GrantStation Insider: January 11, 2024

Application deadline: February 29, 2024, for pre-proposals
Grant amount: Up to $3.7 million is available in 2024 to support an anticipated four to eight projects.
Description: Acres for America, a land conservation program of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, provides funding for projects that conserve important large-scale habitats for fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States through voluntary land acquisitions and perpetual conservation easements. Program priorities include conserving critical habitats for birds, fish, plants, and wildlife; connecting existing protected lands to unify wild places and protect critical migration routes; providing access for people to enjoy the outdoors; and ensuring the future of local economies that depend on forestry, ranching, wildlife, and recreation. To be competitive for funding, land acquisitions and conservation easements should protect or contribute to the protection of significant acres of land, address one or more of the program priorities, and be endorsed by appropriate government agencies as being of high conservation value. A minimum 1:1 match of cash or contributed goods and services is required.

Application deadline: None
Grant amount: Up to $10,000, though the majority of grants are for $3,000 or less
Description: Believe in Reading supports nonprofit organizations in the United States that teach, improve, or encourage reading by people of all ages. Grants are provided for programs that serve any age or aspect of supporting reading and literacy, including adult literacy, English as a second language projects, or Braille-related projects for the blind or visually impaired. Supported literacy programs should serve populations that show out of the ordinary needs, such as geographic areas with low reading scores and high poverty levels. Nonprofit organizations and equivalent educational institutions, including public libraries, are eligible to apply for support for existing and provably successful literacy programs that have been established for a minimum of two years.

Application deadline: March 4, 2024, for letters of intent
Grant amount: Production Grants of $7,000, Workshop Grants of $3,000, and Family Grants of $4,000 are available.
Description: The Jim Henson Foundation supports excellence in contemporary American puppet theater. The Foundation’s Artist Grants provide funding for the creation of innovative new works of contemporary puppet theater in the United States. Production Grants fund the production of new works ready to premiere in the coming year. Workshop Grants are for the development and workshopping of these pieces. Family Grants support the development of new and innovative work specifically for children, families, and teenagers ready to premiere in the coming year. Grants are made only for the development of new works of excellent live puppet theater. Applications are welcome from individual artists, but those without 501(c)(3) nonprofit status must apply through a fiscal sponsor.

Application deadline: March 1, 2024
Description: The Blooming Prairie Foundation promotes innovative ideas, practices, and procedures in the area of organic and natural foods in order to further the health of people, the health of the environment, and cooperative ideals. Specifically, the Foundation supports development, research, and educational efforts in the organic industry and the cooperative community. Support is provided to nonprofit organizations in the United States conducting any of the following activities: development, research, and educational efforts in the organic industry and the cooperative community; the development of organic and natural products or services; and cooperative development in the natural products or organic industry.

Application deadline: March 1, 2024
Geographic scope: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, or Washington, D.C.
Grant amount: Up to $100,000
Description: The Consumer Financial Education Fund, administered by the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, supports projects that relate to consumer financial education, with an emphasis on issues related to large financial institutions, basic banking, access to financial services, and retail banking accounts. Projects must be designed to serve vulnerable and underbanked populations, including low-income communities of color, students, veterans, and non-English speakers, and be conducted by U.S.-based organizations that have both a demonstrated track record of working with these communities and a demonstrated expertise in consumer education or advocacy, especially related to financial literacy. Proposals must relate primarily to financial education issues or fair and equitable banking practices and be targeted towards users, regulators, and enterprises. Examples of funded educational activities include teaching adults and children about financial issues and increasing their financial literacy, especially including information about overdraft fees and how to avoid them, and events for legislators and policymakers to help them understand pertinent issues. Grants cannot be used to fund litigation. For the spring 2024 round of funding, support will be provided for regional, statewide, or local projects serving people in CT, DE, FL, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, and DC. Multi-year proposals are encouraged where appropriate.

Application deadline: February 15, 2024
Geographic scope: Alaska
Description: The Richard L. and Diane M. Block Foundation is dedicated to supporting nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life of Alaska's people. The Foundation's grantmaking focus is on the following: the young who will lead and power the state's future, the cultural organizations that inspire the community intellectually and artistically, and the social service organizations that lift up the poor so they may permanently and independently share in Alaska's bounty. Applying social service agencies should demonstrate that they will address the causes of the needs they are serving and are making efforts to fix the underlying problem.

Application deadlines: Grant inquiries are accepted throughout the year. The 2024 deadlines for formal proposals are April 1, August 1, and December 2.
Geographic scope: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin
Description: The Joyce Foundation invests in policies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region, defined as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. (National public policy efforts designed to have an impact on the Great Lakes states may also be supported.) The Foundation supports policy research, development, and advocacy in the program areas of culture, democracy, education and economic mobility, environment, gun violence prevention and justice reform, and journalism.

Application deadline: March 1, 2024
Geographic scope: New Jersey
Grant amount: $5,000
Description: The mission of the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, the philanthropic arm of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, is to support organizations that make New Jersey healthier. In recognition of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey's 20th anniversary in 2024, the Foundation is offering the Horizon Healthy Communities Grant Program, a one-time special grant program for small, start-up, or newly established nonprofits with a health focus. The program will award 20 grants of $5,000 for general operating support or to assist organizations as they build their capacity and scale programs. New Jersey-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with a focus on physical or mental health and operating budgets of $250,000 or less are eligible to apply. (The Foundation is also accepting applications for its regular Caring grants, focused on preventive programs that promote a healthy lifestyle, and Connecting grants, focused on programs that work to reduce disparities and remove barriers to good health. 2024 deadlines for these programs are February 1, May 1, and September 10.)

