GrantStation Insider - March 22, 2018

National | Regional | Federal | PathFinder | Announcements | Online Education

National Funding
Opportunities Throughout the U.S.

Support to Create Healthier Communities in the Contiguous U.S.
Aetna Foundation: Cultivating Healthy Communities
The Aetna Foundation is dedicated to promoting wellness, health, and access to high-quality healthcare for everyone. The Foundation's Cultivating Healthy Communities grant program is intended to help local communities in the contiguous United States to become healthier places to live, with emphasis on projects that benefit underserved, low-income, and minority communities. Grants are provided to nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and federally recognized Indian tribes committed to improving the health of their participants by focusing on activities that align with at least one of the following five domains: Healthy Behaviors, Community Safety, Built Environment, Social/Economic Factors, and Environmental Exposures. Applicants can request from $50,000 to $100,000 for projects lasting between 18 and 24 months. Organizations with annual operating budgets below $250,000 are not eligible to apply. The Stage 1 application deadline is April 18, 2018; Stage 2 applications are due June 15, 2018. Visit the Foundation’s website to download the request for proposals.

Environmental Activist Groups Funded
Patagonia Corporate Grants Program
The Patagonia Corporate Grants Program provides support to small, grassroots organizations with provocative direct-action agendas that are working on multi-pronged campaigns to protect the environment in the United States. (Grants are also provided to 21 countries, including Canada, through the International Grants Program.) The focus is on activist groups that are dedicated to protecting local habitats throughout the country. The company is most interested in supporting organizations that work on the root causes of problems and that approach issues with a commitment to long-term change. Grants typically range from $10,000 to $20,000. The application deadlines are April 30 and August 31, 2018. Visit the Patagonia website to review the program’s grant guidelines.

Grants Strengthen Social Change Efforts Nationwide
Singing for Change Charitable Foundation
The Singing for Change Charitable Foundation is dedicated to supporting nonprofit organizations that inspire personal growth, community integration, and the enhanced awareness that collectively people can bring about positive social change. The Foundation provides grants to progressive, community-based nonprofit organizations nationwide that address the root causes of social problems. The Foundation primarily provides grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 for projects that serve children and families, youth empowerment, and disenfranchised groups, with a focus on projects designed to promote self-sufficiency. Priority is given to inclusive, grassroots organizations where Foundation support makes a significant difference. The deadline for letters of interest is May 1, 2018. Visit the Foundation’s website to review the funding guidelines and to submit an online letter of interest.

Collaborative Local News Projects Supported
Online News Association: Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education
The Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education, a program of the Online News Association, supports U.S.-based colleges and universities working in teams made up of educators, students, researchers, media professionals, technologists, and designers to provide local news coverage and investigate issues of interest to their community. The focus is on funding experimental projects that encourage collaborative local news coverage and investigations, bridge the academic and professional communities, improve training for students, and generate meaningful lessons for digital news. Up to ten winners will receive up to $35,000 in funding to support local news experiments and also compete for a pool of up to $100,000 in grand prizes for best project and evaluation. The application deadline is May 3, 2018. Visit the Online News Association's website to learn more about the program.

Regional Funding
Opportunities for Specific Areas

Funds for Oregon Organizations Promoting Equity
Meyer Memorial Trust
The mission of the Meyer Memorial Trust is to work with and invest in organizations, communities, ideas, and efforts that contribute to a flourishing and equitable Oregon. The Trust is currently accepting applications in the following portfolios: The Housing Opportunities portfolio is dedicated to ensuring that every Oregonian has a safe and affordable place to call home, with a focus on communities of color, underserved rural communities, and other marginalized populations. The Building Community portfolio focuses on work that addresses social, political, economic, and other injustices. The Equitable Education portfolio works to ensure meaningful public education for all. The Healthy Environment portfolio promotes organizations that nurture a resilient natural environment, while simultaneously supporting the well-being of Oregon’s diverse cultures and communities. The application deadline for all portfolios is April 18, 2018. Visit the Trust’s website to learn more about the funding guidelines for each portfolio.

Grants Address Health and Economic Justice in the DC Region
Consumer Health Foundation
The mission of the Consumer Health Foundation is to advocate for racial justice and racial equity through programs and investments that advance health and economic justice in low-income communities and communities of color in the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, and Northern Virginia. The Foundation's grantmaking program focuses on the following two categories: Health Reform and Economic Justice. The Foundation supports the organizing of low-income patients and clients, workers, community members, and immigrants and their engagement in advocacy. The application deadline for the Health Reform category is April 20, 2018; the deadline for the Economic Justice category is July 13, 2018. Visit the Foundation’s website to download the 2018 Request for Proposals.

