2009 River Grants 

Good News! The DNR River Protection Grant Program is in Governor’s Doyle’s proposed budget and DNR staff has posted the application on-line. The deadline is May 1, same as previous years. The grant program will have fewer funds available this year, which means proposals will need to be stronger than ever to be selected.      

If you are applying for a Planning Grant please review the updated ranking criteria in Section A. DNR staff has reapportioned the breadth of points to benefit both formation of new organizations and those existing organizations wanting to grow.

As always, River Alliance staff can assist you with River Protection Grants by discussing your proposal, reviewing your draft application and providing letters of support. Please contact Allison Werner, awerner@wisconsinrivers.org, as early as possible to allow for adequate review time.

Foundation Funding in Today's Economy

The highlights from the Institute for Conservation Leadership's (ICL) audio conference that we participated in last week, "Insights to Foundation Giving in an Economic Downturn,” are below.  More information about foundation funding is available in River Alliance’s Seeking Foundation Funding tool.

ICL’s Managing in Hard Times publication provides best practices and tools for managers of environmental and conservation nonprofits in our challenging economic times.

Insights to Foundation Giving in an Economic Downturn 

Foundations' Situation
The challenge with foundations is every foundation is unique. As one of the panelists said,  “When you know one foundation, you know one foundation.”

In this economy foundations are becoming more mission driven than ever, some are even narrowing their mission further. Overall, foundations are following the economic downsizing trends, with giving being cut 10-50%. However, there are a few larger foundations who are still able to increase their funding to some groups. There may also be a shift in some foundations giving of low interest loans instead of grants. Either way, on average foundations are not and will not be giving like they used to.

There are many challenges with foreseeing what’s to come with foundations and their funding in the coming years. New grant solicitation may not be entirely discouraged, however many foundations will be focusing their support on grantees with an established relationship, a proven track record and those that have been performing well.

Building Your Foundation Relationship
If you already have an established relationship with a foundation, take the time to nurture this relationship with your funder and view them as a partner. Talk to them about their current funding abilities and share your group’s successes and future needs. Show the foundation that your group has strong leadership and communicate your group’s strategic plan and goals for the coming years.

Your Proposal

• Focus on the things that your group does best and reconsider others that may not be your strongest projects.
• Talk with the funders up front, before submitting the Letter of Interest, as this may save everyone a lot of time and effort.
  
• Differentiate yourself and articulate your uniqueness from other groups in a similar field. Do not include extreme short term planning or decision making measures as a means to sustain your group.
  
• It may not be the time for the creation of new projects or programs unless they are specifically supported by your current mission and finances.
• Be bold and creative and keep your request on target with your group’s mission.
• Provide evidence of support from your community members (individual donors).  

Volunteering On the Rise
Make the most of your existing volunteers while working on building a larger volunteer base. Turn high unemployment into a positive by engaging those highly skilled people as volunteers to help you with accounting, planning, or other technical projects. 

River Rally Scholarships

Scholarship are due March 16

The River Rally scholarship deadline is just a few weeks away! Applications must be submitted (in our hands) by Monday March 16, 2009. Preference will be given to organizations that have not sent a representative to River Rally in the past, are DNR River Protection Grant recipients and/or completed a River Alliance of Wisconsin training. Contact Allison Werner for a scholarship application, 608.257.2424 ext.113 or awerner@wisconsinrivers.org.

The River Rally scholarships for Wisconsin’s river group members are made possible by the Department of Natural Resources. River Rally will take place in Baltimore, Maryland May 29-June 1.  

River Rally is by far the best national networking opportunity for members of grassroots watershed organizations. It is also an incredible training opportunity, with over 70 training sessions in eleven tracks presented by national experts on all topics of river and organizational management. A past River Rally participant summed it up well, "A wonderful, rejuvenating experience!  Rally affords tremendous opportunity for shared learning, networking and momentum building.  It's terrific to return to the home watershed with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and lots of great ideas."

This year's workshops and field trips have an urban river focus. Including two sessions led by our own Helen Sarakinos and board member Lynn Broaddus. They will present From Drainpipes to Diving Boards: Dreaming Big About Our Urban Rivers and Urban River Revitalization: Tools for Success.

Turn in Your 990-N

Since many of our Wisconsin river groups have income less than $25,000, we wanted to remind you about the new IRS reporting requirements. The new requirement for nonprofits with incomes of $25,000 or less is to file the Form 990-N (also called the "e-Postcard" ).

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 mandates that the IRS revoke the tax-exempt status of any organization that fails to file a Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, or 990-N for three consecutive years. The revocations will happen automatically beginning in May 2010. A nonprofit that loses its exemption because of failure to file will have to reapply to the IRS for exemption.

The 990-N, or e-Postcard is very simple. It is due every year by the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of your tax year. For example, if your tax year ended on December 31, 2008, the e-Postcard is due May 15, 2009. (June 30 fiscal year is due November 15) Click the e-Postcard link to get the information you need to submit report.

In This Issue

2009 River Grants

Foundation Funding

Rally Scholarships

IRS Reports

Read the latest issue of our quarterly print newsletter