The library at your daughter's elementary school has about as many reading materials as a doctor's office waiting room. Can you arrange for more books?

Your neighbors work until 6:30 but school lets out at 3:00, leaving the kids with nowhere to go, can you help an effective local after-school program expand to reach more kids?

You're active in a statewide organization that needs more money to do the job right or tackle a new problem, where can you turn for help?

Whether you're an individual with an idea to help your community, or already at work on behalf of kids and families, you can make a difference—and you'll probably need funding to do so. Connect for kids has compiled some resources to help you.

If you have other resources or experiences to share, let us know. Send an e-mail to weekly@connectforkids.org.

In This Toolkit:
1. For Funders: Supporting Advocacy Work (and Other Tools)
2. Getting Funded: Advice from the Field
3. Apply Now - Grants with Upcoming Deadlines
4. Grants by Topic

• Stimulus and Recovery Funds
• General Funding Opportunities
• Child Care and Out-of-School Time Programs
• Children's Health and Social Services
• Education
• Financial Aid for College
• Science, Mathematics and Technology
• Strengthening Communities
• Juvenile Justice and Youth in Transition
• Job Training for Youth
• E-Newsletters with Grant Information

FOR FUNDERS: SUPPORTING ADVOCACY WORK

Grantmakers tend to be cautious about funding advocacy, yet advocacy can play a crucial role in advancing a foundation’s mission and most nonprofits can do more advoacy than they realize. Here are two guides that are useful for foundations and those applying for grants:

• Advocacy Funding: The Philanthrophy of Changing Minds (GrantCraft, a project of the Ford Foundation). Advocacy includes a lot of opportunities to improve public policy through work that is well within the limits of the law. This guide offers strategies for planning your work, reaching your audience and assessing impact and for foundations: what’s permissible and working with grantees who lobby.

• The Time Is Right for Leadership in Advocacy Funding (Alliance for Justice and Council on Foundations), features experts from the foundation community sharing personal stories and tips, and ideas for proper evaluation strategies in economically difficult times.

Other Tools for Grantmakers

• The Youth Transition Funders Group is a network of grantmakers whose mission is to help all youth make a successful transition to adulthood by age 25.
• There are several grantmakers' associations designed to bring grantmakers together to learn about how to be more effective, network, exchange information and analyze different strategies. Grantmakers for Children and Grantmakers for Education focus specifically on youth program funders.
• The Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement and the Neighborhood Funders Group are targetted toward community-based efforts.
• The Independent Sector is a coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporations.

GETTING FUNDED: ADVICE FROM THE FIELD

• The Finance Project recommends a variety of overlapping strategies, including stressing direct benefits resulting from a partnership with business, showing positive results from your youth program and acknowledging partners through public forums to gain in-kind and cash support from local businesses and foundations.
• The Alliance for Justice has legal information on advocating, and a great Nonprofit and Foundation Advocacy blog.
• Nonoprofit Guides has tips on identifying opportunities, writing proposals and more.

• The Fieldstone Alliance has created two toolkits to assist nonprofit organizations with funding in difficult economic times: 20 Emergency Funding Sources for Nonprofits and 20 Cost Cutting Ideas for Nonprofits.

• To gauge who's giving how much and for what cause, OnPhilanthropy produces useful e-mail newsletters with links to articles from a wide range of news sources. (See the box on the right-hand side of their homepage.)
• According to the National Staff Development Council, funders are looking for proposals that reflect tough thinking and concrete plans. Here are some tips to make your proposals a success.
• If you want to try an online fundraising campaign, Affinity Resources and Michael Stein have helpful advice.

APPLY NOW - Grants with Upcoming Deadlines

 
The US Department of Labor is accepting applications through Sept. 29 for Recovery Act Pathways Out of Poverty grants to prepare individuals, including high school dropouts, for careers in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

The Open Society Institute is accepting applications until October 14 for Soros Justice Fellowships, stipends to support projects that advance the Open Society Institute's (OSI) cause to reduce incarceration and improve justice, especially for people of color and the poor. 

The Robert Bowne Foundation will award four $10,000 National Afterschool Matters Edmund A. Stanley Jr. Research Grants to nonprofits for research or policy analyses of community-based out-of-school-time youth programs. Deadline is Sept. 28. 

