GrantStation Insider: May 27, 2021

COVID-19 | National | Regional | Federal | Partner Depot | PathFinder | Online Education | Announcements | Subscribe

COVID-19 Related Funding
Opportunities related to the COVID-19 pandemic

Current COVID-19 funding opportunities are available on our website.

National Funding
Opportunities throughout the U.S.

Support for Resources to Help People Affected by Addiction, Mental Health Issues, or Cancer
Alkermes Inspiration Grants
The Alkermes Inspiration Grants program supports nonprofit organizations throughout the United States that address the comprehensive needs of people affected by addiction, mental health issues, or cancer. In 2021, the program will prioritize funding for proposals that are designed to address the needs of historically under-resourced or underrepresented communities. The following examples describe some, but not all, areas of interest: improving or enhancing support or resources (e.g., helplines, mobile outreach) to address needs of people living with addiction, serious mental illness, or cancer; innovative efforts to meet educational needs of patients, their families, and caregivers in underrepresented communities; and support to help people living with addiction or serious mental illness return to work or return to life from criminal justice settings. (Programs engaged in the treatment of a medical condition will not be considered.) Preference will be given to programs with national reach within the U.S. Broad regional programs in geographic areas with historically under-resourced or underrepresented communities will also be prioritized. The application deadline is June 17, 2021. Visit the program's website to access the 2021 Program Overview.

Programs Aiding Service Members Funded
Infinite Hero Foundation
The Infinite Hero Foundation is dedicated to combating the most difficult front-line issues—mental and physical—facing returning military heroes and their families. The Foundation provides grants of up to $100,000 to nonprofit organizations offering innovative and effective programs or treatments to active duty service members, veterans, and/or military families for service-related mental and physical injuries. Grant requests must fall within one of the following categories: physical recovery; brain health, including TBI and PTS; suicide prevention; veteran leadership; or military families. Letters of interest are due July 1, 2021; invited grant applications must be submitted by September 15, 2021. More information about the grant program is available on the Foundation's website.

Grants Promote Economic Mobility for Immigrants and Refugees
WES Mariam Assefa Fund
The WES Mariam Assefa Fund is committed to building an inclusive economy that works for immigrants and refugees. The Fund's U.S. Funding Opportunity: Employer Practices seeks proposals to identify new ideas that can drive more inclusive employer practices in the U.S. and improve economic mobility for immigrants and refugees. Support will be provided for ideas to engage employers to 1) shift internal talent practices to reduce bias in recruitment and hiring, build more inclusive workplaces, and invest in the advancement of incumbent immigrant and refugee talent; 2) pilot demand-driven training and education programs that connect immigrant and refugee job seekers to quality jobs, particularly in high-growth sectors; 3) build coalitions within or across sectors to advance commitments and facilitate knowledge sharing and collective action among employers; and 4) assess the impact of existing employer initiatives focused on immigrant and refugee workers to identify the path forward for those solutions. Mission-driven nonprofit and for-profit organizations are eligible to apply for grants of up to $150,000 for up to two years. The upcoming letter of intent deadline is July 7, 2021. Visit the Fund's website to learn more about the guidelines and application process.

RFP Encourages New Approaches to Opioid Challenges
Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts
The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) is a private, national, grantmaking foundation focused on addressing the opioid crisis. FORE has issued a Request for Proposals aimed at specific projects that bring an innovative approach to long-standing and complex issues related to stemming the tide of the nation's opioid crisis. This RFP will support projects that can explore and/or evaluate new "outside-the-box" ideas, bring together approaches from several diverse fields, and engage multi-disciplinary, cross-sector teams to solve some of the most intractable problems created by the crisis. The focus is on projects with innovative solutions in the following areas: Professional Education and Training, Timely and Actionable Data, and Supporting the Transition from Treatment to Recovery. Nonprofit organizations and universities, as well as state, local, and tribal government agencies, may apply for grants of up to $300,000 a year for up to two years. The deadline for concept notes is July 19, 2021. The Request for Proposals may be downloaded from FORE's website.

