GrantStation Insider - March 7, 2019

National | Regional | Federal | PathFinder | Online Education

National Funding
Opportunities Throughout the U.S.

Support for Community Collaborations Addressing Health Issues
The BUILD Health Challenge
The BUILD Health Challenge is a national program designed to support partnerships between community-based organizations, health departments, and hospitals/health systems that are working to address important health issues in their community. BUILD works to strengthen partnerships that have a shared commitment to reducing health disparities creating opportunities for improved community health, and addressing the influence of social, physical, and economic environments on health behaviors. These social determinants of health, addressed in previously funded projects, have touched upon early childhood development, employment opportunities, and food insecurity and air and water quality, as well as transportation, educational attainment, and housing. Through the third Call for Applications, BUILD will support up to 17 innovative collaboratives across the U.S. working together to address upstream challenges and drive sustainable improvements in community health. Grants of up to $250,000 in funding over two-and-a-half years will be provided. The majority of applicants must be working in cities with populations greater than 150,000. (Applicants from specific regions are exempt from this population requirement.) The deadline for Round One applications is April 5, 2019; Round Two applications will be due July 26, 2019. Visit the BUILD website to download the Call for Applications.

Music, Education, and Community Organizing Efforts Funded
Sparkplug Foundation
The Sparkplug Foundation primarily provides grants to start-up nonprofit organizations or new projects of established nonprofits that are addressing the fields of music, education, and community organizing. In the Music category, the Foundation supports emerging professional musicians or music-development programs. In Education and Teaching, the Foundation funds projects that deal with “the whole student” and with learning as a community activity. Through Community Organizing, the Foundation encourages activist strategies for addressing institutional injustices and for building a just society. (The Foundation makes a distinction between service organizations and community organizing; see “Defining Our Terms” on its website.) The Foundation also provides limited support for projects in Israel that involve Palestinian communities. The first step in the application process is to complete the online questionnaire by April 9, 2019. Visit the Foundation’s website to review its mission and funding guidelines, as well as the online application instructions.

Book Acquisition Grants Offered to Rural Libraries
The Pilcrow Foundation: Children’s Book Project
The mission of the Pilcrow Foundation is to provide new, quality, hardcover children’s books to rural public libraries across the United States. The Foundation’s Children’s Book Project supports libraries located in a rural area within the 50 United States that have a limited operating budget and an active children’s department. Through the program, a library’s local sponsors can contribute from $200 to $400, which the Foundation matches on a 2-to-1 ratio. Thus, a library can receive up to $1,200 worth of children’s books. The Foundation provides a list of over 500 quality hardcover children’s books from which grant recipients can select books best suited for their community. The Foundation accepts applications from independent rural public libraries and Native American Tribal libraries as well as libraries that are part of a county, regional, or cooperative system. The application deadlines are April 1 and October 1, annually. Visit the Foundation’s website for more information about the Children’s Book Project.

Mediation Programs for Ex-Offenders Supported
JAMS Foundation/NAFCM Mini-Grant Program
The JAMS Foundation/NAFCM Mini-Grant Program supports the development of innovative and effective programs that can be replicated by community mediation centers nationwide and serve as a pathway to their sustainability and growth. The 2019 Mini-Grant Program will focus on conflict related to employment, education, family, and community involvement for those who are recently released or scheduled to be released from the criminal justice system. Mini-Grants of $12,000 for two years will be awarded to five organizations across the country. Nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and public agencies are eligible to apply. The deadline for Solicitation of Interest responses is April 2, 2019; invited full proposals will be due June 17, 2019. Visit the NAFCM website to learn more about the program. (There is a recommended bidders’ conference for applicants on March 19 at 4 pm ET. To obtain the link for the conference, and register to attend, please send a notice of interest to MiniGrant2019@nafcm.org.)

Regional Funding
Opportunities for Specific Areas

Funds for Health Initiatives in the Upper Midwest
Medica Foundation
The Medica Foundation, an affiliate of Medica Health Plans, provides competitive grants to nonprofit organizations and government agencies within the company’s service area in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and western Wisconsin. The Foundation offers funding in the following areas: The Behavioral Health category supports programs that help people with serious mental illness and chemical addictions recover and lead productive lives in their communities. The application deadline is April 5, 2019. The Early Childhood Health category supports programs that focus on promoting healthy families to foster optimal growth and development of young children. The application deadline is May 10, 2019. The Rural Health category supports the essential health-related programming of nonprofit organizations located outside of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The application deadline is August 9, 2019. Visit the Foundation’s website to learn more about the guidelines and application process for each funding area.

Grants Enhance the Quality of Life in Company Communities
Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation
The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life in the communities served by Dominion Energy’s companies in seventeen states. The Foundation focuses its grantmaking in the following areas: health needs, environmental stewardship, education, and community vitality. Most grants are in the $1,000 to $15,000 range. Grant requests may be submitted throughout the year. Visit the Foundation’s website to review the FAQs and to take the online eligibility quiz.

