Grant writing workshop facilitators, Susan Wilger and Lisa Jimenez, together have more than 50 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and have written hundreds of local, state and federal grants resulting in millions of dollars in awards.Silver City, NM: Rural communities, which accounted for 19 percent of U.S. population, received only about 7 percent of foundation grants awarded from 2005 to 2010, according to a recent study by the USDA Economic Research Service.

To turn that statistic around, The Nonprofit Resource Group (NRG) is offering a three-session "Grant Writing Workshop for Nonprofit Professionals," specifically tailored to the challenges facing rural and frontier organizations.

Headquartered in Silver City, NM, the NRG is a program of the National Center for Frontier Communities (NCFC), a research and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and quality of life in frontier America. NCFC recognizes that nonprofits form an essential piece of the larger social safety net, and are on the front lines of identifying and delivering essential human services in their respective communities. To accomplish this, nonprofits need to be strong, resilient and innovative.

Unfortunately, rural and frontier nonprofits operate with a third less funding than their urban counterparts according to the same USDA study. This leaves a serious funding gap as rural nonprofits are expected to cover vast distances and serve diverse populations with smaller budgets, and sometimes fewer staff.

NCFC Associate Director, Susan Wilger says, "Grant funding is often a major revenue source for nonprofits. Many funders do not advertise their funding opportunities so it is up to the rural nonprofits to know how to search out these opportunities and how to prepare themselves to take advantage of funding opportunities when they do come along".

Wilger will facilitate the workshop series with NRG consultant, Lisa Jimenez. Together, Wilger and Jimenez, have 50 years' experience in the nonprofit sector and written hundreds of local, state and federal grants resulting in millions of dollars in awards.

The grant writing series is offered over three months to allow nonprofits ample time to learn grant writing basics, locate a potential grant appropriate to your specific organization or project and to submit a strong proposal.

Wilger adds, "Our grant writing series is designed to improve the skill level of all participants, including those with no grant writing experience to those with a lot of experience. We will share tips and tricks learned after writing and winning hundreds of grants over the past 30 years. We allow participants to focus on the unique needs of their organization and will provide individualized feedback so that they feel more confident and leave with a polished and fundable proposal."

Participants can attend a single session of the grant writing series for $175 plus tax, or the full series for $439 plus tax, a savings of $86. Registration is required for the workshops.

NRG offers a cadre of services to aid rural and frontier nonprofits to stay healthy and robust, including a yearly calendar of trainings, free weekly curbside consultations, and the upcoming grant writing workshop series.

For more information, call NRG at (575) 534-0101 ext. 2108 or email NRG@swchi.org. Visit the NRG website for the full listing of available trainings and services at www.NResourceGroup.org.