Archive for October, 2009

Obama announces $5.9 million for Anaheim Smart Grid Projects

Posted by Max | Wednesday, 28 Oct 2009 | No Comments »

Nevada City-based The Grant Farm connects Green Energy Professionals with Government Funding

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Nevada City, California – The professional grant writers at Nevada City-based The Grant Farm listened intently to President Obama’s speech at Florida Power and Light’s Next Generation Solar Energy Center today, (more…)


We helped create 24 new jobs!

Posted by robert | Thursday, 22 Oct 2009 | No Comments »

NEVADA CITY, Calif. Oct. 14, 2009 – On Wednesday, The Grant Farm announced that $4 million in federal stimulus monies from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund the Paratransit Bus Hybrid Program (PBHP), a collaborative effort between the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and seven of its regional partners.

This program will put Illinois among the first states in the nation to utilize hybrid buses in mass-scale paratransit operations that primarily serve senior and disabled riders. The grant will fund the removal of 31 older gas- and diesel-powered vehicles and the purchase 31 small-scale hybrid buses.

By replacing the older, inefficient buses with the new hybrid buses, the Paratransit Bus Hybrid Program will:

  • Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 871 metric tons/yr
  • Create or sustain 24 full-time domestic manufacturing jobs for one year
  • Support the development of a well trained job force skilled in the manufacture and servicing of hybrid public transportation vehicles

In partnership with The Transit Resource Center (TRC)-a national transportation consulting firm that has worked with IDOT for more than a decade-the fund development professionals at The Grant Farm constructed, developed and wrote the complex proposal for the TIGGER grant in only ten days. The $4 million award is one of the largest awarded in 2009 under the auspices of the Federal Transit Authority’s TIGGER (Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction) Program.

“The Grant Farm commends the Illinois Department of Transportation for its visionary leadership in developing a pilot program that simultaneously improves the economy and the environment,” says Shawn Garvey, CEO of the Nevada City based firm. “We’re very excited about their success.”

The Grant Farm specializes in identifying public funding partnerships and implementing public fund campaigns for organizations seeking state and federal loans, grants, and tax credits for critical renewable energy projects throughout the United States. Principals at the firm have more than 35 years of combined experience in public funding, technical writing, strategic planning, and advocacy. Since 1995, they have helped raise nearly $200 million in funding for renewable energy, watershed, infrastructure, and conservation work from a variety of public agencies-including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Federal Transit Administration.

The Grant Farm is a member of Sierra Commons, an innovative business community housed at the former site of the Stonehouse Brewery in Nevada City. Sierra Commons is a project of One-Stop Business and Career Center and the Private Industry Council of Butte County.

Website: www.thegrantfarm.com


Sierra Economic Development Corp. Events Announced

Posted by robert | Tuesday, 20 Oct 2009 | No Comments »

The Sierra Economic Development Corporation (SEDCorp) is currently offering the following classes:
See their EVENTS PAGE for more details

* Internet Marketing for Beginners, Placerville, November 3, 2009
* Internet Marketing for Advanced, Placerville, November 10, 2009


* Survival Tools to Manage Your Business Finances, Placerville, November 4, 2009
* Survival Tools to Manage Your Business Finances, Auburn, November 10, 2009


* QuickBooks for Beginners, Auburn, November 7, 2009
* QuickBooks for Advanced, Auburn, November 12, 2009


* Body Language / Communication, Placerville, November 4, 2009
* Body Language / Communication, Auburn, November 9, 2009

* Business Boot Camp – South Lake Tahoe, October 21, 22, 23, 2009
* Business Boot Camp – North Lake Tahoe, November 17, 18, 19, 2009
* Business Boot Camp – Auburn, January 26, 27, 28, 2010
* Business Boot Camp – Placerville, February 23, 24, 25, 2010

The Sierra Economic Development Corporation (SEDCorp) is a non-profit in the business of supporting the growth of small businesses
through training workshops and small business loans.


Social Media Internship @ Sierra Commons

Posted by robert | | No Comments »

Sierra Commons is looking for a Social Media Intern.

Sierra Commons is Nevada County’s business incubator and co-working environment. The Commons energizes our local economy by connecting entrepreneurs with the tools they need to achieve success and create new jobs. Entrepreneurs get turn-key access to professional office infrastructure, and become part of a simmering creative community in Nevada City’s vibrant downtown.

This internship offers hands-on experience building a cutting-edge web presence for a new and growing organization. The intern will help raise the visibility of Sierra Commons through daily postings to various social media platforms. Regular responsibilities will include:

* Writing entries for the Sierra Commons blog
* Commenting on other websites
* Posting links of all media types to the Sierra Commons Facebook page
* Updating event information as necessary via Google Calendar and Facebook Events
* Posting to other platforms as determined
* Developing recommendations for social media strategy
* Content development
* Light web design

This position is targeted at students studying communications, multimedia design, marketing or web management; students in other fields and non-students are encouraged to apply. Strong writing skills are desirable. Basic HTML knowledge is a plus.

To apply, please contact Robert Trent, Executive Director, by emailing robert(at)sierracommons.org.


Love the Conference Room and finding free stuff

Posted by Rob Wunderlich | Monday, 12 Oct 2009 | No Comments »

Held my first meeting in the Sierra Commons conference room last week. A couple of board members from the Greenhouse School of Music came by to discuss plans for the fledgling website. Mark Potampa joined us as well to offer up some design ideas. It was great to have a spacious comfortable conference room for the meeting. 

One of my tasks from the meeting was to implement a newsletter subscription on the Greenhouse site. I considered various approaches and settled on using an email service provider called Vertical Response. They are a full featured email marketing & communication product. The wonderful part is that they offer free service to non-profits!

I found out about Vertical Response on Techsoup.org, a great site to find technology services for non-profits.


iPhone apps being developed at Sierra Commons = Yes

Posted by Todd | Thursday, 8 Oct 2009 | No Comments »

Polyghost invades the App Store

Polyghost invades the App Store

Hello Children,
Allow myself to introduce… my..self… *sigh* My name is Todd Wahoske and I make art for video games. I work with a game developer start-up based in Santa Monica. We just released our latest app, titled Polyghost for iPhone and iPod Touch. At it’s heart, Polyghost is a pretty simple photo app that enables you to add cutesy, odd, and strange characters to your pictures and share them with friends on Facebook, Twitter, or just plain old email.

Polyghost is an alternate 3D digital experience where the most sought after vinyl characters come to life through a dynamic and interactive app available only on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Polyghost’s vinyl characters are meticulously sculpted, illustrated and rendered in real-time 3D graphics and feature the work of internationally acclaimed artists including:

Tim Biskup

DEVILROBOTS

FriendsWithYou

Find out more about Polyghost at these fine locations:
http://www.polyghost.com/
Facebook
Twitter


Team Sierra Commons

Posted by admin | Wednesday, 7 Oct 2009 | No Comments »

group shotWe had everyone in-house at the same time yesterday, so we took our first group photo. The lighting wasn’t great, so it came out a little blurry.