GrantStation Insider: October 17, 2024

Application deadline: December 3, 2024, for registrations, and January 10, 2025, for applications
Geographic scope: Global
Grant amount: $1 million to $5 million USD
Description: Action for Women’s Health is a $250 million global open call launched by Pivotal that will fund organizations around the world working to improve women’s mental and physical health. Flexible funding between $1 million and $5 million will be awarded to an array of organizations—of diverse geographies, sizes, perspectives, and approaches—united by their work to improve the mental and physical health of women. The focus of each organization may range from improving women’s daily health, their longevity, their access to care, their ability to engage in daily life, or their opportunity to form and support a family. The goal is to open access to funding streams to organizations and groups that historically have not had access to them. Applicant organizations should center equity in their approach and be poised to scale their work to strengthen the health of more women. Organizations from around the world are eligible to apply.

Application deadline: January 15 and September 15, annually
Grant amount: First time grants typically are $1,500 to $2,000.
Description: The Les Paul Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through support of music education, recording, innovation, and medical research related to hearing. Grants are provided to 501(c)(3) organizations and schools within the United States for programs and projects that encourage innovation in music production and performance and for innovative STEM or STEAM programs for students and others in challenging situations. Funded organizations and programs include music education organizations and schools (including public schools), music recording and music industry education programs, STEM/STEAM programs that emphasize innovation and align with Les Paul’s work, and after-school science and music programs that align with Les Paul’s work.

Application deadline: None
Grant amount: The minimum grant size is $100,000.
Description: The Hearst Foundations fund nonprofit organizations to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States have the opportunity to build healthy, productive, and satisfying lives. The Foundations’ major areas of focus are culture, education, health, and social services. Funding is provided for approaches that create sustainable employment and productive career paths for adults, improve health and quality of life, increase academic achievement through access to high-quality educational options, promote the arts and sciences, and support family stability and self-sufficiency. The Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that operate with audited expenses of greater than $2 million and that primarily serve large demographic or geographic constituencies.

Application deadline: None
Description: The mission of All Kids Play is to increase quality youth sports participation in the United States by providing financial assistance to families and communities that lack sufficient resources and provide education on safe and healthy sports-related play. All Kids Play’s Youth Sports Grants for organizations support nonprofit organizations, school sports programs, or government-run programs (i.e. community park districts) in low-income communities that provide community-based recreational level sports for kids in grades K-12. (Grants for individuals are also provided.)

Application deadline: November 21, 2024
Geographic scope: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
Grant amount: $20,000 to $100,000, depending on organizational budget size
Description: Cultural Sustainability, a one-time grantmaking and learning program funded by The Wallace Foundation and delivered regionally by the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations, provides operating support grants to arts organizations of color. Through Cultural Sustainability, New England Foundation for the Arts will provide grants of up to $100,000, depending upon organizational budget size, to small arts and culture organizations of color in New England that have annual operating expenses under $500,000 and work in any artistic discipline and genre. The goal is to enable self-identifying arts organizations of color to sustain and expand their practices, impact the communities they serve, and provide meaningful arts and cultural experiences for larger, cross-cultural audiences.

Application deadline: November 5, 2024, at 12 PM (noon) New York Time (ET), for idea submission forms
Geographic scope: Selected markets across the U.S.
Description: Through a new round of the Community Finance Innovation Fund, Citi Foundation is committing an additional $25 million in support to nonprofit community finance organizations advancing financial inclusion and financial health in low-income communities across the United States. Support will be provided for projects in eligible counties to organizations demonstrating a successful track record of advancing financial health as a Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI), or in conjunction with CDFIs, and a project idea offering an innovative solution in the categories of human capital and talent development, products and services, and technology and operational efficiencies. For more information, including eligibility criteria, please visit www.citifoundation.com/ideas. 

Application deadline: December 1, 2024 (The deadline for Tree Grants falls in September.)
Geographic scope: South Carolina
Description: PalmettoPride fights litter in South Carolina by addressing prevention through education, supporting enforcement, connecting community groups to resources, and mobilizing volunteers. PalmettoPride offers various grants to assist in beautifying South Carolina: The Litter Enforcement Grant provides litter control and enforcement agencies with up to $5,000 for the purchase of equipment and resources for use in litter control cases. The Litter Prevention Grant provides organizations with donated cleanup supplies and up to $10,000 to supplement anti-litter programs and activities at the local level. The Litter Crew Grant provides up to $10,000 to pay for litter removal crews. The Tree Grant donates trees to beautify public spaces around South Carolina. (Certified South Carolina Keep America Beautiful affiliates can also apply for support for litter reduction and beautification programs through the Keep South Carolina Beautiful Affiliate Grant.)

