Friday, April 19, 2013

FW: Publications, Tools, Learning, and Funding

From our colleagues at USDA-Rural Development; this week’s resources have a heavy emphasis on manufacturing and non-profit management, key ingredients for employment, public services and quality of life throughout rural America!

 

From: Agans, Suzette - RD, Washington, DC [mailto:Suzette.Agans@wdc.usda.gov]
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2013 12:40 PM
Subject: Publications, Tools, Learning, and Funding

 

Publications:

 

My Turn: Serving our food system - solving long-standing labor challenges that relate directly to the seasonality of our production, making food system jobs attractive to workers.

http://www.recorder.com/home/5618322-95/my-turn-serving-our-food-system

 

Protecting Nature Is the Smartest Investment We Can Make, Mark Tercek, President and CEO, Nature Conservancy
In my work for the Nature Conservancy, I think a lot about how we can do more. How can we unlock new sources of capital, enlist more people to support our cause, and develop new alliances that will enable us to conserve nature at a scale never before achieved?  In my view, the answer is in putting ourselves in others' shoes — whether those of a sugarcane grower in Colombia, a trawl fisher in California, or the executive of a global manufacturing company — and focusing on why nature is important and valuable to them. A simple but elegant solution to an environmental challenge in Colombia demonstrates this approach — an approach that is leading to exciting new ways of structuring, funding, and discussing environmental nonprofit interventions....Read Tercek's commentary»

 

The Case for Making Small U.S. Manufacturers a Priority - When people think of manufacturing, they typically envision large publicly listed companies that make cars, aircraft, home appliances, electronics, medical devices, and so forth. They rarely think about the thousands of small manufacturers around the country—many of them “mom and pop” operations—that make products ranging from guitar amplifiers to flight display systems.    Read More By: Harold L. Sirkin/Bloomberg Business

 

Jobs Alone Do Not Explain the Importance of Manufacturing - When it comes to American manufacturing the U.S. media seems a bit confused. Last year, a bunch of stories argued that manufacturing job losses over the last decade don’t matter because productivity looks so good. Now, stories like this one are suggesting that manufacturing itself doesn’t matter much after all because the sector isn’t creating enough jobs. The current argument in vogue maintains that job growth figures just haven’t been robust enough in manufacturing to warrant policies that support the sector.  Read More

By: Scott Andes and Mark Muro /Brookings

 

Artists Revitalize Rural Manufacturing - http://www.dailyyonder.com/artists-revitalize-rural-manufacturing/2013/04/02/5749

The manufacturing base in many rural towns of the U.S. has dwindled, but in North Carolina, combined public and private support has spurred an innovative approach: combining the creative talents of seasoned artists with the skills of local workers. Because of the town’s commitment to creative individuals, the ability of its municipal leadership to accomplish community goals, and county and state resources that have been able to provide support and expertise, Art-Force’s Artist + Manufacturer Strengthening Place Program elected to work in Siler City. Art-Force’s core tenet is that artists are highly trained and underutilized creative thinkers, visionaries, and problem-solvers. We believe America’s small cities and towns desperately need artists’ imagination to retool manufacturing and assist communities in their economic and social transformation. People build lives where there are jobs and where they feel a sense of belonging, and creative people, through both innovation and sensitivity to local heritage, can serve as community change-agents: their work demonstrably affects local economies. 

In the U.S., the private sector accounts for a little over half the total investment in food and agriculture research - Private spending on food and agricultural research and development (R&D) in the United States has exceeded public-sector agricultural research expenditures most years since the late 1970s. In 2007 (the latest year for which complete data are available), the private sector accounted for about 53 percent of total food and agriculture-related research. Private research is nearly equally divided between food and agriculture. Public research is more oriented toward basic or fundamental science and scientific training, as well as topics like food safety—research that has high social value but for which private incentives are relatively weak. In addition, some public agricultural research funds are devoted to “other” governmental responsibilities, such as improving the environment and protecting natural resources, community development and related social goals, and economic and policy analysis. The public sector nearly matches the private sector’s investments in agricultural R&D, but spends far less on food-related research (with more emphasis on food safety rather than the private sector’s emphasis on product development). Public investment in conservation, community development, and other governmental functions has little counterpart in the private sector. A revised chart appears in the June 2012 Amber Waves article, Private Industry Investing Heavily, and Globally, in Research To Improve Agricultural Productivity.

