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When people are offered meaningful ways to participate to make even a small change, through these actions they become closer with each other and more committed to their neighborhood. The relationships that develop, and these small victories, give hope.

- Tom O'Brien
  Neighborhood Connections
Kathy's Editorial 
We're Speaking Out 
 
Check out the op-ed piece that Battle Creek Community Foundation's Kathy Szenda Wilson wrote for her local newspaper.
Save the Date!
October 21-22, 2009 
On the Ground with Grassroots Grantmakers in Ohio's Mahoning Valley
 
  
In Partnership with
Youngstown and Warren, Ohio
 
Registration will begin early this summer, but you can let us know now with a quick email that you're interested in joining us for this discussion.
Our Next Topical Conference Call 
Tuesday, June 2 
 
The topic:
Neighborhood Resource Centers:  Adding Action with Traction to Grassroots Grantmaking

Click here to register  


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Wednesday
Your Weekly Update from
Grassroots Grantmakers
May 13, 2009
Question of the Week
Right now.....what/who are the "energy givers" and "energy takers" in your grassroots grantmaking work?  If you could have more "givers" and less "takers", what could you accomplish that now feels out of reach? 

Send us a quick email with your answers.  Let's compare notes!
Big Thinking This Week

Let's Be Clear - It's a Choice  
 
This week Janis reported on a session that she attended at the Council on Foundation's annual conference - Expand Your Effectiveness with Creative and Legal Grantmaking.  She was looking for an answer for a question that she often hears:  "How can I engage in grassroots grantmaking when I can't legally provide grants to organizations that have not been recognized as 501(c)(3)'s by the IRS?"
 
Check out what Janis learned about answering that question.

Neighborhood Connections Gets Moving on the Foreclosure Crisis
Forum Sparks Discussion & Action
 
Neighborhood Connections, The Cleveland Foundation's grassroots grantmaking program, hosted a forum last week to hear what residents had to say about the impact of the foreclosure crisis is having on their neighborhoods and to spark discussion about what residents are doing and can do to respond.
 
 
Are you working on issues associated with the foreclosure crisis?  Are you making grants to support resident-initiated work to address the destabilizing effect of foreclosures?  Share what you are doing with a quick email. 
Hot Link of the Week

Tucson's PRO Neighborhoods
What's a Grassroots Group?
A Baby Nonprofit? Or Something Else?
 
Do you need a definition of "grassroots group" to spark dialogue among members of your grantmaking committee?  Or have you wondered if you are focusing on the types of groups that are the most powerful contributors to community change and resiliency?
 
Click here to read what we mean we when talk about grassroots groups. 

Tell us what you think of this definition with a quick email.
This Month

Here's a snapshot of where we'll be and what we're doing in the coming month.  Look for us!

May 13  Dayton
Janis Foster will be participating in The Kettering Foundation's June Dayton Days, sharing her thoughts on the accountabiity movement with Dayton Days participants.
 
May 18  Humboldt County, California
Visit with the Humboldt Area Foundation and other local partners who are supporting active citizenship.
 
May 20  Seattle
Visit with The Seattle Foundation and partner organizations working with Seattle's Neighbor to Neighbor Fund.
 
May 21  Spokane
Especially for Funders workshop presentation at the 2009 Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) Conference.
 
June 2  Topical Conference Call



Our Website:  www.grassrootsgrantmakers.org
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Contact Us:    361-798-1808
                     info@grassrootsgrantmakers.org