Innovative Learning Solutions

The Arizona Community Foundation is currently accepting grant applications for its 2009 Open Competitive Grant Cycle. Grant applications are now available online at https://www.azfoundation.org/rfp/index.xpl.

The application period will close at 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 16. Notifications will be made mid-September. Grant proposals may range from $5,000 to $20,000 and should address projects or initiatives related to capacity building in the areas of fund development and fundraising and/or costs associated with consolidation of resources through significant collaborations, mergers and acquisitions.

ACF seeks to build on the strengths and assets of Arizona’s nonprofit organizations and agencies that are striving to improve the quality of life throughout the state. In response to the current economic downturn and its substantial impact on the nonprofit sector and the public it serves, they are offering a competitive grant program focused on projects or initiatives in one of the two following areas:

• Capacity building in the areas of fund development and fundraising – including preparatory costs for those associated with readiness to receive ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funding
• Costs associated with consolidation of resources through significant collaborations, mergers and acquisitions

Sponsor: Ameriprise Financial

Deadline: 9/1/2009

Amount: varies

Type: Social & Economic, Arts & Culture

Description: Ameriprise Financial, Inc., a diversified financial services company, is accepting grant applications from nonprofit organizations under the company’s three philanthropic funding platforms – Meeting Basic Needs, Supporting Community Vitality, and Volunteer Driven Causes.

Ameriprise provides grants to nonprofit organizations in communities across the United States where its employees, advisors, and retirees live and work. The company prefers to direct funding to specific projects that can demonstrate innovative approaches with measurable results or capacity building rather than general operating support.

In the Meeting Basic Needs category, the company supports programs and services that help at-risk populations stabilize their lives and become more self-sufficient. Consideration will be given to programs that help provide food, shelter, and self sufficiency. The Supporting Community Vitality category supports programs and services that build strong communities by creating economic vitality and cultural enrichment. Support is provided in the areas of community development, cultural enrichment, civic leadership, disaster response and recovery, and environmental awareness. The Volunteer Driven Causes category allows Ameriprise employees, advisors, and retirees to help determine where and how a portion of the grants are directed.

Visit the Community Relations section of the Ameriprise Web site for complete grant guidelines.

Website: Link to RFP

Sponsor: Bank of America

Deadline: 6/30/2009

Amount: $5,000

Type: Social & Economic

Description: The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is accepting applications for the Neighborhood Builders and Local Heroes components of its Neighborhood Excellence Initiative. In 2009, the foundation will allocate a total of $20 million globally to the initiative, which is designed to recognize, nurture, and reward organizations, local heroes, and student leaders helping to strengthen and revitalize their communities in forty-five of the bank’s major markets.

The Neighborhood Builders program provides $200,000 in unrestricted grant funding in addition to leadership training for two local nonprofit organizations working to promote vibrant neighborhoods.

The Local Heroes program provides recognition of five community heroes whose achievements and leadership on local issues contribute significantly to neighborhood vitality. Recipients direct a $5,000 contribution to an eligible nonprofit of their choice.

(The 2009 deadline for the Student Leaders program has passed.)

Program guidelines, list of eligible markets, and applications are available at the Bank of America Foundation Web site.

Website: Link to RFP

American Architectural Foundation Invites Nominations for Richard Riley Award – Schools as Centers of Community: A National Search for Excellence

Sponsor: Richard Riley Award

Deadline:7/1/2009

Amount: $5,000

Type: Education, Social & Economic

Description: The American Architectural Foundation, in partnership with KnowledgeWorks Foundation, invites nominations for the Richard Riley Award – Schools as Centers of Community: A National Search for Excellence.

The award is named in honor of former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley, one of the first champions of schools as centers of community. The prize is awarded to a school that best demonstrates school design that supports the community.

The award program is open to all existing elementary and secondary public schools in the United States that serve as centers of community, demonstrate innovative design ideas, and help promote student achievement. The school can be recently constructed, opened, or renovated, and does not have to be new.

Nominations can be submitted by teachers, superintendents, students, principals, school business officials, board members, architects, or anyone who cares about a school in their local community. Schools can nominate themselves.

A $5,000 prize will be awarded to the winning school.

For nominating instructions, a sample nomination, and information about past winners, visit the awards program Web site.

Website: Link to RFP

Sponsor: Youth Service America

Deadline: 6/30/2009

Amount: varies

Type: Education, Science & Technology

Description: Contingent on federal funding, Youth Service America plans to implement a service-learning program in twenty-five middle schools in ten states to strengthen students’ science, technology, and math skills.

The program will focus on creating a framework for primarily disadvantaged students to work in a semester-of-service model, where each month is devoted to a different aspect of planning and executing a service project in their community in connection to academic standards. The projects will begin on Martin Luther King Day of Service (January 18, 2010) and conclude on Global Youth Service Day (April 23-25, 2010).

Teachers, administrators, and service-learning coordinators in middle schools as well as staff and service-learning coordinators in afterschool programs in the states of Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Washington are eligible to apply.

The program components include an annual $5,000 grant for teachers or service- learning coordinators and an additional $500 grant for an “ally” located in each school who will support the grantee and help to establish a more sustainable program at their school, as well as training and technical assistance, specialized resources, social networking to facilitate an online professional learning community, and communications training.

Visit the YSA Web site for complete program information.

Website: Link to RFP