Inside Info on... Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquarium Program Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund Challenge Grants Weather Education GoGirlGo! Grant and Education Program National Book Scholarship Fund Small Innovative Grants Program Grantsmanship Training Program Questions? For more information contact: Eva Ivery or Richard Jurewicz LOB 945-A Albany, NY 12248 or call the Grants Action News hotline at 1-800-356-8486

Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquarium Program

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP)

The Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquarium Program provides funding within two categories. Category I, Collections Care Costs, is funding for expenses directly related to the care, security, and interpretation of the collections. Category II, Special Purposes, is funding for the development of new exhibits or the rehabilitation of existing exhibits for the permanent collections, and for new, innovative projects or programs for the institution.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be public or not-for-profit organizations: zoos, botanical gardens, herbariums, arboretums, aquariums, bird sanctuaries, natural habitat preserves, natural science museums, and nature and environmental centers that own, house and care for living or systematically organized collections of biological specimens and that primarily provide such services to the general public on a regular and predictable basis.
FUNDING: Funding for local assistance grants is made available through an appropriation from the State’s General Fund.
DEADLINE: Applications must be postmarked by October 18, 2004.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.nysparks.com/grants; contact Cathy Jepson at (518) 474-8396; or write Kevin Burns, Chief of Grants, Bureau of Grants Management, OPRHP, Empire State Plaza, Agency Building 1, 16th Floor, Albany, New York 12238.

Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund

State Education Department (SED)

SED, State Archives, has announced the availability of grants from the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund to improve records management and archival administration in New York State’s local governments. Grants are available for inventory and planning, active records, inactive records, historical records, and educational uses of local government records projects.
ELIGIBILITY: Local governments, including but not limited to boards of cooperative educational services, cities, counties, fire districts, school districts, towns, and villages.
FUNDING: Up to $75,000 for individual projects involving a single government; up to $125,000 for cooperative projects involving two or more local governments acting on one activity; up to $125,000 for complex projects involving a single local government addressing extremely complex records management issues.
DEADLINE: Applications must be postmarked by December 1, 2004.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Local governments should contact the New York State Archives, Grants Administration and Program Support Unit, Room 9A81, Cultural Education Center, Albany, New York 12230; phone: (518) 474-6926; e-mail: archgrants@mail.nysed.gov; or visit www.archives.nysed.gov.

…On the Federal Level

Challenge Grants

National Endowment for the Humanities

The National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grants help institutions secure long-term improvements in and support for their humanities programs and resources. Challenge grants most commonly augment or establish endowments. The income from invested funds may support ongoing humanities activities in education, public programs, scholarly research, and preservation. Examples include faculty and staff positions, fellowships, lecture or exhibition services, visiting scholars, publishing subventions, consultations, maintenance of facilities, faculty development, acquisitions, and preservation/consultation programs. Because of the matching requirements of this program, these awards also strengthen the humanities by encouraging nonfederal sources of support. Challenge grants are offered only when NEH funds will help institutions carry out long-term plans and enhance their financial stability.
ELIGIBILITY: Awards are made to museums, public libraries, colleges, research institutions, historical societies and historic sites, public television and radio stations, universities, scholarly associations, state humanities councils, and other nonprofit entities.
FUNDING: Not yet determined.
DEADLINE: November 1, 2004.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Information can be obtained by calling (202) 606-8446, by e-mailing info@neh.gov, by writing to NEH, Office of Public Affairs, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20506, or by visiting www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/challenge.html.

...Foundations and Organizations

Weather Education

National Weather Foundation

The National Weather Foundation will award grants towards the improvement of education for K-12 students studying meteorology. Funds may be used for teachers to take an accredited course in atmospheric sciences, attend a relevant workshop or conference, or purchase scientific materials for their classrooms.
ELIGIBILITY: All K-12 schools and individual K-12 teachers.
FUNDING: $500 per grant.
DEADLINE: None.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Visit www.nwas.org/solhirsch.html.

