CONCORD, N.H. – With a goal of addressing stigma in manufactured home communities and helping ROCs improve their reputation, the ROC Association Directors created a new Re-Branding Grant Program for ROCs.
The purpose of the grant is to help fund ROCs that want to make concrete changes that contribute to a better brand image, or reputation, for their community. These can include projects like changing the legal name of the cooperative, new signage, new letterhead and collateral materials, or a website redesign or new website (including ROC USA provided websites).
Applications are due on Aug. 30, 2019. The winners will be announced on Sept. 14 and will have until the end of the year to complete their project.
Awardees are eligible for up to $1,200 in funding. In all, there is $10,000 available. The money for the grant program was given to the ROC Association Directors after they completed an Excellence in Governance training. The course is run by NeighborWorks ® America and designed to strengthen the work between the Association Directors and the ROC USA Board.
“We talked about how we might spend that $10,000 and what came to the forefront was that we’d like to do some grants on top of the $10,000 we already do every year for community improvements,” said Kim Capen, the ROC Association Director for the New England. “This one, we wanted to help tackle stigma in communities.”
The application needs to include the logistics of the project, including how it was chosen, who will oversee it and who will prepare a brief report about it afterward.
You can find the application on myROCUSA.org under the Community Resources tab. You will need to be logged in order to see the page, otherwise you will see an error message.
Any ROC that currently or previously worked with a ROC USA® Network Certified Technical Assistance Provider is eligible to apply. Those who were awarded the Better Together Grant in the past are eligible as well for this special round of funding.
The project can be coordinated by either a Committee or the Board of Directors. An application must be sent to ROC USA after the project is voted on and approved by the Board of Directors, or, if necessary under the by-laws, the Membership.
The announcement came during the 2019 ROC Leadership Institute. On the final night of the event, the ROC Association Directors held a meeting with their peers to talk about regional needs and get them more involved in the process.
New committees focused on topics like education and advocacy are available for residents to volunteer to support the Directors and their work on the ROC USA Board of Directors. You can watch that meeting here.