Author Archives: grantcentraldepot

Robert F. Schumann Foundation

The Robert F. Schumann Foundation supports projects in the United States focused on Arts, culture, and humanities, Education, the Environment, and Animals. The Foundation is administered through Wells Fargo Philanthropic Trust Services.

Applications are accepted year round, but must be submitted by February 28th to be considered at that year’s annual grant meeting.

Eligibility

This grant is open to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations in the United States. Special consideration will be given to organizations in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and on the East Coast.

Focus Areas

The Schumann Foundation supports projects focused on:

Arts, culture, and humanities
Education
The Environment (especially open space habitats)
Animals (especially ornithology)

USAID: Advancement of LGBTQI+ Rights

The U.S. Agency for International Development has issued an invitation to submit Concept Notes for projects to advance LGBTQI+ rights. Countries in the Global South and East where USAID has a presence are especially encouraged to apply.

USAID intends to issue up to three awards of $500,000 – $10 million over as many as five years. This is subject to change based on available funding and the quality of submissions. Concept Notes must be emailed to lgbtqi@usaid.gov, with JRS-APS@usaid.gov copied by March 15, 2024.

Eligibility

This invitation is open to nonprofit organizations in any country. Civil society organizations in countries where USAID has a presence are highly encouraged to apply.

Applicants may collaborate to submit a single Concept Note, but one organization should be designated as the lead applicant.

Objectives

This funding opportunity is an addendum to the Justice, Rights, and Security (JRS), Annual Program Statement. It’s objectives are:

Advance the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals and communities to access education, professional development, livelihoods, and employment opportunities
Advance the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals to access quality basic health services, including mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS)
Advance the ability of regional/multi-country organizations and/or coalitions to effectively respond to and counter anti-rights actors

Potential Activities

Project activities might include:

Creating and distributing anti-bullying campaign materials and resources
Determining key obstacles to employment for LGBTQI+ individuals and working with employers, trade unions, chambers of commerce, etc. to promote inclusivity
Establishing and training peer led support groups
Creating resources in local languages to help health providors better understand care for intersex, gender non-conforming, and transgender people
Creating or supporting the creation of resources in local languages and contexts to counter the misinformation of anti-rights groups

Integrated Biological and Computational Low Dose Radiation Research Grant

The Department of Energy‘s Office of Science has issued a FOA for Integrated Biological and Computational Low Dose Radiation Research. The goal of this program is to conduct laboratory-based research and build datasets to expand on the limited information on the effects of low dose radiation.

DOE anticipates a total of $18 million to fund projects of $250,000 – $500,000 for a project period of 3 years. This is subject to changes in congressional appropriations. Pre-applications are required and must be submitted by February 6, 2024 at 5:00 PM ET through the DOE SC Portfolio Analysis and Management System. Full applications for those encouraged to apply must be submitted through Grants.gov by April 2, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET.

Eligibility

This funding opportunity is open to “(a)ll types of domestic applicants,” except 501(c)4 nonprofit organizations that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995.

Federal agencies may be subrecipients, but may not be the primary applicant.

International applicants may apply, but must demonstrate how they will be able to meet the research criteria in a way that no domestic applicant could. Similarly, international entities may be listed as proposed subrecipients, but the primary applicant must demonstrate why they should be chosen over domestic entities.

Research Topics

Research on the effects of low dose radiation on human health should be conducted within four topics:

Development of experimental laboratory model systems representative of human systems for combined experimental and computational analyses
Combined Experimental and Computational Approaches for Low Dose Radiation Research
Assembly and Analysis of Harmonized Datasets to Support Biological Research
Computational Tools Supporting Low Dose Radiation Research

Allowable Expenses

Grant funds may be used for expenses such as:

“Buying out” faculty time
Support for administrative personnel
Fringe benefits
Stipends and benefits for students and post-doctoral researchers
Purchasing equipment
Travel to meet with collaborators
Membership costs in relevant professional societies
Other direct costs (office supplies, technology)

Review Criteria

All applications will be reviewed based on:

Scientific and/or Technical Merit of the Project
Appropriateness of the Proposed Method or Approach
Competency of Applicant’s Personnel and Adequacy of Proposed Resources
Reasonableness and Appropriateness of the Proposed Budget
Quality and Efficacy of the Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plan

American Dream Awards

The American Dream Awards from Hello Alice celebrate small businesses in the United States who are living the modern American dream. Awards will be given in seven categories; businesses may apply for multiple categories.

