GrantStation Insider: December 19, 2024

Application deadline: February 19, 2025, for registrations
Geographic scope: United States, including U.S. territories
Grant amount: Five $200,000 project development grants will be provided, with one finalist awarded $9 million to implement their solution.
Description: The Trust in American Institutions Challenge, sponsored by Reid Hoffman and administered by Lever for Change, is a $10 million open call designed to scale a bold solution that will build and restore public trust in the core institutions that form the pillars of society in the United States. The Challenge seeks transformative solutions that are poised to reverse recent trends and significantly increase public trust in core institutions (such as public schools, government bodies, the media, and the medical system) in the U.S. in the next five years. The Challenge is open to organizations across the U.S., including partnerships and collaborations. Up to five project teams will be selected as finalists and will receive an initial project development grant of $200,000 and technical assistance to strengthen their proposal. After submitting a revised proposal, one finalist will be awarded $9 million to implement their solution.

Application deadline: Letters of intent will be accepted from January 3 to January 27, 2025.
Geographic scope: United States and Canada
Grant amount: Grants range from $25,000 to $200,000 for one to two years; the budget for any year cannot exceed $125,000.
Description: The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation is dedicated to supporting programs and scientific research to improve the quality of life for those living with spinal cord injury. Through Community Support Grants, the Foundation’s Creating Opportunity & Independence portfolio supports nonprofit organizations providing programs and services that are community-driven, empowering, and inclusive of all ages and backgrounds to enhance quality of life for individuals living with spinal cord injury. Grants focus on the following areas: community activities that enhance physical, emotional, or social well-being, such as mentorship and peer support programs, sports, health and wellness, arts, education, or professional advancement; life transitions, including supporting individuals in finding practical solutions after injury, helping them navigate through transitions, and promoting successful integration into homes, workplaces, and communities; and accessibility for all, including projects that remove barriers to full participation in society.

Application deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until January 31, 2025, or until funds are allocated, whichever comes first.
Grant amount: Up to $5,000
Description: Interfaith America’s Strengthening the Campus Community grants support projects based at U.S. colleges and universities that bring together diverse groups of students in order to bridge meaningful divides on their campus or between students on campus and their local community. Supported projects should respond in a positive and swift way to the atmosphere on their campuses after the 2024 election, engage undergraduate students, and utilize interfaith skills and knowledge to mobilize or connect with a diverse group of students and campus community members. Examples of projects could include student interfaith groups leading a campus-wide service project involving multiple religious or political groups, organized media campaigns involving students from across the university stating their shared values, or campus-community projects involving students working with a local nonprofit or community group that brings together community members of different religious or political backgrounds. Students, staff, faculty, and administrators at colleges and universities in the United States are eligible to apply. 

Application deadline: January 31, 2025
Geographic scope: United States, including U.S. territories
Grant amount: Up to $1,500
Description: The GroMoreGood Grassroots Grant, a collaboration between The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and KidsGardening, aims to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens to communities across the United States. In 2025, 170 programs will receive $500 in funding to start or expand youth gardens or greenspaces and will have the opportunity to apply for additional funding through specialty award categories, up to a total of $1,500. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, school districts, universities, government entities, organizations with a nonprofit fiscal sponsor, and other tax-exempt organizations such as religious organizations and tribal governments, serving at least 15 youth. Funds must be used to install new or improve existing youth gardens or greenspaces and organizations must support, work with, or serve communities with a majority of individuals that are under-resourced.

Application deadline: February 7, May 29, August 28, and November 13, 2025
Geographic scope: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina
Grant amount: General grants are for requests over $10,000.
Description: The Delta Dental Foundation (DDF) provides support to organizations in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina for programs to improve oral health. DDF’s General Grants fund nonprofits, government agencies, schools, colleges, and universities for programs that promote oral health equity and align with the following core pillars: access to oral healthcare for people and communities that experience historic or systemic barriers, oral health education to improve oral hygiene habits and increase dental visits, oral health workforce development, emerging oral health issues, and advocacy for policies that improve access to care and the oral health safety net. Proposals that promote oral health equity for people with disabilities are of particular interest. (For requests under $10,000, DDF offers the Mini-Grants Program, which opens for application once a year in June, for organizations in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.)

Application deadline: Letters of inquiry will be accepted online starting January 13, 2025, until 100 letters of inquiry are received, usually in one to three weeks. Download the LOI Information Packet to see the questions before the online process opens.
Geographic scope: Rural areas of Idaho and Montana, including Native nations
Grant amount: $5,000 to $50,000
Description: The Steele-Reese Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations and government entities for work in rural Idaho and Montana communities and the Native nations sharing this geography. Program areas include rural education, health, human and social services, arts and humanities, and conservation and preservation. Grants are available for general operating support, specific project support, and the closing phase of capital campaigns. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the Foundation’s Western Director to discuss their proposal before submitting a letter of inquiry.

