MEDA Membership Update: MEDA gained the following new members in August: Cynthia Andrus, Convention and Visitor Bureau, Bozeman CVB; Betsy Baumgart, Montana Promotion Division; Bridgette Evans, Kalispell Chamber of Commerce; Carrie Mantooth, Snowy Mountain Development Corp.; Denise Smith, Flathead Business and Industry Assoc. Welcome to MEDA!
Print the MEDA Membership Directory.
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Grant and Funding Opportunities:
The Proposal Guidelines for the Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities grants has been posted.
These grants provide funding to eligible entities to provide technical assistance to communities facing brownfield cleanup and redevelopment challenges. The proposal deadline is October 2, 2007.
The Western Rural Development Center is pleased to announce a new "Rural Development and Natural Resources Research Mini-Grant Program." This program is designed to support innovative social sciences research that advances our knowledge and understanding of rural development and natural resource issues in the West. Deadline for proposals submission is November 1, 2007. The maximum amount available for this program is $20,000 with the expectation that one to three proposals will be funded. We are interested in supporting multi-institutional and multi-state research projects and these will be given top priority. Looking for research focusing on: rural economic development, energy, entrepreneurship opportunities, green technologies, land/water and the economic interface with rural communities as well as forest resources. If you have any questions please contact the WRDC or call the office at 435.797.WRDC.
The community development specialists at Big Sky Economic Development Authority will present a free introductory workshop about the grant-seeking process on Wednesday, September 12th, from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. in the Big Sky EDA conference center located on the first floor of Granite Tower, 222 North 32nd Street in downtown Billings. Instructors Patty Nordlund, Community Development Manager, and Dianne Lehm, Community Development Specialist, will help community groups learn the basics of the grants process, types of grants, and who might be eligible for grant funds. Participants will also learn where to search for appropriate funding sources. While there is no fee to attend, pre-registration for the grants workshops is required and seating is limited to 25 attendees per session. Please call Mary Lou at 256-6871 ext. 100 to reserve your place at the Pre-Grants Workshop on or before Tuesday, September 11.
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, chaired by Charlie Wright, MDOC/RDO, has already accomplished one of its goals: provide a "one stop" source for information on all housing programs. Visit http://www.nwmt.org/housingdevelopment.htm. In addition, an article appeared in the summer 2007 issue of Montana HomeOwnership Network newsletter. New resource links have been added to the MEDA Housing Working Group and minutes are available at http://www.medamembers.org/housing.html
Tourism
The MEDA Tourism Working Group held a conference call on August 24th to discuss initiatives and various tourism resources. One of this group's goals is to improve communication between economic developers and the tourism sector. New resources have been posted on this website including an excellent powerpoint on branding, by Roger Brooks. Check out all of the resources at http://www.medamembers.org/tourism.html
Energy Susan Ockert reignited this working group with a conference call on August 27th. Those on the call explained what they hope to accomplish through the MEDA Energy Working Group and began a resource list at http://www.medamembers.org/energy.html.Minutes are also available on this website.
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.
Facilitator Training: "I'm sure we've all been in those meetings where the minutes tick, and tick, and tick away without any sense of having accomplished something worthwhile. Productive meetings don't happen by accident - most take a skilled facilitator and the best of the best of meetings have participants who also understand what it takes to be an effective participant." (Nan Christianson) The Bitter Root RC&D is hosting two meeting facilitation training sessions in late September and the early signup closes on Sept 10th. For more information contact the Bitter Root RC&D at 406.363.1444x5.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the SBA’s Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative for veterans and members of the military community. Visit www.sba.gov/patriotexpress for more information.
MONTANA BEAR Report: Learn what is new in your region with the statewide Montana BEAR Program.
Presentations from the BREI Annual Conference titled "Growing From Within: Thinking Regionally - Succeeding Globally" are now available online. This information is in-depth, dynamic and practical and will be of use to Montana BEAR teams. 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 September 10th at 10:00am.
According to data entered into the ExecutivePulse software, active Outreach Specialists for August were: Linda McNeill, Lyle Gabrian, Barbara Hardy, Carrie Mantooth, Debi Davidson, Julie Foster and Joe Unterreiner. Great work, everyone!