Regional Funding
Opportunities for specific geographic areas

Competition to Advance Economic Progress for Black and Latina Women in Selected Cities
JPMorgan Chase: AdvancingCities Challenge
The AdvancingCities Challenge, an initiative of JPMorgan Chase, is an annual competition that sources innovation to drive systemic change in U.S. cities, helping support economic opportunity for more people by leveraging meaningful collaboration among private, public, and nonprofit leaders. This year, the AdvancingCities Challenge is seeking bold solutions that catalyze recovery and long-term prosperity for Black and Latina women, their families, and local economies in selected cities throughout the United States. Through the 2021 Challenge, three-year grants of up to $5 million each will be provided to four to eight collaborative efforts to advance the economic progress of Black and/or Latina women by tackling systemic drivers of the racial and gender wealth gaps. The Challenge aims to make deep investments in the following four systems that are key drivers of wealth building: jobs and skills, financial health, small business, and neighborhood development. Applying collaboratives should consist of at least three organizations, and the lead organization must have 501(c)(3) designation. The application deadline is June 28, 2021. Visit the JPMorgan Chase website to access the AdvancingCities Challenge request for proposals and FAQs.

Grants for Broadband Internet Projects in Company Communities
Spectrum Digital Education Grant Program
The Spectrum Digital Education Grant Program supports nonprofit organizations that educate community members on the benefits of broadband and how to use it to improve their lives. Applying organizations must serve communities located in a Spectrum market. Grants are provided for programs focused on families and seniors in low-income and/or multicultural-based urban or rural communities. Funded programs should have a lasting, meaningful, and tangible impact (e.g. development of a new digital site or app, expansion of the capacity of a digital learning center, creation of a mobile computer lab, etc.). Grants range from $2,500 to $50,000. Applications will be accepted through June 25, 2021. Visit the Spectrum Digital Education website to review the selection criteria and grant eligibility.

Funds for Programs Benefiting the Environment and Wildlife in Wisconsin
James E. Dutton Foundation
The James E. Dutton Foundation works towards protecting the outdoors, so it can provide a healthy home for wildlife and be a place where humans can learn, experience nature, and enrich their lives. The Foundation primarily supports nonprofit organizations in the state of Wisconsin with programs that benefit wildlife, animal causes, the environment, and natural resources. In general, the Foundation will support those endeavors that provide care for wildlife or animal rescue; enhance wildlife populations through habitat conservation, improvement, and/or restoration; or encourage responsible land management, increased public awareness of conservation issues, and education about the environment. The remaining application deadlines for 2021 are July 5 and October 17. Grant guidelines and application information are available on the Foundation's website.

Efforts to Improve the Lives of Families in Company Communities Supported
Big Lots Foundation
The Big Lots Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that improve the lives of families and children in the communities the company serves throughout the United States, with the exception of Alaska, Hawaii, and South Dakota. The Foundation's areas of interest include hunger, housing, healthcare, and education, with emphasis on organizations serving women and children. Support is provided in the form of monetary gifts, gift cards, and merchandise in-kind. In addition, Big Lots associates volunteer thousands of hours in local communities. Requests are reviewed two times per year; the upcoming application deadline is July 1, 2021. Visit the company's website to learn more about the funding guidelines and to submit an online request.

Federal Funding
Opportunities from the U.S. government

Funds Available to Assist Homeless Youth and Young Parents
Department of Health and Human Services
The Transitional Living Program seeks to implement, enhance, and support effective strategies for successful transition to sustainable living for runaway and homeless youth and pregnant or parenting youth and their dependent children. The focus is on youth ages 16 to under 22. Projects must provide safe, stable, and appropriate shelter and comprehensive services that support the transition of homeless youth to self-sufficiency and stable, independent living. This program seeks improvements in four core outcome areas: safe and stable housing, education and employment, permanent connections, and social and emotional well-being. The application deadline is June 28, 2021.

