The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation has announced the launch of the second phase of “Growing Up Healthy: Kids and Communities,” a ten-year grantmaking initiative that began in 2006.

The Growing Up Healthy program focuses on the social, economic, and environmental factors that influence the health of children from pre-birth through age five. Phase II of the initiative builds on research and lessons learned from Phase I. The initiative has been expanded to include improving access to healthy food and community design that encourages active living.

The program is accepting application for planning grants. Through the planning process, funded organizations and their community partners will develop a shared vision of how to improve and protect the health of children across the state through place-based projects (county, region, reservation) that address health and at least two of three areas: early childhood development, housing, and the environment.

Planning grants of up to $25,000 will be awarded to lead agencies — either 501(c)(3) nonprofits or units of government within Minnesota — to assist them in identifying and engaging partners, defining the project scope, and developing shared strategies for a place-based approach to addressing the social determinants of child health. Upon completing the planning process and developing a written action plan, partnerships can apply for an implementation grant of up to $150,000 each over three years.

For complete program guidelines, visit the foundation’s Web site.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP

Submission Deadline:  March 31, 2010 (Letter of Inquiry)

Measured Outcomes can help you get the funding and support you need. Contact us at (415) 968-9121, or email Stephen Blakley at stephen@measuredoutcomes.net.

Together we can achieve great things!

The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council’s Youth Investment Program is designed to improve the lives of underserved youth in Northern and Central California by providing greater access to outdoor experiences, from urban parks in the city to watersheds in the wilderness.

The YIP Initiative Fund is aimed at, but not limited to, improving access of underserved youth to the outdoors by eliminating frequently cited barriers such as lack of transportation, programming that is not culturally relevant, little to no access to appropriate gear, and misperceptions about safety risks in the outdoors.

Applicants for YIP funding must have been in existence for at least a year and must be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal revenue Code and/or classified as a public agency, school district, or a federally recognized tribe, or be a fiscally sponsored project of an exempt organization. Applicants must serve youth between the ages of 13 and 18 (non-school-based projects), or between seventh and twelfth grades (school-based projects) within the geographic scope of the Stewardship Council in Northern and Central California. Previous award winners are welcome to apply.

For 2010, the council will continue its funding focus on three geographic areas — the metropolitan San Francisco Bay Area, the urban areas of the Central Valley (Highway 99 corridor), and rural areas with high rates of poverty.

Grants will range from $50,000 to $150,000 each.

Visit the Stewardship Council Web site for complete program information.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP

Submission Deadline: May 21, 2010 (Letter of Inquiry)

Measured Outcomes can help you get the funding and support you need. Contact us at (415) 968-9121, or email Stephen Blakley at stephen@measuredoutcomes.net.

Together we can achieve great things!

Through its 2010 Store Grant program, Target will provide direct support to K-12 schools and other nonprofit organizations that foster a love of reading and provide art experiences.

In the Early Childhood Reading category, Target will fund programs that foster a love of reading and encourage young children, preschool through third grade, to read together with their families. Reading grants support programs such as library storytimes and family reading nights. In the Art and Culture in Schools category, Target will fund in-school arts programs that enhance student’s classroom curriculum by bringing arts and cultural experiences such as in-school performances, artist-in-residency programs, and workshops to schools.

(Note: As of 2010, the Target Store Grant Program no longer offers family-violence prevention grants.)

To be eligible, an applicant organization must be federally tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, a school, a library, or a public agency.

Grants in the amount of $2,000 each will be made for programs taking place between September 1, 2010, and August 1, 2011.

Visit the company’s Web site for complete program guidelines and application instructions.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP

Submission Deadline: April 30, 2010

Measured Outcomes can help you get the funding and support you need. Contact us at (415) 968-9121, or email Stephen Blakley at stephen@measuredoutcomes.net.

Together we can achieve great things!

The ING Run For Something Better program, in partnership with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, seeks to increase physical activity in students and help fight childhood obesity nationwide through the creation of school-based running programs.

The School Awards program will provide a minimum of fifty grants of $2,000 each to U.S. public schools that desire to establish a school-based running program or expand an existing one.

Awards are available to programs that target grades four through eight in public elementary or middle schools. Schools must design a before, during, and/or afterschool program that will be offered (to the best of the school’s ability) to all students in eligible grades. The program must not be exclusive to participants of one gender and must have a commitment of at least twenty-five students in order to be eligible for funding.

Program guidelines and application instructions are available at the Run For Something Better Web site.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP

Submission Deadline: April 15, 2010

Measured Outcomes can help you get the funding and support you need. Contact us at (415) 968-9121, or email Stephen Blakley at stephen@measuredoutcomes.net.

Together we can achieve great things!

With support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation annually offers funding for small Chicago theater and dance companies.

This funding program was designed specifically to address the needs of small professional companies. The program’s goal is to encourage a continuation of Chicago’s richness in the performance of dance and theater. To that end, the program accepts proposals only from companies that emphasize professional presentation instead of education or community outreach.

The program will make unrestricted grants ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 each to dance and theater companies that reside in the Chicago metropolitan area, have produced at least one show in the Chicago area, and have annual operating budgets of less than $150,000.

For guidelines and application, visit the Driehaus Foundation Web site.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP

Submission Deadline: May 30, 2010

Measured Outcomes can help you get the funding and support you need. Contact us at (415) 968-9121, or email Stephen Blakley at stephen@measuredoutcomes.net.

Together we can achieve great things!

The Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham and the Kresge Foundation of Troy, Michigan are accepting applications for the Kresge Arts in Birmingham program.

