In 2010, the United Way awarded $9,975 to four organizations seeking funding through its United Way Venture Grant program.  The programs/projects selected represent a broad spectrum of community needs with in United Way’s focus areas of education, income and health.

The Venture Grant program helps area nonprofit health and human service agencies and organizations get a jump-start on developing new and enhance programs.  Grants are awarded to new or one time programs within existing agencies or for new agency start-up.  Venture Grant applications are accepted and reviewed once per year.

The following programs and projects will receive United Way Venture Grant funding in 2010:

Beltrami County Health and Human Services was awarded a Venture Grant in the amount of $2,475 for Car Seat Education and Distribution.  The Venture Grant will provide 55 convertible car seats to families who are income eligible for the Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) program.  In addition, a Child Passenger Safety Technician will provide one-on-one education with physical inspection of how the child is positioned in the car seat and how the car seat is positioned in the family vehicle.  Often this appointment coincides with other services the family/child maybe receiving through the Family Health Clinic.

Bemidji Community Food Shelf was awarded a Venture Grant in the amount of $2,500 for their Electronic Record Keeping project.  The Bemidji Community Food Shelf (BCFS) is continually upgrading practices in order to comply with Hunger Solutions Minnesota’s criteria to retain its Blue Ribbon Food Shelf Status.  This status assures donors that the Food Shelf is in compliance with state recommendations for food shelves and they are a fiscally responsible organization.  With recommendation from Hunger Solutions Minnesota the Food Shelf has put together a plan to begin keeping records electronically.  As present all recording, tabulating and analyzing of the data is done by hand.  The electronic record keeping system will allow immediate access to information, analyzed data and reports.  It will allow for more accurate record keeping, tracking client usage, and eliminate any fraudulent applications, assuring fair and equitable distribution.  In addition, the system will reduce costs of the wages paid towards performing these tasks by hand.  Monies saved in wages could be used to purchase more food for clients.  The United Way Venture Grant will support a portion of the overall budget for purchasing computers, networking the computers, and developing a program that suits the needs of the Bemidji Community Food Shelf’s data collections.

Evergreen House, a multi-program youth and family service organization, was awarded a Venture Grant in the amount of $2,500 to support their Recover House After-care Coordination program.   In 2010, Evergreen House will create a strong after-care component for the 20-25 boys served each year through the Evergreen Youth Recovery House, a youth specific chemical dependency treatment program for adolescent boys.  The project will utilize a new position, a 1.0 FTE after care coordinator, who will coordinate discharge planning with the program’s licensed alcohol and drug counselors; develop a structured, individualized after-care plan for each youth specific to resources available in his home community; utilize the Youth Transition Conferencing Model in the discharge planning process to ensure that each youth’s goals and visions for his future are proactively addressed; and provide follow-up support and contact with each boy and his parents/caregivers for up to 6 months following his return home.  In addition, the project will stabilize the Bemidji Rock Sober Youth Group program by providing consistent adult facilitation for this project which benefits 35-40 community youth annually.  Majority of these youth are returning to the Bemidji area from primary treatment and need positive peer support and structured sober activities.  The United Way Venture Grant will support a portion of the overall budget for the Recovery House After-care Coordination.

Upper Mississippi Mental Health is receiving a Venture Grant in the amount of $2500 to establish a mental health resource/multi-media library.  The resource library will include updated books, workbooks, and audio/visual equipment to enhance services provided by Upper Mississippi Mental Health Center. Offering updated mental health information in a variety of formats will increase the number of therapy communication modes to better fit individual preferences and needs. Therapists can use multi-media resource library to review specific concerns with clients as a psychoeducational tool.  The educational material will also be well adapted to group counseling sessions, the expansion of which is much needed to alleviate Upper Mississippi Mental Health Center’s waiting list of clients currently in need of therapy in mental health or CD issues.

Venture Grant applications are available throughout the year and are due December 31^st of each year, with funding available the following March.   For more information about the Venture Grant process or for an application, please call the United Way office at 444-8929 or visit the agency resources page on this website.