GrantStation Insider: November 5, 2020

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

LISC: Rural Relief Small Business Grants
The Rural Relief Small Business Grants program supports small business owners in rural locations across the United States. Rural communities are defined as having a population of 50,000 or less. Support is provided to small businesses and enterprises affected by COVID-19, especially those in underserved communities, including entrepreneurs of color and women- and veteran-owned businesses that often lack access to flexible, affordable capital. The upcoming application deadlines are December 2, 2020, and January 5 and February 2, 2021.

CultureSource and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan: Innovation Grant Program
The Innovation Grant Program funds the extraordinary ways that nonprofit arts and culture organizations are evolving in response to—or in spite of—the COVID-19 crisis environment. Nonprofit organizations in Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties in Michigan whose primary mission is grounded in the arts and culture sector are eligible to apply. Proposed projects should represent bold moves, novel experiments, or big risks undertaken given the opportunity or crisis specifically generated by COVID-19. The registration deadline is November 12, 2020; applications will be due November 19, 2020.

City of Boston: Boston Resiliency Fund
The Boston Resiliency Fund is the City of Boston's effort to help coordinate fundraising and philanthropic efforts to provide essential services to Boston residents whose health and well-being are most immediately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Priorities of the Fund are to provide food to Boston's children and seniors, technology to Boston Public Schools students for remote learning, and support to first responders and healthcare workers so they can effectively do their job and promote public health. Statements of interest may be submitted at any time.

For more grant opportunities, visit our COVID-19 Related Funding page.

National Funding
Opportunities throughout the U.S.

Support for Social Justice Organizations in the United States, Haiti, and Mexico
Peace Development Fund: Community Organizing Grants
The Peace Development Fund believes that the change in values needed to establish a more just and peaceful world can come about only if it is strongly rooted in local communities that recognize the importance of building movements to create systemic social change. The Fund's Community Organizing Grants provide support to community-based organizations in the United States, Haiti, and Mexico that are working for social justice. The funding priorities include organizing to shift power, working to build a movement, dismantling oppression, and creating new structures. Priority is given to new or emerging organizations; efforts that have difficulty securing funds from other sources; organizing efforts across national borders; climate change organizing at the local policy level; groups that have a genesis in Occupy, MeToo, or Movement for Black Lives; collaborative peace initiatives led by women or youth; or issues that are not yet recognized by progressive funders. Grants range from $2,500 to $10,000, with an average of $5,000. Applying organizations must have an annual budget of $250,000 or less. The application deadline is December 30, 2020. Visit the Fund's website to download the grant guidelines for the Community Organizing Grants program.

Shakespeare Productions for Youth Funded
Shakespeare in American Communities
Shakespeare in American Communities, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest, brings performances and educational activities to audiences across the country. Grants are being offered through the following programs: The Schools program aims to reach middle and high school students in underserved schools throughout the United States with high quality, professional productions of Shakespeare's plays. Matching grants of $25,000 will be provided to up to 40 theater companies to support performances and related educational activities for middle and high school students from a minimum of five schools. Performances may be held in the theater company's facility, a school, a community venue, or virtually (livestreamed, filmed, or Zoom), but must be conducted in partnership with schools. The Juvenile Justice program will provide grants of $15,000 to $25,000 to six to ten organizations to support theater education programs exploring Shakespeare's texts that reach young people within the juvenile justice system. No matching funds are required for this program. Intent to apply emails for both programs will be accepted through December 3, 2020; the application deadline is February 10, 2021. Visit the Shakespeare in American Communities website to review the guidelines for the Schools and Juvenile Justice programs.

Grants Promote Successful Reentry for Incarcerated People
Bob Barker Company Foundation
The mission of the Bob Barker Company Foundation is to develop and support programs that help incarcerated individuals successfully reenter society and stay out for life. The Foundation supports organizations throughout the U.S. that work with the incarcerated community in order to prepare them physically, spiritually, and emotionally for successful reentry into society. Applying organizations must work with a minimum of 100 incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals each year. Grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 are provided to nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions. Online letters of inquiry may be submitted throughout the year. Visit the Foundation's website to learn more about the eligibility guidelines and application process.

Awards for Youth Volunteers Addressing Hunger
Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation: Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarships
The Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarships, funded by the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, recognize student innovation and youth-led solutions to fight hunger across the country. Applicants must have demonstrated ongoing commitment to their community by performing unpaid volunteer services impacting hunger in the United States within the last 12 months. Students between the ages of five and 25 are eligible to apply. The winners receive a $5,000 scholarship, as well as a $5,000 grant made in their name to the hunger-related charity of their choice in their local community. Applications may be submitted through December 5, 2020. Visit the Foundation's website to review the Official Rules and to access the online application.

Regional Funding
Opportunities for specific geographic areas

Projects Advancing Healthcare Equity in New York State Supported
New York State Health Foundation: Patients as Partners RFP
The New York State Health Foundation is dedicated to improving the health of all New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable. The Foundation's current RFP, Patients as Partners: Advancing Equity, will support projects that seek system improvements, practice innovations, or interventions designed to give patients of color a meaningful role in their healthcare at the individual and systems levels. Grants of up to $200,000 will be awarded to nonprofit organizations for New York-targeted projects. Priority will be given to organizations and projects led by people of color and projects that meaningfully engage consumers and patients from communities of color. Online inquiry forms must be submitted by December 8, 2020; invited full proposals will be due February 18, 2021. Visit the Foundation's website to download the RFP.

Funds for Well-Established Organizations in Twelve States
Sunderland Foundation
The Sunderland Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in Arkansas, Idaho, western Iowa, Kansas, western Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, central Texas, and Washington. Some emphasis is given to organizations in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Currently, the Foundation's main funding areas of interest are the following: higher education, including public and private institutions; human services, including programs for youth and families; arts and culture, including performing arts and museums; and healthcare and hospitals. The Foundation generally awards grants to larger, well-established nonprofit organizations. Requests may be submitted throughout the year. Visit the Foundation's website to learn more about the funding areas of interest and application guidelines.

Grants Enhance Education, Health, and the Environment in the DC Region
Washington Gas Charitable Giving Program
The Washington Gas Charitable Giving Program supports nonprofit organizations in the communities the company serves in the Washington, DC, metropolitan region, including locations in Maryland and Virginia. The primary areas of emphasis include the following: The Education category focuses on educational activities targeted toward K-12 youth. The Environment category focuses on programs that promote cleaner air and water and that protect the ecological system of the region. The Health category focuses on health organizations that strive to improve the health and well-being of individuals within the community, as well as energy assistance programs that help reduce illness and casualties. Grant requests may be submitted throughout the year. Online application instructions are available on the Washington Gas website.

Support for Organizations Serving Coloradans
El Pomar Foundation
El Pomar Foundation promotes the current and future well-being of the people of Colorado through grantmaking and community stewardship. Grants are provided to nonprofit organizations throughout the state of Colorado. The Foundation's areas of interest include health and human services, education, arts and culture, and civic and community initiatives. Operating, program, and capital support are considered. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year. Online grant application guidelines are available on the Foundation's website.

Federal Funding
Opportunities from the U.S. government

Programs Support Senior Volunteerism
Corporation for National and Community Service
The AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program and Senior Companion Program Expansion Sponsor Competitions seek to engage older Americans in volunteer service that fosters intergenerational relationships and provides companionship to other older adults and adults with disabilities. The Seniors Foster Grandparent Program engages adults age 55 and over to provide loving and experienced tutors and mentors to children and youth with special or exceptional needs, or who would benefit from the one-on-one attention an AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer can provide. The Senior Companion Program engages adults age 55 and over to provide companionship and support to other adults in need of extra assistance to remain at home or in the community for as long as possible. The application deadline is February 3, 2021.

Funds Available to Provide Rural Broadband
Department of Agriculture
The Community Connect Grant Program offers financial assistance to provide broadband service to all premises in rural, economically-challenged communities where broadband service does not exist. Applicants are encouraged to consider projects that provide measurable results in helping rural communities build robust and sustainable economies through strategic investments in infrastructure, partnerships, and innovation. The application deadline is December 23, 2020.

Partner Depot

THE Place for Grant Professionals!
GPA is THE Place for Grant Professionals. The Grant Professionals Association is an international membership association for everyone in the grants industry. GPA helps grant professionals seek to continually improve their professional knowledge and skills in grant research, proposal development, and post-award grant management. We set the standard with our commitment to ethical practices, our high-quality educational offerings, our excellence in resources, and our community of professionals committed to serving the public good. Join today!

Are You a Certified Grant Professional?
(Learn More and Win a Grant Professionals Association Membership Too!)
Are you a grantwriter looking to further your career? Or do you want to earn recognition for the skills, expertise, and knowledge you've acquired? The Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI) administers the nationally accredited Grant Professional Certification (GPC) credential.

