Norwich - The city community development office will hold a three-part training session for local nonprofit agencies to help them improve grant writing, defining services and reach their goals.

The three sessions, on Wednesday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 15, are free to agencies that serve Norwich residents but participants must register by today by calling (860) 823-3770.

The training session is funded by a $7,700 grant from the Sachem Fund, a joint Norwich and Mohegan tribal entity that provides grants to local arts and economic development programs.

Community Development Supervisor Gary Evans said the program is designed for local nonprofits that provide health care, social services, housing services or other programs to Norwich residents.

All agencies planning to submit applications for the city's CDBG grant in the application round this spring are "strongly encouraged" to attend, Evans said.

The first training session will be led by Dina Sears-Graves, vice president of community investment for United Way. Sears-Graves will be joined by Diane Gedeon-Martin, consultant at The Write Source LLC of Glastonbury for the second and third sessions. Participants must attend all three sessions.

Evans said he hopes the sessions will help agencies better define the outcomes for their programs and make sure the programs meet those goals. He also hopes agency representatives will share their own experiences and successes in providing services and obtaining funding.

With shrinking grant money in the region, Evans hopes agencies will learn how to apply for other grants beyond the local area, thus bringing more service money into the city. Norwich's CDBG grant has dropped from more than $1 million to $900,000 in the past few years.

- Claire Bessette