Applications are due by April 30, 2024 at 6:00 PM ET. Winners will receive $1,000, media coverage, and access to a small business accelerator.

Eligibility

This award is open to all for-profit businesses, including sole proprietorships, in the United States.

Business owners may apply directly or be nominated by someone else. Additional nominations do not increase the chance of winning.

Award Categories

Big Dreamer – for businesses that have been in operation for three or fewer years and have shown they have the leadership and drive to achieve their goals
Community Hero – for businesses that are breaking down barriers to create jobs and build something meaningful
Inclusive Excellence – for businesses who have gone the extra mile to create an inclusive work environment
Innovator – for businesses who have developed novel approaches and changed the game for their industry
Legacy Builder – for businesses who have made the transition from family-owned to a broader ownership model while maintaining the values that helped them succeed
Resilience Rockstar – for businesses who have shown strength through adversity and the ability to adapt in the face of challenges
Sustainability Star – for creators of unique, eco-friendly products and services

Snapdragon Book Foundation Grant

The Snapdragon Book Foundation was founded in 2008 to provide funds to school libraries serving disadvantaged children. Especially as funding for books is being cut, they want to ensure that all kids have quality reading options.

Applications are due by Sunday February 11, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET. Past awards have ranged from $500 to $20,000 and applicants are encouraged to request the amount needed for their projects. If unable to fulfill the entire amount, Snapdragon may offer partial funding. There is no matching requirement.

Eligibility

This grant is open to public, private, and alternative (e.g. charter or youth detention center) Pre-K – 12th grade school libraries in the United States and its territories. Applicants must serve disadvantaged youth, but there is not a minimum required percentage of low income students.

Public schools need only provide a link to their official website to confirm their eligibility. All others will need to upload IRS documentation designating them as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

Allowable Expenses

Grant funds may be used to purchase:

Books to be used repeatedly by multiple children through a classroom or central school library
Reference materials for student use
Magazine or newspaper subscriptions
Processing or cataloging fees from book vendors

Grant funds may not be used for:

Books for individual students to take home and keep
Test-Prep books for SAT, ACT, or other entrance exams
Audio/visual equipment including audio books
Computers, eBooks, eReaders, iPads, software
Accelerated Reader subscriptions or quizzes
“Hands-on” materials like science experiment kits

Transformative Care Agendas in the Global Majority

Transformative Care Agendas in the Global Majority is a program from the SAGE Fund. It supports projects that address the way the care economy is subsidized by women, girls, and gender nonconforming people at the expense of their own educational and professional goals. The lack of investment in care systems also negatively impacts those who need those services and who lose their agency and autonomy as a result.

SAGE expects to award 8-12 grants of $100,000 – $150,000 each for project periods of 12-18 months. Initial applications and concept notes are due by January 29, 2024 and must be completed in English. The Fund will then work with applicants on the short list to develop a full proposal.

Projects must focus on the Global Majority, which is defined as, “the group of people in the world who do not condier themselves or are not considered to be white.” More than 80% of the world’s population are part of the Global Majority.