Visit the GPCI website to learn:

• the competencies and skills required for certification;
• if you are eligible to pursue the GPC credential; and,
• why you should consider getting your GPC.

Sign up for the GPCI newsletter to automatically enter the drawing for a FREE one-year Grant Professionals Association (GPA) membership—a $220 value! (Can also be applied to membership renewals.) Enter today! The lucky winner will be notified on November 30^th.

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

How to Survive EOY Fundraising During a Pandemic (And an Election Year!)
Are the events of 2020 making you jittery about your organization's year-end fundraising campaign? If so, you may want to register for Whole Whale’s free webinar "How to Survive EOY Fundraising During a Pandemic (And an Election Year!)." Held on Thursday, November 19, 2020, this webinar will review the best online fundraising practices and tools to help nonprofits succeed this giving season in a year unlike any other. This comprehensive discussion will outline essential techniques and approaches for running a compelling and effective digital fundraising strategy.

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 Webinar: Transition to Digital—How to Build Your Donation Generating Machine
Tired of fickle donors and inconsistent revenue? What if you could transition your nonprofit from high-stress seasonal appeals to consistent monthly revenue? Every day, Americans give $100 million online. How much of this is your nonprofit getting? GrantStation has partnered with Gladitood founder and CEO, Ryan Brennell, to bring fundraising professionals the education and resources you need to make the transition to digital fundraising. During this 45-minute webinar, Ryan will share the digital strategies he uses to leverage new, existing, and lapsed donors to drive revenue. You will leave with action steps to transform your fundraising content into a scalable system that will increase your average gift, engage more donors, and improve donor retention. You will learn a repeatable process for donor profiling, storytelling, and donor stewardship—tying it all into marketing automation so you can build a donation generating machine. This is a measurable and optimized fundraising system that will do the heavy lifting for you! The webinar will be held on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.

Forecasting Revenue and Annual Projections
If you are the leader of a nonprofit organization, you have almost certainly been asked to predict the future revenue and expenses during the annual budget season. And if you've ever been in a cash crunch, you may have wished you'd planned a little more rigorously earlier in the year. At Elevate, we know this task can feel challenging at best, and near-impossible at worst—which is why we want to share our secrets behind the same forecasting and projection process we use to produce forecasting charts for our nonprofit clients. In this webinar, presented by Alayna Buckner, we'll cover why forecasting is important, how often to go through the forecasting process, and how to create your own forecasting or projections chart for your organization. This training is ideal for development managers, directors of development, leaders of small nonprofit organizations, and other nonprofit and fundraising professionals who want a better understanding of the budgeting and forecasting process. It is also helpful for grantwriters looking to deepen their understanding of nonprofit budgets and finance practice. The webinar will be held on Thursday, November 12, 2020.

Branding Your Application
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 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. Grantwriters, executive directors, and board presidents will all benefit from this 90-minute presentation. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, November 18, 2020.

GrantStation Announcements
The latest updates from GrantStation

Transition to Digital: How to Build Your Donation Generating Machine

• Tired of fickle donors and inconsistent revenue?
• What if you could transition your nonprofit from high-stress seasonal appeals to consistent monthly revenue? Every day, Americans give $100 million online.
• How much of this is your nonprofit getting?

GrantStation has partnered with Gladitood founder and CEO, Ryan Brennell, to bring fundraising professionals the education and resources needed to make the transition to digital fundraising. In this webinar, Ryan will share the digital strategies he uses to leverage new, existing, and lapsed donors to drive revenue. You will leave with action steps to transform your fundraising content into a scalable system that will:

• increase your average gift;
• engage more donors; and,
• improve donor retention.

You will learn a repeatable process for donor profiling, storytelling, and donor stewardship—tying it all into marketing automation so you can build a donation generating machine. This is a measurable and optimized fundraising system that will do the heavy lifting for you!

The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action
ARNOVA is a diverse community of scholars, educators, and practice leaders that strengthens the field of nonprofit and philanthropic research in order to improve civil society and human life.

The ARNOVA conference is designed to create a public conversation on, as well as opportunities for presenting research about, pressing issues and vital opportunities facing the voluntary or nonprofit sector. It is both a showcase for the best and most current research, as well as a seed bed from which new research is born. This three-day event includes two plenary sessions, 180+ panel and/or paper presentation sessions, a poster session, and numerous opportunities for networking/idea sharing. Register today, it is not too late!

Funding Alerts
Interested in GrantStation's funder profiles? View the weekly Funding Alerts to see profiles of grantmakers currently accepting applications.

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