Dear Colleagues,

SUCCESSFUL GRANT WRITING

 2012 Calendar

Ms. Julie Elmore is joining GrantProse and will support proposal development with city and county governments. Julie has 15 years of environmental management experience, which includes everything from grizzly bear research in Yellowstone to assessing over 85 miles of river and stream in four states. She has extensive project management and leadership experience through her work as an environmental consultant and as a current employee of the Natural Resource Conservation Service. She has lead numerous multi-agency partnership teams, coordinated innovative environmental projects including renewable energy, stormwater, and greenways, and contributed to regional multi-agency conservation planning throughout North Carolina. She is one of the region's top performers in natural resource grant proposal production, receiving awards in excess of $16.7 million for clients and partners.

In addition to extensive environmental management experience, Julie has worked with small businesses to find access to capital, coordinated public outreach programs to underserved citizens, and assisted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to find solutions to empowering at-risk urban youth. Julie was the Keynote Speaker at the 57^th Annual Conference for the Southeastern Association for Fish and Wildlife Agencies and an invited attendee to the first Clinton Global Initiative America (CGIA) as a participant in the working group titled, "The New Rural Economy: Investing in Towns and Communities" where she worked with numerous global foundations to find solutions to the ailing rural economy.

She is an annual guest lecturer at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment teaching graduate students how to gain access to capital for social and environmental change.

Julie has a B.S. degree in Biology from Elon College and a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University.

The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee has released final Appropriations legislation for FY 2012. In this legislation, total discretionary spending is cut by nearly $31 billion compared to FY 2011 and $95 billion compared to FY 2010. However, while some departments and programs will be significantly cut, others will remain the same or remarkably be increased.

The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education are cut by a total of $1.1 billion compared to FY 2011. This is significant because these departments are predominantly where we look for federal grants.

While the Department of Labor will receive $145.4 million more than last year, this is mainly due to the Job Corps being fully funded and the Veteran Employment and Training Service being provided $9.3 million more than last year. But the rest of the Department of Labor's budget is reduced by $545.6 million. The Employment Training Administration is cut by $68 million and the Workforce Investment Act Grants to States are reduced by $179.8 million.

The Department of Health and Human Services is cut by nearly $700 million. The Health Resources and Services Administration is cut by $41 million. However, the budget for Community Health Centers will remain the same as FY 2011. Further, the budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionwill be increased by $38 million and the $80 million budget for the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant will be preserved, despite being a program proposed for elimination by the President and the Senate. The National Institutes of Health's budget will be increased by $299 million, while the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's budget will be decreased by $27 million. The budget for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will be increased by $241 million. The Administration for Children and Families' budget will be decreased by $855 million. Head Start will receive $424 million more than FY 2011

The Department of Education budget will be cut by a total of $153 million. Title I Grantswill receive $60 million more than FY 2011. The maximum Pell grant award is continued at $5,550. Special Education programs are increased by $100 million. And funding for the"Race to the Top" initiative is cut by more than $148 million, or about 20%.

NEW

Deadline: 04/05/12
 Program: Innovative Neuroscience K-12 Education (SBIR)
Agency: National Institutes of Health
 Description: According to the website, the purpose of this grant is "to develop innovative neuroscience educational tools to be used by or benefit children in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12).  Educational tools can be designed using any media (e.g., paper, electronic, etc.) or format (e.g., simulations, games, videos, notebooks, etc.) for use in or out of school settings, targeting children in groups or alone, with or without adult or teacher participation."
Award Amount: Phase 1 - max $500,000 over two years; Phase II - max $1,800,000 over three years
Website: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-154.html
Eligibility: for-profits