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August 02, 2011
BEST Project Provides Good Resources for Nonprofits
By MAGGIE JARUZEL POTTER State organizations, such as the
Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA), serve as stepladders for the nonprofit sector because they carry news from the National Council of Nonprofits back to those working in the field. Conversely, when groups such as the BEST Project (Building Excellent Sustainability Trust), share information with statewide organizations, the state groups then pass it up the ladder to inform the national council.
Being in the middle position allows state groups like MNA to spot promising programs from their members, who work at the local level, says Kyle Caldwell, MNA’s president and CEO.
For example, when MNA channeled public dollars to BEST, it opened a door for many all-volunteer organizations (e.g. faith-based groups and neighborhood associations) to participate in BEST programs, and gain access to additional resources and field experts that the smaller, grassroots organizations typically would not have had available to them, he says.
MNA’s partnership with BEST has enabled the Flint-based organization to leverage more than $225,000 in resources to expand its reach, says Jennifer Acree, BEST’s project director.
“We can then take these smaller groups’ issues back to the state group so they know what is on the minds of the people on the ground,” Acree said, adding that information about the sector flows from MNA downward to small, local groups and also upward to the Washington, D.C.-based national council.