CLAUDE WORTHINGTON BENEDUM FOUNDATION

 

Reporting Form

Grant Reference #:

20050224

 

Interim Report

X

*Final Report

Please update the following information and complete this form in its entirety.

Date:

April 5, 2006

Organization:

BARBOUR COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Address:

124 North Main St., Philippi, WV. 26416

Phone #:

304-457-1225

Fax #:

304-457-3887

E-mail/Web:

jedens1@verizon.net

Executive Director/President:

Jerry S. Edens

Grant Information

Foundation Program Officer

Mary Hunt-Lieving

Project Director:

Jerry S. Edens / Marcel J. Fortin

Grant Approval Date:

9/13/2005

Grant Amount:

$35,000

Grant Period:

9/13/2005  to 9/13/2006

Project name:

Alliance Capacity Building Project

Purpose of Grant:

Alliance of Champion Communities Capacity Building Project

Signature: Executive Director/President   Jerry S. Edens (mf)

Typed name and title Jerry S. Edens  Director BCCDC

*If all funds are not expended at the time when the Final Grant Report is due, please contact your Program Officer immediately.

 

Outcomes Status Report:  Performance Measures – List and describe the progress made on the outcomes as stated in your proposal and what measures you are using and detailed progress report.

 

Please add additional space/pages as needed

Outcomes (as listed in proposal)	Performance Measures	Progress Report
1. Continue Building the Organizational Infrastructure of ACC	Expanding membership by 25% annually	Created task forces for Broadband and Heritage tourism and recruited 9 new members (69%). Numerous volunteers for BAP project resulting in increased levels of Champion activity and involvement.
2. Plan and Manage Education and Marketing	Branding of the organization in place	Logo development, letterhead designed, business cards produced and brochure in progress. Awareness through BAP effort creating branding awareness desired.
3. Ensure Access to Convergence Technologies	Partnership with CANA and meetings with Policy makers accomplished	Working with legislators and state government to promote broadband on a continual basis. Legislation introduced and passed to create a broadband plan statewide. Have established a relationship with CANA and have participated in several forums together.
4. Facilitate Community Development Through Formation and Management of Task Forces	Task Forces (Broadband & Heritage Tourism) leverage activities and share best practices	Created Broadband and Heritage Tourism taskforces. Populated with primarily new volunteers, used to reinvigorate the Champions and provide awareness of the efforts on a local level. Work with the Broadband Assessment Project is bringing a focus and list of to-dos that are involving members.
5. Ensure a Forum for Best Practices, Lessons Learned, Replication of Initiatives	Forum at all monthly meetings are part of the agenda and an annual meeting to assimilate all information best practices and lessons learned to replicate initiatives in other locations in the service area.	Forum is a monthly agenda item whereby reports from Champions discuss their efforts and provides information to others on details on why the project took place and how its outcome measured up to expectations

 

 

 

 

Narrative Outcomes:  Discuss the current validity of selected outcomes and performance measures based on what you have learned to date:

Progress on outcomes are on track and have produced the desired results. Through our involvement with the Broadband Assessment Project, the Champions have really stepped up to get the information necessary for the surveys. Almost all the Champions have gone above and beyond to get into their respective communities to participate. Local FRN’s, schools, church groups and volunteers have been asked by our Champions to get out to the communities and are all potential members or volunteers for the respective Champions.

The Logo and the branding have been very well received and presentations have taken place at several different forums to explain what we do and how we can help communities. The Alliance brochure is nearly complete and discussions are taking place to provide individual Champion Community inserts for local information on projects and efforts.

Meetings are well attended and input from the Champions has been enthusiastic and motivating. Legislative efforts have been successful and several meetings have taken place to move broadband up on the administration’s agenda. Activities for coordinated efforts with the Alliance and the state are in process and should produce the desired results.

 

Implementation Schedule Status Report:

 

·       Report on implementation schedule including notable activities.

·       Include any changes and causes related to implementation of the project.

