MEDA Membership Update: MEDA gained the following new members in October: Dan Clark, Horizon's Program Director, MSU-Bozeman; Pam Lerner, Value Added Ag Coordinator, Bear Paw Development Corp.; Cindy Kittredge, Montana Arts Council; William Miller, Making A Way, Great Falls, MT; Scott Patera, NorthWestern Energy, Great Falls, MT; Nick Rich, MDOC (Welcome Back, Nick!); and Howard Skjervem, NorthWestern Energy, Helena, MT; Welcome to MEDA!
Print the MEDA Membership Directory.
Grant and Funding Opportunities:
Matching Awards Program (MAP), National Forest Foundation:
The sponsor provides funding in the areas of: community-based
forestry, watershed health & restoration, wildlife habitat improvement
and recreation. All grants must have a 1:1 match.
Deadline(s): 12/15/2007 Contact: Adam Liljeblad, Conservation Programs Officer
aliljeblad@natlforests.org
Program URL: http://www.natlforests.org/pdf/2008_MAP_PP_RFP.pdf
Tel: 406-542-2805, x12
CDBG's FFY 2008 Housing Application Guidelines are now available at http://comdev.mt.gov/CDD_CDBG_Hous.asp
The Montana State Historic Preservation Office, a division of the Montana Historical Society, announces today the availability of $65,000 under the Montana Heritage Education and Training Initiative. Designated Preserve America Communities, Tribes, and communities who have officially submitted their Preserve America Community designation application are eligible to apply. Each community and Tribe may apply for a minimum of $3,000 and a maximum of $15,000. All grants must be matched 1:1 with cash or in-kind services and are granted on a reimbursement basis.
Electronic Applications are available at: http://mhs.mt.gov/shpo/default.asp
Applications must be submitted to the Montana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) by Friday, December 14, 2007. This is not a postmark date.
SEGP Applications Available: The Special Events Grant Program (SEGP) recently increased its 2008 grant funding to $80,000. This is an increase of $30,000 from the previous years. SEGP grants are designed to be matching funds for non-profit organizations involved in developing new annual ongoing events. The grants are awarded based on a 3-tier approach that ranks counties on the basis of lowest per capita income, slowest population growth and highest unemployment. Events established prior to May 30, 2005 are not eligible for funding. The application deadline is December 7, 2007. Applications are available online at www.travelmontana.state.mt.us/forms or by contacting Carol Crockett, 406-841-2769 or via email at ccrockett@mt.gov.
Working Groups...Are Working!:
Take advantage of the research these groups are doing - learn from what they are learning as chances are you are dealing with the same issues.
Housing
The MEDA Housing Working Group met October 22nd via conference call. Plans were finalized for a face-to-face workshop, titled "Seeking Solutions" on Tuesday, November 20, in Great Falls, 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. An agenda is available at http://www.medamembers.org/housing.html. Larry Gallagher, HUD, gave a presentation on the efforts of the MEDA Housing Working Group on November 1st to MEDA's membership during the fall conference.
Value Added Ag
The MEDA Value Added Ag Working Group met during breakfast on November 2nd during the MEDA conference. Results of the meeting will be forthcoming.
Energy
The MEDA Energy Working Group held a conference call on October 16th and discussed several specific energy needs in Montana. Review the minutes at http://www.medamembers.org/energy.html. Susan Ockert, Chair of this working group, gave a presentation during the MEDA conference. It is also available on the MEDA Energy Working Group website.
The Arts
The MEDA Arts Working Group met during the MEDA conference and is hoping to incorporate the arts and its impact with economic development in future MEDA conferences. The working group will submit a proposal for future conference participation.
BEAR Please see the paragraph below.
Opportunities For You: Interested in sharpening your professional skills as an economic and community development practitioner? Looking for new tools to place in your economic development tool box? Check these out.
Check out the new WIRED website.
Board Member Workshops: Training will be provided by Paul Lachapelle, MSU Extension Community Development Specialist. The workshop will be held at six different sites throughout the region. They are the following: Tuesday, November 6 in Wolf Point at Great Northern Development's Conference Room from 7 - 9 pm. Wednesday, November 7 in two locations; the first in Jordan at the VFW Hall from 9:30 - 11:30 am, the second in Circle at Schmidt's Banquet Room from 3 - 5 pm. Thursday, November 8 in two locations; the first in Plentywood at the Courthouse in the Jubilee Room from 9:30 - 11:30 am, the second in Scobey at the Nemont Friendship Room from 3 - 5 pm. The final workshop will be on Friday, November 9 in Glasgow at the NE MT Job Workforce Center from 8 - 10 am. Lorene Hintz, Director of the Small Business Development Center is encouraging pre-registration. Please call 653-2590 for more information and to register.
Save the Date: Glendive, MT – Reserve Thursday January 10, 2008 for the sixth annual “Gateway to Opportunity”-a regional entrepreneur and small business development forum to be held at Dawson Community College.
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MONTANA BEAR Report: Learn what is new in your region with the statewide Montana BEAR Program.
Please review the progress of the statewide Montana BEAR program by reading the monthly report. The MEDA BEAR Working Group is scheduled for a conference call on November 7th at 10:00am.
According to data entered into the ExecutivePulse software, 36 business visits were conducted in the month of October. Wow! The leading Outreach Specialist was Kathy Moodu with five visits, followed by Melissa Kramer with four. Great work, everyone!
