GrantStation Insider: June 27, 2024

Application deadline: July 30, 2024
Geographic scope: Global
Description: The AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, a global initiative from the Bezos Earth Fund, seeks to explore new ideas for multiplying the impact of climate and nature efforts using modern AI. The Grand Challenge aims to incentivize partnerships across experts in climate, nature, and AI, and give these collaborators the opportunity to bring speed, scale, accuracy, and precision to their climate and nature efforts by proposing, designing, and deploying modern AI solutions. The Grand Challenge will offer up to $100 million in total funding over three rounds. The first round of the Grand Challenge is focused on sustainable proteins, power grid optimization, and biodiversity conservation, in addition to embracing visionary wildcard solutions for climate and nature. In Phase 1, up to 30 seed grantees will receive $50,000 each and an invitation to join the Phase 2 Innovation Sprint. At the end of Phase 2, up to 15 implementation grantees will receive up to $2 million each. U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and academic institutions based anywhere in the world are eligible to apply. 

Application deadline: March 1 and September 1, annually
Grant amount: $50,000 to $100,000
Description: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts seeks to advance the visual arts. Through its grantmaking, the Foundation encourages and facilitates the production of original work that expands and enhances the contemporary art field. Funding is provided to arts organizations and cultural institutions that support artists for projects covering the full spectrum of artistic activity and every phase of the creative process. Grants are provided in the following categories: curatorial research fellowships, up to $50,000; exhibition support, ranging from $60,000 to $100,000; and multiyear program grants, ranging from $60,000 to $100,000, for visual arts programming including exhibitions, residencies, public art works, screenings, performances, lectures, publications, mentorships, and other professional development opportunities. Visit the Foundation's website to review the grant guidelines.

Application deadline: Early March and early September, annually, for letters of interest
Description: The Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation is dedicated to economic education for all in the United States. The Foundation’s current funding interests include, but are not limited to, leveraging AI to increase student learning effectiveness and experience in economic education; research on AI and economic education; enhancing and leveraging capabilities to reach a greater number of people in economic education; economic education programs which have a multiplier effect through teachers, social workers, etc. on the population they serve; new and innovative economic education curriculum and capability; behavioral economics with a focus on environmental issues; and programs to generate more excitement and demand for economic and financial education. The Foundation expects to be one of several funders of a project and looks most favorably at programs that collaborate with economic education institutions with expertise and a successful track record in economic education. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with at least five years of history may apply.

Application deadline: July 29, 2024
Grant amount: $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000
Description: The Grief Reach grants program, a partnership between the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG) and the New York Life Foundation, supports childhood bereavement services in the United States. The current funding cycle focuses on capacity building for small organizations. Funding of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, depending on the size of the organization’s annual organizational budget, is available to enhance organizational capacity and development of an organization’s infrastructure, capabilities, and overall effectiveness. Grants will support six categories: organizational development/planning activities, staff/board development, strategic relationships/collaboration, internal operations, technology and infrastructure, and evaluation assessment. Applications are available on the NACG website.

Application deadlines: August 1, 2024, for letters of interest
Geographic scope: AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, and TN
Grant amount: Up to $15,000
Description: South Arts is dedicated to advancing Southern vitality through the arts. South Arts’ Cross-Sector Impact Grants support projects that incorporate the arts across different aspects of a community. Support is provided to partnerships of one arts organization or artist and one non-arts organization working together on a project that addresses arts and community impact and utilizes the arts as a tool in creative approaches to address and advance an issue that is of importance in the community. Examples of eligible themes include arts and the military, arts and equity, arts and aging, or arts and community revitalization. A minimum of one of the two partners must be a nonprofit organization, a unit of government (including an institution of higher education), or a federally recognized tribal community. (Applications are also currently open on an ongoing basis for Express Grants of up to $3,000 to support the presentation of touring artists in rural communities of 50,000 people or less and Professional Development and Artistic Planning Grants up to $1,000 to support artistic planning and the professional development needs of Southern presenters, programmers, or curators. In These Mountains Project Grants, with an application deadline of August 1, 2024, provide $10,000 to conduct projects that promote the sharing, teaching, learning, preserving, and documenting of folk arts and the traditional culture of Central Appalachia.)

Application deadline: July 19, 2024, for letters of intent
Geographic scope: Colorado
Grant amount: Up to ten awards of up to $100,000 each will be provided.
Description: Early Milestones Colorado (Milestones) aims to make Colorado the best place to be a child. Through the Impact on Equity Initiative, Milestones will invest in innovative community efforts and will accelerate systemic change based on what works. The 2024 funding opportunity, Powering Collaborations to Reduce Prenatal – Three Inequities Through System and Policy Change, will support local collaborations to reduce inequities for families with children prenatal to three years old. Support will be provided to collaborations of partners in community systems that have identified a critical problem facing families with children prenatal to three and a potential solution to that problem. The problem should address a specific existing inequity in their community, and the proposed work should be likely to result in system or policy change.

