Nonprofit Excellence Program
Micro-Grants for Training and Professional Development Opportunities
Habitat for Humanity, Champaign, IL
The Lumpkin Family Foundation makes grants of up to $1500 for attendance by nonprofit staff and board members at training and professional development programs of their own choosing. Micro-grants are strategic investments in people and organizations to be used to defray the cost of attending programs targeted at improving the management, governance and leadership of the applicant organization. Micro-grants can be used to send staff or board members to a specific workshop or conference or to engage a consultant to provide customized training to one or more organizations. We require that the applicant organization pay no less than 20% of the total cost. Only organizations in Central Illinois with an annual budget of less than $1 million are eligible to apply for Micro Grants.
The following are examples of activities that could be supported. (We are open to other ideas too):
- A program manager participating in a financial management training program in Chicago.
- The Executive Director and Board Chair attending a regional leadership conference together.
- A consultant providing a customized fundraising training to the Board of Directors.
- Two similar organizations jointly engaging a trainer to provide a volunteer management workshop.
Micro-grants are not intended for training or consulting that focuses on the programmatic side of the organization's work. Examples of activities that would not be supported include:
- A social service organization attending a workshop on how to improve the quality of their casework.
- An arts-focused organization hiring a consultant to provide staff training on methods of arts education.
Organizations may include all costs related to their participation in the proposed professional development opportunity including:
- registration or consulting fees
- travel
- meals
- lodging
- other applicable costs
How
to apply for a micro-grant
- Identify a training program that meets the specific development needs of your organization.
- Fill out the on-line micro-grant application (link to https://www.grantinterface.com/lumpkin/Common/LogOn.aspx) (It is a simple, quick process.)
Note: As a first step, register with the system. You will only have to do this once and your user name and password is good for all future grant programs. If you are unable to use the online system please contact us via e-mail at mary.weber@consolidated.com or 217-235-3361 for a Word or PDF version of the grant application.
- Micro-grants
are awarded quarterly. The submission deadlines are:
- January 15
- April 15
- July 15
- October 15
You will be notified of the status of your application within one month of the submission deadline.
If you have questions or aren't sure whether a particular training or professional development opportunity qualifies under this program, please call Annie Hernandez, to discuss it in advance of applying.
2008 Micro-Grants
Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois, Springfield
$865 to hold a one-day board retreat to develop a strategic plan.
Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, Hillsboro
$1,225 to send the Executive Director to a training course needed to pursue accreditation by the international Economic Development Council.
Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois, Springfield
$1,500 to send five Children’s Advocacy Center Directors to The National Children’s Alliance Annual Leadership Conference in Washington, DC.
Child Care Resource and Referral, Charleston
$1,500 was approved to send the Director and a staff member to the Bridges Out of Poverty Trainer Certification course in Atlanta, GA.
Effingham Mentoring Advisory Board, Effingham
$1,500 to hire a consultant to deliver board development training, to develop a long range plan, and to cover fees for board members to attend training.
Edgar County Transportation Service, Paris
$1,500 for the Board president and Executive Director to attend a one day seminar in Chicago on Writing and Managing Winning Proposals. The committee thought that this would be a valuable training opportunity for this organization.
Mattoon Area P.A.D.S., Mattoon
$500 to send the Director and either a Board Member or staff member to a 2-day training in QuickBooks Pro in order to better comply with State requirements.
Douglas-Hart Nature Center, Mattoon
$1,500 to sponsor a Certified Interpretive Guide training workshop for local environmental educators.
Helen Matthes Library, Effingham
$1,319 for the Director to attend the professional development conference, Leadership Illinois.
Sangamon County Community Foundation, Springfield
$1,500 to send the new Director of Donor and Public Relations to the Council On Foundations annual conference and a pre-conference workshop on Community Foundations Fundamentals.
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, Urbana
$1,200 for the Program Coordinator to attend the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care Convention in Los Angeles, CA in June 2008. The theme of the conference is “Taking Action Against Health Inequities”.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Illinois Capital Region, Springfield
$1,000 for the Board President, the Executive Director and three staff members to attend the Big Brothers Big Sisters National Conference in St. Louis.
Mattoon High School, Mattoon
$1,500 for the school social worker and the school psychologist to attend a national conference on adolescents in Las Vegas.
Donors Forum, Chicago
$1,500 to provide advocacy training in collaboration with the Illinois Arts Alliance in Decatur.
The Reading Group, Champaign
$1,500 to hold six board training/development sessions in conjunction with their regularly scheduled monthly board meetings from May to November.
Faith in Action, Springfield
$750 to send two volunteer program coordinators to the Illinois Conference on Volunteer Administration in Oak Brook, IL.
Prairie Rivers Network, Champaign
$600 to send their Water Resources Scientist to the annual River Rally sponsored by the River Network in Huron, Ohio.
C. E. F. S./Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Effingham
$1,500 to send the Program Director to the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Atlanta, GA.
H.E.L.P (Heaven & Earth Listen to People), Decatur
$652 to assist with costs to complete the filing of their tax exempt status (501c3) forms. The fiscal agent is Followers of Christ International Outreach.
Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation, Urbana
$1,000 for board development training.
Coles County Habitat for Humanity, Charleston
$1,128 for the new Executive Director to attend the national Habitat for Humanity conference in Atlanta.
Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Rochester
$1,000 for ISA’s Local Food Coordinator to attend the Slow Food Nation national gathering that promotes fair and sustainable food systems.
Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System Guild, Mattoon
$1,000 to hire a consultant for Board Development training and strategic planning.
Contact Ministries, Springfield
$500 to hire a consultant to develop a strategic plan.
M.E.R.C.Y. Communities Inc., Springfield
$500 to hire a consultant to provide a one-day board development training.
40 North | 88 West, Champaign County Arts, Culture and Entertainment Council, Champaign
$1,000 for the Director of Resource Development to attend the Principles and Techniques of Fundraising course through the Fundraising School at The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University in Indianapolis.
Crisis Nursery, Urbana
$1,000 to provide direct consultation to the new executive director by Laura Huth in the areas of organizational management.
Christian County YMCA, Taylorville
$1,000 to support sending one of the two staff members (the Building Operations Director and Program Director) to the National Y Expo in Jacksonville, FL.
Fine Arts County of Effingham (FACE), Effingham
$840 to send the President/Director and Production Chairman/Secretary to the Artistic Directors Conference in Racine, WI.