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RFPs for Community Initiatives Bulletin: April 25, 2012
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This information is provided as-is, with no warranty with respect to its accuracy, completeness, or currentness. Procopio
Fundraising is not responsible for any errors, omissions, delays, or for the results obtained from the use of this
information. Procopio Fundraising does not endorse or recommend any organization, product, or service mentioned
herein. Procopio Fundraising makes no effort to evaluate funders' positions on issues of political, social, health,
economic, religious, or other consequence. We strongly encourage potential applicants to investigate funders thoroughly
regarding their values, viewpoints, and agendas before deciding to submit a proposal or otherwise request financial
support.
Patagonia Announces Grants for Grassroots Environmental Campaigns
Deadline: April 30, 2012. Patagonia provides support for environmental work through grants to
nonprofit organizations. The company's environmental grant program supports grassroots activist
organizations that have provocative direct-action agendas and are working on multi-pronged
campaigns to preserve and protect the environment. The program seeks to fund work that is actionoriented, builds public involvement and support, is strategic, focuses on root causes, accomplishes
specific goals and objectives, and demonstrates a commitment to long-term change. The company
does not fund organizations without 501(c)(3) status or an eligible fiscal sponsor. Grants are not
provided for general environmental education efforts; land acquisition, land trusts, or conservation
easements; research (unless it is in direct support of a developed plan for specific action to alleviate
an environmental problem); environmental conferences; endowment funds; political campaigns; or
green building projects. Most grants are in the range of $3,000 to $8,000. Funding is limited to
programs in the United States, Canada, Japan, Chile, Argentina, the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France,
Denmark, Belgium, or Austria. Applications are accepted each year during the months of April and
August. All applications received by April 30 will be responded to in August. Only one proposal from
an organization will be considered per year. In addition to the corporate grant program, each
Patagonia retail store administers a local grants program. Retail store grant applications are
accepted year round. More information is available at
http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=2927
Sun Life Rising Star Awards
Deadline: June 13, 2012. The US subsidiary of Sun Life Financial, Inc. has announced that it is
accepting applications for the Sun Life Rising Star Award program from nonprofit organizations that
advocate for youth from underserved communities. Now in its third year, the Rising Star program is
designed to address high school graduation rates in large urban school districts by providing
financial resources and education to students and nonprofit organizations committed to increasing
success for students in high school and beyond, as well as to promote financial literacy as a means
to achieve life-long financial wellness and stability. This year, Sun Life Financial expanded the
program to seven cities, from five in 2011, and will award grants and scholarships to outstanding
students and nonprofit organizations in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia,
and South Florida. Each winning organization will receive a $50,000 grant, and as part of the
application process each organization will nominate an exemplary student for a $5,000 Sun Life
Rising Star scholarship toward financing a college education. In addition to monetary support, the
program will provide winning organizations with educational curriculum and other resources to
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increase financial literacy among students. To be considered for a grant, organizations must have
501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, promote skills that directly translate to educational success in high
school to students under the age of 21, and be aligned with a secondary or postsecondary
educational institution. College scholarship nominees must be high school seniors actively involved
in an organization that shares the Sun Life Rising Star Awards' mission, plan to pursue
postsecondary education, exhibit leadership qualities, and demonstrate a strong commitment to
their communities. More information is available at
http://www.sunlife.com/slfglobal/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=b2d818a8cdc0f210VgnVCM1000009c80d09
fRCRD&vgnLocale=en_CA
Community Support Grants - BJ’s Charitable Foundation
Deadline: July 6, 2012. The mission of BJ’s Charitable Foundation is to enhance and enrich the
communities BJ’s stores serve. BJ’s Charitable Foundation is announcing that it is offering grants to
organizations which promote the safety, security and well being of children and families, support
education and health programs, provide community service opportunities, and aid in hunger and
disaster relief. Award amounts vary. Nonprofit organizations that serve communities with BJ’s
stores are eligible to apply. More information can be found at http://www.bjs.com/bjs-charitablefoundation.content.about_charitable.A.about_community2
Multi-State Mentoring Initiative
Deadline: May 16, 2012. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to enhance or expand initiatives
that will help communities develop or improve mentoring programs for at-risk or high-risk
populations that are underserved due to location, shortage of mentors, special physical or mental
challenges of the targeted population, or other analogous situations that the community identifies.
Multiple awards of up to $2 million are available to select applicants. Eligible organizations that
provide mentoring services to at-risk youth are eligible to apply. Applicants must have been in
existence for at least three years and serve between 5 and 45 states in the U.S. more information
