Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation

Proposal Worksheet

 

 

Name of Organization:

Alliance of WV. Champion Communities, Inc.(Alliance)

along with the Community Connect Foundation (CCF)

 

 

 

 

 

Name of the Project:

Community Technology MiniGrant program

 

Alliance of WV. Champion Communities, Inc. |Community Connect Foundation         

Contact Name(s):

Marcel J. Fortin                                                          Chris Marr

 

 

Title

Executive Director                                                      Chairman

 

 

Mailing Address:

PO Box 747                                                               PO Box 3393

 

Alum Creek, WV. 25003-0747                          Charleston, WV. 25333

 

 

Street Address:

4954 Coal River Road                                        1005 Westwood Drive

(if different from mailing address)

Tornado, WV. 25202                                           Elkview, WV. 25071

 

 

Phone Number:

304-756-2264                                                            304-965-9010

 

 

Fax Number:

304-756-2264 call first                                              734-264-1774

 

 

Email Address:

mfortin@natcor.com                                              chrismarr@charter.net

 

 

Website:

alliancewv.org                                                           commconnect.org

 

 

Requested Amount:

$350,000.00

 

 

One sentence summary of Project:

A minigrant program to create community technology projects that focus on 5 areas of concentration: community development, health, education, human services and entrepreneurship.

 

 

 

 

The Following Documents MUST Accompany Your Proposal

 

 
If non-profit organization
If government entity

 

 

 

Copy of evidence of organization’s tax-exempt

 

Copy of most recent Financial Statement

status with the IRS (i.e., 501(c)(3) tax letter)

 

If there is not a Financial Statement

Alliance Document Attached

 

please explain why.

Copy of most recent Audited Financial Statement

 

 

 

If there is not an Audited Financial Statement

 

 

 

please explain why and Attach copy of most

 

 

 

recent 990

 

 

The Alliance is a new 501c3 organization and has not been required to file 990 reports.

The Community Connect foundation has a 501c3 application pending and has not been required to file 990 reports

 

 

 

 

Governance Structure:

 

 

If nonprofit organization:

 

List names and city or town of residence of Executive Director, Board Members, and any other key personnel and key volunteers involved in the project.

 

Name

 

Title

 

City or Town of Residence

Marcel J. Fortin

 

Alliance Chairman/Exec. Dir

 

Alum Creek, WV.

 

 

CCF Vice Chair

 

 

Robert Johnson

 

Alliance

 

Richwood, WV.

 

 

Vice Chairman

 

 

Connie Lupardus

 

Alliance

 

Clay, WV.

 

 

Secretary/Treasurer

 

 

Jerry Edens

 

Alliance

 

Philippi, WV.

 

 

Board Member

 

 

Clifton Moore

 

Alliance

 

Wilcoe, WV.

 

 

Board Member

 

 

Kathy Brunty

 

Alliance

 

Oceana, WV.

 

 

Board Member

 

 

Betty Crookshanks

 

Alliance

 

Rupert, WV.

 

 

Board Member

 

 

Chris Marr

 

CCF

 

Elkview, WV.

 

 

Chairman

 

 

Lisa Dooley

 

CCF

 

Madison, WV.

 

 

Secretary/treasurer

 

 

Shelley Huffman

 

CCF

 

Charleston, WV.

 

 

Board Member

 

 

Steven Kominar

 

CCF

 

Kermit, WV.

 

 

Board Member

 

 

 

 

Operating Budget:

 

Existing organizations – Attach Past 12 month (or last fiscal year) operating budget.

 

New Organization – Attach projected operating budget

 

Include a list of funders during the past 12 month period:

 

 

 

 

 

Funders:

 

Amount of Funding:

 

Benedum Foundation – Alliance BAP project

 

$35,000

 

Verizon – Alliance BAP project

 

$25,000

 

Frontier – Alliance BAP project

 

$10,000

 

Benedum Foundation – Alliance Organizational Dev.

 

$30,000

 

Benedum Foundation – CCF Organizational Dev.

 

$20,000

 

Narrative:

 

The Alliance of West Virginia Champion Communities has its foundation in the Empowerment Zone Program initiated in 1993.  As a result of this Small Cities Block Grant [SCBG] opportunity, three awards were made in West Virginia.  Subsequent to these initial awards, eight communities in West Virginia were named Champion Communities by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, which afforded each special consideration for future grant awards.  Governor Gaston Caperton thereafter awarded grants to each community.  Additional awards were made under this funding in 1997 and 1999. 