Do Something will award ten grants of $500 each and five grand-prize grants of $1,000 each to young people who have started after-school activities in their communities. Young people must apply by September 15. 

The US Department of Commerce will be awarding three grants to institutions of higher education to provide summer enrichment programs for minority and economically disadvantaged middle school students in mathematics, science, engineering and technology. Contact Steve Drescher and apply by October 19.

Applications are due Sept. 30 for Share Our Strength's $1000 to $10,000 Great American Bake Sale grants, to increase participation in after-school and summer nutrition programs.

The Association of Performing Arts Presenters and MetLife will award two $10,000 Arts access awards for exemplary and innovative ways of engaging underserved individuals and communities in the arts. Deadline is Sept. 15.

The National Endowment for the Humanities' Picturing America School Collaboration will award 30 grants of up to $75,000 for local and regional projects that foster collaboration between K-12 educators and humanities scholars to "tell America's story." Deadline is October 7.

Target will award 5000 grants of up to $800 each for educational school field trips. Apply by November 3.

The National Science Foundation is accepting preliminary proposals through October 5 for its Discovery Research K-12 grants to support science and technology education programs, including, potentially, the mentoring components of such programs. 

September 14 is the deadline to apply for Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy awards - a total of $650,000 for developing or expanding projects that develop literacy among adult primary caregivers and their children.

GRANTS BY TOPIC

If you work on a certain issue or area, you can target the donors who focus on that field. Here's a list of resources to get you started. We're updating this regularly, so please bookmark it and check back soon. Got a resource to share? Send it to info@connectforkids.org.

Stimulus and Recovery Funds

• YouthBuild USA put together an outstanding resource for Accessing 2009 Recovery Act and Stimulus Funding Opportunities.
• Much of the stimulus money is being funneled through formula-based block grants to states or is otherwise restricted, but there are opportunities there for local services. CLASP summarizes some funding opportunities available through the stimulus package.

• ARRA Funding for Early Childhood Service Coordination Details about how and when states should apply for a part of $100 million in stimulus funds is now available for early childhood learning "state advisory councils.

General Funding Opportunities

• Our friend Scott Peterson at YouthBuild has compiled 100s of Funding Ideas AND a Who's Who of Foundations that fund work in the juvenile justice, youth Development, youth service and leadership, civics and much more.
• The Foundation Center is a nonprofit clearinghouse of information on foundations, corporate giving and related subjects. If you're looking for help with youth programs, check their timely list of RFPs.
• The federal grants Website, Grants.gov is designed to help nonprofits find, apply for and win federal grants by starting in one place.
• Common application forms make it easier for smaller organizations to apply to state and local funders. The form for your state is online at the Foundation Center.
• FundsNet catalogs corporate funding opportunities.
• The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance has a database of all Federal programs, a good one-stop for all federal assistance programs and grant opportunities.
• If you take the time to fill out and fax back the form on the White House faith-based initiative web site you will begin receiving emails about many grant opportunities.
  Also, look at their guidance, grant proposal and resources sections.

• Senator Lugar posts the Congressional Research Service's federal grants links on his website, to help constituents identify funders and opportunities.
• CFK now lists Funding Alerts in Action Central
• The National CASA Association has several kinds of grants for Court-appointed special advocates (CASA) and guardians ad litem programs. Deadline: August 14, 2009.
• Tom’s of Maine will award 5 grants of $20,000 each to recognize nonprofit community involvement projects. Deadline: Aug. 30, 2009.

Child Care and Out-of-School Time Programs

• The National Child Care Information Center has gathered a list of funding sources and ideas for funding child care.

• Afterschool.gov is a one-stop resource for information on federal funding sources.

• The Finance Project publishes brief reports that outline good strategies for sustaining, stretching and finding dollars for out-of-school and child care programs.

• The PNC Foundation has a new initiative to support Head Start centers and early learning for school readiness. Grants will be made primarily in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky and Delaware.

• Youth Action Net, a website for youth-run programs, gives tips for fundraising.

