2011-06 IL Issue

Helping communities find the federal funding they need.

IL State EditionThe FundBook

June 2011

www.fundbook.orgp.� ~ The Fundbook - IL | June �011

Extension battle persists

May has been a teeter-totter for final-izing the Illinois Department of Agricul-ture’s budget. Both the House and Senate passed their versions of the Illinois Depart-ment of Agriculture budget in mid-May: H.B. 124 and S.B. 2408. Some Legislators have their eye on reductions for the Uni-versity of Illinois Extension, which offers educational programs aimed at making life better, healthier, safer and more profitable for Illinois individuals and their commu-nities. More than 2 ½ million Illinois resi-dents currently participate in Extension programs each year, including 300,000 who take part in 4-H youth programs.

The Senate’s version of the bill proposes to make 5 percent and 7 percent reductions to parts of the Illinois Department of Agri-culture budget. Soil and Water Conserva-tion Districts could see cuts of 10 percent and several programs would be eliminated, including the state funding match of coun-ty-generated revenue for University of Il-linois Extension, approximately $10.8 mil-lion in funding. The potential budget cuts would make it impossible for the Exten-sion to tackle environmental issues, urban food and farming, financial literacy, and health – all the challenges of the future. It was only a short year ago that massive budget cuts forced a huge statewide reor-ganization throughout the Extension and many have already seen their county of-fices merge into regional offices that now serve three or four counties.

The House’s version would cut the Illi-nois Department of Agriculture budget by 5 percent and unlike the Senate’s proposal the House plan does not eliminate whole

programs. By late May, Extension partners were reporting that the most drastic cuts might be avoided--with the possible excep-tion of the money that has been allocated to the Extension’s Cook County program, ap-proximately $2.9 million. It is unfortunate for the county, as this funding is deserved and needed for programming unique to its urban population, including the state’s larg-est, most active Master Gardner program, which trains and organizes volunteers for a variety of horticultural and green proj-ects all over Chicago.

Extension partners are suggesting sup-porters to contact legislators and ask them to support the House’s version of the De-partment of Agriculture’s budget, H.B. 124 House Amendment #1. §

Affects on job outsourcing

With the state economy still in recovery

The View from Illinios State

June Tip Tac Toe: Sign Your Grant

Away

Whether you have inherited grant writing at your agency or you are a seasoned professional writer, surely by now you realize how critical signatures are for grant preparation and submission. During your design meeting or planning stage determine what signatures are required and by whom; immediately find out what procedures are required and the time involved to get each signature, and then integrate these steps into your timeline. Recently, when work-ing on a grant with a long-time client, I was reminded of my own advice. Many grants require the signature of the city mayor and many grants we had written, had received the mayor’s signature; we had the pro-cess down. But, what happens when it is now a new mayor? It means a new process and no longer a one-week timeline at that. No one told me! It was an ex-tra crunch and one you don’t want to deal with while preparing a grant application. §

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Meggie Chapman & Associates is committed to providing our clients with the ability to acquire valuable information, assess needs and goals, create and enhance programs, cultivate relation-ships, leverage funding, and evaluate and continuously improve performance through our top-notch grant development firm.

Meggie Chapman & Associates understands that no one entity has the same fundraising or evaluation needs. We strongly believe in providing a full-range of customized and value-added consulting services to each client. Each client, short-term and long-term, is considered our partner. For the past eight years, Meggie Chapman and her team have partnered with educational institutions, govern-ment agencies, non-profit organizations, corporations and small businesses in support of their respective missions.

Meggie Chapman & Associates’ personalized process con-sists of a unique, multi-pronged approach that includes research, design, writing, editing, technical support and evaluation. These established processes and our 21st Century innovation and exten-sive network of highly-qualified consultants enables us to offer effi-cient and affordable services, as well as products that we are proud to stand behind. A pure demonstration of the firm’s efficacy is their success at raising millions in funding and connecting clients with valuable knowledge, resources and partnerships. Our ultimate goal is to assist each client to achieve their goals, further their mission and meet their needs.

To get started on your project today or to learn more about how our firm can tailor services to meet your specific needs, please contact Meggie Chapman at:

Phone 602-672-3064Fax 866-422-6024

[email protected]

www.fundbook.orgp.� ~ The Fundbook - IL | June �011

from the recession, many people argue that now is not the time to be sending jobs over-seas. The types of jobs that are vulnerable to outsourcing have increased dramatically over the past five years. H.B.1624 aims to reduce outsourcing occurrences by creating the Job Preservation Act of 2011. The pro-posed act would make companies that lose 100 or more employees due to outsourcing of jobs ineligible to receive procurement contracts with the state, units of local gov-ernment, or school districts, and ineligible to receive government grants, loans, tax incentives, or other economic incentives. It would also require certain companies to notify the Department of Labor about the loss, and in turn, the Department would be required to provide written notice of the loss to the Governor, General Assembly, state agencies, units of local governments, and school districts. These measures seem to have a two-fold affect, to deter compa-nies from outsourcing jobs and bypassing American workers, and to give first rights to local government resources and incen-tives to companies choosing to invest in and build-up the local economy. Although important, one might say this adds another layer of work and tracking requirements by cash-strapped agencies with already limited manpower. §

Possible creation of a Manufacturing

Job Credit

Lawmakers realize the manufacturing sector is a critical part of the Illinois econ-omy’s foundation. Thus, proposed H.B.1143 would create the Manufacturing Job Desti-nation Tax Credit Act and amend the Illi-nois Income Tax Act. The Credit supported by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association would provide a credit of 25 percent of the Illinois labor expenditures made by a

manufacturing company in order to fos-ter job creation and retention in Illinois. It would also authorize the Department of Revenue to award a tax credit to taxpay-er-employers who apply for the credit and meet certain Illinois labor expenditure re-quirements. Minimum requirements and procedures for certifying a taxpayer as an “accredited manufacturer” would be set for awarding the credit. In addition, credit seekers would need to employ workers in the state of Illinois and demonstrate specif-ic benefits are provided to those workers. An evaluation of the program will be con-ducted and compared to similar programs in other states to determine the length and continuation of the program. If the Bill is passed into law, the Credit will be effective immediately. §

This article was contributed by Meggie Chapman of Meggie Chapman & Associates. Meggie Chapman is very knowledgable of the grants and funding territory in IL and works with local governments and non-profits on grants-related services there.

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Helping communities

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