Shoppers at the Grasshopper Shop of Rockland on Day of Giving 2018.Events

Calling all Businesses! Sign Up for UMC Day of Giving by November 14

October 28, 2019By

With the holiday season just around the corner, United Midcoast Charities is calling on businesses in Rockland, Belfast and the Camden area to participate in the fourth annual Day of Giving on Saturday, December 14, 2019.

Businesses that sign up by November 14 will receive publicity and recognition through press releases, paid ads in local papers, e-newsletters, postcards to local residents, prominently displayed posters, and promotion on Facebook.

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UMC's 2019 GranteesNews

United Midcoast Charities Awards 2019 Grants

September 24, 2019By

United Midcoast Charities (UMC) has announced its 2019 grant recipients. With this year’s awards, UMC’s total giving for the last three years alone tops $1.5 million to nonprofit organizations in Knox and Waldo counties.

UMC held its annual Community Celebration at the Samoset Resort on September 19, bringing community and nonprofit leaders together for an awards ceremony followed by dancing to music provided by The Right Track.

Highlights of the event included the premier of a video highlighting the work of UMC grantees and the announcement of the second annual “Unsung Hero Award.”

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Agency Events

UMC Offers Board Boot Camp for Beginners

September 6, 2019By

A Learn With UMC event
Board Boot Camp for Beginners will be held at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast from 9 a.m. -3 p.m. on October 17. This event is offered in partnership with Maine Association of Nonprofits.

Do you ever worry about whether the board you’re on is covering all of its bases – or whether there’s some outstanding risk or liability that you’ve overlooked? This workshop will provide participants with a working understanding of the legal, fiduciary and governance obligations of nonprofit boards of directors. Attendees will gain clarity regarding the “must do” and “should do” tasks that every board faces and acquire strategies for engaging current and potential new board members in sharing the workload. Everyone will leave with an action plan for increasing the effectiveness of their board and heightened confidence regarding nonprofit board governance in an increasingly complex environment.

This session is for you if you are new to nonprofit governance, if you wonder whether your board is covering all its bases, or if your organization has grown beyond its grassroots origins but the board has not.
This program is intended for current board members, including new board members with little to no experience serving on boards as well as more experienced board members who want a refresher. Executive directors are welcome to attend with other board members, and it is strongly suggested that teams of 2-3 from the same organization attend together for most benefit. A maximum of three participants will be allowed to register from each organization.

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Public Events

Annual Community Celebration Happening September 19

August 9, 2019By

The 2019 UMC Community Celebration will take place on Thursday, Sep. 19 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the Samoset in Rockport. UMC will recognize its 2019 grant recipients and supporters with an evening of fun, dancing and delicious food and drink, including music by The Right Track.

The Unsung Hero community volunteer of the year, a joint project of Courier Publications and UMC, will also be awarded at the Community Celebration. Nominations are being accepted now through Sep. 2 at UnitedMidcoastCharities.org/unsung.

The public is invited to attend the Community Celebration. Tickets are available for $30 in advance here or by calling 207-236-2299. If space allows, tickets will be available at the door via cash or check.

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2018 Unsung Hero Awardee, Kathy BeckNews

Nominations now accepted for Community Volunteer of the Year Award

August 7, 2019By

NONPROFITS, tell us about that one amazing volunteer who is quietly going about getting the job done!

Nominations for the “Unsung Hero Award” are accepted under the following criteria:

  • Nominee(s) must be an individual who volunteers in Knox and/or Waldo County, Maine.
  • Nominations must be made by a nonprofit. Employees and paid staff of the nonprofit may not be nominated for work at their organization.
  • Board and staff of United Midcoast Charities and staff of Courier Publications are ineligible for nomination.

Awards are determined by an Award Selection Committee based on award criteria. Award will be presented on September 19 at UMC’s Community Celebration at the Samoset.

To nominate a volunteer for the Unsung Hero Award, please follow this link to the Unsung Hero Award Nomination Form.

ALL NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 2, 2019.

