A calendar of grants, resources, and funding opportunities listed by application or inquiry due date and tagged in various categories. For more information about grant, foundation, and other resources contact Laura Hennighausen at lhennighausen@purposepossible.com.
United Way Atlanta Learning Loss Grant
United Way of Greater Atlanta and Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) collaborate to strengthen academic support by reducing learning loss throughout the state of Georgia.
Learning loss refers to any specific or general loss of knowledge and skills or to reversals in academic progress, most commonly due to extended gaps or discontinuities in a student’s education.
Through the strategy of Academic Support, grant funding will support programming that incorporates at least one of the following:
Build Reading Skills – Expand literacy-focused after-school and summer enrichment programs designed to increase reading skills and close the literacy achievement gap.
Improve Math Proficiency – Support continuous learning, problem-solving and practice in math; utilize engaging and hands-on methods of experiencing math, science and technology.
School Transition – Prepare students, families, schools, and communities to develop the necessary skills, knowledge, and relationships to assist young people in successfully moving from one grade level to another. And also to assist them in transitioning from elementary to middle school, middle to high school, and high school to post-secondary education.
Strengthen Family Engagement – Foster parents’ natural leadership as their child’s first teacher, brain builder, advocate, and coach.
Learning Acceleration – Strategically prepare students for success in the present— (i.e., this week, on this content) rather than concentrating on a list of items that students have failed to master. Past concepts and skills are addressed, but always in the purposeful context of future learning. Acceleration jump-starts underperforming students into learning new concepts before their classmates even begin. Rather than being stuck in the remedial slow lane, students move ahead of everyone into the fast lane of learning.
Access to Quality Out of School Time – Offer high-quality after-school and summer learning programs that: help close educational and opportunity gaps, support the positive development of the whole child and offer key strategies to improving child well-being.
Contextualizing Learning – Teach students the content in a context (i.e., embedding the concepts in meaningful activities and in a scenario to which the student can relate) to enhance their understanding and make the concepts more relatable.
Early Literacy Intervention Initiative Grant
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)invites nonprofit, community-based organization that provides early literacy services for students in the District of Columbia or districts with similar demographics as the District of Columbia to apply for the Early Literacy Intervention Initiative Grant. The purpose of this grant is to implement evidence-based early literacy interventions to increase proficiency of District students in the early grades. The overall goal of the Early Literacy Intervention Grant is to provide resources that will enable the grantee to partner with local education agencies (“LEAs”) in which they would provide direct, developmentally appropriate, evidence-based reading programs to students in grades Pre-K through 3. The application deadline is January 18, 2024
The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries
The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries provides funds to the nation’s neediest schools so that they can extend, update, and diversify the book and print collections in their libraries with the goal of encouraging students to develop a love of reading and learning. Funds may be used for the purchase of print or Braille volumes, audio-books, e-books, or magazine/serial/e-magazine subscriptions.
Eligible applicants include public schools, neighborhood schools, charter schools, and magnet schools that are Title 1 eligible, as well as private and parochial schools in which at least 50% of the student population qualify for financial aid. Schools must have a library or designated space on campus where books are accessible to all students to check out. Visit the George W. Bush Institute’s website to access the online application.
Imlay Foundation LOI
The Imlay Foundation currently funds organizations largely in Metro Atlanta, Georgia and Hilton Head, SC. First time grants are generally in the $10,000 – $15,000 range.
National Center for Families Learning: Sharon Darling Innovation Fund
The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) supports family success and well-being through education in the United States. The NCFL's Sharon Darling Innovation Fund is currently seeking proposals to develop and implement innovative programs, initiatives, products, processes, or strategies aimed at significantly improving the status quo in family literacy, family engagement, and family leadership. Support will be provided for programs and initiatives addressing the following objectives: increasing access to and the quality of educational opportunities for parenting adults and their families, increasing the number of families participating in literacy and learning activities, improving the learning outcomes for children and their parents, enhancing and increasing positive interactions between parenting adults and their children, developing the leadership skills of parenting adults and caregivers, and supporting and promoting the development of strong, positive relationships and engagement between families and schools or communities. Organizations including adult education programs, early childhood programs, childcare programs, out-of-school time programs, school districts, etc. may apply. The maximum grant award is $30,000 to be used for up to 18 months.