Application deadline: None
Geographic scope: Rural areas of Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington
Grant amount: Grants average $500 to $2,500. The maximum grant request is $5,000.
Description: AgWest Farm Credit’s Rural Community Grants program provides support to nonprofit organizations for projects that improve rural communities within Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Supported efforts can include building or improving facilities; purchasing necessary equipment to facilitate a local program; and capital improvements that enhance a community’s infrastructure, viability, and prosperity. Examples of eligible projects include a fire engine for a rural fire department, a multi-purpose community building, improving community park facilities, and computers for a community center’s educational classes. Applications must include a letter of support written by a current AgWest customer or employee.

Application deadline: December 30, 2024
Description: Through the Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Grant Program, the EPA promotes public health by investing in water infrastructure improvements to address lead exposure in drinking water in disadvantaged communities. The EPA expects to make at least one award in each of the following priority areas: reducing children’s exposure to lead in drinking water in schools and childcare facilities, and reduction of lead exposure in the nation’s drinking water systems through full lead service line replacements and treatment improvements.

Application deadline: January 23, 2025
Description: The 2025 AmeriCorps State and National Competitive Grants program supports organizations that engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions to strengthen communities. AmeriCorps will prioritize consideration from organizations that 1) serve communities with concentrated poverty, rural communities, tribal communities, and historically underrepresented and underserved individuals; 2) implement programs for or expand access to high-quality youth mental health and substance use recovery services and prepare AmeriCorps members to enter behavioral health careers; 3) focus on improving the quality of life for veterans, active-duty members of the Armed Forces, and their families by recruiting veterans, military spouses, and their older children into national service; 4) promote environmental stewardship to help communities to be more resilient by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving land and water, increasing renewable energy use, and improving at-risk ecosystems; and 5) support civic bridge-building programs and projects to reduce polarization and community divisions and provide training in civic bridge-building skills and techniques to AmeriCorps members.

Did you know that 10% of all giving happens in the last three days of the year? A comprehensive, data-informed year-end fundraising plan is critical to help your organization reach its annual goals and make its greatest impact. If you’d like some guidance on how to achieve this, you might want to read "A Nonprofit's Comprehensive Guide to Year-End Giving," by CharityEngine. This how-to guide includes a comprehensive list of data-backed tools and steps to help nonprofits easily craft a successful end-of-year fundraising strategy.

Webinar date: October 21, 2024, 2:00 to 2:45 PM Eastern Time
Description: Reviewing a funder's tax forms can be an illuminating process. But like many tax documents, 990s can be daunting. They often include a lot of information, which can be overwhelming to sift through. So which info is most relevant for you? During this TargetED, GrantStation’s Research Team will break down the key elements of the Form 990 to help you determine which grantmakers are the most valuable to your organization.

Webinar date: October 22, 2024, 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Time
Description: You have an awesome board! Right? But do they do everything you need and want them to do? Maybe not. Fundraising Culture Change Expert Lori L. Jacobwith understands that you and your board members require clear direction and guidance to work together effectively. This engaging session is about effortlessly creating an environment where your board members support your fundraising efforts, feel rewarded for their service, and look for more ways to be involved. Join Lori to learn how your board can help increase your fundraising revenue by nearly 40% without asking anyone for a contribution.

Webinar date: October 23, 2024, 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Time
Description: In this webinar, social entrepreneur Mindy Muller will challenge you to explore how income-generating activities can be a powerful tool for driving social change. You’ll gain practical insights into weighing the pros and cons of starting a social enterprise, along with actionable steps to get started. Drawing from her own experiences, Mindy will share key principles for developing a social enterprise within a nonprofit or creating a new mission-driven business.

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.

GrantStation shares database profiles of local, national, Canadian, and international grantmakers with upcoming deadlines each week. Current opportunities include Panera Bread Foundation (U.S. national: communities served by the company), Jack in the Box Foundation (U.S. local: communities served by the company), The Commonwell: Learning and Engagement Accelerator Fund (L.E.A.F.) (Canada local: Ontario), and HeidelbergCement: Quarry Life Award (United States, Canada, Belgium, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Tanzania, and Turkey).