 

 

TOOLS

 

Council of Development Finance Agencies - The CDFA Online Resource Database is a searchable directory of articles, publications, webpages, guides, search engines and other development finance-related resources. It is the only online database dedicated exclusively to development finance. The database is updated daily with items from a wide variety of industry topics. Topics and links include 

>>> Advanced Online Resource Database Search
>>> Bond Finance Resource Center
>>> Tax Increment Finance Resource Center
>>> Tax Credit Resource Center
>>> Revolving Loan Fund Resource Center
>>> CDFA Recommended Practices
>>> Development Finance Review Weekly Newsletter
>>> Daily News Headlines
>>> CDFA Bookstore

 

Cluster Mapping website - Businesses, organizations, policymakers, and researchers can uncover powerful economic data, visualizations, and strategies to strengthen the competitiveness and growth of U.S. clusters and regional economies. http://clustermapping.us/

 

 

LEARNING

 

WEBINAR: Search Engine Optimization 101 for Nonprofits, Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - 3:00 pm ET

Richard Dietz of Nonprofit R+D.  Join us for this jam packed webinar where we break down the basics of SEO and cover search engines, keyboards, on- and off-page optimization and how to stay on Google's good side.  Related resources:

 

WEBINAR: A Business Plan for Your Nonprofit, Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 1:00 pm ET

Kim Clark of Polished Professionals Boston.  Participants will come to understand the value that business planning will bring to their organizations and learn how to proceed with the process. Related resources:

·         The Four Hour Nonprofit Start-up Plan
Shared by Nonprofit Management Services, LLC ($6)

 

WEBINAR: Foundations as Investment Partners Part I: Understanding the Opportunity, Tuesday April 23rd 2013 2:00pm to 3:00pm

RIAN Webinar Foundations as Investment Partners Part I: Understanding the Opportunity Apr 23 - 2:00 Eastern In the first of this two-part series on Foundations as Investment Partners, the Managing Director of Mission Investors Exchange Peter Berliner and RIAN Director Mark Skinner will talk about how angel, seed and other investment activities of Venture Development Organizations can and should play larger roles in helping foundation endowments meet their needed return goals while also expanding the philanthropic impact of the foundation beyond traditional grants. Great for those looking for mission-related and/or program-related investments. http://regionalinnovation.org/events.cfm

 

WEBINAR: Foundations as Investment Partners Part II: The Oregon Case Study, Friday April 26th 2013 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Description   RIAN Webinar Foundations as Investment Partners Part II: The Oregon Case Study Apr 26 - 1:00 Eastern The second of the two-part Foundations as Investment Partners series will showcase the relationship between the Oregon Community Foundation and the Oregon Angel Fund. RIAN Director Mark Skinner will lead a discussion between Oregon Community Foundation Director of Strategic Projects Melissa Dunham and the Founder of the Oregon Angel Fund Eric Rosenfeld. A great lead-in the upcoming SSTI Conference in Portland, OR in September. Registration is free. http://regionalinnovation.org/events.cfm

 

 

FUNDING

Upcoming Grant Opportunity - The Investing In Manufacturing Communities Partnership - The Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) is a new Administration-wide initiative that will accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing and help communities cultivate an environment for businesses to create well-paying manufacturing jobs in cities across the country.

Through the IMC, the President is directing Federal agencies to provide coordinated assistance to manufacturing communities through a new partnership that will align Federal economic development resources and help U.S. localities make coordinated, long-term investments in their public goods in partnership with universities and industry.  These investments will ultimately help regions become more attractive for manufacturers and supply chains. The Partnership will be led by the Commerce Department with support from other federal agencies.

Five to six U.S. communities in 2014 would be competitively selected as pilots, each receiving up to $25 million from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, in addition to funding from other government agencies. Federal agencies will also align and coordinate their funding opportunities to maximize the effectiveness of Federal expenditures and ensure that localities are able to more seamlessly access the Federal resources they need to fund strategies for attracting long-term business investment.

For more visit -  http://www.commerce.gov/news/fact-sheets/2013/04/17/fact-sheet-investing-manufacturing-communities-partnership

Princess Grace Foundation-USA Seeks Nominations for 2013 JustFilms Documentary Awards - Priority will be given to social justice films by Native/Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with grant amounts contingent on the size of the project budget.... Deadline: June 1, 2013

National Storytelling Network Seeks Applications for Brimstone Award for Applied Storytelling - Grants of $5,000 will support model storytelling projects that are service-oriented, based in a community or organization, and replicable in other places and situations.... Deadline: April 30, 2013

Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Invites Applications for 2014 Artists Fellowships - The foundation will award grants of $20,000 to exceptional Native artists who have had significant impact in their respective disciplines, earned the respect of their colleagues, and achieved recognition in the field....Deadline: May 3, 2013

Open Society Foundations' Youth Initiative Seeks Proposals to Curate Web Pages at Youthpolicy.org
Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to qualified nonprofit organizations and NGOs to develop and curate thematic pages related to youth policies around the world on the Youthpolicy.org site.... Deadline: Rolling

Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation Invites Applications for Music Donation Program  - Through its Keeping Music Alive program, the foundation will donate musical instruments to music programs that serve low-income communities and have little or no budget for musical instruments.... Deadline: August 1, 2013 (Pre-qualification)

USA Funds Accepting Applications for Key Transitions in Postsecondary Education Initiative - Grants of between $400,000 to $800,000 will be awarded to three organizations working to provide education support services that help students and adult learners complete college.... Deadline: May 24, 2013

 

 

 

Suzette M. Agans
Rural Development | Community and Economic Development
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W. Stop 3254 | Washington, D.C. 20250
Phone: 202.401.1922 | Fax 202.401.7311
www.rurdev.usda.gov

"Committed to the future of rural communities"
"Estamos dedicados al futuro de las comunidades rurales"

 





This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)