Imlay Foundation LOI
The Imlay Foundation currently funds organizations largely in Metro Atlanta, Georgia and Hilton Head, SC. First time grants are generally in the $10,000 – $15,000 range.
NEA Big Read
The NEA Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, is a reading program that brings communities together around the shared activity of reading and discussing a selected book title, with the aim of broadening understanding of our world, our neighbors, and ourselves through the power of a shared reading experience. Grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 support nonprofit organizations and public libraries across the U.S., including Native nations, to host dynamic community-wide reading programs, each designed around a single NEA Big Read title. Grantees must select a book from the current available reading selections, program diverse and imaginative events and activities related to the book selection, and engage with community partners. The intent to apply is due on January 18, 2023, and applications must be submitted by January 25, 2023, for projects occurring between September 2023 and June 2024. Click here for more.
CREATE ACTION
The mission of CREATE ACTION is to amplify the efforts of local organizations through funding, storytelling, and collaboration with Sony. CREATE ACTION grants support organizations in the United States and Canada serving their local communities in areas such as STEAM/academic enrichment, workforce development, and nonprofit services for underserved and under-represented groups. One grant will be awarded each month through March 2023. Grantees will receive a $50,000 USD grant to continue and expand the organization's work, $50,000 USD in Sony electronics products to support their mission, and a Sony-produced short film telling the organization's story. Nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status in the U.S. (excluding territories) and provincially and federally incorporated nonprofit organizations in Canada (excluding Quebec) who have received no more than $500,000 USD in annual donations per year for 2020 and 2021 are eligible to participate. The next three application deadlines are October 31, November 30, and December 31, 2022. Guidelines and the online application are available on the CREATE ACTION website.
CREATE ACTION
The mission of CREATE ACTION is to amplify the efforts of local organizations through funding, storytelling, and collaboration with Sony. CREATE ACTION grants support organizations in the United States and Canada serving their local communities in areas such as STEAM/academic enrichment, workforce development, and nonprofit services for underserved and under-represented groups. One grant will be awarded each month through March 2023. Grantees will receive a $50,000 USD grant to continue and expand the organization's work, $50,000 USD in Sony electronics products to support their mission, and a Sony-produced short film telling the organization's story. Nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status in the U.S. (excluding territories) and provincially and federally incorporated nonprofit organizations in Canada (excluding Quebec) who have received no more than $500,000 USD in annual donations per year for 2020 and 2021 are eligible to participate. The next three application deadlines are October 31, November 30, and December 31, 2022. Guidelines and the online application are available on the CREATE ACTION website.
The Atlanta Reimagining and Innovating for Schools Everywhere (A.R.I.S.E.) Fund
The Atlanta Reimagining and Innovating for Schools Everywhere (A.R.I.S.E.) Fund is our inaugural participatory grant fund. Grant criteria, the application, issue area of focus, and community of impact were developed and selected by community members participating in the pilot A.R.I.S.E. Fellowship. To inform the fellows' selections, ongoing listening sessions and outreach to community members in the Atlanta Public School Douglass Cluster will continue through Nov.12, 2022.
Applications can address broad-based, community-centered solutions to support K-12 literacy for students in Atlanta Public Schools Douglass Cluster. We know arts, math, social activities, parental involvement, and a wide list of innovative programs can impact student literacy. The grant fund welcomes all types of creative and traditional solutions to address the goal of improving and growing students' reading and writing proficiency.
The two-year $300,000 fund aims to drive community efforts to support the Atlanta Board of Education's goal of increasing student literacy outcomes for Atlanta Public Schools students in the Douglas Cluster.