Career Initiatives is now accepting applications. Click here for the full, current application and to learn dates for upcoming technical assistance workshops!

Career Initiatives provides opportunities for people with lived experience with a psychiatric diagnosis, extreme emotional states, and /or trauma to start their own small businesses, self initiatied projects, or pursue self-employment. Career Initiatives offers individuals the opportunity to apply for seed money to support thier eneavors. The amounts of the Career Initiatives grants are modest, averaging around $1,000. Grantees can reapply each year for a maximum of three years, as one of the goals of the program is to encourage people to reach for economic self-determination.

Examples of successful Career Initiatives that are now self-sustained include; The Anchor House of Artists in Northampton, an art gallery that provides opportunities to those with mental health diagnoses; Tutor Service Dogs, a business that trains service animals in Greenfield;  and VOICES, an award-winning consumer-run theater company in Pittsfield. The Career Initiatives program contains a number of interrelated components, including:

• The grant application (Applications are typically due in May) - Technical assistance workshops help potential Career Initiatives grantees complete the grant application form while learning grant writing and budgeting skills. As we require a resume with the application, this assistance includes training in resume writing.
• Job, leadership, and administrative training - Access to training both directly (sponsored by The Consortium) and indirectly (sponsored by other community organizations). Examples of training topics include marketing, business plan development, and grant writing.
• Linkages with community resources - As a stipulation of applying, we ask grantees to partner with one “sponsoring organization” to provide resources in business development, administrative assistance, and/or general supports. We refer grantees to additional community organizations to assist them with their career development and personal recoveries.
• Individual and group support to grantees - Individual meetings with grantees at least once per month and quarterly networking and strategic planning meetings with grantees as a group. The group meetings are an excellent opportunity for grantees to support each other, collaborate, and plan special events — such as The Consortium’s Annual Visual and Performing Arts Showcase that highlights grantees’ talents and publicizes their projects.
• Program/administrative support - One-on-one technical assistance with administration of grantees’ Career Initiatives, including assistance with resumes, developing business plans, budgeting, grant writing, supplemental funding resources, computer skills, and vocational outreach.

Career Initiatives is now accepting applications.  Click here for the full, current application and to learn dates for upcoming technical assistance workshops!