Program Seeks to Lower Energy Costs
Department of Agriculture
The Assistance to High Energy Cost Communities program seeks to lower energy costs for families and individuals in areas with extremely high per-household energy costs. The program supports the implementation of initiatives such as energy efficiency improvements and conservation measures (e.g., weatherization of residences and community facilities), programs encouraging the use of energy-saving appliances and devices, and programs aimed at improving the quality and cost of energy service. The application deadline is July 6, 2021.

Partner Depot

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

When Plans Change, Amendments Offer Solutions
How do you handle the unexpected circumstances that can arise during program implementation? The Grant Professional Association's upcoming webinar "When Plans Change, Amendments Offer Solutions" delves into common issues that arise when plans change, and how to best address change through the amendment process that requires approval by awarding agencies. The session, which will be held on July 8, 2021, also includes handy templates to assist with amendment requests.

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.

The Power of Social Enterprise (NEW)
Are you looking to diversify your revenue stream? Would you like to increase organizational sustainability by creating recurring, predictable revenue streams for general operating? In this 90-minute training Stephanie Sample, Founder and CEO of Sample Consulting Studio, will introduce Social Enterprise for nonprofits. She will walk participants through the process of identifying organizational assets, strategically selecting an asset to monetize, and developing a business plan around your core competencies. Topics covered will include how to identify and monetize your organizational assets, examples of successful nonprofits with social enterprises, components of a social enterprise business plan, how your social enterprise impacts your nonprofit mission, and tax repercussions for nonprofit organizations who generate revenue through social enterprise. You will walk away with a list of your organization's monetizable assets, examples of nonprofits that create their own revenue, examples of nonprofits that launched social enterprises in the pandemic, a format for starting the conversation about social enterprise at your organization, and inspiration and insight into potential revenue streams. The webinar will be held on Thursday, June 3, 2021.

The Change Map and the Bottom-Up Logic Model
This workshop, presented by Maryn Boess, Founder of GrantsMagic U, offers a powerful way of thinking about and assessing the work your organization does—and a simple, step-by-step process for communicating the impact of your work to funders, partners, and the community at large. The Change Map and Bottom-Up Logic Model are two powerful, practical tools that help community agencies organize resources toward change and diagnose misalignments between action and impact. Using these tools together, we can create a visual framework for meaningful, measurable collective impact in a challenging and changing environment—and organize our resources to achieve it. In this engaging, interactive session Maryn will introduce a very big-picture context called The Change Map—bigger than the Logic Model, even bigger than your mission!—for articulating exactly what your organization does and why it matters; explain why the Logic Model is the indispensable do-it-all power tool for planning, managing, and evaluating all our community work—grant proposal or no grant proposal; and demonstrate how to use our X-ray vision to expose the essential "bones" of the Logic Model structure and exactly how all the pieces fit together. (PLUS you'll get hands-on practice constructing a Logic Model right on the spot!) You'll see how flipping the Logic Model on its side to create "The Bottom-Up Logic Model" turns it into a powerful lens for spotting, diagnosing, and fixing problems in our program plans and change initiatives. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, June 9, 2021.

The Low-Down on Executive Summaries and Letters of Inquiry (NEW)
How do you keep appeals "short and sweet," while still making sure they are complete? This micro-course focuses on the skills needed to break down a large proposal and effectively communicate key information in the form of an executive summary or letter of inquiry. Join Marie Palacios to learn what donors are looking for in these "compact proposal" narratives and what should be reserved for the full proposal or in-person dialogue. In this session you'll learn the difference between an executive summary and a letter of inquiry, key components of an executive summary and a letter of inquiry, quick tips to make sure every sentence packs a punch and gets the donor's attention, and helpful hints on what NOT to include in an executive summary or letter of inquiry. The webinar will be held on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

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