Tag Archives: community development

AARP Community Challenge Grant

The AARP Community Challenge Grant funds small projects to make communities more livable. Awards are made in three categories – Flagship Grants, Capacity-Building Microgrants, and Demonstration Grants.

Available funding varies by grant type, but applications for all categories are due by March 6, 2024 at 5 PM ET.

Eligibility

This grant is open to:

  • Nonprofits with a 501(c)3, 501(c)4, or 501(c)6 status
  • Government entities

Organizations that do not fall into either of the above categories may be able to apply, but that will be determined on a case by case basis. For-profit businesses and individuals are not eligible.

Grant Types

Flagship Grants

Flagship Grants focus on improving life for community residents, especially those who are 50 years of age or older. In the past, awards have ranged from $500 to $50,000 and the average award is $11,900. But don’t be afraid to dream big! There is no cap and extraordinary projects may receive larger amounts.

Project Categories

Image by Coombesy
  • Public Places – Improvement of parks, open spaces, and equitable access to public amenities
  • Transportation and Mobility Options – Road improvements, wayfinding, improved connectivity and walk/bikeability, and increased access to transportation
  • Housing – Increasing availability of affordable and accessible housing
  • Digital Connections – Expanding access to high speed internet and digital literacy
  • Community Resilience – Disaster preparedness and mitigation
  • Community Health and Economic Empowerment – Increasing physical and financial health

Capacity-Building Microgrants

Capacity-Building Microgrants provide $2,500 as well as non-financial assistance like one-on-one coaching and webinars.

Project Categories

Image by Mircea – All in collections

Demonstration Grants

Demonstration grants are intended to be used for pilot projects that can be replicated by other communities. Awards may be up to $50,000.

Project Categories

  • Enhancing digital connectivity to prepare and respond to disasters
  • Facilitating equitable engagement to reconnect communities divided by infrastructure
  • Implementing housing choice design competitions 

Selection Criteria

  • Impact (45 points) – Does the project address a need to become more livable for residents, particularly those age 50 or older?
  • Execution (30 points) – Has the applicant demonstrated an ability to complete the project on time and on budget, engage residents, and enlist volunteers, especially those age 50 or older?
  • Addressing Disparities (15 points) – Does the project address disparities faced by historically marginalized groups?
  • Innovation (10 points) – Is the project unique?

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

  1. Register with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Portal. Login information will be emailed to you within one business day.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.