Amanda Roberts is aware of the importance of nonprofits to a chamber and the community at large.
Her most recent role is membership engagement specialist at the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce. She has spent years writing grants to assist groups and businesses realize their full potential.
She presided over the inaugural Nonprofit Roundtable meeting on Wednesday. The roundtable is a new chamber effort that aims to unite local nonprofit leaders in order to organize, collaborate, and increase their combined influence.
I can’t wait to unite all of our nonprofit organizations. According to Roberts, our nonprofit community serves as the cornerstone for assisting local families, the elderly, and children. Our objective is to determine what resources and needs everyone has in common so that we can potentially work with local for-profit organizations to support our nonprofits, pursue grant funding so that we as a consortium can pool more funds for our needs here, and ultimately help everyone learn from one another.
The inaugural roundtable discussion, which was held at the fellowship hall of North Heights Church of Christ, had about 40 attendees from 25 different nonprofit groups.
Some of those present had multiple roles, like Bruce Oakley, who claimed to be representing both Fellowship Bible Church and Gallery 246; and Joanna Fulbright, who works with the Ozark Foothills Literacy Project in addition to being an Adult Ed ESL faculty member at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.
In addition to nonprofits that have been in existence for decades, such as Network of Community Options and Arkansas Sheriff’s Youth Ranches (founded in the 1970s), the Alpha Center, Alzheimer’s Arkansas, Batesville Help and Hope, and Family Violence Prevention (founded in the 1980s), there were also new organizations, such as 100 Families, which launched last September, and the Batesville Homeschool Co-op, which is just getting started.
She stated, “I am so happy that we are here together and that our nonprofit members of the chamber are such a vital foundation to everything in our community.”
“We exist to help you guys,” said Chris Hill, head of chamber communications, echoing Roberts’ remarks. He listed a few ways the chamber can support nonprofit organizations:
adding information on events and happenings to the chamber’s weekly newsletter, which is sent to all members via email;
showcasing events on the chamber’s website and app’s community calendar;
showcasing news, promotions, and member activities across all chamber platforms;
printing mailing labels with the addresses of current members;
focused email blasts.
Additionally, he stated that the city now offers incentives for event hosting through its own Advertising and Promotions Commission. In essence, organizations that host events that draw at least ten hotel guests are eligible for event funds, which double during the Christmas and winter seasons.
Hill also established a nonprofit forum. For more information, contact the chamber at 870-793-2378. Organizations will have a dedicated space here to work together and exchange announcements, programs, and other materials.
According to Oakley, a number of organizations hold races of some sort, such as 5Ks, Glow Runs, and Color Runs, but there are also community art and cultural events that attract tourists, such as the Renaissance Fair, Artoberfest, and the Plein-on-Main open-air live painting competition.
Our Father’s Table, which has operated in Batesville for ten years, has lately advanced in community service, according to Autumn Ravisconi, director. High school students who require community service hours before graduating can complete some of those at their soup kitchen. She added that the Division of Community Correction-Arkansas Probation and Parole is currently working on certification to accept people who require community service hours.
According to Roberts, high school students must complete service hours. Beginning with the graduating class of the 2026–2027 academic year, high school students in Arkansas are required to perform a minimum of 75 hours of community service as part of the LEARNS Act in order to graduate.
In order to assist students in completing their service hours, Roberts stated that she would be sharing a list of community organizations with the nearby school districts and creating a list of attendees at the first roundtable discussion along with information about their organizations’ activities and services.
“Every day, you all need volunteers,” Roberts remarked.
Additionally, she stated that she intends to organize roundtable sessions on a quarterly basis and would be surveying participants to find out more about their main concerns or challenges.
Roberts acknowledged Jan Smith, the director of the White River Planning and Development District, and mentioned that she has experience writing grants. When it comes to their grant work, they excel. We’ve discussed topics like transportation, which I believe is one of those universal issues on which everyone can agree (is a need).
She stated that she hopes to work with WRPDD to discuss potential solutions to the major issues after surveying them.
She also advised NGOs to send a brief wish list of continuing needs and requests with their news and events submissions to the chamber newsletter.
For additional details regarding the roundtable or other gatherings, send Roberts an email at [email protected].
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