Title: Minority Communities Organizations Resources Network of South Florida (MCORN)
Project Period: September 1, 2005 - August 31, 2008
Project Amount Funded (FY 2005): $278,250
Project Director: Doralba Muñoz

Minority Communities Organizations Resources Network of South Florida (MCORN) assists community-based organizations that serve Latino and African American/Haitian communities, with a particular emphasis on those organizations whose clients, personnel, volunteers, and advocates have limited English proficiency. MCORN provides culturally and linguistically appropriate training and technical assistance to 30 organizations each year.

Prior to implementing technical assistance and capacity building services, the project surveys targeted organizations to assess infrastructure and service delivery capacity needs, and conducts focus groups in the target population to assess perceptions of service delivery and management capacity needs of the service agencies. After assessments are completed, an organizational development plan is prepared for each organization. Specialized one-on-one technical assistance is provided as needed in areas such as leadership development, developing policies and procedures, strategic planning, and fiscal management. Training is conducted through half-day workshops, multi-day courses, and computer labs, as well as through on-site technical assistance. Areas of focus for training include rapid HIV testing, prevention case management for HIV positive individuals, development of cross-community linkages, program evaluation and monitoring system, cultural competence, proposal writing, beginner and intermediate computer skills, and effective internet utilization. Many workshop curricula are translated to Spanish and Haitian-Creole, and interpretation is provided. Union Positiva partners with Capacity Development, Inc., Holistic Counseling Services, Inc., and Vintex International, Inc. to provide training and consulting services. Participating organizations are also referred to additional sources of technical assistance to complement the project, such as resources through the National Minority AIDS Council, nonprofit start-up resources through the IRS, and funding opportunities available through Grants.gov. The project utilizes modified versions of the Nonprofit Organizational Assessment Tool developed by the Learning Institute of Nonprofit Organizations to measure changes in organizational capacity.

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