Support for Community-Based Projects in Maine
The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation
The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation focuses on promoting, strengthening, and supporting communities throughout the state of Maine. The Foundation provides grants of $500 to $50,000 for community-based projects that address the underlying causes of social and environmental problems, as well as those that address the consequences. Priority is given to nonprofit organizations that promote literacy, provide community services, or focus on the arts. Requests are reviewed two times per year; the upcoming application deadline is April 15, 2019. Funding guidelines and online application forms are available on the Foundation’s website.

Grassroots Environmental Programs in Six Western States Funded
Maki Foundation
The Maki Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations that promote environmental protection in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. In particular, the Foundation is concerned with the preservation of the Rocky Mountain West’s remaining wild lands, rivers, and wilderness, as well as the wildlife that depends on these lands. Grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 are generally provided to small local and regional grassroots organizations working to protect public lands and rivers from threats such as mineral development, unconstrained off-road vehicle use, and poorly planned water projects. The application deadline is May 1, 2019. (Organizations that have not previously received Foundation support should contact the Foundation by phone or email prior to applying.) Visit the Foundation’s website to learn more about the Foundation’s priorities.

Federal Funding
Opportunities from the U.S. Government

Support Available for High School Equivalency Programs
Department of Education
The High School Equivalency Program supports organizations that help people obtain the equivalent of a secondary school diploma and subsequently gain improved employment, enter into military service, or be placed in an institution of higher education or other postsecondary education or training. The application deadline is April 9, 2019.

Program Addresses Violence Against Women
Department of Justice
The Office on Violence Against Women Training and Technical Assistance Initiative provides support to strengthen and build the capacity of civil and criminal justice system professionals and victim service providers across the nation to respond effectively to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, and to foster partnerships among organizations that have not traditionally worked together to address these crimes. The application deadline is April 11, 2019.

PathFinder: Featured Resource
A library of quality resources designed to help you develop your career path as a grants professional.

$9 Trillion and Counting: How Charities Can Tap Into the Transfer of Wealth
Are you interested in exploring the future of American wealth and what it will mean for your organization over the next ten years? The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s report $9 Trillion and Counting: How Charities Can Tap Into the Transfer of Wealth discusses how organizations can prepare for the golden age of planned gifts. It provides insights into how to start conversations with donors about their estate plans, what steps to take now to win big commitments from donors, and how nonprofits are already achieving planned-giving success.

Upcoming Online Education Trainings
Live Webinars

Unless otherwise noted, all Online Education Trainings are webinars,
are 90 minutes in duration, and are scheduled to begin at 2 PM Eastern Time.

FREE Tour of the GrantStation Website
Join Jeremy Smith, Communications and Technology Director, and Sara Kennedy, Director of Online Education, for a quick tour of the GrantStation website. This tour will cover all of the features in GrantStation.com, including navigation, search interfaces, and charitable database search criteria. This tour will provide tips on the most effective way to use all of the valuable resources the website offers, including the extensive funder databases that can help you identify the grantmakers most likely to fund your programs or projects. By using GrantStation’s databases and resource tools, you can begin to develop a successful grantseeking strategy for the next 12 to 18 months. The webinar will be held on Tuesday, March 12, 2019.

Online Workshop: Visualize Survey Results with Excel (NEW)
You collected data with a survey—now what? Surveys, assessments, questionnaires, and forms are one of the most common ways for organizations to collect data. It’s time to get those numbers off of your spreadsheets and into real-world conversations. In this workshop, Ann Emery will describe how to showcase survey results with effective data visualization. We’ll begin with a brief overview of data storytelling principles, like removing unnecessary ink from your graph and then drawing attention to your desired takeaway finding with a dark/light contrast and a storytelling title. Then, we’ll dive into real-life survey questions. You’ll learn how to visualize data from yes/no survey questions, check-all-that-apply questions, rating scales, pre/post questionnaires, and from open-ended comments. The speaker will show you a few ideas for visualizing each type of survey question, and then you’ll vote on your favorite. This session is about software-agnostic critical thinking skills, not about how-to software skills, but the speaker will share the Excel file that she used to create all of the visualizations in case you want to adapt her file for your own projects. The webinar will be held on Thursday, March 21, 2019.

Writing a Powerful Case for Support (NEW)
Choosing the right words is key if you want approval for your grant request, or to secure any financial contribution. Your case should define and describe WHY you do what you do, WHO you do it for, HOW your work is relevant, and WHAT IT TAKES financially to do it. A powerful, well-written case inspires action. Too often a case for support is dry, long-winded, written by committee, and rarely read after it is created. This high-energy, interactive webinar, presented by Lori Jacobwith, will shift how you craft a case for support. By the time this session is over, you will (1) understand what a case for support is and why it’s critical to craft before asking for money; (2) identify key words to include in your case for support; and (3) learn how to succinctly answer seven simple questions that must be answered in any case for support. This webinar is ideal for new and intermediate grantwriters. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, April 10, 2019.

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Editor: Julie Kaufman
Contributing Writer: Kevin Peters
Contributing Writer: Ashlyn Simmons