can be found at http://www.ojjdp.gov/funding/FundingDetail.asp?fi=269
Citizenship and Integration Grant Program
Deadline: May 7, 2012. The purpose of this funding is to promote civic integration for immigrants
and prepare permanent residents for citizenship. This funding opportunity is for organizations that
prepare permanent residents for citizenship by offering both citizenship instruction and
naturalization application services. Thirty-one grants (maximum $160,000) for a two-year period
are available to select applicants. Nonprofits that can demonstrate recent experience providing
citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to immigrants are eligible to apply.
More information can be found at
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid
=ea0e0b89284a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ea0e0b89284a3210VgnVC
M100000b92ca60aRCRD
Grant Opportunities to Reduce Health Disparities Among Minority and Underserved
Children
Deadline: January 8, 2014. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support
institutions/organizations that propose to conduct research to reduce health disparities among
minority and underserved children. Specifically, this initiative focuses on ethnic and racial minority
children and underserved populations of children such as: rural and low-income populations,
hearing and visually impaired children, physically or mentally disabled children, children from
immigrant and refugee families, and language minority children. Targeted areas of research include
bio-behavioral studies that incorporate multiple factors that influence child health disparities such as
biological, lifestyle factors, environmental, social, economic, and cultural influences; studies that
target the specific health promotion needs of children with a known illness and/or disability; and
studies that test and evaluate the comparative effectiveness of health promotion interventions
conducted in traditional and nontraditional settings. Institutions of higher education, nonprofit
organizations, independent school districts, and state and local governments are eligible to apply.
More information is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-104.html
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American Legion Child Welfare Foundation Offers Support for Programs to Help Children
Deadline: July 15, 2012. The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation seeks to provide other
nonprofit organizations with the means to educate the public about the special needs of children
across the United States. To help advance its mission, the foundation annually provides funding to
nonprofit organizations that contribute to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare of
children through the dissemination of knowledge about new and innovative organizations and/or
programs designed to benefit youth; and/or contribute to the physical, mental, emotional, and
spiritual welfare of children through the dissemination of knowledge already possessed by wellestablished organizations, to the end that such information can be used more adequately by
society. Applications are invited from nonprofit tax-exempt organizations for programs that have
the potential to help American children in a large geographic area (more than one state). Grants
may not be used for the normal day-to-day operating expenses of the grantee or for special
operating expenses connected with the grant. More information can be found at http://cwfinc.org/grantseekers/overview
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Funding to Help Control Invasive Plant
Species
Deadline: May 18, 2012 (Pre-proposals). Administered by the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation (NFWF), the Pulling Together Initiative provides funding for programs designed to help
control invasive plant species, mostly through the work of public/private partnerships such as
cooperative weed management projects. PTI grants provide an opportunity to initiate working
partnerships and demonstrate successful collaborative efforts such as the development of
permanent funding sources for weed management areas. Eligible projects must prevent, manage,
or eradicate invasive and noxious plants through a coordinated program of public/private
partnerships and increase public awareness of the adverse impacts of invasive and noxious plants.
Successful proposals will focus on a particular well-defined area such as a watershed, ecosystem,
landscape, county, or weed management area; incorporate on-the-ground weed management,
eradication, or prevention; target a specific and measurable conservation outcome; be supported by
private landowners, state and local governments, and the regional/state offices of federal agencies;
have a project steering committee composed of local cooperators who are committed to working
together to manage invasive and noxious plants across their jurisdictional boundaries; have a clear,
long-term weed management plan based on an integrated pest management approach using the
principles of ecosystem management; include a specific, ongoing, and adaptive public outreach and
education component; and integrate an early detection/rapid response approach to response to
invasives. Applications will be accepted from private nonprofit 501(c) organizations; federally
recognized tribal governments; local, county, and state government agencies; and from field staff of
federal government agencies. Individuals and for-profit businesses are not eligible to receive PTI
grants, but are encouraged to work with eligible applicants to develop and submit applications. It is
anticipated that the initiative will award a total of $1 million this year. The average range of award
amounts is typically $15,000 to $75,000, with some exceptions. Applicants must provide a 1:1 nonfederal match for their grant request. More information is available at
http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Charter_Programs_List&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDi
splay.cfm&CONTENTID=24721
Grants for Non-Profit Grassroots Organizations - Ben and Jerry’s Foundation