GoGirlGo! Grant and Education Program

Women’s Sports Foundation

Administered by the Women’s Sports Foundation, the GoGirlGo! Grant and Education Program is dedicated to the development and funding of girls’ sports and physical activity programs that combine athletic instruction and programming with the delivery of educational information aimed at reducing risk behaviors. The program provides financial assistance to sports and physical activity programs seeking to add new or expanded participation opportunities for an underserved population of girls, particularly economically disadvantaged girls and/or girls from populations with high incidences of health-risk behavior.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must have 501(c)(3) program status or nonprofit status and possess the demonstrated ability to deliver girls’ sports and physical activity programming to girls in third to eighth grade. The organizations, agencies, and schools must also agree to participate in the GoGirlGo! educational curriculum, which is available free of charge from the Women’s Sports Foundation.
FUNDING: The program will award a total of $200,000; to date in 2004, the average grant awarded has been $7,500. Funds requested may be used for athletic equipment, supplies, facility rental, league and tournament fees, travel, coaching, scholarships, and/or program administration expenses. Funds may only be used for girls’ sports/physical activity programs.
DEADLINE: November 30, 2004.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Complete program guidelines and application instructions are available at the Women’s Sports Foundation Web site, www.womenssportsfoundation.org.

National Book Scholarship Fund

ProLiteracy Worldwide

ProLiteracy Worldwide is accepting applications for its National Book Scholarship Fund (NBSF), an annual program that supplies books and materials to local literacy programs. New Readers Press, the publishing division of ProLiteracy Worldwide, provides the books and materials that are available from the NBSF.
ELIGIBILITY: The NBSF makes grants to literacy or educational programs. First priority will be given to programs that focus on family literacy. English as a Second Language projects, adult basic educational programs, and projects that involve women-focused literacy or ESL programming will also be considered for support.
FUNDING: NBSF grants have ranged from $500 to $7,000, although greater or lesser amounts of funding are considered. Programs awarded a grant must provide a cash contribution to ProLiteracy Worldwide equal to 20 percent of the grant award. These funds are used to defray the costs of NBSF program administration. Organizations that have been affiliates of ProLiteracy for one year or more provide a cash contribution equal to 10 percent of the grant award. Proposals will be considered immediately upon receipt. Awards will be made until funds are exhausted.
DEADLINE: December 2, 2004.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.nbsf.org/apply.asp for complete program information and application form.

Small Innovative Grants Program

American Legacy Foundation

The American Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization established as part of the settlement of a state attorneys general lawsuit against tobacco companies, works to reduce tobacco use and its harmful effects. The Foundation has two goals: 1) to arm all young people with the knowledge and tools to reject tobacco; and 2) eliminate disparities in access to tobacco prevention and cessation services. The foundation's Small Innovative Grants Program supports programs that advance innovative, evidence-based solutions to remedy the harm caused by tobacco use in America. Legacy intends the Small Innovative Grants Program to seed new projects, enable an organization to pilot a new idea or approach, or help an organization gain a different perspective or better understanding of tobacco control through research.
ELIGIBILITY: State or local political subdivisions; legally constituted tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations; Indian reservations, Indian tribes, or tribal organizations or non-governmental entities that serve such reservations.
FUNDING: Grants for up to $100,000 for the first year of funding are available. Grantees may apply for a second year of funding for up to 50% of the first year’s amount. Grantees must provide a 1:1 cash match for second-year funding. Match is encouraged but not required for the first year of funding. Legacy will accept applications for second-year funding in the last quarter of the first grant year only.
DEADLINE: None.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Jill Shalett or Karen Martin at (202) 454-5555 or grantsinfo@americanlegacy.org. Legacy will provide tailored technical assistance upon request. Guidelines and application procedures may also be found at www.americanlegacy.org. Legacy requests that applicants use its online application system to electronically submit applications.

...Grant Writing

Grantsmanship Training Program

Grantsmanship Center

The Grantsmanship Training Program is coming to New York: Utica, November 1-5, 2004, hosted by the Utica Public Library.

The class will be conducted by the Grantsmanship Center (TGCI) and is kept at a maximum of 30 participants. The cost is $825, which includes one-year enrollment in the TGCI Membership Program. A limited number of half-tuition scholarships are available to agencies with annual budgets of less than $300,000.

To register, or to apply for a scholarship, contact TGCI at (800) 421-9512 or visit www.tgci.com. For local information and arrangements: Utica, call Nancy McGowan at (315) 735-2279.