Children's Health and Social Services

• Healthy Sprouts Awards and Youth Garden Grants These programs provide gift certificates for seeds and materials for garden programs that actively engage kids in gardening and the connection between plants and food. Deadline: October 17 for Health Sprouts and November 2 for Youth Garden grants.

• The William T. Grant Foundation offers investigator-initiated awards for high-quality, nonprofit research on how youth settings work, how they affect youth development and how they can be improved; and when, how and under what conditions research evidence is used in policy and practice that affect youth and how its use can be improved.
• Great American Bake Sale Grants: The Great American Bake Sale Grants Program helps to ensure that low-income children receive nutritious food in the summer or after school, with grants to programs that increase participation in USDA-reimbursed after-school and/or summer meal programs and grants for advocacy that increase such participation through outreach and advocacy. Grants will range from $1,000 to $10,000. Deadline: September 30, 2009.

• Ronald McDonald House Charities offers grants to nonprofits for improving the health and well-being of children.

• National Institutes of Health: Research on the Reduction and Prevention of Suicidality. The National Institutes of Health has grants to support investigator-initiated research that will reduce the burden of suicidality (deaths, attempts, and ideation).
• The U.S. Department of Justice Weed and Seed Program funds efforts to prevent, control and reduce violent crime, criminal drug-related activity and gang activity using a community-based, comprehensive multi-agency approach. Deadline: Nov. 10, 2009.

• U.S. Administration for Children and Families has grants for State Title IV-D agencies to address the sudden and prolonged effect of the economic downturn on the child support system. The Administration also has grants to encourage collaborations between child support agencies, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families agencies and universities.
• CHIP Outreach Funds States, local governments, nonprofits, schools, and others may now apply for grants from the outreach funding under CHIPRA to help enroll more eligible children in the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.

• Find out if you are eligible for federal funding and how to apply in the GrantsNet section of the Department of Health and Human Services.

• The Maternal and Child Health Bureau administers many federal programs to improve child and family health.

• The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools posts current funding opportunities and links to funding sources.
• The Community Toolbox for Children's Environmental Health offers small grants to community-based organizations each year.

Education

• The National Education Association has grants resources for teachers and school and out-of-school time programs.
• Sallie Mae Fund's American Dream Scholarship Program for African American students has $500 - $5000 scholarships for full-time college students in financial need. Deadline: Apr 15.
• The What Works and Innovation Fund, first authorized by the Recovery Act, will support competitive grants to LEAs and partnerships between non-profit organizations and LEAs that have made significant progress in improving student achievement or other areas to scale up their work and serve as models of best practices. The additional $100 million requested for 2010, combined with Recovery Act funds, would support (1) the evaluation of promising new initiatives and approaches to determine if they are suitable for scaling up; (2) expanding the implementation of effective practices across districts and States; (3) supporting the development of "model districts" that use multiple evidence-based strategies to increase student achievement; and (4) leveraging partnerships with the private sector and the philanthropic community to develop, scale up, document, and disseminate best practices for improving student achievement.
• American Library Association: Books for Babies is a national literacy program that acquaints parents of newborns with the important role they play in the development of their children. Books for Babies Matching Grants of $500 are available to Friends of Libraries groups, women's groups, libraries, and other nonprofit organizations to be used for the purchase of Books for Babies kits. A $1000 match is required. The next application deadline is October 1, 2009.
• Target's Field Trip Minigrants: 2009-2010. A new school year means more opportunities to take education on the road; Target will provide information about its 2010 arts and early reading grants in March 2010.
• CVS/Caremark has grants up to $5000 for programs that encourage public school to promote inclusion in student extracurricular activities that give students with disabilities greater access to physical movement and play. Deadline: Oct. 31, 2009
• The 2009 Dairy MAX School Wellness through Expanding Breakfast Grant Program helps schools begin new expanded breakfast programs to improve student access to nutritious meals. Grant awards will be up to $1,000 per school and will be awarded to the child nutrition department. Eligible applicants include schools that are in the National School Breakfast Program. Deadline: December 1, 2009
• Full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals or classified staff with effective projects that improve student learning can apply for the ING Unsung Heroes for 2010 Program. Finalists receive a $2000 award, and three winners receive more. Deadline: April 30, 2010.

