Welcome to the National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center

Smile NCSTAC was established in 1998 by Mental Health America and is funded by a grant from the Center for Mental Health Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Our purpose is to strengthen consumer organizations by providing technical assistance in the form of research, informational materials, training and financial aid. NCSTAC promotes mental health systems transformation by working with diverse racial and ethnic communities to conduct comprehensive community assessments, develop community coalitions, advocate for improved mental health services and conduct public education activities.

To request technical assistance for your organization please contact us at the numbers and email address listed below. All NCSTAC publications can be downloaded for free or ordered as hard copy editions via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

New Webinar, September 14

Financial Self-Defense for Consumer Organizations

Tuesday, September 21, 2:30 p.m. EDT

(1:30 Central, 12:30 Mountain, 11:30 Pacific)

On September 14, tax consultant Michael J. Wood and Certified Public Accountant Bill Sibley will explain how to safeguard your organization from costly financial errors.

As small organizations with citizen board members, peer-run programs may not have staff or board members with experience in the non-profit world. Yet every non-profit must learn how to safeguard and account for money. Staff, officers and board members must understand the legal, ethical and accounting requirements they are expected to follow.

Using Social Media for Social Good

group Jean and Steve Case established the Case Foundation in 1997 to reflect their family’s commitment to finding lasting solutions for complex social challenges.

Our purpose is to expand giving, promote everyday philanthropy, deepen civic engagement, and broaden the use of new technologies to make giving more informed, efficient, and effective. They seek to do this while emphasizing the value of collaboration across all sectors, individual and organizational leadership, and entrepreneurship

Publication: A Guide to Funding and Financial Management

NCSTAC is pleased to announce the release of our new technical assistance manual, A Guide to Funding and Financial Management. This is the latest addition to our growing library of technical assistance guides for peer-run organizations.

Attend the Alternatives 2010 Conference

The Alternatives 2010 Conference will be held at the Hyatt Anaheim September 29 - October 3, 2010

Please spread the word and encourage others to attend. The deadline for scholarship applications has passed. However, it is still possible to register. Conference information and registration is available at www.power2u.org/alternatives2010

NCSTAC Awards Grants to Peer-Run Organization

In September the National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center sent out three RFP’s for grants supporting peer-run organizations.

Two grants for Capacity Building at $5000 apiece were directed at helping existing organizations increase their ability to provide peer-run services and build their infrastructure to assist in increasing their sustainability. Initially we planned to present two Organization Establishment grants for $15,000 to assist newly forming groups in building successful peer-run groups. After reviewing the applications we decided to award one grant at this time and to offer another opportunity at a later date. The third RFP was a $20,000 Recovery Grant for organizations who plan to provide innovative recovery based services.

Community Quotes

Subject: Rules - by: Dori
When you click on Rules it just takes you back to a blurb about the site and publications. I'm not real familiar with using discussion boards; is there...