The impending shutdown of Chrysler Corp. in Kenosha is one reason the University of Wisconsin-Parkside has received a $1 million grant from the federal government to bolster its support of non-profit agencies in Kenosha and Racine.

The money comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Strengthening Communities Fund and will be administered by the school’s Center for Community Partnership.

That’s according to Debra Karp, director of community-based scholarship and non-profit development at Parkside.

For nearly two years, the Center for Community Partnership has administered $1.5 million in federal dollars to provide support, training and technical assistance — and sometimes direct funding — to 60 non-profit organizations in Kenosha and Racine counties, Karp said.

That three-year grant was through the federal government’s Compassion Capital Demonstration Fund, and has one more year, when the program will be discontinued.

Meanwhile, the federal government’s Strengthening Communities Fund has been established. It’s similar, but has more emphasis on work force development and economic recovery, Karp said.

The grants are aimed at helping non-profit organizations more effectively and efficiently fulfill their missions, Karp said.

Kenosha agencies that have benefited include the ELCA Urban Outreach Center, the Kenosha Literacy Council and the Kenosha-Racine Spanish Center, Karp said.

Those organizations have used funds for a variety of projects, including purchasing computers, tables and chairs for classrooms as well as implementing a marketing campaign to recruit tutors.

Specifically, the new, two-year grant will be used to strengthen non-profit organizations that address economic recovery and work force development, Karp said.

The shutdown of Chrysler Corp. operations in Kenosha, scheduled for December 2010, and Racine’s high unemployment rate were factors in the campus obtaining the grant, Karp said.

“This is a very noteworthy grant for UW-Parkside,” said Lenny Klaver, Parkside’s vice chancellor for university relations and advancement. “We are known for our work with our communities, and to be able to assist many non-profits with capacity-building in their respective organizations is an extension of these efforts.”

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., aided the university in obtaining the grant by providing a letter of support to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Klaver said.

UW-Parkside is teaming up with Kenosha County Workforce Development, Kenosha County Human Services, United Way of Kenosha County and Kenosha County UW-Extension to implement both grants, Karp said.

Just 34 Strengthening Communities Fund grants were awarded out of more than 500 communities that applied for them, Karp said.

“It’s highly competitive,” she said.