• Nonprofits can apply to the Wal-Mart State Giving Program for projects in education, health and wellness, job training and the environment. Minimum grant is $25,000. Deadline: Sept. 18, 2009.

• Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy: National Grant Program The Barbara Bush Foundation's grant-making program seeks to develop or expand projects designed to support the development of literacy skills for adult primary caregivers and their families. Deadline: September 14, 2009.

• The U.S. Department of Education Striving Readers grants are to raise the literacy levels of adolescent students in Title I-eligible schools. Deadline: varies.

• The U.S. Department of Education has large grants for improving the writing proficiency of high school students with disabilities.
• Picturing America School Collaboration: The National Endowment for the Humanities funds local and regional projects that foster collaboration between K-12 educators and humanities scholars to "tell America's story." Deadline: Oct. 7, 2009

• For a price, GrantsAlert has a database of corporate, foundation and other funding sources, especially for education programs, to help you identify appropriate funders.

• FundsNetServices lists RFPs from government and foundation grantmakers every week.

• First Book disseminates books for low-income kids to keep.

• The non-profit Literacy Empowerment Foundation works to meet the needs of literacy programs in a variety of ways, including distributing over 2 million free books to schools and literacy programs during the school year.

• For $35 a year, you can get the School Grants biweekly newsletter with news on funding opportunities.

• Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) makes it easy to find teaching ideas, learning activities, photos, maps, primary documents, data, paintings and sound recordings from more than 35 federal organizations covering thousands of topics.

• Find your state contact for the U.S. Department of Education to look for local funding opportunities.

• School Funding Services is a resource to find funding for organizations that provide academic products and services to schools, or work on behalf of education.
• The National Endowment for the Arts makes grants to programs serving children, as artists and as audience.

• The Endowment also lists the State Councils for the Arts, which in turn provide grants to local artists and organizations.

• The Americans for the Arts Directory database can help your find your local or state arts agency.

Financial Aid for College

• The U.S. Department of Education has information on how to get on the college track, and find help with tuition.

• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the only application one must complete to be considered for federal financial aid. Most state and many private funding sources also require a completed FAFSA as part of their application process, so it's a good idea to complete the FAFSA even if you don't think you are eligible for federal aid.

• If you are college-bound, FastWeb can help you match your goals, hobbies, interests, and background with scholarship opportunities. Be advised that FastWEB collects and sells student information (such as name,address, e-mail address, date of birth, gender, and country of citizenship) collected through their site.
• Students with learning disabilities can get advice on financial aid options from LDOnline.

Science, Mathematics and Technology

• A STEMester of Service Middle school teachers, administrators and service-learning coordinators in several states are eligible for Youth Service America grants to engage middle school youth in science and technology-focused service-learning projects that address community problems.

• The National Science Foundation has large grants for innovative programs that respond to growing demands in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Deadline: Aug. 25, 2009

• If you're addressing the digital divide, visit the Digital Divide Network's funding resources.
• E-School News School Funding Center has frequently updated information on grant programs and funding sources especially for funding education technology.

Strengthening Communities

• Network for Good is a nonprofit organization that uses the Web to help people find the right way to get involved with their communities. Be sure to visit the resources for nonprofits.

• Nickelodeon is offering The Big Green Help Grants Program, which is a funding opportunity that gives $2,500-$5,000 grants to support environmentally friendly projects that inspire kids to take care the environment, be active, live healthy and engage in community service.

• Tom's of Maine Community Sponsorships will provide grants of $20,000 each to five nonprofit organizations with community projects, including projects on environmental initiatives, health and human service programs, or community events.. Applications must be submitted by August 30, 2009. http://www.tomsofmaine.com/community-involvement/project-sponsorships.aspx

• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funds Local Funding Partnerships for projects designed to improve the health of vulnerable people in communities. Full proposals are due November 10.

• The Norfolk Southern Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that focus on educational, cultural, environmental, social safety net, and economic development opportunities within the region served by Norfolk Southern, primarily in the Eastern and Southern United States. Applications are accepted between July 15 and September 30.