If you have questions, please email Megan Williams, megan@unitedmidcoastcharities.org

The award recipient will be selected from nominations by a panel made up of UMC’s Nonprofit Advisory Council, UMC’s Board Members and Courier Publications Editorial staff. Their decisions are based on reviews of each application and assessment of the following criteria:

IMPACT – How significant is the impact of the nominee’s service on beneficiaries? Tell us about the volunteer’s impact on organizations, their community and others. How has the volunteerism impacted this individual?  Reviewers look at whether the service is exemplary or unique.

INSPIRATION – Tell us how your volunteer stands out from others doing the same or similar things. Do they serve as a strong role model for others, and inspire others to serve?

COLLABORATION – Does this volunteer encourage community members or organizations to work together to solve problems/get things done? How is their service collaborative in nature?

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Capacity Building

UMC offers Benefits Options for Nonprofits Workshop

May 17, 2019By

 A Learn with UMC Event

The June offering in our free educational series, Learn with UMC: Benefits Options for Nonprofits, will be held at the Picker Room of the Camden Library at 3 p.m. on June 6.  This two-hour workshop will discuss options for a variety of nonprofit employee benefits packages.

Nonprofit boards sometimes consider employee benefits an unnecessary expense and avoid including them in their budget. However, Maine Association of Nonprofit’s 2018 nonprofit compensation report indicates that Maine’s nonprofit wages are stagnant despite a cross-sector labor shortage. Nonprofit employees may be forced to look to other sectors to keep up with the rising cost of living.  A strong benefits package can help recruit and retain the top-quality staff that nonprofits rely on to accomplish their mission.

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UMC Earns Second Gold Seal for Transparency

April 30, 2019By

United Midcoast Charities has recently earned a 2019 gold seal of transparency from GuideStar, a leading source of information about nonprofit organizations.

The gold seal, which UMC earned in 2018 and again this year, places UMC in the top .05% of nonprofit organizations listed on GuideStar’s website. UMC’s GuideStar profile shares in-depth information about the organization’s goals, strategies, capabilities and progress. UMC’s recently released annual report is another example of the organization’s values of integrity, transparency, responsibility and service in action, said UMC Executive Director Megan Williams.

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News

Limited Sponsorship Opportunities Still Available

April 22, 2019By

United Midcoast Charities (UMC) is grateful to receive support from many local businesses, including a sponsorship from First National Bank for its July Learn With UMC workshop: How to Search for Grant Funding with FDO.

Pictured here (L-R), Necole Janczura, Business Development Officer with First National Wealth Management, Megan Williams, Executive Director of UMC, and Jake Miller, VP, Sr. Business Development, First National Bank.

Donations from First National Bank and other sponsors will help make possible the 2019 Learn With UMC series of free nonprofit workshops and other UMC community events. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available, but they are going quickly. Click here to view the opportunities and call us to sign up or donate online here.

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DIP team photoCapacity Building

Learn With UMC: Track Your Impact data workshop

April 5, 2019By

We are pleased to announce the next offering in our new free educational series for local nonprofits, Learn with UMC. Presenters from USM’s Data Innovation Project will offer a Track Your Impact workshop, designed to help nonprofits use data to achieve their intended impact, on May 8 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the United Farmers Market in Belfast.

Funders of all kinds increasingly expect nonprofits to demonstrate their impact through program data. As nonprofits are expected to take on more work previously funded by the public sector and competition for charitable dollars increases, effective data can give crucial strength to a nonprofit’s fundraising efforts. Effective use of data can improve every aspect of nonprofit impact, from guiding strategic direction and program development to dramatically improving fundability.

Learn with UMC: Track Your Impact will guide participants from Knox and Waldo county nonprofit organizations through the purpose and processes of developing a performance measurement approach. Attendees will define what they want to measure, set priorities, craft quality measurement objectives, and learn how to foster a data-informed culture in their organizations. Attendees will leave with a firm foundation in how to build a performance measurement plan, a clear next step, and a workbook to support them going forward.

There is no cost to participate, but space is limited so registration is required. Please register here.

About the presenters:

The Data Innovation Project was founded with support from the Maine Economic Improvement Fund and is housed within the Cutler Institute for Health and Social Policy at the Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine. The Data Innovation Project improves Maine’s capacity for data-informed decision making by providing access to affordable information and instruction, skilled technical assistance, and open access to a growing body of resources.

SIGN UP FOR THIS WORKSHOP

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