United Way of the Midlands Blog

CITY OF COLUMBIA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILIBLE (NOFA) FY 2012‐ 2013

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA)

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG)

This Notice of Funding Available (NOFA) announces the availability of funding for the Program Year (PY) July 1, 2012 ‐ June 30, 2013 for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. The CDBG Program is funded and regulated at the federal level by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered locally by the City of Columbia, under the auspices of the Community Development Department. The CDBG Program is authorized under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. The regulations implementing the CDBG Program are located in the 24 CFR, Part 570.

For more information, click here.

Members of the 2010 Blueprint for Leadership Class

One of my favorite activities at UWM is Blueprint for Leadership (BPL).  BPL prepares folks to serve on nonprofit boards and committees.  There are lots of great leadership programs in the Midlands, but none have the unique objective to prepare folks to lead nonprofit organizations.

I love BPL for lots of reasons, but because this is a short post, I’ll present three.

• First, I get to meet 20-30 new people who share the same interest, working with nonprofits. BPL participants may share this common interest, but their experiences and perspectives are diverse, such that there always is a lively conversation.
• Second, I have the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the best nonprofit staff people, consultants and volunteers around.  Most BPL sessions include an interview/ conversation with a local nonprofit professional.
• Finally, I get to hear how BPL participants would respond to certain situations because BPL uses case studies to present information.

Nonprofits operate to serve community interests.  Nonprofit board members act as stewards of those interests.  I think this is an important responsibility that shouldn’t be taken lightly.  Anyone interested in being a thoughtful, prepared board member in service to the community might want to join the 2012 BPL class.  Information and applications will be posted on our website in the coming week. The deadline to apply is January 12th. Check the link for more information, or stay tuned to the blog!