Good morning #ChamberWorld! It's going to be a great day!
Request for Proposals process open through August 6
CONCORD, N.C. – Cabarrus County is dedicating a portion of more than $42 million received in American Rescue Plan Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to help local for-profit and non-profit agencies based in or serving Cabarrus County.
The funding is available to meet a variety of local needs, including support for households, small businesses, impacted industries, essential workers and communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis.
To make the best use of the funds, the County is calling on local for-profit and non-profit agencies to submit proposals for projects aligned to the acceptable uses, which include:
Stabilizing businesses or organizations
Providing job training
Continuing with delayed initiatives
Assisting households with food and shelter
Delivering crisis intervention services
Supporting mental and physical health
Making improvements to help prevent and eliminate COVID-19
And more
Deputy County Manager Rodney Harris believes the flexibility of the grants will encourage businesses and non-profits to apply.
“This is an investment in the people who kept Cabarrus open,” Harris said. “Applicants can customize their request to meet a tailored business or community need. We’ll consider any project that aligns with the requirements. This opportunity is a pathway to recovery for our community.”
About the RFP process
Local administration of the plan includes a Request for Proposals (RFP) process. The proposal deadline is August 6, 2021 at 5 p.m.
County staff will evaluate the proposals based on:
Qualifications, experience and approach
Alignment to the County’s strategic priorities
Ability to comply with County/federal requirements
Ability to comply with County contracting requirements
The County will host a virtual pre-proposal conference (information session) on Wednesday, July 14, 9 to 11 a.m. through Microsoft Teams. The session is not mandatory, but all interested organizations are encouraged to attend. A recording of the pre-proposal conference will be posted after the event.
From July 14 to 21, organizations can submit questions for additional clarity.
View the official Request for Proposals and learn more on the County’s website, cabarruscounty.us/CRG.
Other local economic assistance
The Cabarrus Recovery Grants are one of many County efforts to help stabilize the local economy.
In March, the County announced it received $6.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Treasury to support households with financial hardship due to COVID-19. The County’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) offers payment of overdue rent and utilities dating back to March of 2020. Households must demonstrate need, including financial housing and utility verification.
So far, applicants have requested more than $5.5 million in ERAP funds. The County is working to address the influx of applications and encourages applicants to thoroughly review documentation requirements before submitting their requests.
To apply or learn more about ERAP, visit erap.cabarruscounty.us. Paper applications are available at each branch of the Cabarrus County Public Library.
In November 2020, Cabarrus County awarded more than $1 million in Nonprofit Resiliency Grants to 32 local agencies that helped stabilize the community during the pandemic. These grants help maintain and expand educational opportunities; address health and wellness challenges; provide food assistance; and support housing needs and assist with other household expenses. Money for the grants came indirectly from North Carolina Coronavirus Relief Funds.
Best Regards,
Barbi Jones
Executive Director
OK, here is the dilemma: Board members have a
set of expectations about what their board service looks like and the staff has
a different set of expectations. Is it any wonder that this can result in
frustration and confusion that can lead to missed opportunities for your
chamber?
Set High Standards
Like many nonprofits, chambers are often so
desperate to find board members that they soften their high expectations for
board standards, merely encouraging potential volunteers to “attend some
meetings and help out wherever you can.” This is simply not effective in these
days of dwindling volunteer resources. Your chamber is too important to
accept just any volunteer whose breath fogs the mirror! Instead, set high
standards for chamber board membership with clearly defined expectations for
time, talent and treasure. Put it in writing and hold volunteers accountable.
Clarify Expectations
and Reduce Confusion
The most important tool for recruiting
effective board members is a job description. Use this tool to clearly
define your expectations for board members. Include requirements for attendance
at regular meetings and special events, service on board committees, annual
financial commitments, governance and fiduciary responsibilities. Use the
job description as an interview tool for all potential board volunteers. Post
it on your web site so that everyone can see what it means to serve. In any
membership association, there is the perception that one must be a part
of the “In Crowd” to be offered a leadership opportunity.
Build a packet of information for all
potential board volunteers. Include basic and general information about
the chamber including mission and purpose, board roster, board operating
structure, bylaws, financials, D&O insurance coverage and whatever else is
important for a prospective board member to help him/her make an informed
decision about joining your board.