The program is part of a community arts and civic engagement project the Kresge Foundation is piloting in selected U.S. locations to encourage residents to use art and culture as a tool to address community issues. The project is designed to test Kresge’s belief that grassroots arts and cultural projects can be an effective tool to unite communities, address pressing social issues, and nourish residents’ spirits in difficult times.

Over the next two years, Kresge will fund grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 each for community arts projects that strive to address Birmingham’s pressing issues as determined by its citizens.

Individuals and groups, including all types of arts and cultural professionals, neighborhood associations, service agencies, community development groups, and arts and cultural organizations, are encouraged to apply.

Visit the Cultural Alliance Web site for complete guidelines and application instructions.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP

Submission Deadline: April 5, 2010

Measured Outcomes can help you get the funding and support you need. Contact us at (415) 968-9121, or email Stephen Blakley at stephen@measuredoutcomes.net.

Together we can achieve great things!

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund has announced the Youth Arts Engagement Grants program, a new initiative to support projects and programs that use the arts to enrich the lives of young people.

These project-related grants will support specific programs that use the arts to enrich the lives of young people between the ages of 5 and 18, in and out of school. To apply, an organization must be a 2010 recipient of PCF general operating support and have a budget in excess of $50,000.

The goals of the Youth Arts Engagement Grants include providing high-quality arts instruction, training, and participatory experiences that serve those young who are unlikely to have access to cultural enrichment; providing consistent programming that directly impacts the reduction of youth violence, truancy, and drop-out rates while increasing the number of graduations and college-bound students; and encouraging arts and cultural programming as an alternative activity for youth in afterschool, weekend, and summer programs.

A total of $350,000 in grants ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 each will be awarded.

Visit the the PCF Web site for complete guidelines.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP

Submission Deadline: April 2, 2010

Measured Outcomes can help you get the funding and support you need. Contact us at (415) 968-9121, or email Stephen Blakley at stephen@measuredoutcomes.net.

Together we can achieve great things!

Nominations are invited for California’s Second Annual Governor and First Lady’s Medals for Service Award. The Medals for Service are awarded to individual volunteers, nonprofits, and business volunteer programs whose innovations and dedication create a positive impact on their community and the state of California. The awards are part of the CaliforniaVolunteers Recognition Awards Program and are sponsored by the Shinnyo-en Foundation.

Nominations will be accepted in the following categories: California’s Volunteer of the Year, honoring an outstanding Californian whose volunteer service is exemplary and inspirational; California’s Small Business Volunteer Program of the Year, honoring an outstanding small business (fewer than 500 employees) with an innovative, high-impact employee volunteer program; California’s Business Volunteer Program of the Year, honoring an outstanding business (more than 500 employees) with an innovative, high-impact employee volunteer program; California’s Nonprofit of the Year, honoring a nonprofit that has shown an extraordinary ability to leverage volunteers in service to their organization; California’s Service Group of the Year, honoring a service group or club with a demonstrable impact and unwavering commitment to their community; and California’s AmeriCorps Member of the Year, honoring an AmeriCorps member who has demonstrated AmeriCorps values, has made a significant contribution to their community, and is committed to a lifetime of service.

The Governor and First Lady’s Medals for Service will be presented at an awards ceremony in Sacramento in early May.

For program information, visit the CaliforniaVolunteers Web site.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP

Submission Deadline: March 31, 2010

Measured Outcomes can help you get the funding and support you need. Contact us at (415) 968-9121, or email Stephen Blakley at stephen@measuredoutcomes.net.

Together we can achieve great things!

Texas electric provider First Choice Power has opened the application process for its 2010 Reduce Your Use Grants program, which encourages Texas nonprofit organizations to be more energy-efficient. Program grants provide funding for energy-efficiency products and services to reduce energy usage and costs immediately and in the future.

Texas 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and chambers of commerce that provide direct services to the communities served by First Choice Power are invited to apply. Priority will be given to First Choice Power customers, agencies with a low-income focus, and agencies where First Choice Power employees and retirees volunteer.

Grants are made in amounts up to $2,000 each.

Visit the First Choice Power Web site for application materials.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP

Submission Deadline: April 15, 2010

Measured Outcomes can help you get the funding and support you need. Contact us at (415) 968-9121, or email Stephen Blakley at stephen@measuredoutcomes.net.

Together we can achieve great things!

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is accepting research proposals to explore how housing matters to children, families, and communities.

Grant proposals are invited for the second round of research awards under the foundation’s $25 million How Housing Matters to Communities and Families initiative. The initiative is based on the premise that stable, affordable housing may be an essential platform that promotes positive outcomes in education, employment, and physical health by helping to ensure a greater return from other social and public investments.

In the 2010 competition, the foundation seeks to expand further the body of empirical evidence on the difference that living in decent and affordable housing makes in the lives of children, their families, and communities, with a special emphasis on how such evidence can be put to use by decision-makers to strengthen policies and programs.

This year, in order to maximize the impact that funded research will have on policy, the foundation requires that every applicant clearly identify the specific policy audience or level of government that will be able to utilize the research to improve or enhance a specific policy intervention and improve outcomes being studied.

Applicants must be affiliated with a nonprofit entity. U.S. and non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply, as are studies by non-U.S.-based researchers and that deal with non-U.S.-based housing-family and community linkages as long as they meet all program guidelines. Units of government are also eligible to apply for a grant as long as such entities are permitted by their applicable law to receive a grant. Previous award winners are eligible to apply.

Proposals will be assessed based on criteria including importance of the research problem, its potential to inform policy, and the quality of the research design.

Information about the 2010 competition is available at the MacArthur Foundation Web site. Initial submissions are due to the foundation by March 22, 2010.

Contact: Link to Complete RFP