Sponsored by The University of Minnesota's
Office for Business & Community Economic Development

Nonprofit Application

MTAP Program Overview

The Office for Business & Community Economic Development (BCED) offers a unique program that has been designed to help nonprofit organizations, which serve Minnesota communities. Through MTAP’s Technical Assistance component, nonprofit organizations will receive technical assistance that can help them improve operational, management and organizational effectiveness, enhance their overall performance and build capacity.

To accomplish this objective, MTAP will utilize students, faculty and staff from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Carlson School of Management and other graduate programs throughout the University to provide management and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations. The BCED Office offers this unique program as a service to link nonprofit organizations to students, faculty and other resources at the University of Minnesota.

The BCED Program Manager receives applications for the program, and then matches nonprofits with student consultants who have been recruited from the U of M graduate schools. The Program Manager arranges and facilitates meetings, coordinates all projects, provides guidance to the students on project matters and monitors projects from inception to completion.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS PLEASE NOTE:

In considering your request, be advised that students are only required to expend approximately 50-60 hours each on the project for the duration of the school semester (approximately 3-4 months). One to three students are assigned to a project, depending on the scope and type of project. This is not an internship, but rather a student project, so please adjust your request accordingly.

Nonprofits that participate in the program must be:

• A community-based nonprofit organization serving urban/diverse communities
• Located in the surrounding Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota nine-county metro area
• 501(c)3 Certified and in operation for at least three years
• Able to describe their technical assistance needs in detail
• Willing to share data with consultants, including financial information
• Available to respond promptly to BCED and consultant requests for information and/or meetings
• Willing to have a pre-project organization assessment and post-project evaluation & assessment
• Able to pay an administrative fee of $75.00

Consulting assistance is available in the following areas:

• Fund Development
• Human Resource Management
• Program Development
• Strategic Planning
• Business Plan Development
• Operations Management
• Finance and Accounting
• Nonprofit Management
• Communications
• Market Research and Analysis
• Marketing Plan Development
• Demography Studies
• Feasibility Study
• Program Evaluation/Measurement
• Management Information Systems
• IT/Technology Development

Application

Next round of projects is Fall semester 2009.

Application Deadline: Friday, September 4, 2009