 

Please add additional space/pages as needed

Start Date	End Date	Activity	Progress
Sept 2005	Dec 2005	Develop logo Create web presence	Logo has been created, business cards printed, brochure in process. Website updated with forum area, minutes and agenda, resource areas, community areas and yellow pages
Sept 2005	Dec 2005	Complete Guiding Principles included in Strategic Plan Update Strategic Plan Ensure that each team provides progress report of Operations Plans Goals and updates activities at a minimum once during the year	Progress on this, but have not requested formal updates from the Champions. Have as an agenda item for the May meeting which will be a face to face meeting at a location tba.
Sept 2005	Dec2005	Establish a repository that includes various data for use by Champion Communities Update repository as necessary to ensure that it remains a viable community development tool	Website contains repository area to capture data for use by Champion. Data updated as becomes available. Online tools are in the works for inclusion to the site.
Sept 2005	Dec 2005	Encourage each Champion Community to work with local partners in ensuring involvement of youth Develop recommendations for new technologies	Champions working with FRNs, schools, church groups and volunteers to get information for the Broadband Assessment project. Researching and analyzing new technologies that would be deployable in WV. topography.
Sept 2005	Feb 2006	Survey Champion Communities to determine available expertise Develop and manage plan for sharing this capacity among ACC members	Area available on the website for business cards for members. Take up rate on this not as expected. Will include as May agenda item and will request all members to provide expertise information.
Sept 2005	April 2006	Create Alliance Community Designation	Will include on April agenda to begin to define and address requirements for outside organizations to become associated with the Alliance.
Sept 2005	May 2006	Work with each community in this goal area to improve local operations and participation in Alliance activities	Scheduled community meetings as part of BAP project for facilitated meetings and local Champions are entities empowered to solicit volunteers. Successes include work with FRNs, schools, church groups and others.
Sept 2005	June 2006	Develop membership structure Market services for fees Create a plan for capturing grants from Benedum, ARC, Benedum, WVDO, WV Div. of Tourism, and federal grants	Beginning to plan on membership structure to identify parties that could benefit from the Alliance and its relationships. Agenda item for May face to face meeting. Developed grants for ARC, WVDO and Benedum to date. Successful with Benedum on a Broadband Assessment Project and working on a grant with the State, Community Connect Foundation and Corridor G Community Foundation to facilitate broadband infrastructure deployment and increase home computer usage
Sept 2005	Sept 2006	Capture and publish accomplishments of each Champion Community	Website area for community activities. Developing brochure second phase will include individualized insert identifying Champion projects and activities
Sept 2005	Sept 2006	Have a member organization become the fiscal agent for the Alliance. Continue the relationship and dialogue with the CDPWV.	Barbour County CDC has volunteered to become the fiscal agent for the Alliance. In contact with the CDP and will utilize their services as needed and offer our services as well
Sept 2005	Sept 2006	Manage Heritage Tourism Task Force to provide focal point for ACC, leverage activities, share best practices Appoint and mentor other Task Forces as needed Provide support to Task Forces	Have appointed task members and have monthly meeting segments to discuss the Heritage project and share ideas and issues.
Sept 2005	Sept 2006	Ensure that each Alliance Meeting includes time for sharing of best practices, lessons learned and possible replication of initiatives	This effort is ongoing and provides a way for Champions to express positive and negative aspects of their efforts for others to replicate in their respective areas

 

Sustainability Plan Status Report:

 

·       What steps have been taken to address long-term funding and/or sustainability of the project/program?

Working with other organizations on projects where the Alliance will provide the Broadband Assessment tools (BAP) and personnel to facilitate and convene meeting to address broadband issues. Fees will be charged for the service. Projects being developed are incorporating the Alliance as the provider of the assessment tools for statewide initiatives. The Alliance is the only organization providing this service and has unique relationships with local organizations to get the local input necessary for a successful broadband effort. The relationships developed with State agencies will provide additional outlets for Alliance expertise in the Broadband arena.

Narrative Grant Report:

 

Please respond to all of the following questions.  Limit your total narrative grant report to no more than three pages.

 

Has the grant made a difference in the quality of services that you provide and/or in your organizational effectiveness?  If so, in what ways?  If not, what obstacles limited your work

This grant has allowed the Alliance to brand itself as a community organization designed to empower local citizens to do the work necessary to rebuild their communities. With legislative efforts, the Alliance has become the voice of rural communities to get equal access to benefits enjoyed by urban centers. Presentations at public forums have raised the level of awareness of these issues and have allowed relationships with rural legislators to develop and flourish. Expanding the Alliance to look into statewide initiatives has brought interest from other areas to cooperate and advance projects that are being addressed in our Champions. Partnerships are in place that will allow the Alliance to take a lead role in facilitating and convening forums to address rural issues. The mission of the Alliance to assist local organizations to take ownership of improving their situations has been effective on addressing entitlement mentalities that exist in many communities. With the partnerships created, the Alliance can provide a resource for communities to seek advice and direction on how to confront community issues and concerns.

 

What impact did the grant have on the population you serve?

