AfterSchool.gov

Afterschool.gov is a remarkable web portal that provides information on federal resources that support children and youth during out-of-school hours. This web portal includes grants, best practices, and a clearinghouse.

I encourage all BDPA chapters and other nonprofit organizations with after-school youth education to check out this unique web portal.

Will Obama's Urban School Grants Create Opportunities for BDPA Entrepreneurs?

According to the U.S. Department of Education, President Obama has recently announced $900 million in grants as a part of his 2011 budget to help improve student achievement at 5,000 of the nation's lowest-performing schools. Most, if not all, of the schools are in urban areas.

The budget includes a $100-million program aimed at increasing college-level, dual-credit and other accelerated courses in schools, allowing students to earn a high-school diploma and an associate's degree simultaneously.

What does this mean for BDPA entrepreneurs and business owners?

This means that local businesses that sell educational services and products can benefit too. The grant money will be allocated in many ways, such as to hire tutors, to buy educational software and materials, to upgrade old technology (computers, etc), to hire local motivational speakers, to hire scholarship experts and college consultants, and more.

The grant money may even be used to hire interior decorators and architects to make the schools look more modern. Do your research, and find out if there are schools in your area that will receive assistance from the grants. If so, find out what the schools' needs are and position yourself to offer relevant services. There will, no doubt, be many contracting and purchasing opportunities in the near future.

Here is a listing of other 2010 business grant opportunities that you might find useful.

Second Chance Mentoring Grants

Grants of up to $300,000 will be awarded under the FY 2010 Second Chance Act Mentoring Grants to Nonprofit Organizations, administered by the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Call (877) 464-2066 for additional information.

AmeriCorps State and National Grants (Deadline: January 26)

Subject to the availability of appropriations for fiscal year 2010, the federal government announces the anticipated availability of approximately $363 million to award new, re-competing, and continuation AmeriCorps State and National grants.

The grant categories are: State Commission and National Competitive including Professional Corps and Fixed-Amount Grants; State and National EAP; States and Territories without Commissions; and Indian Tribes. In the FY 2010 competition, the Corporation's funding priorities are projects that address compelling, unmet needs in one or a combination of the following five national service priority areas which are described more fully in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

1. Education
   
2. Clean Energy/Environment
   
3. Healthy Futures
   
4. Veterans
   
5. Opportunity

The total funding available for these grants will be set by Congress through the appropriations process now underway. If the President's fiscal year 2010 budget request is fully funded, the agency anticipates approximately $363 million to be available for new, recompeting, and continuation grants in all of the AmeriCorps State and National grant categories.

Applications to the Corporation are due January 26, 2010, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and successful applicants will be notified in early June 2010.

Obama Administration Launches $650M Program to Boost Education

By Nick Anderson

The Obama administration announced goals for a $650 million grant competition for school systems and nonprofit organizations with ideas for narrowing achievement gaps, reducing high school dropout rates and improving teacher and principal effectiveness.

The competition dovetails with a $4.35 billion grant program for states that the administration calls "Race to the Top." The combined $5 billion in seed money for fixing or improving schools amounts to one of the largest federal investments to date in educational entrepreneurship.

Read full text of this Washington Post article.

Broadband Stimulus - Notice of Funds Availability

As expected, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released its Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the first round of grants under the Broadband portion of the Stimulus Act. The grant application should be available this week on the BroadbandUSA web site. Grant applications will be accepted from July 14th to August 14th.

Click here for 5-page highlights of the 121 page NOFA document!

HHS Announces Capacity Building Grants to Strengthen Nonprofits

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that $50 million in grant funding is now available through the Strengthening Communities Fund (SCF), a new fund created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. HHS will grant two-year awards of up to $1 million to strengthen nonprofit and faith-based organizations that are aiding families and communities struggling in the economic downturn. Grantees must provide at least 20 percent of the total approved cost of the project from non-federal funds.

Read the Council’s analysis for detailed information on how the new capacity building funds will affect Council members. The grant application deadline is July 7, 2009. If you are interested in applying for the new capacity building grants, the Council on Foundations will host an upcoming informational session.

If you have any questions, contact the Council’s Public Policy Department at govt@cof.org or 703.879-6000.

National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant

SMART Grants are available to Federal Pell Grant recipients who are U.S. citizens, in their third or fourth academic year, who are enrolled full time, majoring in physical, life or computer science, engineering, mathematics, technology, or a critical foreign language as determined by the Department of Education (likely to include Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Farsi, Urdu, and Chinese), who have a a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 in their major.

Award maximums are $4,000 for each of the third and fourth year of study. Annual award amounts may be reduced by the U.S. Department of Education if sufficient funds are not available for all eligible students in an award year.

This is a message that should be shared with any college student that you know!