With many struggling through a tough economy, some local non-profits have also felt the pinch. However, one organization has decided to help lift the burden on these groups by finding ways to further their causes as demands increase.

The Successful Nonprofit Associations and Programs, or SNAP, was established at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington recently to help small non-profits in southeastern North Carolina survive as more people find it difficult to reach for their wallets.

One adminstrator of the program, Dr. Laurie Paalburg, explains that the organization is actually funded through the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to extend another organization, the Quality Enhancement for Nonprofit Organizations (QUENO), that was created to help non-profit agencies in New Hanover County.

“This project was specifically designed to expand QENO’s program in New Hanover to reach non-profits in the outlying rural areas,” Paalburg stated. The areas that SNAP will help include Sampson, Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Pender, Onslow and Robeson counties.

SNAP will provide a number of professional development workshops which will allow non-profits to focus on certain issues, including fewer people being able to give and higher demands for their services. SNAP will also provide one-on-one coaching to the non-profit leaders needing assistance in these areas.

Currently, SNAP leaders are now searching for nonprofits in need of support.

“We are in the process of seeking to identify organizations that would like to take advantage of intensive development assistance,” said Paalburg.

While the SNAP group will help many groups, it has mainly defined one group as a focus— health-related agencies.

“We want to work with non-profits that provide health-related services for low-income individuals,” Paalburg remarked.

The leaders of program are confident SNAP is needed more than ever now, particularly with the economy holding a question mark over the heads of many non-profits in the area.

“We expect 2010 to be an even more difficult year for fund-raising,” said Paalburg, “Non-profit organizations in rural communities face even greater barriers in accessing regional and national funding sources, at the same time, there is a growing expectation that all organizations be able to efficiently demonstrate their outcomes and account for how they have used their resources.”

In essence, Paalburg stresses that all non-profits need to have “greater professional management skills.”

“In order to meet the community needs, nonprofit organizations need to be well run and use effective management practices,” Paalburg reiterated.

Nancy Carr, the administrator for United Way of Sampson County, has just recently heard of SNAP, but said she is positive it will help her as she leads the local agency.

“It seems to me that their area of expertise is more with development and management and possibly grant writing,” said Carr.

In fact, if SNAP offers a workshop on grant writing, she said she would be eager to sign up to receive their assistance.

Carr is also optimistic since United Way currently has three agencies which focus on healthcare (the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, Healthy Carolinians and Fitness Renaissance), SNAP would also provide some assistance to them as well.

Katie Holland can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 136, or by e-mail at silife@myclintonnc.com.