New Year, New Opportunities

The FY 2012 omnibus appropriations is finally signed and in effect, but that doesn't mean things are slowing down. After a significant period without major grant announcements, federal agencies will soon be ready to announce new competitions based on the final FY 2012 funds. Before long, President Obama will also release his proposed budget for FY 2013, and the annual appropriations process will begin anew.

Continue reading about a few grant competitions that could be on the horizon, as well as the other moving pieces in the federal funding landscape.

 

Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems: The deadline for this U.S. Department of Education program has been extended. The program awards grants to state educational agencies to design, develop and implement statewide, longitudinal data systems to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze and use individual student data. The estimated average size of awards is $1m to $5m. Deadline: January 13, 2012.

 

Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: This National Science Foundation program seeks to improve the quality of STEM education for all undergraduate students.  An estimated $35.8m will be distributed among 94 to 108 awards. Deadline: January 13, 2012. 

 

Upward Bound Program: Funds from this U.S. Department of Education program support projects designed to provide the skills and motivation necessary to complete a program of secondary education and to enter and succeed in a program of postsecondary education. An estimated 982 awards, ranging from $250,000 to $1m will be granted. Deadline: January 30, 2012. 

 

Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program: The purpose of this U.S. Department of Transportation program is to improve the preparation of students in STEM education through curriculum development and other activities related to transportation education. Approximately $1.8m will be awarded to 18 applicants. Deadline: February 17, 2012.  

 

Computing Education for the 21st Century: This National Science Foundation (NSF) program aims to build a computationally savvy 21st century workforce by funding projects that improve instructional materials and teaching expertise in computing. NSF plans to award approximately $25m among 20 to 30 awards. Deadline: February 28, 2012.   

 

Environmental Justice Small Grants Program: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will award grants from this program to support programs that educate, empower and enable communities to understand environmental and public health issues and to identify ways to address these issues at a local level. Up to $1m will be available for these projects, and the EPA will award between one and four grants per region. Deadline: February 29, 2012.

 

 

Art Works: This National Endowment for the Arts program has a history of supporting public media projects. There are two deadlines for the Art Works program, and different types of projects are allowed under each deadline. Art Works encourages and supports projects that focus on art creation, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts and the strengthening of communities through the arts. Grants will range from $10,000 to $100,000. Deadlines: March 8, 2012 and August 9, 2012.

 

Small Grants to Libraries and Nonprofits: This National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) program will fund 50 organizations to host a six-week public program incorporating documentary film screenings and scholar-led discussions of 20th century American popular music. Fifty awards of up to $2,500 each will be made for a period of six to 24 months. Deadline: March 14, 2012. 

 

 

Workforce Innovation Fund: This U.S. Department of Labor program seeks to support innovative approaches to changes in structures and policies that enable a closer alignment and integration of workforce development, education, human services, social insurance and economic development programs. Approximately $98.5m will be available to fund 20 to 30 grants. Individual grant amounts will range from $1m to $12m. Deadline: March 22, 2012.

 

Challenge America Fast-Track: The goal of this National Endowment for the Arts program is to support small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the arts to underserved populations. Grants are available for professional arts programming and for projects that emphasize the potential of the arts in community development. Grants are for $10,000 each. Deadline: May 24, 2012.

 

 

Advanced Technological Education: With an emphasis on two-year colleges, this National Science Foundation program focuses on the education of technicians for high-technology fields. It encourages partnerships between academic institutions and employers to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels. Approximately 45 to 60 new awards, ranging from $25,000 to $300,000 per year, will be made. Deadline: October 18, 2012.  

Knight Community Information Challenge: Now entering its fifth and final round, the Challenge offers great opportunities for public media to expand or deepen their work to inform local communities. Past grants support projects by North Country Public Radio, Hawaii Public Television, Alaska Public Telecommunications and WRNI (Rhode Island). Application window opens January 18, 2012.

Sundance Institute Documentary Fund: Grant applications are being accepted for support of development and production of documentary films focusing on current human rights issues, freedom of expression, social justice, civil liberties and critical issues of our time. Grants range up to $50,000. Deadline: February 9, 2012.

Whether your station is seeking to expand its newsroom, renovate facilities, make up for a funding cut or launch a new initiative, the bottom line is the same: money is needed to implement your vision. The Grant Center can help you find that money through its free custom foundation prospect research service.

With more than 78,000 foundations out there, it can be a daunting task to find the ones that are viable prospects for you. The Grant Center will do the research for you, identifying foundations that match your goals and providing you with brief notes and sample grants for each. We've already helped individual stations and collaborations to identify foundation prospects for general operating support, equipment, health reporting, education coverage and much more.

For more information or to request research, please contact Amie Miller, DEI Foundation Development Advisor. 

Whether you are seeking federal or foundation funding, the Grant Center website, tailored specifically to public media grant seekers, will help you find just what you need. With over 300 funding opportunities, and growing each day, our user-friendly search options help you find the funding opportunity of your choice.

Visit our website. Then, be sure to check back often to see the most recent funding opportunities and news articles. We also encourage you to subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter: @aptsgrantcenter.

The Grant Center is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Questions? Please email the Grant Center: grantcenter@apts.org, or visit our website: www.apts.org/grantcenter.