Application deadline: None
Geographic scope: South Dakota
Grant amount: $2,000 to $20,000
Description: The South Dakota Community Foundation aims to bring philanthropy to life to build a stronger South Dakota. The Foundation’s South Dakota Fund provides grants to nonprofit and charitable organizations across the state in support of culture, economic development, education, financial literacy, health, and human services. Support is provided for both ongoing, well-established projects as well as innovative projects designed to address South Dakota community needs. Nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply, as well as organizations working with a fiscal sponsor. (The Foundation also offers other grant programs.)

Application deadlines: March 1, June, 1, September 1, and December 1, annually
Geographic scope: United States, with preference given to the Maryland; Washington, DC; and West Virginia area
Grant amount: Generally $2,500 to $7,500
Description: The Nora Roberts Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations in the United States, with preference given to Maryland; Washington, DC; and West Virginia. The Foundation’s primary focus is on supporting literacy organizations. Additional areas of interest include children, the arts, social justice, and the environment.

Application deadline: July 26, 2024
Description: The purpose of the Rural Hospital Stabilization Pilot Program is to improve healthcare in rural areas by providing in-depth technical assistance to rural hospitals to enhance or expand service lines to meet local needs and keep healthcare services available locally. Service lines may include, but are not limited to, pulmonary rehabilitation, infusion/chemotherapy, inpatient psychiatric services, outpatient behavioral health services, obstetric services, cardiac rehabilitation, and expanded primary care. The Program aims to increase service volume and revenue to improve hospital financial sustainability in rural hospitals that have limited access to resources needed to expand their services.

Application deadline: August 15, 2024
Description: The Brownfields Job Training Grants program provides graduates with the opportunity to seek and obtain environmental jobs across a spectrum of brownfield-related activities—including the assessment, cleanup, remediation, and planning/site preparation for the revitalization of brownfields—that contractors may otherwise fill from outside the affected community. This can involve the assessment and cleanup of solid and hazardous waste, chemical risk management, stormwater management relating to site cleanup, planning and site preparation for low-impact development activities, planning and site preparation for green infrastructure installation and maintenance, and vulnerability assessment and contamination mitigation planning.

Recent research reveals that nonprofits are making little progress in diversifying their boards and are dissatisfied with their board diversity, but are doing little to prioritize this in board recruitment practices. In an effort to spark action, BoardSource has published the article “Taking Action on Board Diversity: Five Questions to Get You Started.” This article provides statistics on recent trends related to board diversity and presents five questions to contemplate in order to increase the levels of racial and ethnic diversity on nonprofit boards.

Webinar date: July 8, 2024, 2:00 to 2:45 PM Eastern Time
Description: While each funder’s application guidelines will look different from those of other funders, usually they are not that different. Most funders ask for essentially the same things in their guidelines, also commonly called a request for proposals (RFP), a funding opportunity announcement (FOA), or a request for applications (RFA). The key to success is understanding exactly what funders are looking for and knowing how to tailor information to each specific funder’s format so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for each application. During this TargetED, Alice Ruhnke will outline how to read an RFP and set up your responses to meet each grantmaker’s instructions. (This webinar is part of the TargetED series Boost Your Grant Success.)

Webinar date: July 10, 2024, 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Time
Description: Many community organizations shy away from pursuing public funds. They view public funding as unattainable because it requires competition with larger organizations for public dollars. Or the complexities of the application process mean it's not worth the time involved. But if you provide value to your community and can be a good steward of public money, then you should consider competing for public dollars. During this webinar, Mindy Muller of Community Development Professionals will arm you with the information you need when considering public funding.

Webinar date: July 15, 2024, 2:00 to 2:45 PM Eastern Time
Description: First impressions matter. That is why the background section of your grant proposal needs to immediately establish your organization’s credibility with a funder—but that's not always so straightforward. You shouldn’t overwhelm your background section with an extensive history. However, you want to let the reviewer know that you have a proven track record of creating positive change in your community. During this TargetED, Alice Ruhnke will demonstrate how you can find the perfect balance and use your background section to quickly show you’re an organization that gets things done. (This webinar is part of the TargetED series Boost Your Grant Success.)

More funding opportunities are featured on the GrantStation homepage. Current opportunities include Looking Out Foundation (U.S. national), Anne and Gene Worrell Foundation (U.S. local: specific regions of Virginia), Hot Docs: Film Funds (global, Africa, and Canada), and Blue Action Fund (current focus on Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru).