Innovative Learning Solutions

Sponsor: Microsoft

Deadline: 11/1/2009

Amount: varies

Type: Science & Technology, Education, Social & Economic

Description: Students, parents, and teachers across the United States are invited to help improve technology in classrooms by submitting a brief essay for the opportunity to receive a portion of over $1 million in technology from Samsung Electronics America’s Four Seasons of Hope campaign. The philanthropic initiative will reward winning writers with a Samsung Go Netbook and their local schools with Samsung products, Microsoft software, DIRECTV educational television programming, and cash grants as well as special @15 gift cards supplied by Best Buy.

Competition participants are invited to submit hundred-word essays on how the consumer electronics, computer equipment and software awarded through Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope could benefit their school. Participants should nominate a public or state-accredited private school for grades K-12 in their community. Home schools, colleges, universities, and vocational/trade schools are not eligible for nomination.

Complete contest rules and online entry forms are available at the Four Seasons of Hope Web site.

Link to RFP

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Sponsor: Do Something

Deadline: 9/15/2009

Amount: $1,000

Type: Education, Social & Economic

Description: Do Something and JCPenney have teamed up to support youth-led afterschool programs and projects across the United States.

The program partners will award ten grants of $500 each and five grand-prize grants of $1,000 each to young people who have started afterschool activities that help youth in their community.

Visit the Do Something Web site for complete program information and project posting guidelines.

Website: Link to RFP

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Sponsor: SRP

Deadline: 12/31/2010

Amount: varies

Type: Arts & Culture, Health, Education, Environment, Social & Economic

Description: SRP is a multipurpose reclamation project serving electric customers and water shareholders in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named for the major river that supplies water to the region, SRP is the nation’s third-largest public utility and one of the largest water suppliers in central Arizona’s Salt River Valley. The mission of the SRP Corporate Contributions program is to impact the company’s reputation in the community positively and consistently and to help make it a better place to live and do business for customers and employees. SRP is committed to strengthening the company’s core business objectives in all its activities.

SRP will focus its corporate contributions on consistent and meaningful involvement in community issues and programs in the areas of

– education;
– arts and culture;
– health and human services;
– civic leadership; and
– environmental quality.

Website: Link to RFP

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Sponsor: Sparkplug Foundation

Deadline: 9/25/2009

Amount: varies

Type: Arts & Culture, Social & Economic, Education

Description: The Sparkplug Foundation supports projects in three areas of focus, music, education and grassroots organizing. Sparkplug is a small foundation, which is why it tries to make grants where a small, one-time grant can have a big impact. Generally, the foundation tries to make grants that help projects become sustainable. Sparkplug gives preference to projects run on small budgets, projects of smallish organizations, and projects that are less likely to receive corporate, institutional or government funding.

Sparkplug aims to support the development of music by helping to launch new voices and ideas. Generally, this means that it funds emerging professional musicians or music-development programs. The funding is intended to help them gain a foothold that makes their work sustainable. When the foundation gets applications for other kinds of music projects, like musical training for youth, it is more likely to consider them under the Education & Teaching or Grassroots Organizing focus. Applicants should note that the foundation can’t provide “replacement funding” for music programs suffering from budget cuts.

Under Education and Teaching, Sparkplug aims to support projects that deal with “the whole student” and with learning as a community activity. In the past, this has included literacy projects that bring parents and kids together to learn, projects that use a neighborhood as a classroom, projects that help teachers share ideas about creative, relevant curricula, etc. It is especially interested in supporting critical and investigative thinking, and projects that address class disparities in education. It also tries to fund projects that reach a lot of people, or a whole community, and that can make a big difference in people’s lives.

Under Grassroots Organizing, Sparkplug aims to support communities to address institutional injustices, and to build a just society. Because it is a small foundation trying to “spark” change, it does not fund community service.

Website: Link to RFP

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Alert EmailSponsor: Hidden Valley

Deadline: 11/7/2009

Amount: $10,000

Type: Health, Education

Description: The makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressings created the Love Your Veggies campaign and grant program as a way to help parents and educators get children eating and enjoying their vegetables.

The Love Your Veggies grant program will award grants of $10,000 each to ten elementary schools across the United States. Grant awards will be based on proposals that demonstrate need, sustainability, innovation, and potential for community involvement. Funding can be spent on fresh produce (vegetables and fruits), a vegetable station (such as a dedicated salad bar), kitchen equipment (primary usage must relate to proposed program), program staffing (cafeteria personnel, lunchroom staff, etc.) nutrition education supplies, and food safety training.

In addition to the ten grants, the program will also award a $10,000 grant to an elementary school through a Twitter contest to run September 14-26, 2009.

Visit the Love Your Veggies campaign Web site for complete grant program information.

Website: Link to RFP

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Name: AAUW One-Year Grants

Sponsor: American Association of University Women

Deadline: 01/15/2010

Amount: varies

Type: Education, Social & Economic

Description: One-Year Grants provide seed money for new projects. Topic areas are unrestricted, but should include a clearly defined activity that promotes education and equity for women and girls. The proposed activity must take place within the United States or its territories. The proposed activity must have direct community or public impact.

As Community Action Grants, One-Year Grants provide funds for innovative programs or non-degree research projects that promote education and equity for women and girls. Specifically, the grants provide funds that address issues related to the needs of women and girls or that provide information to educate and benefit the public on those issues. AAUW encourages proposals for projects that (1) use innovative approaches to address local community needs or build linkages among community partners and (2) build partnerships between schools and community organizations. Special consideration is given to (1) projects focused on K-14 (including two-year colleges) girls’ achievement in math, science, and/or technology; and (2) projects that seek community partners. Community partners might include local schools or school districts, businesses, and other community-based organizations.

The grants will not fund the development of written work for academic credit or research that will be used for a degree thesis or dissertation.

Website: Link to RFP

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Youth Service America (YSA) and UnitedHealth Group are excited to team up for the second year to offer UnitedHealth HEROES grants to youth-led service-learning projects addressing childhood obesity.

 Educators, service-learning coordinators, students in the health professions, public health professionals, and community partners are eligible to apply for the UnitedHealth HEROES service-learning project grants.

 Grant recipients will receive up to $1,000 in support for service-learning projects that focus on childhood obesity, engage youth ages 5-25 in the planning and implementation process, and take place during Semester of Service 2010 (MLK Day, January 18, to Global Youth Service Day, April 23-25).

 States eligible for this year’s UnitedHealth HEROES program include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

 Please begin by completing our Eligibility Quiz at http://tinyurl.com/heroesquiz  If you are eligible, you will be given access the application materials.

 In addition to the grants, YSA and UnitedHealth Group published “First Responders: Youth Addressing Childhood Obesity Through Service-Learning,” a project planning module that provides the necessary information for school and community educators to develop effective projects. With data, project examples, and links to additional resources, educators have the tools to connect childhood obesity to a variety of learning areas. Download the module at: http://tools.ysa.org/downloads/modules/YSAPediatricObesityModule.pdf

 Best,

Michael Minks
Director of Outreach
Youth Service America
1101 15th Street, NW, Suite 200 | Washington, DC 20005
P: 202-296-2992 ext. 125 | F: 202-296-4030
mminks@ysa.org
www.YSA.org | www.GYSD.org

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