Tag Archives: fundraising

Helping Communities Celebrate and Preserve Their History

Since 2006, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation has funded over 1,800 historic signs in 46 states through their initiative “Helping Communities Celebrate and Preserve Their History.”

The Foundation has six signature programs for historic markers. Each program has its own guidelines and deadline, discussed below. The grants provide all the costs for the marker, pole, and shipping, but applicants are responsible for installation.

Applications are only accepted online, via the Foundation’s Grant Portal.

Eligibility

All historic marker programs are open to:

  • Nonprofit academic institutions
  • Local, state, and federal government entities
  • 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations

Certain programs are only available in specific states, as noted below.

Hungry for History

The Hungry for History program is open nationwide for signs that tell the story of foods that are special to a place or region. Eligible submissions must:

  • Have been created locally before 1970
  • Have historic significance outside the region
  • Be a ready-to-eat dish with at least 2 ingredients
  • Still be eaten
  • Not include brand names

Applications are accepted on a continual basis, but a Letter of Intent is required.

Legends and Lore

The Legends and Lore program supports signage that celebrates local myths, folktales, and holidays in Alabama, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia.

Subjects must be based on popular legends that contribute to cultural tourism. Family legends, factual events, and literary material are not eligible. Primary source documentation is not required.

Applications for Round One will open on March 11, 2024 are due by April 29. Round Two will open on August 26 with a deadline of October 14.

National Register Signage

The National Register of Historic Places is a list of places designated worthy of historic preservation. The Register operates under the National Parks Service, but does not provide any funding for signage. The William G. Pomerory Foundation helps to make sure these places are recognized by furnishing those funds.

This program is available in all 50 states and applications are accepted year round. A copy of the National Register designation letter must be provided.

Historic Transportation Canals

The Historic Transportation program is available nationwide for signs that commemorate transportation related events that occurred before 1945.Primary source documentation is required.

The 2024 round of applications will open March 15. Letters of Intent will be due by April 12 and full applications by May 17.

Hometown Heritage

The Hometown Heritage program is available in every state but New York. It provides signage for local history events in states that lack their own historic signage program or that don’t qualify for their state program. Events must have occurred in 1924 or earlier.

Applications are accepted on a continual basis, but a Letter of Intent is required.

New York State

The New York State Historic Marker Grant Program commemorates historic people, places, and events that occurred in New York from 1683-1923. Primary source documentation is required. Deadlines are scheduled by region based on the Association for Public Historians of New York State.

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.

Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Grant

The Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Initiative has been supporting high school students as they use hands-on problem solving to address real world problems since 2003. Teams incorporate STEM concepts into working prototypes based on collaboration with potential users. Fifteen teams have even received a patent for their inventions.

Grant applications are now open for InvenTeams preparing to compete during the 2023-2024 school year. Ten teams will be chosen to receive $7,500 to fund their work and present it at EurekaFest in June 2024. The initial application is due by April 27, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET. Finalists will be invited to submit a full application which will be due by Sept 5, 2023, at 11:59 PM ET. 

Eligibility

This grant is open to STEM educators in the United States who work with high school aged students. This includes licensed teachers and informal teachers from nonprofits who work with a school. Educators from other disciplines are encouraged to serve as assistant mentors to a team.

Applicants are not required to have a team of students in place to submit part one of the application. You do however, need to have a recruitment plan.

Priorities

In 2023, Lemelson-MIT is making addressing historic inequities a priority. They recognize that women, BIPOC individuals, and low income people have been and still are underrepresented in the world of inventions. Applications from educators who work with any of these marginalized groups and/or teach at a school with a high percentage of disenfranchised students will be given preference.

Requirements

  1. All adults who will be working with minors must have cleared a background check in the past 5 years.
  2. A letter of support from an administrator must be submitted with the initial application in April. You will request a letter as part of the application on Survey Monkey Apply and they will email your administrator.
  3. A resume for the Primary Applicant must be uploaded to the initial application.
  4. Students must be involved in preparing the second part of the application, due in September.

Assistance

Lemelson-MIT will host four webinars on Zoom before the April deadline. All sessions will be held at 7 PM ET.

  • March 7th
  • March 21st
  • April 4th
  • April 18th

Further questions can be sent to inventeams@mit.edu.

National Endowment for the Arts – Challenge America

The goal of the Challenge America grant from the National Endowment for the Arts is to fund projects that will bring the arts to underserved populations. These populations can be defined by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. This program also seeks to provide assistance to populations and small organizations who are less likely to receive other funds.

This grant is for a fixed amount of $10,000 with a minimum match of $10,000. Part 1 of the application, the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance on grants.gov, is due by April 21, 2022. Part 2 is done through the Applicant Portal. The Portal will be open from April 26 – May 3, 2022.

Eligibility

Applicant

Nonprofits organizations, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes, or some combination thereof are eligible to apply for this funding opportunity. This can include arts organizations and school districts. Partnerships are not required but are highly encouraged.

Applicants who received NEA funds through either the CARES Act or the American Rescue Plan are eligible. Previous Challenge America grantees are also eligible. Applicants are not eligible if they have received funding in Fiscal Years 2020, 2021, or 2022 for

  • Grants for Arts Projects (formerly known as Art Works)
  • Research Grants in the Arts 
  • Our Town

Project Types

A broad range of arts projects may be eligible for Challenge America funding. The central goal, however, must be to bring the arts to underserved populations. This can be done through any artistic medium (visual arts, dance, music, theater, etc.). Arts programming and/or the commissioning of works of art are permitted. Grantees may also use funds for promotion and marketing or for organizational planning.

Ineligible Activities

Activities for which grant funds may not be use include

  • General operating expenses
  • Courses at colleges and universities
  • Literary publishing of non-contemporary work
  • Social events such as receptions and galas
  • Projects that do not apply jury/editorial/curatorial judgment to the selection of artists and artwork.
  • For profit activities
  • Political lobbying
  • Capital improvement projects including new construction, the purchase of property, or renovations.
  • Subgranting except for state arts agencies, regional arts organizations, or local arts agencies operating as part of their local government.
  • Gifts and prizes

Review Criteria

Artistic Excellence

  • Quality of the artists, organizations, educators, and works of art
  • Relevance to the audience and community

Artistic Merit

  • Potential to reach underserved populations
  • Relevance of project
  • Effect on organizational capacity growth
  • Ability to carry out the project
  • Evidence of direct compensation to artists and other workers
  • Engagement, where appropriate, with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal entities, and institutions serving people of color or the disabled.

Important note : Projects may be subject to review under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) or National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). No grant funds will be released until that review is complete. Projects must also follow all federal accessibility guidelines.