COVID-19 | National | Regional | Federal | PathFinder | Online Education | Announcements | Subscribe
COVID-19 Related Funding
Opportunities Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sorenson Impact Foundation
The Sorenson Impact Foundation is inviting proposals for solutions that can contribute to a more equitable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis. The Foundation is specifically targeting solutions that enable recovery through developing and growing businesses as well as the communities they're in to equitably rebuild coming out of the current social, health, and economic crisis. The focus areas include 1) Equitable Access to Wealth Creation Through Entrepreneurship, 2) Democratized Access to Capital and Community Investment, and 3) Workforce Development. Solutions must be primarily focused on underserved and underrepresented communities in the United States. The application deadline is August 30, 2020.
Literary Arts Emergency Fund
The Literary Arts Emergency Fund is providing one-time emergency relief grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to nonprofit literary organizations and publishers throughout the U.S. The determination of grant amounts will include financial need and projected loss due to COVID-19; diversity, equity, and inclusion in regards to an organization's staff and board, poets and writers contracted, and audiences served; budget size; and an organization's ability to continue offering programming. The application deadline is August 7, 2020.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation: Special Initiatives
Through the Special Initiatives grant program, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation will provide one-year grants of up to $25,000 to Massachusetts organizations undertaking activities that engage in a variety of COVID-19 related activities. These activities must be aligned with the Foundation's strategic priorities to promote access to quality care and coverage, behavioral health services, and social equity and health for low-income and vulnerable residents of the Commonwealth. The application deadline is August 21, 2020.
For more grant opportunities, visit our COVID-19 Related Funding page.
National Funding
Opportunities Throughout the U.S.
Awards for Organizations Promoting Music Opportunities for Youth
Lewis Prize for Music: Accelerator Awards
The mission of the Lewis Prize for Music is to partner with leaders who create positive change by investing in young people through music. The Lewis Prize for Music's Accelerator Awards provide support to enable leaders and organizations to make sustained progress toward ambitious community change initiatives that align with The Lewis Prize for Music's values and vision. The Awards are open to nonprofit Creative Youth Development music organizations seeking to influence youth-serving systems so all young people have access to learning, creating, and performing experiences that reflect their culture and identity. The focus is on organizations serving youth in the age range of 6 to 21 years old from at least 50% historically marginalized or under-resourced communities. Organizations must have been in operation for at least five years. Three multi-year awards of $500,000 each will be provided. The application deadline is August 21, 2020. Visit the Lewis Prize website to learn more about the application procedure.
Ideas to Address Worker Health and Safety Supported
The Workers Lab Innovation Fund
The Workers Lab envisions a society where workers are powerful drivers of economic, political, and social transformation. The Workers Lab's Innovation Fund provides innovators with money and support to try out their ideas. For the Summer 2020 Innovation Fund cycle, The Workers Lab seeks applications focused on worker health and safety in the United States. Funding will be provided for early stage and pilot-ready ideas for supports that guarantee essential, low-wage workers' health, safety, and economic security. Ideas can take the shape of policy experiments, programs that build worker agency, multi-stakeholder partnerships, tools for relaying real-time information on safety rules and regulations, or technology enabled health and safety solutions. Award winners receive $150,000 for ideas ready to pilot, or $75,000 for early stage ideas not yet ready to pilot. Nonprofit organizations, public sector entities, for-profit entities, and social enterprises are eligible to apply. The application deadline is August 17, 2020. Online application information is available on The Workers Lab website.
Funds for Efforts to Improve Cancer Care
Livestrong Solution Grants
Livestrong is dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by cancer and rethinking the full range of cancer care. The Livestrong Solution Grants program supports organizations that are developing cutting edge, inventive, and sustainable solutions to overlooked cancer problems. The program's focus areas and funding priorities include post-treatment care, patient and caregiver education, comprehensive quality of life services, and streamlining systems and care. The following grant types are offered: Livestrong Acceleration Grants provide annual awards between $5,000 and $20,000. Livestrong Transformation Grants provide a smaller number of multi-year awards between $25,000 and $100,000. The Livestrong Racial Equity Subgrant allocates $50,000 in funding, dedicated to finding lasting solutions that improve the cancer experience for Black Americans. U.S.-based organizations, including nonprofits, for-profits, educational institutions, and healthcare providers, are eligible to apply. Expressions of interest will be accepted from September 1 through October 16, 2020; finalist applications will be due December 7, 2020. Visit the Livestrong website for information on the funding priorities and application process.
