What kind of guidance?

Project Planning for Your Community

Man in purple T-shirt volunteering at food pantry and carrying a box of groceriesImage

Our team will help your group explore needs, data, and funding, so you can plan and champion the project that’s right for your community.

We do feasibility studies, financial projections, and project planning. We also help groups find funds and write grant applications. We make refferals to experts who work alongside organizations to build their capacity for fund development and other business functions.

Every project is different, and the groups we work with are, too. Some need simple coaching by phone. Others may want planning and development assistance that includes site visits.

To be clear, Genesis does not direct or manage projects. We help make them successful by listening. We guide communities to resources, and make useful connections, including among project planners and experienced developers.

Here’s what we can do, at low or no cost:

  • Have a focused screening conversation with you, asking questions that clarify your community’s needs and opportunities;
  • Explain project development—how to assemble a project team, and the steps to presenting a project for approvals and financing;
  • Guide you to data sources that can help with project planning;
  • Assist you in considering innovative approaches, such as collaboration among child care providers and housing developers;
  • Help you find funding, and explain institutional and government financing tools and how your project might benefit from specific programs;
  • Assist in preparing and submitting funding application packages, using tools and formats that comply with program underwriting standards; and
  • Connect you to developer partners whom Genesis recommends as a potential good fit for your project.

Genesis facilitates access to new resources for developers and community facilities working on small-scale rental projects, affordable homeownership initiatives, supportive and recovery housing, and housing for people experiencing homelessness and people with disabilities.

Does it sound like Genesis can help? Get in touch with us!

Read more: Guidance Success Stories

PHOTO Food pantries are among the community projects that Genesis helps make happen.
Small weathered bell on a building on a Maine island, with blurred view of ocean water
“Our small, all-volunteer organizations could not do this without your support. . . .  Your work on behalf of our island communities matters, and we thank you.”
— Ellen Mahoney, Home Start, Peaks Island, Maine
What is Genesis Fund Guidance?
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“The largest barrier to developers is funding, which is why programs like the Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program are so vital to remedying the shortage of affordable housing.”
— Brandon Roberge, President, Newman Homes
Guidance Success Stories
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“Genesis was always there. From the design process through project management, they brought resources, skills, and patience that gave us confidence at every stage.”
— Mike Bush, Former Director, Penobscot Housing
contact our guidance team