Check out this article from Haverhill's local public readio station and nonprofit local news service:

https://whav.net/2023/10/31/haverhills-main-street-and-columbia-park-intersection-to-receive-safety-improvements/ 

Official DOT Press Release Can Be Accessed Here:

Walter Crouch is an ordained minister, master electrician, former college professor, husband, father, grandfather, and the President and CEO of the Appalachia Service Project.  Walter is also a longtime client and great friend to us at Merchant McIntyre Associates.

Recently, Walter earned a new distinction when the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises (Fahe) inducted him into its Hall of Fame.

“Walter’s legacy is one of positive change. His commitment to bringing together volunteers and partners to address the basic need of shelter in Central Appalachia through home repair and replacement has had a profound impact on the trajectory of so many lives,” said Sara Morgan, Fahe President. 

During Crouch’s 13+ years of remarkable leadership, ASP’s core Home Repair program flourished and Walter spearheaded ASP’s New Build program, resulting in hundreds of families receiving keys to new, mortgage-free homes.

Appalachia Service Project (ASP) is a Christian ministry, open to all people, that inspires hope and service through volunteer home repair and new construction in Central Appalachia.  To accomplish this work, ASP annually mobilizes more than 10,000 volunteers who are often referred to as “angels in blue jeans.”

Since 1969, these volunteers have been making homes warmer, safer, and drier for families in need and providing life-transforming experiences for everyone involved. In recent years ASP has expanded its outreach to feature building new homes for low-income families whose homes were destroyed by fire or flooding and others whose homes are beyond repair. 

These homes come as gifts of grace to the families at no cost to them.

Walter is planning to retire from his full-time service to ASP at the end of the year.

Windsor’s “Net Zero” goal is a multi-year undertaking that will require significant partnerships at the state, regional, and national level. Merchant McIntyre Associates is excited to continue building relationships between the Town and Department of Energy, Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Protection Agency, and Windsor’s Congressional delegation to identify critical funding and technical support mechanisms that will drive this major project forward. 

These local governments will receive funding ($400K award ceiling) to develop a Safe Streets Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries on their roads. With an established Action Plan, these local governments are now eligible to win implementation funding ($25 million award ceiling) to improve roadway safety in their communities.

Need funding to improve road safety? The next round of SS4A applications are due July 10.

If your social service programs are transforming lives, this case study illustrates how federal funders will support your organization year after year — just like other major donors.

For decades, The Doe Fund has led the charge against homelessness and recidivism in New York City by providing economic opportunity, housing, career training, and supportive services to homeless and formerly incarcerated men. 

Specifically, The Doe Fund's Ready, Willing & Able program has successfully addressed the dual issues of recidivism and poverty and delivered tens of thousands of men back to their families and communities as productive, stable members of society.  Ready, Willing & Able transitions formerly incarcerated men to the mainstream by offering a unique combination of paid work, transitional housing, professional career training, comprehensive social services, and case management, and by requiring child support payments and sobriety.

Here are the federal funding awards Merchant McIntyre professionals helped win during a 10-year period:

• $705,000 to further expand Ready, Willing & Able in New York and New Jersey. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $1.125 million to further expand the Ready, Willing & Able program. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $750,000 to further expand the Ready, Willing & Able program. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $100,000 to provide substance abuse treatment services. (Source: Department of Health and Human Services)
• $750,000 to further expand the Ready, Willing & Able program. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $100,000 to provide substance abuse treatment services. (Source: Department of Health and Human Services)
• $750,000 to expand the Ready, Willing & Able program. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $1 million to expand the Ready, Willing & Able program. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $1.25 million for the Ready, Willing & Able program in Washington, DC.  (Source: DC Appropriations Bill)
• $1 million to expand the Ready, Willing & Able program. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $1 million for the Ready, Willing & Able program for the formerly homeless in Washington, DC. (Source: DC Appropriations Bill)

This case study highlights the power and leverage of federal support. After helping DRMM win its first-ever federal grant, the ministry’s Director of Advancement called us beaming. She said, "Do you know what I did with that $1.5 million?  I used it as matching dollars for state, foundation, and corporate grants.  I turned it into $4.5 million!”

