Nonprofits aim to learn financial savvy
Money woes can trip a nonprofit group. They can burst the bubble of a start-up business. And even a seasoned enterprise must be nimble enough to change quickly.
Trudging Toward Transformation, a two-day symposium that begins today in Salem, will bring together 15 organizations focused on affordable housing, job creation, and human services. They'll share tips on how to grow and stay focused in tough economic times.
"Grass-roots groups working for social change often can feel they're trudging uphill, but they have to keep going," said Nancy Schwoyer, executive director of Wellspring House in Gloucester, the nonprofit housing/social service organization sponsoring the symposium at the Hawthorne Hotel.
"They sometimes have to stop, think about the context of the times, the needs of the people they're trying to serve, and sometimes shift direction."
Tips to raise money, organize employees, and stay focused on a mission will be offered. Small-group discussions and talks by guest speakers are also planned. Guest speakers will discuss leadership styles. The roster includes Rosemary Luling Haughton, co founder of Wellspring House; Claire Knowles, co founder of the Center for Self-Organizing Leadership, based in Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Sister Margaret Leonard, a Catholic nun who runs Project Hope in Boston; and Melissa Dimond, executive director of The Food Project -- North Shore.
Beverly Bootstraps, a food program for low-income people, Cape Ann Business Incubator, a small business counseling center in Gloucester, and North Shore United Way are among the local groups taking part. "Everyone who's coming has something to teach, and something to learn," Schwoyer said.
Bank merger needs state finalization
The Institution for Savings in Newburyport had a big year in 2006, growing assets and loans and courting a lucrative merger partner.
The bank's merger with Ipswich Co-operative Bank was approved by the institution's shareholders at its recent annual meeting. On July 1, the union should be completed, creating a new bank with assets totaling $800 million, but keeping the Institution for Savings name.
"The vote was overwhelmingly supportive of what we're doing," Mark Welch, chairman and chief executive officer of the Institution for Savings, said in a statement.
Ipswich Co-operative shareholders have also approved the merger, which still must be finalized by state banking regulators. The two banks combined would have five branches in Newburyport, Salisbury, Rowley, and Ipswich and 90 employees.
The merger follows a strong year for the Institution for Savings, a 187-year-old community bank.
Total assets grew 6 percent, to $554 million, and total deposits increased 7 percent, to $394 million. A new commercial loan division is also paying off. Total loans grew 9 percent to $246 million, the bank reported.
Grants boost tourism programs
A new round of Adams Grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council includes $60,000 to promote Escapes North, a tourism program run by the North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, a regional tourist council based in Peabody. The city of Salem also received $5,000 to fund a tourism marketing plan. The two grants were announced Tuesday at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.
Escapes North is an expansion of Art Escapes, last summer's tourism attraction tied to the "Painting Summer in New England" exhibit at the Peabody Essex. That promotion generated some $400,000 in economic activity, largely through hotel bookings and visits to cultural sites and restaurants. Escapes North will focus this year on architecture and literature in Essex County, according to the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Datebook
The Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce Tuesday will hold a Business Card Exchange, 5 to 7 p.m. at The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library, 2 Dale Ave. The cost is $20 for members. For more information, call the chamber at 978-283-1601 or e-mail info@capeannchamber.com.
The Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday will hold a Speed Networking event, 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Best Western Merrimack Valley hotel in Haverhill. Members will have five minutes to pitch their businesses to one another. There is a 30-person limit. The cost is $10 for members, $15 for non members. For reservation, call the chamber at 978-373-5663 or send an e-mail to leanne@haverhillchamber.com
Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com 
