Weekly Funding Opportunity Listing - November 1, 2011

* Before you read about current RFPs below, I wanted to share information about an upcoming webinar that I’m presenting on November 15, 2011 on behalf of the Grant Professionals Association, a national association for grant writers which I’m a member of.  The webinar which is open to the public for participation is 10 Ways to Improve Your Relationship with Grant Funders.  You can find out more information and register by going to the GPA website: http://grantprofessionals.org/professional-development/webinars/upcoming-webinars

Below are funding opportunities of interest that I have learned about/received RFP notifications about in the past week that I wanted to share. 

Arts/Museums

The National Endowment for the Arts – Big Read

 

Deadline: February 1, 2012

The Big Read supports organizations across the country in developing community-wide reading programs that include innovative, diverse activities such as author readings, book discussions, art exhibits, lectures, film series, music or dance events, theatrical performances, panel discussions, and other events and activities related to their chosen book or poet which encourage reading and participation by diverse audiences and lapsed or reluctant readers.

Organizations selected to participate receive a grant, access to online training resources and opportunities, and educational and promotional materials designed to support widespread community involvement.

Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000. Organizations should consider the following when determining their grant request:

• Community population— the suggested grant range for applicants from a small community with fewer than 50,000 residents is $2,500–$7,500; the suggested grant range for applicants from larger cities and towns is $7,500–$20,000.
• Number of activities planned—applicants demonstrating innovative and detailed plans to host more than the minimum required activities (see Event plans) should consider requesting grants at the upper end of the grant range.

Grants must be matched at least 1 to 1 with nonfederal funds. Grant funds may be used for such expenses as book purchases, speaker fees and travel, salaries, advertising, and venue rental.

Kresge – Facility Investments & Building Reserves forArts Organizations

 

Deadline: March 1, 2012

Although this grant opportunity places an emphasis on facility investments and building reserves, its primary purpose is to foster the examination and understanding of comprehensive organizational capitalization.

Organizations may apply for the following:

• Both facility investments and building reserves, or
• Building reserves only.

Facility investment grants will prioritize renovation and repair projects. (On occasion, this grant may be awarded for new construction that includes exemplary environmental sustainability practices.)

A building reserve grant seeds or enhances an organization’s building reserve fund for the ongoing maintenance and replacement of an organization’s facilities. We do not fund reserves solely for equipment.

The National Endowment for the Humanities – American Historical and Cultural Organizations – Planning/Implementation Grants

Deadline: January 11, 2012

In the America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations grant program, eligible project formats include but are not limited to museum and library exhibitions, interpretive websites and other digital projects, interpretations of historic places, reading and discussion groups, and related programs. Applicants are encouraged to consider more than one format for presenting humanities ideas to the public. Projects should encourage dialogue, discussion, and civic engagement, and they should foster learning among people of all ages. Humanities projects tailored to particular groups, such as families, youth, seniors, at-risk communities, and veterans are welcomed.

NEH offers two categories of grants for America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations: planning and implementation grants.

Planning grants are available for projects that may need further development before applying for implementation. This planning can include the identification and refinement of the project’s main humanities ideas and questions, consultation with scholars, preliminary audience evaluation, preliminary design of the proposed interpretive formats, beta testing of digital formats, development of complementary programming, research, or the drafting of interpretive materials. Sample narratives from successful planning grant applications are available under the Program Resources section of the sidebar on the first page of the guidelines.

Implementation grants support the final preparation of a project for presentation to the public. See application guidelines for Implementation Grants. Applicants must submit a full walkthrough for an exhibition, or a prototype or storyboard for a digital project, that demonstrates a solid command of the humanities ideas and scholarship that relate to the subject. Applicants for implementation grants should have already finished most of the planning for their projects, including the identification of the key humanities themes, relevant scholarship, and program formats. For exhibitions, implementation grants can support the final stages of design development, but these grants are primarily intended for installation.

Environment

Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act Grant Program

Deadline: December 12, 2011

The Service requests interested entities to submit restoration, research and Regional Project proposals for the restoration of Great Lakes fish and wildlife resources.  The purpose of the Act is to provide assistance to States, Indian Tribes, and other interested entities to encourage cooperative conservation, restoration and management of the fish and wildlife resources and their habitats in the Great Lakes Basin.  Supported in part by President Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a total of approximately $2.0 million is projected to be available to support projects this fiscal year. 

Health

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – Community Health Leaders

  

Deadline: November 28, 2011

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders (CHL) each year honors up to 10 outstanding and otherwise unrecognized individuals who overcome daunting odds to improve health and health care, especially to underserved populations in communities across the United States. The program aims to elevate the work of these unsung leaders through heightened recognition, technical assistance and new leadership opportunities.

To be considered for a CHL award, a nominee must:

-  have contributed significantly to improving the health of underserved communities by increasing access to health services or quality;

-  have positively affected a significant number of people in the targeted community;

-  have been involved with the initiative for which he/she is nominated for no less than three years and no more than 10 years;

-  have a record of accomplishment associated with the community health issue for which he/she is nominated;

-  be a relatively unsung leader, having not received significant national recognition or awards for his/her work;

-  be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its territories; and

-  be affiliated with a public or nonprofit organization that is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

Youth

Ronald McDonald House Charities

Deadline: November 13, 2011

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) recently revised the grant strategy to focus on sustainable, replicable projects that include a train-the-trainer component in their pursuit of addressing the most pressing issues relating to children’s health and well being.

RMHC takes a holistic, family-centered approach to helping bridge access to care and is interested in funding and partnering with organizations that have a similar philosophy. 

RMHC Grants will be awarded to stable, efficient U.S based organizations operating internationally or domestically with proven outcomes and strong partnerships with key stakeholders.

RMHC primarily allocates funding to costs associated with the direct implementation of the project. RMHC will evaluate organizations based on their execution of past or current projects by the following outcomes:

• Program Performance
• Community Outreach
• Financial Sustainability
• Management Effectiveness

Additionally, RMHC will consider pilot projects provided that the organization operating them has demonstrated success in these outcome areas.

 

Please feel free to pass this listing along to your colleagues. It may also be viewed by visiting Grantwriter's Blog directly, or in your email inbox by subscribing to the email feed. If you have any funding announcements that you think would be helpful to colleagues and would like to have listed in the weekly update, please pass them along!

Best wishes for continued success in your grant seeking efforts!

Diane