Grants Encourage Community Organizing for Justice in the U.S. and Canada
Unitarian Universalist Association: Fund for a Just Society
The Fund for a Just Society, a program of the Unitarian Universalist Association, provides grants to nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Canada that address issues of social and economic justice. The Fund supports organizations that use community organizing to bring about systemic change leading to a more just society; mobilize with those who have been disenfranchised and excluded from resources, power, and the right to self-determination; and have an active focused campaign to create systemic change. Consideration is given to projects that are less likely to receive conventional funding because of the innovative or challenging nature of the work or the economic and social status of the constituency. The maximum grant amount is $15,000; however, most grants range between $6,000 and $8,000. Requests are reviewed two times per year; the next application deadline is September 30, 2020. Visit the Unitarian Universalist Association website to review the funding guidelines.
Regional Funding
Opportunities for Specific Areas
Prizes Honor Nonprofit Revenue Generating Efforts in Four States
The Eide Bailly Resourcefullness Award
The Eide Bailly Resourcefullness Award recognizes nonprofit organizations in Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, and North Dakota that have created impactful initiatives to generate sustainable streams of revenue. Each submission will be evaluated on the following categories: Creativity, Implementation, Impact, Sustainability, and Overall Impression. One Grand Prize of $10,000 will be awarded in each participating state. Nonprofit organizations in any field are eligible to apply. Applications will be accepted through August 14, 2020. Visit the Eide Bailly website to learn more about the Award guidelines and application process.
Support for Community-Based Environmental Initiatives in New England
New England Grassroots Environment Fund
The mission of the New England Grassroots Environment Fund is to energize and nurture long-term civic engagement in local initiatives that create and maintain healthy, just, safe, and environmentally sustainable communities. The Fund is currently offering several competitive grant programs designed to foster local, volunteer-driven, community-based environmental initiatives in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Seed Grants of $250 to $1,000 help groups launch and build their newly evolving projects. Requests for this program may be submitted throughout the year. Grow Grants of $1,000 to $3,500 enhance the ability of established groups to increase capacity, collaborate, and leverage impact. Young Leader Grants of up to $7,500 support groups led by young adults, 15 to 25 years old. Applicants are not required to have nonprofit status or to have a fiscal sponsor. The application deadlines for Grow Grants and Young Leader Grants are March 15 and September 15, annually, and decisions are made through a unique participatory process. Visit the Fund's website for more information about these grant programs.
Oral Health Programs in Missouri Funded
Delta Dental of Missouri: Oral Health Grant Program
Delta Dental of Missouri is committed to advancing oral health and overall health for individuals, children, and families in Missouri. The objectives of the Oral Health Grant Program are to reduce oral disease through education, prevention, and treatment; ensure access to affordable, timely, and high-quality dental healthcare; enhance the awareness of good oral health with a focus on children, the indigent, and other underserved populations; make a measurable difference in the oral health of Missourians, with an emphasis on underserved populations; and ensure that Missouri is among the states with the highest indicators of oral health. Nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions may apply for grants ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. Preference will be given to proposals focused on increasing access to care in rural, dental health professional shortage areas, as well as proposals showing matching support from other sources. The upcoming deadline for letters of inquiry is September 16, 2020; invited full applications will be due September 23, 2020. Visit the Delta Dental of Missouri website to review the 2020 funding guidelines.
Grants Foster Social Change in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina
Fund for Southern Communities
The Fund for Southern Communities supports nonprofit organizations working to create just and sustainable communities that are free of oppression and that embrace and celebrate all people. The Fund provides grants of $1,000 to $5,000 to progressive grassroots groups in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina that address social change issues, such as workers' rights, environmental justice, economic justice, non-traditional arts and media, etc. The Fund provides seed grants to new projects, and general or project support to small organizations with a total organizational budget of $150,000 or less. Support is not provided for direct services, social services, or special events. The application deadline is September 4, 2020. Visit the Fund's website to learn more about the grant application information.