Eligibility

Applicant

This grant is open to legally registered charities or organizations who have designated a legally registed charity to serve as their fiscal agent. This may include:

Civil society organizations (including NGOs)
Community-based organizations
Worker organizations
Networks, coalitions, and partnerships
Research centers or think tanks in the Global Majority with strong links to activism

Geography

Projects must take place in Africa, Asia, Latin America and/or the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

SAGE is unable to fund projects in:

Afghanistan
Belarus
Cuba
India
Iran
North Korea
Russia
Syria
Ukraine (Russian-Occupied Territories)
Yemen

Objectives

Program

The Transformative Care Agendas in the Global Majority program aims to:

Promote the value and importance of care through public investment and support/provision from the state, community care, and for-profit institutions
Shift care systems to provide economic security and protections to care workers through labor laws, policies, and regulations
Strengthen coalitions within the care sector and with other movements (e.g. labor, feminist, migrant, and environmental) to advance a care agenda at all levels

Projects

Funded project should achieve at least one of the following:

Advance new models to support care systems and economies that increase the role of the state, invest in community care systems, and/or regulate for-profit care providers
Address structural barriers to care worker protections, such as economic security, safe working conditions, and social protections
Identify and engage with social movements to form alliances which can advance the care agenda

DOT Planning and Bridge Project Grants

Planning and Bridge Project Grants through the U.S. Department of Transportation fund projects to replace or repair bridges on the National Bridge Inventory (NBI).

Grants are awarded in two categories: Bridge Project and Planning. Applications for Bridge Project grants are due by March 19, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET; applications for Planning grants are due by February 19, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET. Award amounts vary by category, but all grantees must provide a 20% non-federal match. Applications should be submitted through Grants.gov.

Eligibility

This grant is open to:

A state or group of states
A unit of local government or group of local governments
A political subdivision of a state or local government
A Tribal government or consortium of Tribal governments
A metropolitan planning organization that serves an urbanized area with a population over 200,000
A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function
A Federal Land Management Agency (FLMA)
A multi-state or multi-jurisdictional group of entities as described above

Program Goals

The goals of the Bridge Investment Program are to:

Improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridges
Improve the condition of bridges in the United States
Provide financial assistance that leverages and encourages non-Federal contributions from sponsors and stakeholders involved in the planning, design, and construction of eligible projects

Grant Categories

Bridge Projects

Bridge Projects should replace, rehabilitate, preserve, or protect one or more bridges on the NBI. They may also include bridge bundling and culverts.

Funding

Awards may not be less than $2.5 million or more than 80% of the total project cost. Total eligible costs may not exceed $100 million.

Allowable Expenses

Grant funds may be spent on:

Development activities such as feasibility analyses, environmental reviews, and revenue forecasting
Construction, including environmental mitigation, equipment acquisition, and operational improvements
Protection, such as seismic or scour protection

Requirements

All Bridge Projects must:

Demonstrate a reasonable expectation of beginning construction within 18 months of the award
Have preliminary engineering work completed
Address how the bridge will be maintained
Provide accomodations for pedestrians and cyclists

Planning

Planning grants are intended for preliminary work, such as feasibility analyses and revenue forecasting, to develop projects that would be eligible to apply for a Bridge Project grant.

There is no minimum or maximum award for Planning grants. However, the cost of the final bridge project must be at least $3.125 million.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was founded in 1930 by cereal magnate William Keith Kellogg with the aim of helping children reach their full potential. The Foundation specifically supports community efforts that create a place where vulnerable children can thrive.

WKKF has three interconnected funding priorities: Thriving Children, Working Families, and Equitable Communities. Letters of Inquiry are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Eligibility

This grant is open to organizations in the United States and select communities in Mexico and Haiti. Eligible organizations include:

Nonprofits
Public organizations such as schools and hospitals
Government entities
Native American Tribes
For profit organizations doing philanthropic work

Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, and New Orleans have been identified as priority locations. Approximately two-thirds of WKKF’s work is done in these areas as well as Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, and in Central and South Haiti.

Funding Priorities

Thriving Children

Grants under this category focus on issues like maternal and infant health, early childhood education, and improving access to healthy foods. Examples include projects to help children understand what makes food healthy or unhealthy and supporting policy initiatives.