Strengthen the
Nominating Committee
When several different people recruit board
members it can lead to conflicting expectations. Make the most of your
nominating committee by setting it as a standing committee in your
bylaws. This committee is perhaps the most important standing committee
of your board for it holds the keys to future leadership.
Set a policy that the nominating committee is
chaired either by the chair-elect, the past chair or a senior member of the
board. I’d suggest that you include at-large Chamber members on the committee
to broaden and deepen your reach. Include the Chamber Executive as a non-voting
member.
The nominating committee should work
year-round, starting immediately after the annual meeting to prepare the next
slate. First, the committee identifies WHAT skills are needed to
strengthen the board, noting terms of current members. Then, it
identifies WHO are potential people who can fill those skills, building a plan
to get potential volunteers involved. Working so far in advance allows
you to involve potential board members in committees to see if it is a good fit
for the organization and the volunteer.
Orientation is a Must
It is unfair to expect new board volunteers to
figure things out as they go along. It is irresponsible to ask new
members to vote on things they don’t understand. Set up formal board
orientation for all new members, preferably before their first board meeting.
Include review of bylaws, financials and the strategic plan. Update new
members on any key issues facing the board’s decision-making. Review
expectations for time and money.
Make it an Honor and
a Privilege
Indeed. Make it an honor and a privilege
to serve on your board. Your chamber’s mission is too important to recruit and
accept less than the best.
Now that You’ve Got
Them, You’ve Got to Keep them!
If you have worked hard and long to recruit
effective and committed board members, it is important to focus on keeping them
fully engaged until their terms expire.
Annual Commitment
Letter
Although volunteers sign on with the intention
of staying totally involved, their lives can change and focus in other
directions. What you don’t want is one or more distracted, uninvolved and
unproductive volunteers sitting on the board! I recommend annual
commitment letters.
Develop a commitment letter that restates the
requirements in your board member job description. Include a blank space
for the volunteer to commit to a specific financial level. Most important
is a paragraph that says “If at any time I cannot fulfill the requirements of
serving on this Board of Directors, I will give immediate notice of my
resignation to the Chair of the Board.”
Ask every board member to review the
commitment annually and sign the letter. Then, if a volunteer has not
fulfilled the commitments, the Chair can discuss options with the board member,
either to get involved or step down until he or she can.
Get Organized with
Committees
Effective board members expect effective board
management. This expectation requires the board to operate in a manner
that respects board volunteers’ time and talent.
Board committees should have annual plans of
work, based on the Chamber’s strategic plan. Board committees should be chaired
by a member of the board with particular talent and skill for that committee’s
scope and should include at-large members from the chamber membership to spread
the work around.
Hold Effective
Meetings
Respect volunteer time. Expect board
members to come to meetings prepared to do business. Send a packet before
the meeting with agenda, financial report, minutes and any attachments that
require board action. Start and end meetings on time. Delegate committee
discussions to the appropriate committee.
Annual Planning
We have to remember that board members are
volunteers with lives outside the chamber. It is critical that you
have an annual plan of work for the board so members can stay focused. An
annual planning retreat allows board and key staff to work together to identify
and establish priorities and develop the plans to achieve change. The
retreat should include opportunities for fun and team building and should
result in a plan of work for the coming year with accountability and time
lines.
You Get What You
Accept and What You Reward!
Set and keep high standards for board
performance. If it is OK for some members to attend meetings irregularly,
then why should others make an effort to come to every one? Or if a few make an
annual contribution and others don’t, why should some carry the financial
burden for others?
Thank You, Gracias,
Danke, Merci
Simply handing out annual volunteer
appreciation certificates to every board member regardless of their performance
may be the easiest way, but it is perhaps the least effective way to recognize
volunteer performance. It assumes that one-size-fits-all and that is
rarely the case. Recognizing outstanding performance is important to keep the
performance bar high. Thanking must be timely and it must be meaningful.
Don’t wait until the annual meeting to thank
all board members in the same manner. Find creative and meaningful ways to
recognize high performers throughout the year as their performance warrants
it. Visible recognition of achievement as it happens reminds all board
volunteers of their commitment to the chamber.
