Spotlight: Upper Montgomery Assistance Network

Every day this week, Patch is profiling a local nonprofit agency. If there's a nonprofit that you think your neighbors need to know about, email Doug Tallman or Lauren Sausser.

Mission: The Upper Montgomery Assistance Network, a faith-based organization, provides emergency financial assistance, education and referral services to people who are at risk of homelessness, according to its website. Serving Germantown, Gaithersburg and Derwood, the organization provides eviction prevention, and utility disconnection and foreclosure assistance.

Contact information: Phone: (301) 926-4422; Address: P.O. Box 416, Gaithersburg, Md. 20877; Website: www.uman-mc.org

Financials: The organization collected about $189,000 in 2010 from dues, grants and donations, according to its 2010 tax filing.

History: UMAN was founded in 1989 by a group of local parishioners from Germantown and Gaithersburg who belonged to different congregations and wanted a better way to respond to the homeless population. Today, the organization pools resources from different sources and functions as a volunteer social service for the local homeless population. UMAN is able to keep client records and disperse funding.

How you can help: UMAN's website lists several opportunities for volunteers, including a grant writer and office assistant. You can also "like" the organization on Facebook.