The Dayton Foundation in the last year has seen a jump in the number of nonprofits requesting grants as those agencies struggle to keep up with more people coming through their doors seeking help.

"The needs are increasing faster than we have the available dollars," said Michael Parks, president of the regional community foundation.

These days, fewer of those requests are for projects and capital campaigns and more are for operational support such as staffing and supplies, he noted.

The foundation is partnering with Montgomery County and the Dayton Power and Light Foundation on the new Nonprofit Alliance Support Program. It will help nonprofits seeking to run more effectively and efficiently form partnerships, alliances or mergers.

"We're not advocating one method or form over another," Parks said. "We're saying, 'Let us provide technical help and assistance through consultants to help you figure out what is best for your organization because one size does not fit all.' "

Barbra Stonerock, the foundation's director of community relations, said they'll give an overview of the project March 19 during a breakfast at the Dayton Racquet Club in Kettering Tower to nonprofit executive directors, who are encouraged to attend with a board member.

Those agencies will be invited to submit a letter explaining why they're interested in looking at a significant partnership or merger.

Twenty of those organizations will be selected to attend an in-depth workshop to explore collaborations.

After that, each of those 20 organizations' boards of trustees will meet with a consultant to create a mission assessment document reviewing their strengths and weaknesses and possible partners to align with. They then will be able to apply for competitive grants to implement those suggested partnerships, Parks said.

The Dayton Foundation will help pay the cost of implementing the plan for what Parks hopes will be five to 10 collaborations.

"We'll put in 70 percent of the cost," he said, noting that the collaborating non-profits will pick up the rest.

Parks said there are now 4,000 nonprofits in Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Preble and Darke counties. That is more than the 3,700 three or four years ago and officials believe there is likely some duplication of services.

At the March 19 meeting, foundation officials will spotlight some successful area mergers, partnerships and alliances. They include the 1999 merger of Goodwill and Easter Seals; the 2006 merger of Carillon Historical Park and Montgomery County Historical Society into Dayton History; and last year's YMCA of Greater Dayton merger with three YMCAs in Greene County.

Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley actually has done six mergers in the last decade. Others have involved the Miami Valley Radio Reading Service; adult day services Shiloh House in Dayton and Sunrise Center in Piqua; the Technology Resource Center in Dayton; and Goodwill Industries of Lima

Goodwill Easter Seals also recently entered into a "partnership" with Crayons to Classrooms, a free store for teachers from under-funded schools in the Dayton area serving low-income families.

The store, which opened in January, is housed at Goodwill Easter Seals' building at 1511 Kuntz Road. The nonprofit shares back-room operations including information technology (IT), human resources and accounting.

"That's a tremendous example of a partnership without being a merger," Parks said.

Goodwill Easter Seals President Amy Luttrell believes the Dayton Foundation's new pilot project is "very timely" as some nonprofits struggle to stay afloat. She has noticed that more agency leaders appear open to exploring those possibilities than two years ago because "everyone is feeling more desperate."

Steve Rubenstein, Crayons to Classrooms executive director, said the partnership made it possible for the nonprofit to get off the ground. It pays Goodwill Easter Seals a monthly fee for leasing the 2,500 square-foot store space and for other shared services.

"For all of that, we get a cost-effective way of running our business, versus going out in the open marketing and trying to support that same level of services on our own," he said.

That's a major benefit during this deep economic recession, Rubenstein said.

"It's given us an opportunity to effectively position ourselves in this market where we can weather this storm."