            The branding has created an awareness that had not previously existed. The coordinated effort with other organizations, public and private, has allowed the Alliance to advance projects that could never have been contemplated. Our communities look to the Alliance as a community development organization providing assistance in the seeking of information, direction and/or funding for the betterment of their communities. The Alliance’s work on the BAP project has resulted in wonderful feedback on how an organization could influence truly grassroots efforts on issues that only local community organizations could make happen. Contact with legislative members representing rural communities has provided a forum for the Alliance to discuss rural issues and how important these areas are for the prosperity for West Virginia.  A voice representing approx. 250,000 citizens from 12 counties has never existed before. Working as a unit is allowing rural WV. the ability to speak loud enough to get beyond local politics and issues to express their needs and commitments to improving their situations. 

 

During the course of the project, did anything happen that was different from what you expected?

            The branding process has been more evident since the BAP project has taken place. The Alliance logo on the surveys provided have resulted in numerous discussions as to who we are, what we do and what needs do we have where people can help. This is not really an unexpected event, but rather the level of interest was surprising and how it reaffirmed the value of this type of activity.  Citizens want to participate and the Alliance needs to capitalize on the contacts made by providing feedback to those communities on an ongoing basis. Champions need to develop their individual identities and promote themselves as part of this feedback process.

 

 

How will the lessons you learned change your future thinking, performance, or services?

            The Alliance should not underestimate the communities’ desire to be involved in these sorts of activities. The Alliance should be proactive in seeking local community organizations to participate in projects that effect them. More volunteers, stronger community commitment and stable community buy-in for Alliance and/or Champion projects. Local Champion communities need to develop branding projects as well. Their involvement and contact with local citizens needs to be part of their activities. Future surveys need to contain information about the Champion so people learn about those organizations, where they are and how people can volunteer for projects. The brochure in progress will provide a ‘leave behind’ piece that will reinforce the value of the Alliance and express the value of the local citizenry in community rebuilding and development. Local Champion promotional inserts need to be part of the Alliance brochure project.

 

 

Tell us a story related to this project that will illustrate the effectiveness of the grant.          

            Jerry Edens from Barbour County  CDC and his volunteers were going out and having the BAP surveys completed. The new Alliance logo was placed on every page of the surveys. People were curious as to who the Alliance was even though the Barbour County CDC was the group doing the surveys. Jerry commented that people asked about the Alliance, what we did and why we were doing these surveys. These discussions also provided an opportunity for him to talk about his organization and explain why they were in their communities doing surveys. The BCCDC continues to respond to citizens interested in the work and wanting to know how things are going and when will things begin to happen. People not in the targeted area for the survey expressed a desire to fill out the surveys, so people would know that they wanted to provide input in the project. The effort increased the visibility of BCCDC and has made citizens more aware of who they are and what they are doing now and planning to do in the future.

            The need to go out and meet the people is extremely important in getting the message out. The logo was professional looking and created an image that this project was important and that they needed to participate. 

 

WEST VIRGINIA CHAMPION COMMUNITIES

Expense Report

 

1.         You may design your expense report to suit your needs; however, the report should:

 

2.         Provide a three-column financial report that represents: (a) the projected  budget of expenses (this should be taken from your grant proposal); (b) the actual expenses; and, (c) the difference between the two.

Project Budget:  Please include the project budget for which Benedum funding is requested.

 

Project Name:	Alliance Capacity Building Project as Feb. 28, 2006
Approved  Grant Amount			$ 35,000.00
Expenses		Income/Source			Benedum Request	Amount	Benedum grant expended to date
Such as:
Salaries and wages					$15,000	$ 15,000	$7,500.00
Payroll Taxes
Fringe benefits
Consultant fees		$2000 / Alliance members			$1,000	$3,000	$1,050.00
Legal fees
Fiscal Agent Fee/ Admin.					$4,000	$4,000
Travel					$7,000	$7,000	$1,095.47
Equipment		$5000/In-kind support				$5,000
Supplies					$2,000	$2,000
Printing and copying					$2,000	$2,000	$175.40
Telephone and fax					$1,000	$1,000
Postage					$2,000	$2,000
Rent		$3000 / Individual Contributions
Utilities		$2000 / Individual Contributions				$2,000
Website					$1,000	$1,000
Total Project Costs					$ 35,000.00	$47,000.00	9,820.87

 

 

3.         Explanation:  Write a short narrative explanation of one paragraph or less to answer the question: “How was this grant spent?”

            The funds were spent on staff costs for the director, costs for the design and printing of the

Alliance business envelopes and business cards, assorted office supplies and mileage reimbursement costs

for members attending meetings. 

 

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