GrantStation Insider - May 9, 2019

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

National Funding
Opportunities Throughout the U.S.

Support for Homebuyer Programs Nationwide
Wells Fargo Housing Philanthropy: Homeownership Counseling Grant Program
Wells Fargo Housing Philanthropy is committed to investing in sustainable housing initiatives and neighborhood revitalization efforts throughout the United States. The Foundation’s Homeownership Counseling Grant Program supports local nonprofit housing organizations nationwide that help create affordable and sustainable homeownership opportunities for low- to moderate-income families. The program focuses on homebuyer counseling, homebuyer education, and foreclosure prevention activities. Applying organizations must have been in operation at least two years. Requests may be submitted from July 1 through July 30, 2019. Visit the Wells Fargo website for more information about the program.

Efforts to Address the Climate Crisis and Inequality Funded
The Nathan Cummings Foundation
The Nathan Cummings Foundation is rooted in the Jewish tradition and is committed to creating a more just, vibrant, sustainable, and democratic society. The Foundation is currently focused on finding solutions to the two most challenging problems of our time—the climate crisis and growing inequality. The Foundation invests in the following four focus areas that together advance the vision of a healthy planet and a healthy democracy: Inclusive Clean Economy; Racial and Economic Justice; Corporate and Political Accountability; and Voice, Creativity, and Culture. Letters of inquiry may be submitted at any time. Visit the Foundation’s website to learn more about the funding strategy for each focus area.

Grants Strengthen Muslim American Leadership Initiatives
Pillars Fund
The Pillars Fund is dedicated to amplifying the leadership, narrative, and talents of American Muslims. The Fund aspires to put an end to bigotry, xenophobia, and other divisive tactics that keep our nation apart. Support is provided to nonprofit organizations throughout the United States that address the following issues: Rights, with a focus on social and policy change efforts that protect and expand the human and civil rights of us all; Wellness, with a focus on the growth and nurturing of whole, healthy American Muslim communities; and Understanding, with a focus on amplifying American Muslim voices and creating a deeper understanding of American Muslims. Grants typically range from $10,000 to $50,000. The deadline for letters of inquiry is July 19, 2019. Visit the Fund’s website to learn more about the grantmaking guidelines.

Organizations Working to Enhance Youth Volunteerism Supported
Youth Service America: Lead Agency Program
Youth Service America (YSA) supports a global culture of engaged children and youth committed to a lifetime of meaningful service, learning, and leadership. YSA’s Lead Agency Program is intended to activate youth volunteers on 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance, MLK Day of Service, and Global Youth Service Day. The program provides grants of up to $9,000 to youth development organizations, community-based organizations, and schools and school districts that bring together coalitions of youth development and community-based organizations, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, government agencies, national service programs, and faith-based organizations. Applicants should focus on engaging middle and high school aged youth, especially those from underserved communities. The application deadline is June 14, 2019. Visit the YSA website to learn more about the program.

Regional Funding
Opportunities for Specific Areas

Capital Funds for Libraries, Educational Institutions, and Hospitals in Targeted States
Gladys Brooks Foundation
The Gladys Brooks Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations located in the states of Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The Foundation focuses its grantmaking on libraries, educational institutions, and hospitals and clinics in the targeted states. Grant applications will be considered for major expenditures, generally between $50,000 and $100,000. Funds are to be used for capital projects, including equipment and endowments. The first step in the application process is to request information online about how to develop a Grant Proposal Letter, which must be submitted within two weeks from the time of the request. (The final postmark deadline for Grant Proposal Letters is May 31, 2019.) Visit the Foundation’s website to request the application materials online.

Grants Enhance Rural Communities in Oregon and in Siskiyou County, CA
The Ford Family Foundation
The Ford Family Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that enhance rural communities throughout the state of Oregon and in Siskiyou County, CA. (The Foundation defines rural as communities with populations of 35,000 or less and not adjacent to or part of an urban area.) The Foundation’s competitive grant categories include the following: The Children, Youth, and Families category supports organizations that provide services to help children and youth be healthy and well, strengthen a family’s skills and ability to nurture children and youth, create a community culture of awareness and support, and deliver high-quality education. The Community Building Spaces category provides capital grants for the development of physical places that are open to the public and have multiple uses. In addition, the Foundation offers Technical Assistance Grants for capacity-building activities, as well as Good Neighbor Grants to address critical needs. Grant applications are accepted throughout the year. Visit the Foundation’s website for more information about the funding guidelines and application process.