Support for Habitat Protection in New England
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: New England Forests and Rivers Fund
The New England Forests and Rivers Fund, administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), is dedicated to restoring and sustaining healthy forests and rivers that provide habitat for diverse native bird populations, as well as freshwater and diadromous fish populations, throughout Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Fund will award approximately $1.5 million in grants, ranging from $50,000 to $200,000 each, during the current cycle. Organizations in five New England states may apply for support; there is a particular focus on projects that address on-the-ground restoration in New Hampshire. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, state government agencies, local governments, municipal governments, Indian tribes, and educational institutions. The proposal deadline is April 26, 2018. Visit the NFWF website to review the 2018 Request for Proposals.

Economic Advancement Programs for Montana Women Funded
Women’s Foundation of Montana
The Women’s Foundation of Montana advances economic independence for Montana women and creates a brighter future for girls. The Foundation supports nonprofit organizations throughout the state that work to directly improve the ability of women and girls to become more economically successful. The Foundation’s grantmaking focus areas include the following: Ensure All Women Have the Tools, Skills, and Opportunity to Reach Their Full Economic Potential; Create Systemic Change to Improve the Economic Status of Women; and Advance Women’s Leadership and Power. Grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 are provided for projects that are statewide or regional in nature, with a particular interest in projects taking a two-generation approach. Letters of intent must be submitted by April 30, 2018. Visit the Foundation’s website to review the grant guidelines and submit on online letter of intent.

Federal Funding
Opportunities from the U.S. Government

Program Seeks to Reduce Crime
Department of Justice
The Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction Program supports efforts in persistently distressed neighborhoods that face significant violent and serious crime challenges. The application deadline is April 29, 2018.

Funds Available to Preserve Humanities Collections
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Preservation Assistance Grants program helps institutions such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections. The application deadline is May 1, 2018.

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

Indicators of Financial Crisis
As tax season heats up, many executive directors may be pondering the financial health of their organization. If these kinds of thoughts are keeping you up at night, we recommend checking out The Foraker Group’s tool “Indicators of Financial Crisis," which helps organizations spot if they are in a financial crisis or close to one. Hopefully, this tool will either help you to rest easier, or to take action to strengthen your organization’s financial position.

GrantStation Announcements
 

Please Contribute Your Experience to the
Spring 2018 State of Grantseeking™ Survey
The resulting – free – State of Grantseeking Reports can tell you a reasonable level of funding to expect for an organization based on median awards by organizational budget, location, and mission (benchmarks you can really use). And, it can give you a leg up on the competition through awareness of trends, months or even years before other reports reflect the data. Please join thousands of others who find value in the reports by completing this survey and offering your insights for the upcoming report. The survey ends March 31, 2018.

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: Turbo Start Your Grants Program for 2018
Do you want to establish a comprehensive, structured grants program to fund your work? During this 30-minute sneak peek at the upcoming Power of 3 series, GrantStation CEO Cynthia Adams will show you how you can turbo-start your grantseeking efforts. First, in Re-Imagine Your Proposals, she will cover all the prep work that needs to happen before you begin writing grant requests, and how to build the "credibility" factor into these documents. She'll talk a bit about impact planning, and developing a strong case for support. Second, in Building a Stellar Grantseeking Team, she will cover how to keep that grant pipeline full by creating an outstanding grantseeking team. This step-by-step webinar is full of great ideas and an easy to use process for the recruitment and management of your team. Third, in Building a Powerful Grants Strategy for 2018-2019, she takes you through the process of developing a powerful grantseeking strategy, including the tools and resources you will need. We hope you join us for this free introductory webinar. This webinar will be held on Wednesday, March 28, 2018.

Online Workshop: Great Graphs - Tell Your Nonprofit's Story with Data Visualization
Visualizing data through charts, tables, and diagrams helps you deliver bite-sized information that viewers will understand at a glance and retain for the long run. In this workshop, Ann K. Emery will walk you through a step-by-step design process so you can apply critical thinking skills to your own projects. First, you'll learn how to customize your visualization for your audience. Second, you'll learn how to choose the right chart for your message. You'll see familiar friends like pie charts and bar charts as well as new options like waffle charts, Sankey diagrams, tree maps, social network maps, and visual timelines. Third, you'll declutter your visuals, reinforce your branding with custom color palettes and typography, and increase accessibility by ensuring that your visuals are legible for people with color vision deficiencies. Finally, you'll learn to tell a story through saturation and annotation. This webinar will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2018. View a sample graph makeover at www.annkemery.com/agree-disagree-scales/.

Now Is the Time - Mobilize Your Board to Raise Funds
In today's highly competitive grantseeking economy, nonprofit organizations that fail to attract outside funding most often are those with boards who are unable or unwilling to engage in efforts aimed at contributing to their agency's financial security. Stated quite simply, nonprofit board members no longer have the option of saying "I don't raise funds." In this webinar, Judith Margolin addresses the change in perspective necessary to turn weak boards into powerful fundraising entities, beginning with a new and much broader definition of "fundraising". Topics covered include: who should and should not be on your board, how to address your board member's reluctance to raise funds, and what specific roles board members can and should play vis a vis your prospects and funders. The webinar concludes with advice on developing an action plan to more fully engage your board in fundraising. This presentation will be held on Thursday, April 12, 2018.

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