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Grant & Funding Opportunities

Ongoing List and Links to assorted grant opportunities for LEF Educators and Youth.


 Please check back frequently for new additions and, as always, LEF staff is eager to help teachers and students develop any grant or competitive award application!

 

Just Announced

 

Home Depot Building Healthy Communities Grant Program
Deadline: June 15 
 
The Home Depot Building Healthy Communities Grant Program provides support to nonprofit organizations, public schools, and public service agencies in the U.S. that are using the power of volunteers to improve the physical health of their communities. Grants support community improvement projects that include activities such as construction or refurbishment of affordable or transitional housing; building, rebuilding, painting, or refurbishing; increasing energy efficiency or sustainability; landscaping or planting of native trees; community facility improvements; and the development and/or improvement of green spaces. Grants of up to $2,500 are made in the form of The Home Depot gift cards for the purchase of tools or materials. The application deadlines for 2009 are June 15, September 15, and December 15.

http://corporate.homedepot.com/wps/portal/Grants

 

Nature of Learning Grant Program Offers Support for Outdoor Classroom Programs
Deadline: June 15, 2009
 
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is accepting applications from organizations interested in initiating a Nature of Learning program in their communities. The Nature of Learning is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System's community-based environmental education initiative. The program uses National Wildlife Refuges as outdoor classrooms to promote a greater understanding of local conservation issues, encourage an interdisciplinary approach to learning, and utilize field experiences and student-led stewardship projects to connect classroom lessons to real world issues. The program also involves a partnership among local schools, community groups, natural resource professionals, and local businesses.
 
Schools or nonprofit organizations, including "Friends" groups, Cooperative and Interpretive Associations, Audubon Chapters, etc., are eligible to apply for funding. Programs must involve a partnership among a local school(s), community group (e.g., Refuge Support Group), and National Wildlife Refuge. Projects must be completed within eighteen months.
 
First year start-up grants are available for up to $10,000. Second year follow-up grants of up to $5,000 are available to support continued implementation of the Nature of Learning program.
 

Nature of Learning Grant Program Website

 

Captain Planet Foundation Grants
Deadlines (annually): March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31
 
The Captain Planet Foundation is accepting applications for funding projects that help students better grasp environmental issues. Projects must promote understanding of environmental issues, focus on hands-on activities, involve students ages 6 to 18, promote interaction and cooperation within a group, help young people develop planning and problem-solving skills, include adult supervision, and commit to follow-up communication with the Foundation.
 

 

 

Disney Minnie Grants – 2nd Round
Youth Service America and Disney are pleased to offer the Disney Minnie Grants to fund children's efforts to improve their communities. These grants of USD500 are for children (ages 5-14) or the organizations that engage them, to implement youth-led service projects that address the issues of Poverty, Hunger, Education, Environment, Global Citizenship, Sustainable Community Development, and Disaster Prevention & Relief. Applications are accepted from all over the world. Projects will take place in the months of September-November 2009. Apply online at www.ysa.org/awards. Accepting applications: April-June 15, 2009. For more information please email: MinnieGrant@ysa.org.  

 

 

$500 National Green Week Awards

There are 5 awards available for $500 each. The application is pretty informal- a description and photo, essay, video, etc. I believe if you want to enter a school you have to register them with the site to show they are doing some green project. 

www.nationalgreenweek.com/national-green-week/green-in-action-awards.html 

 

 

Healthy Sprouts Awards
Dealine: October 17, 2009

 

To encourage the growth of these health-focused youth gardens, the National Gardening Association (NGA) recognizes outstanding programs through the Healthy Sprouts Awards, sponsored by Gardener's Supply Company. These awards ($200-$500 gift certificates) support school and youth garden programs that teach about nutrition and the issue of hunger in the United States. 

 

http://www.kidsgardening.com/healthysprouts.asp

 

 

Local

2008 GREENS Fund

A competitive grant between $7,000- $10,000 awarded to a local Charleston high school for a winning project proposal incorporating sustainability, community, and innovation.

www.sustainabilityinstitutesc.org/gci/greens_fund.shtml

 

Donna Bates Award

This award, made in memory of Donna Bates, Public Education and Information Specialist with OCRM, is directed toward improving coastal science and coastal environmental education for K-12 students within the 8 coastal counties of S.C. Awards of up to $2,000 are granted to teachers and multiple awards may be granted annually.

 http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/ocrm/outreach/bates.htm

