The Alaska Mental Health Trust A

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority

November 15, 2005

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 of Alaska has openings for positions on several of its boards and commissions:

The Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee - Juvenile/Under 24/Restricted, Public/Restricted, and Public/Restricted/Local Elected Official.

Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education - Consumer/Secondary.

Advisory Board on Alcohol and Drug Abuse - Attorney.

Employment of People with Disabilities - Parent Training Representative.

For more information, call 907-465-3500 or visit www.gov.state.ak.us/boards.

The U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services is accepting letters of intent for its Underage Drinking: Building Health Care System Responses program. This is Phase I of a two-part FRA. The purpose is to solicit applications for cooperative agreements (U01s) to enable rural and small urban health care systems to become platforms for research programs on underage drinking. Approximately $2 million is available. The deadline for letters of intent is November 19. The application is due December 19. For more information, contact Tina Vanderveen at 301-443-2531 or visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AA-06-003.html.

The National Institute on Aging is accepting letters of intent for the Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award and the Mentored Research Scientist Award in the area of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias research. The goal of the award is to support the development of outstanding academic physician scientists to continue or to focus their research effort in Alzheimer's disease related to clinical practice. Approximately $1 million is available for up to six awards. The deadline is December 27. For more information, contact Creighton Phelps at 301-496-9350 or visit

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AG-06-006.html.

The Open Society is accepting letters of inquiry for its After Prison Initiative. The mission of the initiative is to work against the criminalization of race and poverty by promoting public policies and private initiatives that support successful reentry and reintegration of people returning from prison. The initiative funds advocacy, coalition building, public education, impact litigation, and policy-driven research and analysis that promote investment in community infrastructure instead of prisons. There is no deadline. For more information, contact Nicole Kief at 212-548-0600 or visit http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/focus_areas/after_prison/guidelines

The Brookdale Foundation Group is soliciting applications for its Relatives as Parents program. The program is designed to encourage and promote the creation or expansion of services for grandparents and other relatives who have taken on the responsibility of surrogate parenting due to the absence of parents. The program awards seed grants of $10,000 over a two-year period in two categories: local agencies and state public agencies. The deadline for local agencies is January 12, and the deadline for state public agencies is February 9. For more information, contact Melinda Perez-Porter at 510-540-6734 or visit http://www.brookdalefoundation.org/relativesasparents.htm.

Nonprofit Essentials: The Capital Campaign is a collection of tips, techniques, and lessons to help organizations with every aspect of a capital campaign. It discusses how an organization can evaluate itself and its leadership in advance of a campaign, and offers insights into how everyone in an organization, not just the development staff, will be affected by the campaign's demands and by its success or failure. The book also offers tips for reevaluating the campaign and reaching out to women, minorities, and first-time donors. The cost is $35. For more information, call 877-762-2974 or visit www.wiley.com.

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust provides funding in a variety of areas including health and human services. They fund projects and programs designed to enhance quality of life, with an emphasis on youth. There is no deadline. For more information, contact Dr. John Van Zytveld at 503-285-4086 or visit www.murdock-trust.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:

November 15 - 10:00 to 2:00, Rules of Advocacy, Homer

November 15 - 3:00 to 7:00, Nonprofit Business Planning, Homer

November 16 - 11:00 to 1:00, Making the "Ask" and Stewardship, Anchorage

November 16 - 11:00 to 3:00, Public Relations for Nonprofits, Fairbanks

November 17 - 1:00 to 5:00, Nonprofit Business Planning, Anchorage

November 17 - 11:00 to 1:00, Evaluating Executive Performance, Fairbanks

November 17 - 5:00 to 7:00, Hiring Nonprofit Leadership, Fairbanks

November 18 - 9:00 to 1:00, Nonprofit Business Planning, Bethel

November 18 - 3:00 to 5:00, Board Roles and Responsibilities, Bethel

November 22 - 6:00 to 8:00, High Performing Boards, Anchorage

November 29 - 1:00 to 5:00, Writing a Fund Development Plan, Homer

November 30 - 8:30 to 10:30, Effective Board Leadership, Anchorage

December 1 - 11:00 to 3:00, Public Relations for Nonprofits, Juneau

December 1 - 4:00 to 6:00, Effective Board Communication, Juneau

December 1 - 11:00 to 1:00, The Basics of Raising Money, Fairbanks

December 1 - 2:00 to 4:00, Building Relationships for Sustainable Income, Fairbanks

December 1 - 5:00 to 7:00, Making the "Ask" and Stewardship, Fairbanks

December 1 - 12:00 to 4:00, Nonprofit Business Planning, Palmer

December 5 - 11:00 to 1:00, Budgeting for Nonprofits, Valdez

December 5 - 3:00 to 5:00, Understanding Financial Statements, Valdez

December 6 - 6:00 to 8:00, Board Roles and Responsibilities, Fairbanks

December 8 - 6:00 to 8:00, High Performing Boards, Fairbanks

December 13 - 11:00 to 1:00, Planning for Endowments, Wills and Estates, Anchorage

December 13 - 6:00 to 8:00, Effective Board Leadership, Fairbanks

December 15 - 11:00 to 1:00, Board Roles and Responsibilities, Kenai

December 15 - 3:00 to 5:00, High Performing Boards, Kenai

December 15 - 6:00 to 8:00, Effective Board Leadership, Kenai

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 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 deadlines are June 1, October 1, and February 1. For more information, call 907-269-7960 or visit 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 at 907-222-5424 or thea@agnewbeck.com.