Application deadline: February 14, 2024
Description: The Computer Science for All program’s goal is to provide all U.S. students with the opportunity to participate in computer science and computational thinking education in their schools at the pre-K-12 levels. The program aims to provide high school teachers with the preparation, professional development, and ongoing support they need to teach rigorous computer science courses; provide pre-K-8 teachers with the instructional materials and preparation they need to integrate computer science and computation thinking into their teaching; and provide schools and districts with the resources needed to define and evaluate multi-grade pathways in computer science and computational thinking.

Application deadline: February 22, 2024
Geographic scope: Western United States and U.S. territories
Description: The WaterSMART: Water and Energy Efficiency Grants program provides funding for projects that result in quantifiable water savings, implement renewable energy components, and support broader sustainability benefits. Support is provided for projects that work to conserve and use water more efficiently, increase the production of renewable energy, mitigate conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water conflict, and accomplish other benefits that contribute to sustainability in the western United States (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) as well as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. 

If your nonprofit works with low-income populations, you may want to see how your community stacks up against others in the U.S., or you might be looking for a data source to bolster your next grant application. Published by WorkRise, “Where is the Low-Wage Workforce?” maps where low-wage jobs in the U.S. are concentrated and what industries are most common using Public Use Microdata Areas. Users can search the data using an interactive map which shows the median wage of workers and the share of low-wage workers in their area.

Webinar date: January 16, 2024, 2:00 to 3:00 PM Eastern Time
Description: Philanthropy is always evolving, and being up to date on current trends can provide numerous benefits. During this webinar with Alice Ruhnke, President of GrantStation, you’ll learn about current giving trends and how you can maximize your grant strategies. The webinar will delve into three crucial areas and equip you with immediate action steps you can take to enhance your grantseeking and proposal development for 2024.

Webinar date: January 17, 2024, 2:00 to 3:00 PM Eastern Time
Description: During this live demo and Q&A session, Jeremy Smith, Director of Communications Technology, and Kerry Glauser, Senior Research Specialist, will show you how you can use GrantStation to complete your grant research quickly and get high-quality results. You’ll walk away ready to utilize GrantStation to find funding opportunities that are perfect for your organization, build a solid grantseeking strategy, and write winning proposals.

Webinar date: January 18, 2024, 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Time
Description: Make no mistake about it: Grantseeking is a people-driven process. And the key to your success is the grantmakers themselves—the people who make the decisions about awards from corporate, foundation, and government sources. But who are these people? How do we connect with them? And what do they want from you anyway? In this lively session, longtime grant pro and grantmaking program officer Maryn Boess pulls from her own grantmaking experience (and that of dozens of other private and public program officers, reviewers, and decision-makers) to give you a realistic, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to create funder relationships that are authentic, high-integrity, and that work for you.

Get ready for a transformative experience! The Nonprofit Fundraising Summit, powered by The Nonprofit Cooperative and Nonprofit Collective Foundation, is here to revolutionize your approach to fundraising. Learn more and save your FREE seat now.

Key details:

• Dates: January 25 and February 1, 8, and 15, 2024
• Sessions: Four powerful topics over four days
• Benefits: Access 24 expert speakers, explore impactful fundraising strategies, and earn CFRE credits—all for FREE!

GS President Alice Ruhnke is excited to share insights during her session, "How to Find and Organize Your Funding," on Thursday, February 8, 2024, 12:00 - 2:00 EST. Register now for FREE and secure your spot.

Join us for an unforgettable four-day journey, weaving together ideas with innovation. Network with like-minded professionals, gain invaluable insights, and be part of a vibrant community dedicated to advancing your organization's mission.

My introduction to GrantStation was a bit different than many of our other employees. At the time, I was working at a radio station in Fairbanks, AK, hosting a technology program, and I found an interesting local business that was offering a way to “find grant funding online.” (Note: This was back in 2000, so everything online was exciting and new.) I got in touch with the then CEO, Cynthia Adams, and we struck up a friendship talking about all things technology and commiserating over computer woes. This friendship led to me rebuilding and repairing computers and systems as a contractor during GrantStation’s early “hovel” experience, which ultimately led to a job as a full-time employee in 2007.

From there, I went from someone who knows a lot about tech to someone who knows a lot about grants, grant research, and grant proposal writing as well. I still fix systems and help troubleshoot software, but I also oversee the mailing of all our newsletters, host and record our Online Education offerings, update our website, and serve as a walking event history. (My email goes all the way back to 2009, so if you ever misspelled a GrantStation email address, I probably have that email!)

The best part of working at GrantStation, and one of the reasons I am still here after more than a decade, is being able to share in an organization’s excitement over learning something new. I know how our search systems work and how to find funding opportunities in our databases, and it makes me so happy when, during a tour or a personal session, I can share that knowledge. The excitement is contagious when a Member or prospective Member realizes how effective a grant strategy is (and how it isn’t that scary or hard). This also extends to our Online Education sessions: It’s a true treasure to see the connection when a presenter’s point is heard loud and clear and everyone becomes excited at the possibilities.

Always feel free to hop on our monthly tour and say hello and ask a question that helps you home in on your own educational treasure!

More funding opportunities are featured on the GrantStation homepage. Current opportunities include the Trans Justice Funding Project (U.S. national), Chartercare Foundation (U.S. local: Rhode Island), Athletics Canada: Athletics for All Grant Program (Canada), and the SAGE Fund (Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa).