Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI) recently received a grant for $127,000 from the North American Savings Bank (NASB) to support technology upgrades and infrastructure supports. Funding from NASB pays for contract IT support services to project manage the day-to-day needs of CCVI and support services, help desk services, software subscriptions to for integrated scheduling and billing, laptops for teaching assistants, hotspots, and training for staff. 

Green Hills Area Education Agency (GHAEA) was recently awarded a $500,000 grant from U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) to contract with Rachel’s Challenge (RC) to provide a research-based framework for training school personnel and students on preventing student violence, including anti-bullying training. The three-year program will involve 41 school districts serving elementary through high school students in 131 schools.

Labette County School District 506 (USD 506) recently received a grant for $501,956 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DTL) to implement specific technology upgrades which will allow USD 506 to address the economic, geographic, educational, and health services issues that Labette County students and their families face. The technology will improve connectivity and ensure students can receive both the academic and mental health support they need. The technology USD 506 Labette County upgrades will also facilitate professional development, continuing education, and collaboration among USD 506 educators, further improving the overall quality of education and student outcomes.

Green Hills Area Education Agency (GHAEA) recently received a grant for $669,453 from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) will deliver evidence-based training and technical assistance helping schools implement threat assessment teams (TATs) and high-quality plans to improve school safety, in partnership with school districts, sheriff’s offices, and police departments in southwestern Iowa.

In honor of Valentine’s Day on the 14th, I thought it would be fun to take a moment to consider fourteen of the many things to love (or not) about our profession. Now, I’m no Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and this is no “Sonnet 43,” but I hope this list makes you smile and consider what you love most about grant writing.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Attention institutions of higher education! NSF is now accepting proposals to its Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program. S-STEM provides funds to domestic institutions of higher education (IHEs) who implement the program and award scholarships to eligible students. S-STEM scholars must be low-income, academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing degrees in STEM fields, such as biological sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Proposals for this program are due April 7, 2021.

The United Methodist Health Ministry Fund (UMHMF) recently received a grant for $999,058 from the Lilly Endowment to support the expansion of the Healthy Congregations Program through increased use of the Good Neighbor Experiment (GNE) program. Funding from the Lilly Endowment will be used to expand the existing program, enhance and research the impact on communities, and develop a network of facilitators. Expansion will include serving 60 new Methodist and non-Methodist congregations over the next five years. Enhancement and research will include new education, technical assistance, and assessments with the Wichita State University School of Social Work. The university will conduct formal academic research on the impact of neighbor-to-neighbor relationships on congregations and communities of various sizes and geographic settings. A network of facilitators will be trained to support churches through day-long retreats and ongoing technical assistance to help them plan and implement community-based projects that use the collective assets to address community social needs.

While I am all about spreading love to people and relationships, what about those connections you don’t love? As grant professionals, we deal with all different kinds of people – you know those people:
  • The program director who says, “I don’t even have the staff to carry out these program goals, but I need the money. So, just write whatever goals you think will get us the grant.”
  • The executive director who tells you “we don’t have a policy on diversity, equity, and inclusion; can’t you just write one for us?”
  • The new client who, when asked to share about their organization’s leadership team and strategies, says “you can find that on our website.”
Yep, I did not love navigating these relationships or at the very least, I do not love these conversations that seem to leave me feeling stuck and frustrated. So how do you learn how to accept and move these relationships and conversations along?

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Does your public agency work to prevent substance abuse in high-risk communities? SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is now accepting applications for its 2021 Grants to Prevent Prescription Drug/Opioid Overdose-Related Deaths (PDO) program. The PDO program aims to reduce the number of prescription drug/opioid overdose-related deaths and adverse events among individuals 18 years of age and older by training key community sectors and implementing prevention strategies, such as purchasing and distributing naloxone to first responders. Proposals for this program are due March 1, 2021.