Support for Wisconsin Partnerships to Encourage Health Improvements
Advancing Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
The Advancing Healthier Wisconsin Endowment (AHW), established by the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), reaches statewide, propelling the most promising work and ideas to build a healthier Wisconsin for generations to come. AHW’s Call for Policy and Systems Changes for Improved Health seeks to support community-led, multi-sector partnerships in affecting a systems change that will lead to a population-level health improvement in the areas of heart health, healthy minds, or cancer. Three to five projects will receive grants of between $200,000 and $400,000 over a two- to four-year period. Projects must designate one primary community partner applicant organization and one primary MCW School of Medicine Academic Partner. The application deadline is July 1, 2019. Visit the AHW website to learn more about the funding guidelines and application process.

Economic Development Efforts in North Carolina Funded
Golden LEAF Foundation
The Golden LEAF Foundation is committed to funding projects with the most potential for bolstering North Carolina’s long-term economy, especially in tobacco-dependent, economically distressed, or rural communities. Golden LEAF offers the following two standard grant programs: The Open Grants Program is focused on projects in the areas of agriculture, economic development, workforce preparedness, healthcare, education, and community vitality. The Economic Catalyst Program gives emphasis to projects that address public infrastructure, job training, upfit for buildings owned by governmental or nonprofit entities, and equipment acquisition. Grant applications may be submitted throughout the year. Visit the Golden LEAF website to learn more about both the standard grant programs.

Federal Funding
Opportunities from the U.S. Government

Neighborhood Planning Efforts Supported
Department of Housing and Urban Development
The Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants Program supports locally driven strategies that address struggling neighborhoods with distressed public or HUD-assisted housing. The program seeks to transform neighborhoods by redeveloping severely distressed housing and catalyzing critical improvements in the neighborhood, including vacant property, housing, businesses, services, and schools. The application deadline is June 10, 2019.

Grants Fund Environmental Jobs
Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants program provides support to recruit, train, and place local, unemployed, and underemployed residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the environmental field. The application deadline is June 10, 2019.

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

Datawrapper
Are you looking to add some visual interest to an annual report or grant proposal? Have you already utilized all the templates on your word processing program? Datawrapper is a tool that can help you enrich your stories by creating a wide variety of charts and maps. So, why not branch out and try a cloropleth map or donut chart in your next report or proposal?

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.

How to Use Stories for Writing Your Grant Proposal (NEW)
Is it possible to use stories in grant proposals? Why would we want to? One of the most important things a story does is help your organization stand out. Research shows that stories are 22 times more memorable than statistics. Sharing a well-crafted story about someone you serve helps to crystallize the impact of your mission. A story puts a face and voice to your work. In this interactive webinar, Lori L. Jacobwith will help you identify multiple ways to share a story before sending the grant request, with the request, and after you’ve received the grant. And yes, we’ll talk about ways to include a story in online grant applications. During this webinar you will (1) learn the difference between a story and a report; (2) identify multiple ways to include stories when submitting a grant proposal; and (3) make a mini-plan for keeping the funders updated by sharing story updates. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, May 15, 2019.

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, May 21, 2019.

Branding Your Application (NEW)
Does your brand belong in your grant application? How does having a clear brand save you time and increase your chances of being awarded a grant? How hard is it to create a clear brand? Branding is your shortcut—it’s the words, phrases, and images that give people instant recognition of who you are. While ‘brand’ might seem like a word that only applies to corporations, your nonprofit has one, whether you think it does or not. In this interactive webinar, Ara G. Beal of Storybook Foundry will share what you need to know about nonprofit branding and grantwriting. Additionally, she’ll guide you through two of the Storybook Foundry’s tools to clarify and unify your brand. You’ll identify words to avoid and words to use in all of your communications and learn how to compile your most compelling testimonials. The webinar will be held on Thursday, June 6, 2019.

GrantStation Announcements
The latest updates from GrantStation.

We are pleased to announce that Julia Ward has joined GrantStation as an Administrative and Sales Support Specialist. Julia oversees the Membership Value Program, provides GrantStation tours for our partners, manages the Winning Grant Application Contest, and contributes to our sales support.

Julia has a B.A. in Spanish and Sociology and has five+ years of experience with data analytics and customer support with a nonprofit community lender. Julia serves on the board of the Resident Spouse Association for Wake Forest Baptist Hospital and volunteers for the YMCA literacy program in Winston-Salem, NC. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and playing the ukulele.

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