In all, MM professionals helped DRMM win these federal dollars for capital facilities and programs:

• $1.5 million for renovation and infrastructure improvements. (Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development)
• $1 million for the purchase and renovation of a former hospital facility. (Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development)
• $493,000 for at-risk youth programs at Wildwood Ranch. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $300,000 for the expansion of an at-risk youth program. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $250,000 for at-risk youth programs at Wildwood Ranch. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $250,000 for at-risk youth programs at Wildwood Ranch. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $190,000 for its drug rehabilitation program for homeless men. (Source: Department of Justice)

Feed the Children retained Merchant McIntyre Associates to help open their first-ever federal government relations office in Washington, D.C. In fact, during the early days of Feed the Children’s DC office, they shared our office space!

On behalf of Feed the Children, MM was actively engaged with both Republicans and Democrats in Congress on all relevant food security funding and legislative activity. We worked closely with USAID and the Department of Agriculture on several important funding programs and policy initiatives. Merchant McIntyre helped plan and implement Feed’s policy and funding objectives associated with its domestic feeding programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and international anti-hunger and nutrition programs.

One of the highlights of our partnership with Feed the Children was the day a senior Agriculture Committee staff member said, “You guys are the most credible anti-hunger group lobbying on Capitol Hill.”

As a result of our work together, Feed the Children secured:

• $10 million for an innovative feeding program with the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• $10 million Global Development Alliances (GDA) grant for a food security program in Malawi. (Source: USAID)
• More than $200,000 in annual reimbursements for meals provided through the Summer Food Security Program (SFSP). (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• Language in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation that strengthened Feed the Children’s ability to access federal dollars for domestic youth-focused nutrition programs.

Our day-to-day contact was Starr’s EVP.  Before leaving to become CEO of a larger social service organization, he told us, “I’ve worked with many agencies during my career. You provide the best customer service I’ve ever experienced. How do you do it — do you have a manual?”

Starr is a leader in residential and community-based transformational programs for children, families, schools, and communities. We've helped Starr secure federal dollars from three different federal agencies and an Omnibus Appropriations Bill:

• $876,600 to Starr Commonwealth, Michigan for renovations to the Battle Creek Day Treatment Facilities. (Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development)
• $500,000 to Start Commonwealth, Ohio for adolescent delinquency program expansion. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $300,000 to Starr Commonwealth, Michigan for expansion of the Battle Creek Day Treatment Program. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $350,000 to Starr Commonwealth, Michigan for structured therapeutic living renovations. (Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development)
• $200,000 to Starr Commonwealth, Michigan for bridges toward responsible adulthood. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $200,000 to Starr Commonwealth, Ohio for a structured therapeutic living program. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $237,500 for the Structured Therapeutic Living Program and for renovations of living quarters and classrooms. (Source: Omnibus Appropriations Bill)
• $544,000 for the renovation of facilities at the Van Wert and Columbus campuses. (Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development)
• $250,000 to the City of Van Wert, OH for the renovation of facilities for Starr Commonwealth. (Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development)
• $250,000 for juvenile delinquency prevention programs in Van Wert, Ohio. (Source: Department of Justice)
• $200,000 for the No Disposable Kids program in Van Wert, Ohio. (Source: Department of Health and Human Services)

American Leprosy Missions is a Christian global health and development organization serving the world’s most marginalized communities, focusing on people with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). ALM has provided holistic care for more than four million people in 42 countries since its founding in 1906.

ALM retained Merchant McIntyre Associates to build capacity, partnerships, and improve program design to enable the organization to win significant funding from USAID, NIH, and other international aid agencies.  Merchant McIntyre has achieved this goal by helping ALM win the following funding:

• $2.7 million from USAID’s Bureau for Global Health’s Control and Elimination Project for Neglected Tropical Diseases (CEP-NTDs) program.  The project supports efforts in disease endemic countries that control and/or eliminate NTDs with proven, cost-effective public health interventions.
• $1.3 million from USAID’s American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program to construct a new facility to serve people with leprosy.
• $590K USAID’s American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program for capital facility improvements at a hospital in Nepal.
• $200K from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for operational research on neglected tropical diseases in Ghana.
• $100K from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for operational research on neglected tropical diseases in Liberia. 

Merchant McIntyre also leads ALM’s advocacy efforts in Washington and helps lead ALM’s resource mobilization strategy with the U.S. Government.

Merchant McIntyre secured Senate Appropriations report language on behalf of ALM encouraging USAID to support research and development of a vaccine to protect against nerve damage resulting from leprosy. Merchant McIntyre’s continued work with ALM aims to secure the inclusion of leprosy as a priority for USAID NTD funding, increase appropriations funding for USAID NTD impacted by changes in the global health landscape due to UK funding reductions, and establish ALM’s role as a resource for Congressional staff and leadership.