• Pay It Forward Foundation Mini-Grants provide a one-time only $500 grant for service-oriented projects identified by youth as activities they would like to perform to benefit their school, neighborhood, or community. The projects must be based on the “pay it forward” concept – where one person does a favor for others, who in turn do favors for others. Deadline: September 15, 2009

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture has large grants for developing the capacity and ability of nonprofit organizations, low-income rural communities or federally recognized tribes to launch projects related to housing, community facilities or community and economic development in rural areas. Deadline: Sept. 24, 2009.

• NFL Youth Football Fund Grassroots Program: Does your community need a better football field? The NFL Youth Football Fund Grassroots Program, a partnership of the National Football League Youth Football Fund and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, provides grants of up to $200,000 for capital improvement projects.

• Catholic Campaign for Human Development: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) addresses the root causes of poverty in the United States, supporting projects in which poor and marginalized people join together to seek solutions to local problems and find ways to improve their lives and neighborhoods. Eligible projects should directly benefit a poverty group who, in turn, should have the dominant voice in the project. Start the process by taking the online pre-application Eligibility Quiz well before November 1, 2009.

• The Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation supports programs that address the needs of children and families, animals, and the environment. Grants range from $1,000 to $10,000, with an average of $2,500. Build-A-Bear Workshop also provides gift certificate donations to schools and nonprofit organizations that address the company's priorities.

• Youth Service America can help you recruit volunteers or identify funding sources for your youth and community service programs.
• The Foundation Center lists local community foundations that support projects close to home and local public charities that support specific community efforts.
• FundsNet Online Services is a comprehensive source of information for nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities on upcoming grant deadlines and foundations that fund arts, children and youth and other areas of effort.
• The Corporation for National and Community Service offers funding and an easy to use eGrant service.
• The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse lists opportunities such as awards, grants and scholarships for service-learning related causes.

Juvenile Justice and Youth in Transition

• The Youth Transition Funders Group is a network of grantmakers whose mission is to help all youth make a successful transition to adulthood by age 25.

• U.S. Administration for Children and Families has demonstration grants for agencies that administer independent living programs for rural youth aging out of foster care who have few or no connections to a supportive family structure or community. Deadline: Aug. 3.

• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Funding Web site lists current funding opportunities available from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). Also, look at the Other Federal Funding section.
• Find your OJJDP state contact (category: Juvenile Justice Specialist) to apply for local grants or check out the OJP's state contact information.
• The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) provides funding to local communities to support young people, particularly runaway and homeless youth, and their families through three grant programs.
• Youth For Justice offers two grant opportunities for Law-Related Education programs in school, community or juvenile justice settings, as well as other funding opportunities.
• The National Youth Court Center offers links, resources, and tools to assist youth courts in seeking funding.
• The National Criminal Justice Association provides a list of funding sources.
• Our friend Scott Peterson at YouthBuild has compiled 100s of Funding Ideas AND a Who's Who of Foundations that fund work in the juvenile justice, youth Development, youth service and leadership, civics and much more.

Job Training for Youth

• U.S. Department of Labor has Recovery Act Pathways Out of Poverty multi-million dollar grants for national organizations with local affiliates to prepare individuals, including high school dropouts, for careers in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Deadline: Sept. 29, 2009

E-Newsletters with Grant Information

• Network for Good: More than 7,000 nonprofit organizations rely on Network for Good for easy-to-use, affordable online fundraising and donor communication services. The GrantStation Insider http://www.grantstation.com/join_us.asp offers news, information and grant opportunities each week. There is a subscription fee.
• Youth Today, the only newspaper devoted to youth development and the child/youth field, has an online resource of grant opportunities. There is a subscription fee.
• E-School News has education grant news and deadlines online and in its e-newsletter. Free registration required.
• The Foundation Center The Foundation Center has a database of funders and publishes e-newsletters with information on grants and grant opportunities in education, health or the arts. Free registration required.
• Bookmark and visit the recovery web sites for the federal government, for the U.S. Department of Education and for your state on a regular basis. Sign up for email alerts to get the latest news.
• Connect for Kids hosted a TalkTime Live! Web chat on effective strategies for finding nonprofit funding for children's programs (it was in 2004 but is still very much relevant). Take a look at the advice-filled transcript.