But What About the
Great Board Member Whose Term Has Expired?
We’d like to keep some board members forever
and ever, but it is important to treat all volunteers consistently. You
don’t have to lose those wonderful volunteers when their term expires,
however. Create an Advisory Board or and Emeritus Board that allows your
outstanding board volunteers to remain active in the organization. Find a
special honorary position as Board Advisor, for example, to recognize his or
her extraordinary commitment.
Summary
Effective recruitment, retention and
recognition techniques = effective board members. Set and keep high
expectations for board performance and hold volunteers accountable for
achievement of goals.
Jean Block began her nonprofit career at age
13 in a little college town in Ohio, when she organized her first fundraiser
and was hooked on bringing volunteers together to create and support change at
the grass roots level. In the 50+ years since then, Jean has served as both
board and staff leader for local, regional and national nonprofits. She
incorporated Jean Block Consulting in 1996 and is now a nationally recognized
speaker, trainer and consultant on nonprofit management, board development and
governance, FUNdraising and social enterprise. She is the author of four books.
5 local Brookhaven MS banks receive grants to invest in communities
Bank of Brookhaven is one of five banks in the area to receive a grant of $1.82 million dollars recently.
The grants — intended to spur more private-sector investments in local communities — are part of the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Rapid Response Program, funded through the FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
Community Development Financial Institutions are private financial institutions dedicated to delivering responsible, affordable lending to help low-income, low-wealth and other disadvantaged people and communities join the economic mainstream. As CDFIs, Bank of Brookhaven, BankPlus, Pike National Bank, First Bank and Bank of Franklin — along with 47 other institutions across Mississippi — each received an equal grant, meaning more than $9 million has been invested through grants into the Lincoln County area, and $94.96 million across the state.
“In real terms, it means their having more capital on hand to help businesses and community facilities remain viable as we rebuild after a very difficult economic year,” said Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, of Brookhaven.
Federal studies have shown that for every dollar injected into a CDFI, it injects eight more dollars into the private sector, Bank of Brookhaven CEO Robb Massengill said.
“They have placed funds into these CDFIs that will help with lending, to support operational activities that have had to be invested in as a result of COVID, and that can help build capital,” Massengill said. “What we do best is lend money and we will continue to do that.”
The bank has recently lent monies that have shown investment in the community, he said, like construction of a new spec building in the Linbrook Industrial Park and the 48-home Mill Creek subdivision on South First Street.
“It would mean new lending opportunities in a couple of areas, for capital purposes and operational purposes,” said Massengill.
“The Rapid Response Program will allow these financial institutions in Mississippi to withstand the stresses of the pandemic and provide flexibility to support more private-sector investments in rural and under-served communities,” said Hyde-Smith, the ranking member of the Senate Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee.
“We at the Chamber are excited that our local banks, including our home-owned bank, have received these monies,” said Garrick Combs, executive director of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce and Lincoln County Economic Development Alliance. “It’s our hope that as we continue to recover from the past year-and-a-half that these funds will be reinvested in our community and hopefully with our Chamber members.” Read more: Daily Leader
Trip on a Tankful: Charles City Whitewater offers fun for people of all abilities
Iowa’s first whitewater park opened in downtown Charles City on the Cedar River 10 years ago, offering one of many reasons to make the trip to northern Iowa.
Ginger Williams, Tourism Coordinator for the Charles City Area Chamber of Commerce, describes why it’s so popular:
“There are three features offering whitewater fun at multiple levels for river enthusiasts of all abilities.” She adds that it produces arguably the “best river wave in the Midwest.”
The first feature is the signature Dam Drop, with glassy waves for surfing and a foam pile just right for beginner and intermediate freestyle paddlers. Doc’s Drop is for advanced paddlers and is utilized in national level competitions. Featuring an aggressive freestyle hole, Doc’s Drop allows for aerial moves. The last feature is Exit Exam, well suited for front surfing and beginner to immediate surfing and freestyle moves.
Charles City Whitewater doesn’t just offer one or two options for enjoying the rapids, though.
“From tubing, wading, swimming to river surfing and freestyle kayaking, all family members can find something to fit their skills and interests,” says Williams. Read more: Des Moines Register