Each Champion Community was established to improve economic and community development of their rural region and to mitigate the negative effects of economic problems and job losses.  This initiative was begun as a “grass roots” movement, which included the requisite empowerment for each community to identify and solve their own problems and to achieve sustainable development. Representing 12 West Virginia counties, Champion Communities include the following:

§         CAEZ [Clay, Roane, Braxton, W. Nicholas, and Fayette Counties]

 

The 2006 grant funds were spent on continued development of  the organizational infrastructure for the Alliance. The funding was spent on staff support to organize the Board and committees and strategic planning sessions, build relationships with potential partner organizations, and track legislative activities related to the interests of the Alliance.  Funding  went toward supporting specific activities such as heritage tourism, broadband development, fiscal management and administration.  Travel funds enabled Alliance Board and committee members to attend board meetings at member locations throughout the service area. Successful initiatives are being replicated in other areas and citizens from outside the Alliances’ service area are contacting the group to see how they can be a part of what is going on. Unlikely participants are stepping forward to be part of making things happen. True empowerment!!

The Community Connect Foundation was chartered on January 24, 2006 as a nonprofit foundation with a mission to develop a public-private model that serves to expedite the development of West Virginia’s technology infrastructure through coordinated investment of public and private resources aimed at developing rural and distressed communities. The three primary focus areas of the Community Connect Foundation that serve to coordinate the broadband deployment process are:

 1 ) Education and Outreach
 2 ) Service Gap Supply and Demand Analysis
 3 ) Strategic Planning and Funding

These areas of concentration provide the foundation necessary to maximize the development of a 21st Century technology infrastructure and minimize the expenditures needed to accomplish such.

 

The basic premise of this grant is to formulate a Community Technology Minigrant program that will provide $5000.00 awards to forty (40) participants that are passionate about their initiatives and have a history of performance. The awards would be used to expand their initiatives to include a community technology component focusing on five (5) areas of concentration; community development, health, education, human services and entrepreneurship. Three (3 ) surveys will be conducted; 1) Broadband Assessment Project to determine availability and interest in broadband, 2) Pre and post surveys determining the cost savings resulting from community technology included in their projects and 3) the relevance and duplicity of these initiatives throughout West Virginia. Methodology is to use local organizations to create Connecteams that are made up of citizens that reflect all 5 areas of concentration to provide grass roots interest in this project. Only through this type of commitment can there be assurances that lessons learned will be utilized and duplicated throughout their own and surrounding communities after this project is completed. The training components will empower the citizenry to seek initiatives that will last, be sustainable and able to be duplicated. The ability to measure change is one of the main components of this project. Identifying changes is a necessary component of grass roots projects designed to improve communities and create lasting results. The Alliance and its’ partners are experienced in minigrant initiatives as several member participated in previous programs and observed the transformation of some of the participants into active community minded advocates. The Alliance and its’ partners have and are completing Broadband Assessment projects that have resulted in providers realizing the market that exists in our rural communities. Provider and business investments in this initiative and commitments to continue in the future are a testament to its’ effectiveness. Time has come to duplicate these efforts in areas that have the desire and will to do whatever it takes to be successful. Below find the bullet points of the steps and the methodology to be used in this project;

§         Select 40 participants that are currently involved in local initiatives that are passionate and have a history of performance.

§         Identify communities from the Community Health Network of WV. (Chnwv), Mission WV. and selected Flexigrant applicants.

§         Identify a local organization in each community interested in championing this initiative.

§         Create Connecteams in each selected community that are made up of citizens that reflect the 5 areas of concentration: community development, health, education, human services and entrepreneurship. Identify communities from the Community Health Network of WV. (Chnwv), Mission WV. and selected Flexigrant applicants.

§         Pre project surveys to determine perception and expectations of community technology projects

§         Initiate the Broadband Assessment Project Surveys

§         Utilize local organization to solicit responses to BAP surveys through phone & face to face meetings.

