Flathead Valley Community College, the Flathead Business Expansion and Retention (BEAR) Program and the Flathead Nonprofit Development Partnership will join in a collective approach to address nonprofit capacity issues in the region. Beginning this month, the partnering organizations will conduct a needs assessment of approximately 175 nonprofits headquartered in Flathead County.
The results of the assessment will be used by FVCC Continuing Education Center and the Flathead Nonprofit Development Partnership to develop curriculum around the top four issues hindering nonprofit operations and capacity building. In addition, the data will be shared with foundations focused on awarding capacity-building grants.
“We are pleased to embark on this project,” stated Susie Burch, executive director, economic development and continuing education at Flathead Valley Community College. “It’s a means to support and train our entire community of vital nonprofit organizations and their employees.”
The Applied Materials Foundation recently granted Flathead Valley Community College $15,000 for the assessment project. This joint initiative will use the BEAR survey and a checklist of legal requirements for operating in Montana. Targeting a representative sample of regional nonprofits, the assessment will be completed in March and the report will be released in May. To maximize the learning and impact, the grant provides a number of tuition waivers for nonprofits with limited professional development budgets, allowing the training to benefit organizations of various sizes.