The Association for Public Television Stations (APTS) will host this year's Public Media Summit, February 26-28, 2012, in Arlington, VA. This year's conference expands our traditional program to include a focus on strategic planning for the future of the public media industry. Key topics will be covered through panel sessions titled: "Leveraging Lay Leadership and Connecting Community Engagement to Development," as well as "Growing your Funding through Innovative Business and Creative Funding Models." Each discussion will feature a panel with general managers and professionals who have been successful in the field. Other events and special guests include: a Jim Lehrer tribute dinner; a CPB sponsored lunch with CPB President and CEO Pat Harrison and Secretary Tom Ridge; an evening with NHK (Japanese public broadcasting); Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer for the Obama Administration; Gary Knell, President and CEO of NPR; and filmmaker extraordinaire Ken Burns.

Additionally, attendees are encouraged to visit the Grant Center booth at The Summit. For the second year in a row, we have signed on to be an exhibitor at the Summit. Stop by to see how you can stay up to date with news on federal and foundation funding opportunities, as well as take advantage of the resources and tools helpful in your station's grant planning and writing efforts.

Don't miss out on this great opportunity; register today!

 

Spotlight on Potential Partners: Libraries and Museums

At The Grant Center, we have been stressing the importance of building relationships with state and local educational agencies. Last month, we hosted a webinar that highlighted station success in partnering with their states to receive federal education dollars. In addition to building those relationships, public media stations should consider partnerships with local and state organizations and agencies doing more informal education work, such as libraries and museums.

Like public media stations, libraries and museums are doing innovative work outside of the traditional education sphere. Although they are often government-funded, these institutions are not limited by the same regulations and histories that public schools are.

Continue reading for more tips about partnering with libraries and museums and examples of stations that have received federal funding for such partnerships.

 

 

Workforce Innovation Fund: New from the U.S. Department of Labor, this 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, ranging from $1m to $12m. Deadline: March 22, 2012. 

 

Higher Education Challenge Grants Program: This U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program strives to stimulate and enable colleges and universities to provide the quality of education necessary to produce baccalaureate or higher degree level graduates capable of strengthening the nation's food and agricultural scientific and professional workforce. Approximately $4.77m will be available to fund applications in FY 2012. Deadline: March 30, 2012. 

 

Choice Neighborhoods -- Implementation Grants: Employing a comprehensive approach to community development centered on housing transformation, this U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program aims to transform neighborhoods of poverty into viable mixed-income neighborhoods with access to economic opportunities. $110m is available for implementation grants in FY 2012, and HUD estimates that four or five grants will be awarded. Deadline: April 10, 2012.  

 

Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions: This National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) program helps small- and mid-sized institutions improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections. Grants of up to $6,000 will be awarded for a period of 18 months each. Deadline: May 1, 2012.    

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: This organization advises on and manages more than $200m in annual giving, including support for numerous media outlets and initiatives.

NewSchools Venture Fund: The Fund invests in nonprofit and for-profit entrepreneurial ventures that are working to transform K-12 education in America, especially through the use of innovative technologies.

Herb Block Foundation: Named in honor of the long-time editorial cartoonist, this foundation supports youth media, citizen participation (especially around elections), dropout prevention and government accountability.

Youthprise: Launched by the McKnight Foundation, this new funder will accept its first proposals in May 2012. It will provide general support to organizations in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region that work to expand access to and participation in learning beyond the classroom (e.g., youth media programs).

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.