Minority Health Mini Grant Program

Office of Minority Health, New York State Department of Health

The New York State Department of Health invites applications from not-for-profit community based organizations to implement small-scale, short-term, well-defined projects designed to achieve targeted reductions in risks associated with asthma, diabetes, or heart disease and stroke in racial and ethnic minority communities.
ELIGIBILITY:  Applications will be accepted from not-for-profit organizations and community groups.
FUNDING:   It is anticipated that ten projects will be funded at $5,000 each.
DEADLINE:  Applications will be accepted through 5:00 p.m. on April 21, 2006.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Contact Marrion Arrington at the Office of Minority Health, Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower, Room 780, Albany, New York 12237; call (518) 474-2180; e-mail somh@notes.health.state.ny.us, or visit www.nyhealth.gov.

Homeless Housing and Assistance Program

New York State Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation/New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

Funds are being made available under a 2006 Request for Proposals for the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP). Under HHAP, grants and loans are provided to acquire, construct and rehabilitate housing for persons who are or would otherwise be homeless. Eligible projects may provide permanent, transitional or emergency supportive housing to homeless single individuals or families.
ELIGIBILITY:  Not-for-profit corporations and their subsidiaries, charitable organizations, municipalities, public corporations, and public housing authorities.
FUNDING:  Contact OTDA.
DEADLINE:  The deadline will be in April 2006. Contact OTDA for the exact date.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  To receive a copy of the RFP and Application, you must send a written request to OTDA, Bureau of Housing Services, 40 North Pearl Street, 9-A, Albany, New York 12243, Attn: Colleen Salvagni or a fax to (518) 486-7068, using the cover sheet available on OTDA's web site. For more information, you may also contact Ms. Salvagni at (518) 473-2529 or visit www.otda.state.ny.us and select “Contracts and Grants.”

. . .On the Federal Level

Preservation and Access Grants for Stabilizing Humanities Collections

National Endowment for the Humanities

Grants awarded under this program help museums, libraries, archives, and historical organizations preserve their humanities collections through support for improved housing and storage, environmental condition, security, lighting, and fire protection.
ELIGIBILITY:  State, county and municipal governments; special district governments; public and state controlled institutions of higher education; Federally recognized Native American tribal governments; nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; and private institutions of higher education.
FUNDING:   Grants will range up to $700,000.
DEADLINE:  October 2, 2006.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Visit http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=3355.

Learning in the Arts Grants

National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts’ Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth Program offers funding for projects that help children and youth acquire appreciation, knowledge, and understanding of, and skills in, the arts. Projects must provide participatory learning and engagement of students with skilled artists, teachers, and excellent art, and ensure the application of national, state, or local arts education standards.
ELIGIBILITY:  School-based or community-based projects.
FUNDING:   Awards range from $5,000 to $150,000.
DEADLINE:  June 12, 2006.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Visit http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/GAP07/LearningintheArts.html.

. . . Foundations and Organizations

New York State Music Fund

The New York State Music Fund is a grant program of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. The purpose of the Music Fund is to increase access to and appreciation of music of our time by audiences throughout New York State. The Music Fund will support exemplary contemporary music of all genres being created by today’s composers and musicians including written compositions, jazz, music from around the world based in living classical or folk traditions, experimental music, and noncommercial forms of popular music including alternative rock, country, hip hop, and others. In addition to the creation and performances of new musical works, the Music Fund will support school and community-based educational programs, and recording and media dissemination projects that expand New York residents’ access to music.
ELIGIBILITY:   Nonprofit organizations associated with music education and appreciation efforts.
FUNDING:  The fund currently holds $15,000,000.
DEADLINE:  March 31, 2006. A second round of requests for applications will be announced in June 2006.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  For full details of the program, visit the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors web site, www.rockpa.org.