State

S.C. DHEC Champions of the Environment

 Winners receive $500 and a 30-second television commercial about their project. Environmental projects can address pollution reduction or prevention, restoration or preservation of natural areas and/or water/energy efficiency.

http://www.scdhec.net/environment/water/chgrant.htm

National

Ben & Jerry's Foundation

The Mission of the Ben & Jerry's Foundation is to make the world a better place by empowering Ben & Jerry's employees to use available resources to support and encourage organizations that are working towards eliminating the underlying causes of environmental and social problems.

http://www.benjerry.com/company/foundation/

 

Sierra Club Green Works Grant Contest

We want to recognize and reward you for your efforts to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Enter The Green Works™ Green Heroes Grant Program and you could be one of five Green Heroes who'll each receive a $10,000 grant to help your eco-friendly community project grow and flourish!

 

http://greenhero.greenworkscleaners.com/index.tbapp

 

 

Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award

Grants ranging from $4,000 - $10,000 that is to be divided between participant teams of up to 5 students, teacher sponsoring and support organizations / schools. The goal is to develop a technical report, business plan and a graphical representation of an innovative idea to create a clean, carbon-free method of using renewable energy to change everyday life. Other categories for consideration are an innovative product for personal space flight or an entrepreneurial enterprise for lunar exploration.

http://www.conradawards.org/index.php

 

State Farm Youth Advisory Board Grants 

Grants ranging from $25,000 - $100,000 targeting youth-developed & youth-driven projects that focus on service learning in the following areas: Driver Safety, Environmental Responsibility, Financial Literacy, Access to Higher Education and/or Disaster Preparedness.

http://www.statefarmyab.com/Youthboard%20Application.doc

 

DonorsChoose Project Support

Highly effective online tool that provides individual donor support for projects/field trips/classroom supplies submitted by teachers.

http://www.donorschoose.org/homepage/main.html

 

DoSomething.org Plum Grants for Youth

Rolling grant funding opportunity for youth to get up to $500 in support for sustainable, community-based projects. Preference is given to youth-lead projects that provide a measurable impact while celebrating creativity and diversity.

http://www.dosomething.org/page/grant-eligibility-guidelines

                                                                                                                

Target Field Trip Grants                            
Annual Deadline: Grant information andannouncements are made annually each March on their website. 

As part of their commitment to education, Target created the one-of-a-kind Target Field Trip Grants program. So far they have awarded 7,400 Target Field Trip Grants, totaling more than $2 million, to educators in all 50 states, helping more than 300,000 students see the world outside the classroom.

http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031880

 

Jenny's Heroes Community Grant Program
Deadline: Open

Talk show host and philanthropist Jenny Jones will donate an additional $1 million to continue her community grant program proving grants of up to $25,000 each to fund projects that promise long-term community benefits. The program's focus is primarily in communities where fundraising can be difficult.

www.jennysheroes.com 

 

NEA Learning & Leadership and Student Achievement Grants                                             
Deadlines: February 1, June 1, and October 15, 2009
 
The Learning & Leadership Grants provide opportunities for educators to engage in high-quality professional development. The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study.

The Student Achievement Grants provide grants of $5,000 to help students improve academic achievement by engaging in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen knowledge of standards-based subject matter.

www.neafoundation.org/grants.htm 

Global

 mtvU Grants for Youth

This funding opportunity provides up to $1,000 to support or start a community service action project. All proposals must be submitted by youth and projects should be youth-directed.

www.mtvu.com/contests/mtvu_grants/

 

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS, EDUCATORS & CLASSROOMS

    New!

 

DonorsChoose Project Support

Highly effective online tool that provides individual donor support for projects/field trips/classroom supplies submitted by teachers.
North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
 
NAAEE is a professional association for environmental education where members promote professional excellence in nonformal organizations, K-12 classrooms, universities (both instructors and students), government agencies, and corporate settings throughout North America.  

NAAEE provides a thorough and frequently updated list of awards and grants available to both teachers and educations, as well as EE-Link, the leading resource for exploring environmental education on the Internet.

 

EnviroLink: The Online Environmental Community

The EnviroLink Network is a non-profit organization founded in 1991. EnviroLink maintains a database of thousands of environmental resources and provides internet services to non-profit organizations.

www.envirolink.org

 

Adopt-A-Classroom                                              

Adopt-A-Classroom increases opportunity for student success by empowering teachers with community partners and funds to purchase resources for the classroom. Adopt-A-Classroom empowers teachers with additional funds to mitigate their out-of-pocket expenses and to purchase hands-on learning resources so they can transform their classrooms into vibrant centers for learning.