Coalition Receives
Two Grants
The
Coalition is pleased
to announce that it
has been awarded a
$25,000 grant from
the Columbus
Foundation. The
entire sum will be
dedicated to
enlarging
“Unsheltered Life,”
the Coalition’s
education program.
“Our hope is to
share knowledge
about homeless and
poverty issues to an
increased number of
community groups,”
reports Zach Reat,
the program’s
manager. “In
addition, the intent
of the grant is
stimulate
participation by
community residents
to become actively
involved in reducing
homelessness in
Central Ohio."
The
grant will enable
the Coalition to
purchase one new
computer which will
be used by education
staff and
volunteers. The hope
is to create several
varied program
modules which can be
formatted in Power
Point and used by
presenters
interested in
becoming Coalition
volunteers.
“Thus
far, the Coalition
has received
incredibly positive
responses to its
education program,”
stated Don Strasser,
Coalition Director.
Participants have
written that the
training has helped
them become more
sensitive to the
needs of homeless
individuals and have
indicated that the
it has opened their
eyes to problems
they had never
previously
considered.
Earlier this year
the
Coalition was awarded a $10,000
grant from the
Governor's Office
for Faith Based and
Community
Initiatives. Those
funds are being used to
create a fund
development
plan for the
Coalition.
"Despite
its 20 year history
the Coalition has
had no consistent
source of funding,"
reports Don Strasser,
Co-Director. "To
sustain the
organization, its
programs and
advocacy, we need to
locate diversified
streams of
financial support.
Hopefully, the fund
development plan
will enable us to
accomplish this goal
as well as establish
sufficient resources
to hire a paid
director," said
Strasser.
The
"Compassion" grants,
as they are called
by the Governor's
Office, are
typically given to
small, grassroots
organizations to
strengthen
their infrastructure. A
primary mission of
the grant is
to position groups so that they can
effectively secure other
federal or private
grant
opportunities.