Hudson Valley Heritage Education Initiative

Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area

The Teaching the Hudson Valley program provides funding for projects that help teachers share the Hudson Valley's special places with students. Projects must yield place-based lessons that complement core curriculum and state standards. Projects should also create or deepen partnerships between schools and sites.
ELIGIBILITY:   K-12 educators in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Ulster and Westchester counties may apply. Educators must collaborate with at least one public site of cultural, historic, or natural significance, including, but not limited to, archives, art galleries, historic sites, libraries, museums, nature preserves, and parks.
FUNDING:  Ten to fifteen grants of up to $10,000 each.
DEADLINE:  March 20, 2006.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Visit www.teachingtheHudsonValley.org for an application form and other materials. Paper copies are available by mail by calling (845) 229-9116, ext. 35 or e-mailing ROVA_TeachingtheHudsonValley@nps.gov.

Grants for Charitable, Literary and Educational Uses

Ambrose Monell Foundation

The mission of the Ambrose Monell Foundation is to aid and contribute to religious, charitable, literary and educational uses and purposes.
ELIGIBILITY:  The foundation only funds organizations with tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status and does not award grants to individuals. In order to determine if your request matches the interests of the foundation, submit a letter of inquiry. Only organizations whose initial inquiry is accepted will receive a request to submit a full proposal.
FUNDING:    In the past, grants have ranged from $2,500 to over $500,000. In 2004, grants totaled nearly $10,000,000.
DEADLINE:   Letters of inquiry may be submitted throughout the year and are reviewed on a continuing basis.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Requests should be sent to George Rowe, Jr., President, The Ambrose Monell Foundation, One Rockefeller Plaza, Suite 301, New York, New York 10002-2002; fax (212) 245-1863; e-mail info@monellvetlesen.org; Internet www.monellvetlesen.org. Visit the web site to see the types of organizations and programs the foundation has funded in the past.

Grants for Environmental Education Programs

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation invites applications from organizations interested in initiating or continuing the Nature of Learning Program in their communities. This program is a community-based environmental education initiative, and seeks to use National Wildlife Refuges as outdoor classrooms to promote a greater understanding of local conservation issues and involve a partnership among local schools, community groups, natural resource professionals, and local businesses.
ELIGIBILITY:  Schools or nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for funding. Programs must involve a partnership among a local school(s), community group and National Wildlife Refuge.
FUNDING:   Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded on a competitive basis to support start-up expenses associated with new programs. In addition, grants of up to $3,000 will be awarded to provide continued support to existing Nature of Learning Programs.
DEADLINE:   April 17, 2006.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Visit www.nfwf.org for complete program information and application procedures.

Preserve New York Grant Program

Preservation League of New York and New York State Council on the Arts

This program provides funding for historic structure reports, historic landscape reports and cultural resource surveys. The program is not able to provide any capital or "brick or mortar" funding.
ELIGIBILITY:  Municipalities and not-for-profit organizations.
FUNDING:   Grants are likely to range between $3,000 and $10,000.
DEADLINE:   Postmark deadline is May 1, 2006.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  For full guidelines, see www.preservenys.org or contact Tania Werbizky at (607) 272-6510 or Lorraine Weiss at (518) 464-5658, ext. 12 or lweiss@preservenys.org. Full details of this program appeared in the February Grants Action News and will also appear next month.

. . . Grant Writing

Council on Opportunities for Professional Excellence (COPE)

COPE is holding a Guerilla Grantsmanship© Seminar in Kingston, New York, April 7, 2006. At this full day of training, attendees will learn to write effective programs that work and then learn how to work the proposals they write, as well as how to overcome the barriers that impede the grant writing process. Attendees will also receive the Guerilla Grantsmanship© Manual, handouts, and a demo of the new Pocket Profile Software.

The cost for the training seminar is $145 for a single registration and $135 per person if two or more individuals register from the same organization.

Call (845) 594-6611 to register and for location details. You may also e-mail your registration to john@copeinc.com.

The Grantsmanship Center

The Grantsmanship Training Program is coming to New York: Albany, April 24-28, 2006, hosted by the New York State Department of Education; and New York City, May 8-12, 2006, hosted by the Institute for Community Living.

The classes will be conducted by The Grantsmanship Center and are 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, call Yolanda Lee (Albany) at (518) 486-5202 and Ben Sher (New York City) at (212) 385-3030, ext. 3198.