Press Release

New one-stop funding information resource serves Arizona nonprofits

School of Public Administration and Policy at the Eller College of Management compiles government grant opportunities into free e-newsletter

	The School of Public Administration & Policy's new Arizona Networks funding information resource e-newsletter.

TUCSON, Ariz. – November 7, 2007 – The nation’s 1.48 million tax-exempt organizations spend hours searching for grant opportunities that match their needs and eligibility. In Arizona, this often frustrating process of search and find is now ending as the School of Public Administration and Policy at the Eller College launches a free e-newsletter that compiles government funding sources relevant to the state’s nonprofit community.

Arizona Networks is the state’s first one-stop resource for nonprofits to find current government RFPs, RFQs, and grants. In September, the inaugural issue was sent to the inboxes of over 1000 nonprofit leaders.  It will be produced and distributed monthly.

“Federal, state, and local governments award contracts through grants, bids, and RFPs – often on a really short timeline,” explained Sarah Maxwell, public administration lecturer and coordinator of the newsletter. “There wasn’t any one source in Arizona for nonprofits to find those opportunities. Sustainability is an ongoing issue for nonprofits, and we have the resources to provide a service that can make a positive impact on our community.”

The idea for the e-newsletter grew out of the School’s director and associate dean H. Brinton Milward’s research into the “hollow state” – the trend in government to contract with nonprofit and for-profit companies to implement programs that government would otherwise have to run itself.

“When government services are contracted out, professional training and information sharing are critically important,” said Milward, who also holds the Providence Service Corporation Chair at the College. “We’ve spent a lot of time developing non-degree professional development courses for government and nonprofit leaders, including the Arizona Healthcare Leadership Academy and the Southwest Leadership Program.  We know that markets work better when information is available so we wanted to develop an information resource on government contracting to complement our professional training programs.”

For more information or to subscribe to the free e-newsletter, visit www.publicadmin.eller.arizona.edu/arizonanetworks.

The Eller College of Management at The University of Arizona is internationally recognized for pioneering research, innovative curriculum, distinguished faculty, excellence in entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. U.S.News & World Report ranks the Eller undergraduate program #12 among public business schools and five of its departments are among the top 25 — Entrepreneurship, MIS, Marketing, Management and Organizations, and Accounting. The MPA program in the School of Public Administration and Policy ranks in the top 50. Financial Times ranks the Eller MBA full-time program #27 in the U.S. and #57 in the world, and Forbes ranks the program among the top 50 nationwide. The College leads the nation’s business schools in generating grant funds for research. In addition to a full-time MBA program, the Eller College offers an evening MBA program, and the Eller Executive MBA. The Eller College of Management supports more than 5,100 undergraduate and 600 graduate students on the UA campus in beautiful Tucson, Arizona.

Press Contact:
Linda Herrick, Eller College Public Relations and Events Coordinator
520.626.2590, news@eller.arizona.edu