Working Families

WKKF works with US employers to make high quality jobs more equitable. This includes supporting businesses owned by women, minorities, and tribes and small businesses as a whole. In Mexico and Haiti, support is primarily focused on agricultural programs. They have funded projects to develop workforce training programs and to provide legal advice to workers who are unprotected by labor laws.

Equitable Communities

Racial inequity is a barrier that prevents many children from succeeding. To help remove this barrier, WKKF supports programs to develop local leaders, confront the history of racial inequality, and reshape the systems that perpetuate it. Examples of projects they have funded include providing comprehensive planning assistance and partnerships with historically black colleges and universities.

Allowable Expenses

WKKF supports projects that use innovative methods to help all children and families succeed. They don’t specify what grant funds can be spent on, but they do list some of the things they don’t fund. These include:

Capital projects
Endowments
Events
Individual assistance

Application Process

Register with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Portal. Login information will be emailed to you within one business day.
Write a letter of inquiry describing your project in 1,500 characters or fewer. This letter should include information on the problem you’re addressing, what your objectives are, what methods you’ll use, who your partners are, and how your project fits into the WKKF priorities. You should receive a response to your letter within thirty business days.
Applicants that are a strong fit for the Foundation’s goals will be encouraged to develop a full application. A final decision to fund your project or not should be made within sixty business days of receiving the full application.

Learn more about projects the WKKF has funded in the past in their Grants Database.

The 2024 Ashden Awards

The Ashden Awards support climate innovation in the United Kingdom and countries in the Global South receiving Official Development Assistance. Winners receive up to £25,000, access to funders, and a promotional film made about their work.

Applications are due by January 25, 2024 and may be submitted in Arabic, English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Eligibility

Applicant

This award program is open to:

For-profit businesses
Charities/NGOs
Government/public sector entities
Social enterprises
Community groups

Applicants must be able to demonstrate good governance and management

Project

To qualify, projects must:

Be based in work that is already available to clients, customers, or beneficiaries
Have an innovative approach
Have the potential to make a significant impact through either expansion or replication

Award Categories

Photo by Nitin Sharma: https://www.pexels.com/photo/windmills-in-mountain-viewing-lake-under-orange-skies-2861857/

The categories for the 2024 Ashden Awards are:

Ashden Award for People’s Energy – UK
Ashden Award for Energy Innovation – UK
Ashden Award for Energy Innovation – Countries receiving ODA
Ashden Award for Natural Climate Solutions – UK
Ashden Award for Natural Climate Solutions – Countries receiving ODA
Ashden Award for Powering Refugees and Displaced People – Countries receiving ODA
Ashden Award for Powering Futures in Clean Energy – Countries receiving ODA

Application Process

Submit application and all requested information by January 25
Applicants who are shortlisted will be contacted in early February and asked to provide more information about their project and financial viability
Finalists will receive a request for a virtual assessment which will include meetings with the chief executive, financial officer, project head, and other employees

Review Critera

All applications will be reviewed based on:

Decarbonization, material use reduction, and environmental protection
Resilience and adaptation
Boosting green skills and work
Reducing inequality
Participation and democratization
Communications potential

Natoora Farm Fund

Natoora is on a mission to preserve the flavor in food by protecting the planet and its people. They do this through supply chains that source ingredients directly from growers and supporting young farmers with their Farm Fund.

The Farm Fund helps farmers 35 and under in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe overcome financial barriers to establishing sustainable farming practices. Applications for up to $12,500 are due by February 2, 2024.

Eligibility

This grant is open to farmers in the US, UK, and Europe who are:

Individuals aged 35 and under
A cooperative or partnership primarily made up of individuals aged 35 and under

Key Areas

Grantees must be committed to agroecological methods that preserve rather than deplete the environment. Projects must address at least one key focus area and be able to measure progress in achieving their goals.

Key areas:

Soil Health
Cultural Preservation
Innovation
Biodiversity
Education
Access to Land
Accessible Scale

Grantee farms are also expected to keep synthetic interventions as a last resort, if they use them at all.