/pn/pubnotic.nsf/PNByDeptActive?OpenView&Start=1&Count=30&Expand=8.2#8.2.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration is accepting applications for its Small Scientific Conference Grants.  These grants support scientific meetings and conferences designed to coordinate, exchange, and disseminate information when the objectives are clearly within the scope of the agency's mission.  FDA's policy is to participate with other organizations to support meetings where practicable, rather than provide sole support.  The deadline is January 15.  For more information, contact Tya Marks at 301-827-7101 or visit http://www.fda.gov/oc/ofacs/grants.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is accepting proposals for its Model State-Supported Area Health Education Centers.  The goal of the program is to improve the distribution, diversity, and quality of health personnel in the health delivery system.  The grant also assists schools in planning, developing, and operating area health education centers that will initiate educational systems incentives to attract and retain health care personnel in scarcity areas.  Approximately $5.5 million is available for about 13 awards.  The deadline is January 23.  For more information, contact Norma Hatot at 301-443-2681 or click on health professions at https://grants.hrsa.gov/webexternal/fundingOpp.asp.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is accepting proposals for its Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative.  A maximum of seven grants of up to $300,000 each over two years will support interdisciplinary teams that will study the quality of care provided at hospitals.  The deadline is January 13.  For more information, call 301-571-8161 or visit http://www.inqri.org.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is soliciting applications for its Executive Nurse Fellowships.  Approximately 20 fellowships will be available.  The fellow's employer must also contribute either cash or non-cash support.  The deadline is February 1.  For more information, contact Summer Reilly at 415-502-6451 or visit http://www.futurehealth.ucsf.edu/rwj.html.

The General Mills Foundation is soliciting proposals for its Champions for Healthy Kids program.  The goal of the program is to encourage communities in the United States to improve the eating and physical activity patterns of young people, ages 2 to 20.  The deadline is February 1.  For more information, contact Elisabeth Puga at 312-899-4803 or visit

http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/commitment/champions.aspx.

The Elihu Foundation is dedicated to the empowerment of women, minorities, and Alaskan Natives through advocacy, social relief, and economic development.  They focus on human service organizations that provide health care, family planning, vocational training, drug and alcohol counseling, food pantry services, shelter, and support for the homeless and abused, and nutritional education.  Applications are accepted between February 1 and June 1.  For more information, contact John Egan at 312-558-8346.

A Funder's Guide to Evaluation: Leveraging Evaluation to Improve Nonprofit Effectiveness demonstrates how a growing number of nonprofit organizations are using evaluations to strengthen their effectiveness and advance their missions.  The book recommends seven steps for organizations to take in adopting this approach, including educating board and staff members about the process, analyzing existing evaluation efforts, and choosing among different assessment approaches based on available resources.  The book also includes worksheets and other tools to help groups use the evaluative learning approach.  The cost is $41.95.  For more information, call 800-274-6024 or visit http://www.fieldstonealliance.org.

The Foraker Group is dedicated to assisting nonprofits strengthen their organizations in a variety of ways, including board and staff trainings.  Below is a list of the upcoming trainings:

January 9 - 11:00 to 1:00, Board Roles and Responsibilities, Anchorage

January 11 - 9:00 to 11:00, Volunteers and Special Events I, Anchorage

January 11 - 12:00 to 2:00, Volunteers and Special Events II, Anchorage

January 17 - 12:00 to 2:00, Budgeting for Nonprofits, Kodiak

January 17 - 2:30 to 4:30, Nonprofit Finance, Kodiak

January 18 - 1:00 to 5:00, Developing a Volunteer Program, Anchorage

January 23 - 8:30 to 10:30, Board Roles and Responsibilities, Sitka

January 23 - 11:00 to 1:00, High Performing Boards, Sitka

January 23 - 1:30 to 5:30, Business Planning for Nonprofits, Sitka

January 24 - 9:00 to 11:00, The Basics of Raising Money, Anchorage

In addition to community trainings, Foraker offers specialized trainings to organizations.  For more information, contact Laurie Wolf at 907-743-1206 or visit www.forakergroup.org.

The beneficiaries of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority include those Alaskans experiencing mental illness; developmental disabilities; chronic alcoholism; Alzheimer's disease or related disorders.  You can learn more about the Trust at www.mhtrust.org.

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority funds The Foraker Group to offer free technical assistance to those organizations that provide services for Trust beneficiaries in rural areas.  For more information, contact Thea Agnew thea@agnewbeck.com or Beth McLaughlin at beth@agnewbeck.com.  They can both be reached at 907-222-5424.