GrantStation Insider - April 4, 2019

National | Regional | Federal | PathFinder | Online Education

National Funding
Opportunities Throughout the U.S.

Funds for Services Supporting Surrogate Parents
Brookdale Foundation Group: Relatives as Parents Program
The Brookdale Foundation Group works to advance the fields of geriatrics and gerontology and to improve the lives of senior citizens. The Foundation’s Relatives as Parents Program provides support for the creation or expansion of services for grandparents and other relatives who have taken on the responsibility of surrogate parenting when the biological parents are unable to do so. Funded programs must include supportive services to relative caregivers and the children they are raising, with emphasis on families that are not in the formal foster care system. Programs must also include regular ongoing support, and educational or social groups for relative caregivers and the children in their care. Up to 15 programs will receive a seed grant of $10,000 in year one, renewable for $5,000, contingent on progress made during year one and potential for continuity in the future. Nonprofit organizations from throughout the country are eligible to apply. (State agencies in selected states may also apply.) The application deadline is June 12, 2019. Visit the Brookdale Foundation Group’s website to download the guidelines and application forms.

Awards Recognize Innovative Justice Programs
Foundation for Improvement of Justice
The Foundation for Improvement of Justice works to enhance local, state, and federal systems of justice by rewarding the accomplishments of innovative programs throughout the United States. Each year, awards of $10,000 are provided to up to seven nominees for justice-related programs that have proven to be effective and can serve as models for others. The award categories include the following: legal reform, crime prevention, child protection, speeding the process, effecting restitution, crime victims’ rights, alternative sentencing, reducing recidivism, lowering the cost, and other significant efforts. The program is open to all individuals, programs, and organizations within the United States. The nomination deadline is May 17, 2019. Visit the Foundation’s website for nomination guidelines.

Grants Promote Ecosystem Conservation in the U.S. and Canada
Fund for Wild Nature
The Fund for Wild Nature provides grants to grassroots nonprofit organizations in the United States and Canada for campaigns to save native species and wild ecosystems, with particular emphasis on actions to defend threatened wilderness and biological diversity. Priority is given to ecological issues that are not receiving sufficient public attention or funding. Grants, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000, are provided for advocacy, litigation, public policy work, development of citizen science, and similar endeavors. The Fund does not support proposals from organizations with budgets of over $250,000 annually. The application deadlines are May 1 and October 1 of each year. Application guidelines and forms are available on the Fund’s website.

Nonprofit and For-Profit Social Entrepreneurs Supported
J.M.K. Innovation Prize
The J.M.K. Innovation Prize, an initiative of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, supports social entrepreneurs across the United States who are spearheading game-changing solutions to our society’s most pressing challenges. Specifically, the Prize seeks to support innovation in the following fields: Heritage Conservation, with a focus on conserving the places that communities care about most; Social Justice, with a focus on supporting just alternatives and reforms to the criminal justice and immigration systems; and Environment, with a focus on protecting natural resources and reducing the impacts of climate change. Up to ten Prizes will be awarded to nonprofit organizations or mission-driven for-profit organizations. Each Prize will provide a cash award of $150,000 over three years, plus $25,000 for project expenses. The deadline for first round applications is April 30, 2019. Visit the J.M. Kaplan Fund’s website for more information on the J.M.K. Innovation Prize.

Regional Funding
Opportunities for Specific Areas

Funds for Organizations in Company Communities
CSX Community Investment Program
The CSX Community Investment Program supports nonprofit organizations that serve the communities where the company is located, primarily in the Eastern, Southern, and Midwest regions of the United States. The main focus is on Pride in Service Grants for organizations that honor and support veterans, active military, first responders, or their families. Community Service Grants support local and regional community organizations that serve the needs of communities in which the company operates. CSX also offers volunteer support and in-kind transportation services and railroad equipment and materials. Applications are reviewed throughout the year. Visit the CSX website to learn more about the Community Investment Program and the application procedure.

