Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation Awards Grants to Nonprofit Groups for Management Improvement

Chapel Hill, N.C. - Healthy Community Institute, a signature program of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation (BCBSNC Foundation), has awarded three unrestricted $10,000 grants to nonprofit groups in Greensboro, Jamestown and Wilmington for demonstrating management excellence and increasing their capacity to better serve local communities

The grants were awarded to the following groups:

• Reading Connections, a literacy agency that provides free services to help improve basic literary skills and leadership skills of adults in Guilford County. The group's achievements include increasing the number of clients by 57 percent, donors by 55 percent and volunteers by 47 percent. A strategic plan, created at their inaugural board retreat, now guides board and staff activity. The group also created a development plan, an annual fund-raising program and an endowment valued at $55,000.
• Guilford Education Alliance, an independent organization that promotes and supports current education programs in Guilford County and works to promote new initiatives. Its recent accomplishments include increasing operating income by 41 percent and the number of volunteers by 97 percent; creating a communications committee to strengthen dialogue with the community; revising the agency's bylaws; hiring a development director; and creating a board development committee.
• Wilmington Health Access for Teens (WHAT), a group that provides physical and mental health services to teens in southeastern North Carolina. Working with families as well, WHAT also coordinates care with other appropriate health care providers in the region. The average number of client visits per month has increased from 100 to more than 1,000. The group's investment in a donor management program resulted in a 43 percent increase in the number of donors and a 21 percent increase in funds contributed by individuals.

These honored groups achieved signficant improvements since participation one year ago in Healthy Community Institute for Nonprofit Excellence, a two-day conference sponsored by the BCBSNC Foundation. The free conference helps nonprofit groups increase their organizational service capacity and effectiveness.

"All three groups have done an incredible job of implementing strategies and techniques learned at the conference to serve a greater number of those in need in their communities," said Kathy Higgins, president of the BCBSNC Foundation. "We are proud to help organizations dedicated to the well-being of others, and we hope to see them continue to grow."

BCBSNC Foundation sponsors Healthy Community Institute events twice a year, and invites any nonprofit in North Carolina to attend. During the two-day course the value and techniques of strategic planning are outlined and organizations leave with a detailed action plan upon which future strategies can be built. They also learn to identify and address key challenges facing their organizations. Instruction is also provided on how to build and maintain a strong board of directors, and participants receive an overview of grant opportunities in North Carolina. Interested groups can learn more about upcoming Institutes at www.bcbsnc.com/foundation. The next Institute will be held September 21-22, 2006; registration is available on the Foundation's Web site.