Application deadline: Spring cycle applications will be accepted from January 1 to February 3, 2025. Fall cycle applications will be accepted from July 1 to August 1, 2025.
Geographic scope: Vermont and the New Jersey counties of Essex, Hudson, Passaic, and Union
Description: The Turrell Fund supports organizations serving children, especially the youngest, and their families in Vermont and Essex, Hudson, Passaic, and Union counties in New Jersey. Funding is focused on early childhood, prenatal to three, including policy and advocacy initiatives. Additional focus areas consist of arts and music education, K-12 education, and direct social services for children and families. Priority is given to projects serving areas where quality services and supports are limited and the concentration of children and families facing systemic barriers is high, as well as to organizations pursuing systemic change and addressing racial disparities through policy change and advocacy.

Application deadline: January 31, 2025
Geographic scope: South Carolina
Description: The mission of the South Carolina Bar Foundation is to promote justice by funding legal access and education in South Carolina. Support is provided to nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost civil legal representation to the poor or disadvantaged, provide law-related education to the public, and improve the administration of justice. Priority may be given to applicants requesting funds for the direct representation of clients or client groups.

Application deadline: January 27, 2025
Description: The Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program supports organizations that promote rural healthcare services outreach by improving and expanding the delivery of healthcare services to include new and enhanced services in rural areas. To achieve this purpose, the program also aims to strengthen local resources and capacity in rural communities. Through collaborative consortiums that include three or more healthcare providers, each community can develop innovative approaches to solve their own unique challenges and factors underlying rural health disparities.

Grants.gov deadline: April 24, 2025
Applicant portal deadline: April 29, 2025
Description: The Challenge America program offers support primarily to small organizations for projects in all artistic disciplines that extend the reach of the arts to populations that are underserved. The focus is on populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economic status, or disability. Possible projects include, but are not limited to, arts programming, including commissioning or presentation of artists or artwork; audience and community engagement, including educational activities; marketing and promotional activities; and organizational planning.

Do you work in the third sector? Are you looking to keep up with the latest developments in the field? If so, you might want to check out The ENGAGE Blog. Published by Blackbaud, this blog is a resource for trends, best practices, and need-to-know news for organizations across the social good ecosystem. It covers topics such as fundraising, finance and accounting, education, corporate social responsibility, grantmaking, and leadership.

If you review a funder profile in the GrantStation database (Members only) and determine the funder isn't a good fit for your organization, you can use the "Mark as N/A" button to let yourself know that the program has been reviewed and wasn't a match. In future searches, you'll see an N/A icon in your list of search results next to the funders you've marked.

Webinar date: January 6, 2025, 2:00 to 2:45 PM Eastern Time
Description: AI can be a powerful tool for your grants program, increasing productivity and efficiency by automating routine tasks, organizing data, and assisting in writing. But to leverage AI effectively, you need a strategic setup and the right foundation. In this TargetED session, Alice Ruhnke and David Gates will provide an in-depth introduction to using AI in grant development, emphasizing how to prepare your grants program to take advantage of AI technology. The focus will be on developing templates that will integrate smoothly with AI tools, allowing you to maximize their impact in the future. (This webinar is part of the TargetED series AI for Nonprofits.)

Webinar date: January 9, 2025, 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Time
Description: Grantseeking is a people-driven process. And the key to your success is the grantmakers themselves—the people who make the decisions about awards from corporate, foundation, and government sources. But who are these people? How do we connect with them? And what do they want from you anyway? In this lively session, longtime grant pro and grantmaking program officer Maryn Boess pulls from her own grantmaking experience (and that of dozens of other private and public program officers, reviewers, and decision-makers) to give you a realistic, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to create funder relationships that are authentic and high-integrity, and that work for you.

Webinar date: January 14, 2025, 2:00 to 3:00 PM Eastern Time
Description: Planning and goal setting are two very important aspects of being an effective nonprofit manager or leader. We often come up with a list of things we’d like to accomplish, but sometimes this is where our momentum ends. But what if you could create a roadmap for success in 2025? During this webinar, Jena Lynch, Education & Community Engagement Manager at Donorbox, will help you evaluate your 2024 efforts and refine your approach for the future. You’ll gain actionable tools and insights to confidently close out last year, reflect on successes and challenges, and hit the ground running with a strategic plan to achieve your goals in 2025.

Does your organization struggle with the grant application process? Do you spend too much time writing proposals that do not get funded? Do you want to take your grantwriting to the next level? If so, then GrantStation’s new online course, Turbocharge Your Grantwriting Skills, is right for you!

A successful grantseeking program can provide your nonprofit with vital financial resources so you can enhance your capacity and fulfill your mission. Consistently writing winning grant proposals, however, can feel like a daunting task that leaves many nonprofits stressed, confused, and overwhelmed.

Throughout this course, GrantStation President Alice Ruhnke will guide you through the entire grant proposal process step-by-step. You’ll learn how to craft an organizational background, compelling statement of need, process and outcome evaluation, approach, and budget with detailed videos, downloads, examples, and other resources. 

You’ll be introduced to a proposal writing framework that can be used repeatedly and will help save you time, write better proposals, and get funded more frequently.

All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion and five CFRE credits. 

Turbocharge your grantwriting for only $399!

Questions? Contact David.Gates@GrantStation.com.

Have you visited our homepage this week? Additional local, national, Canadian, and international funding opportunities are featured there weekly! Current opportunities include Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation: Sustainable Forests and Communities Initiative (U.S. national), Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) Small Grants Program (U.S. local: Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina), Future Generations Foundation (Canada), and DierenPark Amersfoort Wildlife Fund (global).