Grants and Sponsorships Available for Arizona Nonprofits
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Corporate Giving Program
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Corporate Giving Program supports nonprofit organizations that strive to enhance the quality of life in company communities throughout the state. The Corporate Giving Program provides grants to nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies. The Program’s priorities include the following issues: arts and cultural programs, economic development and civic initiatives, youth and education, and health, wellness, and human services initiatives. Requests for funding and sponsorship support may be submitted throughout the year. Visit the company’s website to learn more about the Program and submit an online application.

Support for California Wilderness Protection Efforts
California Wildlands Grassroots Fund
The California Wildlands Grassroots Fund, administered by the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, supports activists and organizations working to protect wildlands and habitat throughout the state. Priority is given to geographic or issue areas that have not received significant financial support in the past, including rural communities and other regions without easy access to financial and political support. Grants of up to $7,500 are provided to small nonprofit organizations as well as activists with a sponsoring organization. Applying organizations must have annual expenses and income of $150,000 or less. Requests are reviewed quarterly; the remaining application deadlines for 2019 are May 15, August 15, and October 28. Online application guidelines are available on the Rose Foundation’s website.

Projects Impacting Minnesota Children with Disabilities Funded
Paul’s Pals
Paul’s Pals enriches the lives of children with disabilities by finding and funding worthy projects that advance inclusion in everyday life. Paul’s Pals primarily provides capital investments to nonprofit organizations in Minnesota that positively impact children with physical and developmental disabilities. The funding priorities include the following: purchasing equipment or resources to make a site more inclusive to children with disabilities, allowing children with disabilities to be more actively engaged in their community, promoting inclusion for children with and without disabilities to share experiences together, and providing opportunities for children with disabilities and their families to positively interact. Grants range from $5,000 to $50,000. Letters of inquiry should be submitted by May 1, 2019. Visit the Paul’s Pals website to learn more about the application process.

Federal Funding
Opportunities from the U.S. Government

Funds Available to Help Youth Affected by Opioids
Department of Justice
The Opioid Affected Youth Initiative provides support to identify and implement approaches for addressing youth affected by opioids. Approaches may include the role of law enforcement, prosecution, and probation and parole in identifying youth impacted by opioids and partnering with child welfare, medical providers, and treatment providers. The application deadline is May 7, 2019.

Program Supports Sports for Disabled Vets
Department of Veterans Affairs
The Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs for Disabled Veterans and Disabled Members of the Armed Forces program provides support to plan, develop, manage, and implement adaptive programs. Supported activities include instruction, participation, and competition in adaptive sports; training and technical assistance to program administrators, coaches, recreation therapists, instructors, VA employees, and other appropriate individuals; and coordination, Paralympic classification of athletes, athlete assessment, sport-specific training techniques, program development, sports equipment, supplies, and program evaluation. The application deadline is May 14, 2019.

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

Transforming the Bored Room: Firecracker Facilitation Skills
Are you looking to breathe new life into your board meetings? BoardSource’s upcoming webinar “Transforming the Bored Room: Firecracker Facilitation Skills” helps participants go beyond traditional board meeting models like parliamentary procedure. It discusses alternative strategies for effective board meeting facilitation that leverage engagement, accountability, and greater consensus.

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, April 9, 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.

Writing Capacity Building Grants
Capacity building grants are unique. While many best practices in writing operational or program grant requests apply to developing capacity building grant requests, there are some critical differences that need to be addressed to create the strongest application possible. During the 90-minute webinar, Alice Ruhnke will define and discuss the fundamentals of capacity building grant requests, highlight the key components that differ from “regular” grants, and outline ways to identify funders who provide capacity building grants. Throughout the session, common mistakes in writing capacity building grant requests will be discussed and remedied. This webinar is appropriate for individuals who have a basic understanding of grant fundamentals and would like to apply those concepts specifically to capacity building grants. The webinar will be held on Thursday, April 11, 2019.

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