Deadline: Rolling (Letter of Interest). The Ben and Jerry’s Foundation is accepting applications for
its grants to support non-profit grassroots organizations create societal, institutional, and/or
environmental change by addressing the root causes of social or environmental problems through
programs that lead to sustainable adoption of new ways of thinking and acting. Award amounts are
either small grants of up to $1,000 or full grants of $1,001-$15,000. Nonprofit grassroots
organizations with budgets under $250,000 or organizations that have a sponsoring agency with
nonprofit status are eligible to apply. More information is available at
http://www.benandjerrysfoundation.org/the-national-grassroots-grant-program.html
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American Association of Equine Practitioners Foundation Grants for Horse Health and
Welfare Programs
Deadline: May 1, 2012. The American Association of Equine Practitioners Foundation, the
charitable arm of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, is accepting funding requests
from nonprofit organizations and individuals that share its mission to support research, education,
benevolence, and the equine community. Priority emphasis will be given to applications judged to
have the greatest potential impact on the health and welfare of the horse on a national and
international scope, or where emergency funding is needed. (Funding requests for emergency or
equine disaster relief support may be submitted to the foundation at any time.) The foundation
does not grant funds to facilities that care for unwanted or retirement horses. This includes horses
that may have been abandoned, abused, or neglected. The foundation focuses its efforts and funds
for this population of horses through its assistance to the Unwanted Horse Coalition and related
programs. The foundation does not grant funds for individual equine research projects, but does
provide funds for projects or events that support the coordination of equine research (e.g., support
of the 2009 Equine Laminitis Research Workshop, the 2007 Lameness Research Meeting and
Panel, the 2006 Equine Research Summit, and the 2005 Equine Colic Symposium). Funds will not
be provided to for-profit individuals or groups. More information can be found at
http://www.aaep.org/foundation_funding_grants.htm
Arts Involvement Narrows Student Achievement Gap
James Catterall at the University of California Los Angeles and other performed a recent study on
the achievement gaps between high- and low- socioeconomic status (SES) groups. The study
found that the gaps appear to be mitigated for children and young adults who have arts-rich
backgrounds. This report then examines arts-related variables from four large datasets -- three
maintained by the U.S. Department of Education and one by the Department of Labor -- to
understand the relationship between arts engagement and positive academic and social outcomes
in children and young adults of low socioeconomic status (SES).
You can read the full report here: http://www.nea.gov/research/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf
An article summarizing the report’s findings can be found here: http://www.millermccune.com/education/arts-involvement-narrows-student-achievement-gap-40745/
Social-Emotional Learning Received Focus in Draft Federal Education Legislation “For the
first time ever, both houses of Congress have included social and emotional learning in drafts of the
federal government's bellwether education legislation. On February 9, Representative John Kline
(R-MI), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, introduced the "Student
Success Act" (HR3989) and the "Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act" (HR3990).
More information can be found at http://casel.org/
LEARN GRANTWRITING FROM THE EXPERTS OF PROCOPIO FUNDRAISING!
2 Upcoming Dates (Pittsburgh and Harrisburg)
Competitive Grant Writing, SPONSORED BY PANO with Eric Davis, J.D., MBA, Elliott & Davis, PC
(& OWNER/PARTNER IN PROCOPIO FUNDRAISING)
Friday, April 27, 2012 Grant Writing 201: Winning Grants in Southwestern PA - (Pittsburgh)
Monday, May 21, 2012 Grant Writing 201: Winning Grants in Central PA - (Harrisburg)
Grant seeking in Pennsylvania has never been more competitive than today. With information on
grant opportunities so broadly available, most grant making foundations and agencies receive
hundreds more worthy grant proposals for each funding cycle than they could ever fund. It is
critically important that nonprofit organizations to learn how to set themselves apart by preparing a
winning grant application. Give your proposals the competitive edge of a serious grant seeker. If
you're ready to get serious about grant writing, invest a day honing your skills with proven
techniques for generating support.
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Why should YOU attend? To learn the strategies that professional grant writers use!

Drafting a winning grant application

Tips for approaching PA foundations

Crafting the Letter of Inquiry

Developing and accessing proposal ideas

Technical components of a proposal

Criteria that grant makers use in evaluating proposals

Editing and packaging proposals

Advanced foundation research tips

Story-telling with passion and commitment

Quantifying Objectives and setting Performance Indicators and Outcome Projections for
your grant-funded programs

Designing Evaluation Methodologies for your grant-funded projects

Demonstrating Financial Sustainability, and how that makes or breaks your proposal

Budgets and the all-important Budget Narrative

New trends in proposal formatting: imbedding photos, using color, etc.

Follow-up with grant makers and cultivation of relationships
For more information and to REGISTER FOR THESE EVENTS, visit:
https://netforum.avectra.com/eWeb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=PANO&WebCode=EventDetail&evt_key=de70
ab06-a8b9-4cf6-b4e5-97cd9ff06702 (Pittsburgh)
https://netforum.avectra.com/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=PANO&WebCode=EventDetail&evt_key=22bff
cae-ad77-4034-ace4-9796f1945e23 (Harrisburg)
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