§         Pre survey to determine costs of current activities prior to implementing technology solutions

Realistic capacity levels (85%) used as a reference

§         Identify a local organization in each community interested in championing this initiative.

§         Work with the Connecteams to identify and secure 3 regional locations to hold the training sessions as well as a meeting to celebrate the activities at the end of the project.

§         Set dates and times for sessions determined to best accommodate the particProvide training to community teams that include:  1) Education and Outreach
              2) Service Gap Supply and Demand Analysis
              3) Strategic Planning and Funding

§         Require 3 people out of teams of 5 to attend 3 sessions at 3 regional meetings.

§         Create perception of ROI and sustainability through training and project activities participants

§         Compile Bap data & create a white paper providing a snapshot of current interest and availability

§         Identify any cost savings, financial or human, that the projects realize through community technology

§         Post surveys to measure change

 

§         Create 3 white papers

            1) BAP survey results

            2) Cost Savings

3) Relevant and duplicable projects

§         Hold a celebration activity, review findings and provide a discussion on the continuation and duplication of community technology projects through and by the local Connecteams put in place.

 

·        Identify the needs/problems to be addressed

 

Broadband access and the economic benefits that are inherent to it continue to bypass rural West Virginia. In order to improve the economic conditions in these areas, strategies need to be developed that address community development, health, education, human services and entrepreneurial needs. The lack of awareness of the technological opportunities existing today designed to address rural issues is an impairment to creating sustainable communities. This project is an effort to expose the citizenry to various technologies available to create a demand for broadband and hence provide a reasonable subscriber base to initiate deployments by incumbent providers or entities looking to expand their markets into unserved and underserved areas. Many organizations have not attempted to bring new people into their efforts to improve their plight. As a result, we do the same things as we have done in the past and will get the same poor results. Local empowerment is the key and this project addresses ways to make that happen.

 

·        Target population and number of people/households/communities (other unit) to be served by the project

 

Target Area                                                      Target Population (adults 18-65)

Braxton County                                                              9026

Clay County                                                                   6272

Fayette County                                                 29425

Nicholas County                                                           16400

Roane County                                                              9552

McDowell County                                                        16593

Wyoming County                                                          16364

      Webster County                                                           6005

      Lincoln County                                                 13995

      Barbour County                                                            9650

      Greenbrier County                                                        20895

      Summers County                                                          7737

                                                                                          --------

                  Total                                                               161,914

 

 

The Community Health Network of WV. (Chnwv), Mission WV. and selected Flexigrant applicants will partner with the Alliance and the Foundation to identify areas of need that will expand their respective initiatives to incorporate community technology projects. Glenville State College, the WV.State Chamber of Commerce and the Connected Corridors organizations representing their respective disciplines will provide oversight to assure all aspects of community development are addressed. The Champion Communities and the Family Resource Network (FRN) will assist in the engagement of grass roots citizenry in the selected communities. The Alliance and its’ partners will work with the WV. State government and the USDA to keep broadband and community technology initiatives on their radar.

 

Outcomes: 

 

Performance/Measures – List and describe the ultimate outcomes you are seeking and what you will measure to determine if you are to reach these outcomes.

 

 

Outcomes
Performance measures

1. Develop demand for Broadband

§         Broadband Assessment  Project (BAP) surveys and compilation

§         A white paper developed identifying results and observations

§         Pre and post surveys taken of participating communities from each of the 5 areas of concentration

2. Spread the Word - Ambassadorship

§         Partnerships created with a Local organization (FRN or Champion Communities) ) in each selected community

§         Creation of Connecteams for each community

3. Identify technology as a solution to

    fulfilling community needs

§         8 minigrant projects from each area of concentration will be identified and selected

§         40/ $5000.00  minigrant projects will be awarded

4. Community training program

    a) Education & awareness

    b) Supply & demand

    c) Strategic planning & funding

 

§         200 people will go through training

§         Created a  perception of Return on Investment (ROI) and  sustainability for their initiatives through training and project activities

5. Cost savings

§         Value of use of Technology will be quantified

§         A white paper developed identifying savings from each of the areas of concentration

6. Duplicate relevant results

§         A white paper developed identifying projects that are relevant and able to be duplicated statewide

 

Plan to meet goals and objectives:  What are the key goals for this project?

 

Goals/Objectives

Plan to meet goal/objective