Federal Funding
Opportunities from the U.S. Government
Funding Available to Promote Natural Resources Education and Employment
Fish and Wildlife Service
The Youth Engagement, Education, and Employment program supports youth and veteran serving organizations with the interest and capacity to work cooperatively with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to develop introductory educational experiences in natural resource careers for young people and veterans, including culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse students and underserved communities that traditionally have low participation in outdoor recreation activities. Support is available for hands-on experience and mentoring at a variety of USFWS programs, such as national wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries, and ecological services offices. The application deadline is September 15, 2020.
Professional Development for Librarians Supported
Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program supports the development of a diverse workforce of librarians to better meet the changing learning and information needs of the American public. The Program seeks to enhance the training and professional development of library and archives professionals, develop faculty and library leaders, and recruit, educate, and retain the next generation of library and archives professionals. Project categories include lifelong learning, community catalysts, and national digital infrastructures and initiatives. Phase I applications are due October 2, 2020. The deadline for invited Phase II applications is March 26, 2021.
PathFinder: Featured Resource
A library of quality resources designed to help you develop your career path as a grants professional.
Leadership Today: Key Skills and Career/Job Tips
Are you looking to enhance your leadership skills? If so, you may want to participate in Nonprofit Learning Lab's upcoming webinar "Leadership Today: Key Skills and Career/Job Tips," which provides insights for leading a team and creating community impact. This webinar shares a framework for reflecting on and building upon leadership and career trajectories. It will take place on Thursday, August 13, 2020.
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.
LIVE Workshop: Sending Donor Thank You Letters Through QuickBooks (DESKTOP Version and ONLINE Version)
Do you struggle to send IRS-required thank you letters out to your donors? Did you know that you can actually send IRS-compliant donor thank you letters directly out of QuickBooks by either print or email? You can even do it with one click at the same time you are recording the donation! We are very excited to have Gregg Bossen, a CPA specializing in auditing nonprofits and president of QuickBooks Made Easy for Nonprofits, present this one of a kind and highly requested webinar! In this must-see session, we will cover what is legally required to be on a donor thank you letter, how to set up letter templates in QuickBooks that are IRS-compliant, how to email or print these letters directly out of QuickBooks, how to generate reports at year end for donors that list their donations, and how to deal with special event tickets when only a part of the payment is a donation. The webinar for the DESKTOP version of QuickBooks will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2020. The webinar for the ONLINE version of QuickBooks will be held on Thursday, August 6, 2020.
FREE: Tour of the GrantStation Website
Join Jeremy Smith, Communications and Technology Director, and Kerry Glauser, Research Specialist, 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, August 11, 2020.
Capital Campaigns: Building Momentum With Grants
Capital campaigns are strategic, multidimensional efforts to raise funds, typically for multimillion-dollar projects like new buildings. Understanding the vital role grants play in building capital campaign momentum and meeting campaign goals is an important piece of funding strategy. In this webinar, Kevin Wallace, president of CampaignCounsel.org, and Carlyn Runnels, CampaignCounsel.org consultant, will show you how to identify and apply for grants best matched to your campaign, use grants to build momentum and credibility, and leverage grants to increase campaign participation. Using numerous examples from 20 years of capital campaign consulting, this webinar is ideal for any sized organization currently conducting a capital campaign or standing on the cusp of one. The webinar will be held on Thursday, August 13, 2020.
GrantStation Announcements
The latest updates from GrantStation.
Funding Alerts
More funding opportunities are featured on the GrantStation homepage. Click here to see the grantmakers spotlighted this week!
Information contained in the GrantStation Insider may not be
posted, reprinted, redistributed, or sold without permission.
Editor: Julie Kaufman
Copy Editor: Ashlyn Simmons
Contributing Writer: Kevin Peters
COVID-19 Related Funding
Sorenson Impact Foundation
Literary Arts Emergency Fund
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation: Special Initiatives
National Funding Opportunities
Awards for Organizations Promoting Music Opportunities for Youth
Ideas to Address Worker Health and Safety Supported
Funds for Efforts to Improve Cancer Care
Grants Encourage Community Organizing for Justice in the U.S. and Canada
Regional Funding Opportunities
Prizes Honor Nonprofit Revenue Generating Efforts in Four States
Support for Community-Based Environmental Initiatives in New England
Oral Health Programs in Missouri Funded
Grants Foster Social Change in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina
Federal Funding Opportunities
Funding Available to Promote Natural Resources Education and Employment
Professional Development for Librarians Supported