Insight Grants

Some Upcoming Grant Opportunities: Fall 2015

Here are some featured upcoming grant opportunities:

Fuel Up To Play 60 Grants (All States)

Program Information: Up to $4,000 per year is available to qualified K-12 schools enrolled in Fuel Up to Play 60 to kick start healthy changes. Grants are for approved physical activity and healthy eating “plays.”

Deadline: November 4th, 2015

2015 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants (California)

Program Information: This grant will allow school food authorities (SFA) to purchase the equipment needed to serve healthier meals, meet the new nutritional standards with an emphasis on more fresh fruits and vegetables, improve food safety, and expand access. Awards will be up to $100,000

Deadline: November 2nd, 2015

Straight A Fund (Ohio)

Program Information: Applicants may select one of the following goals: (1.) Increased student achievement; (2.) A spending reduction in the five-year forecast or positive performance on other fiscal measures established by the Straight A Fund Governing Board; (3.) Greater share of resources directed into the classroom; and (4.) Use of a shared services delivery model that demonstrates increased efficiency and effectiveness, long-term sustainability and scaleability. Individual applicants my request up to $1 Million, and consortia may request up to $15 Million; although because only a total of $15 Million is available this year, requests for under $1 Million may receive preference/priority.

Deadline: December 1st, 2015

NYS Health Foundation 2016 Special Projects Fund (New York)

Program Information: The Special Projects Fund provides grants for projects outside of the Foundation’s two priority areas of (1) Building healthy communities and (2) Improving transparency and affordability to empower consumers. Projects serving vulnerable populations and that are expected to have large-scale or statewide impact tend to be more competitive.

Deadline: There are two cycles. The required online inquiry form deadlines are November 4th, 2015 and April 7th, 2016. Full application deadlines are December 29th, 2015 and Wednesday May 25th, 2016. Applications in which the Foundation is interested following review of the online inquiry form will be invited to submit full applications and sent information on how to do that at that time.

Colorado Health Foundation’s Out-of-School Time Physical Activity Grants (Colorado)

Program Information: This funding opportunity will support organizations to provide quality, structured physical activity in out-of-school time settings (including before school, after school and summer programs). Applicants must propose to add or expand physical activity in an existing out-of-school time program. Projects must focus on grades K-8 and serve a high proportion of students from high-need/low-income communities. The funder also requires proposed programs, “Provide a minimum of 90 minutes of structured physical activity per week, for no less than two days per week. Children must be engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) a minimum of 50 percent of the structured physical activity time.”

Deadlines: February 15th, 2016 and June 15th, 2016

Saucony Run for Good Grants (All States) 

Program Information: The Saucony Run for Good Foundation is committed to reversing obesity rates by offering children the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of running and a healthier lifestyle. Maximum award size is $10,000 to initiate, expand, or improve running programs for children and/or teens.
Deadlines: Deadlines are on February 1st and August 1st annually.

Ohio Straight A Fund Round 2 Update

The Ohio Department of Education has made some changes to the Straight A Fund Round 2, a grant that we previously covered as a featured grant opportunity. The application due date has been pushed from April 3rd to April 18th. The following message from The Ohio Department of Education details all of the changes:

Straight A Fund Timeline and Application Changes!

As a result of the legislative changes in House Bill 342, the Straight A Fund Governing Board has made some changes to the timeline and the guidance found in the application questions.  The changes in legislation can be found on the Straight A Fund website here.

The timeline for the Fiscal Year 2015 grant cycle has been approved by the Straight A Fund Governing Board and can be on the Straight A Fund website here.

Straight A Application guidance has been changed for questions 6,9,11,14,15,24 and 25. The new application has been posted to the Straight A Fund website here.

Additionally, the FAQ’s have been updated and can be found here and the materials used during the Regional Workshops can be found on the Straight A Fund website as well.

There will be a Webinar on Tuesday, March 25th at 3:30 PM to explain all of these changes in detail. The registration link will be posted to the Straight A Fund website by the end of the week.

Thank you for your patience while all of these changes have been ongoing.  The Straight A Fund Staff and Governing Board are looking forward to the 2nd round!

If you are working on an application and are in need of grant editing services, or if you are interested in applying for the grant and interested in professional grant writing services, contact us via email at info@insightgrants.com, by phone  716-474-0981, or use our online contact form here.

Featured Grant Opportunity: Ohio Straight A Fund Round 2

The Ohio Department of Education has released application documents for Round 2 of the Straight A Fund Grant Program. The Straight A Fund provides funding to educational entities in Ohio with the drive and courage to try new approaches that:

  • Meet the learning needs of its students,
  • Reduce the cost of running a school or school district, or
  • Drive more dollars to the classroom.

We’re including some basic information on the grant below. For further details be sure to visit the Straight A Fund Program Website.

Program Overview: This is an exciting and unique opportunity because funds can go for virtually any school project that is sustainable and will increase achievement or the amount of resources devoted to the classroom! In the first round of funding, 24 grants representing over 150 school districts and partnering organizations were awarded $88.6 million dollars. Grants funded in the first round of awards included the following initiatives: plans to increase student access to high-tech manufacturing skills, expansion of post-secondary class offerings in Appalachia, expansion of the use of digital technology in classrooms, STEM-focused projects, and support for physical activity and nutrition programs, among others.

Award: Individual applicants can request up to $5 Million, and consortium applicants can request up to $15 Million.

A total of $250 Million was allocated to the Straight A Fund. About $11 Million was earmarked for a specific initiative. In the first round of the grants, $88.6 Million was awarded.  Therefore, approximately $150 Million remains available for Round 2 awards. Awards are for Fiscal Year 15.

Who Can Apply: Schools in Ohio

When is the Deadline? The intent to apply period is open through March 7th, 2014. (The intent to apply is neither required nor binding.) Applications for the grant will be accepted from March 20th through April 3rd at 4 PM.

Tips for Proposals: Proposals that are creative and cost effective will have a higher chance at getting funding. The Straight A Fund states that they “are on the lookout for proposals that solve specific problems in our schools, can be quickly duplicated by others and are sustainable.”

The contacts stress that being clear in your application explanations is critical.

The impact of your project will be scored. Think about changes you can make that will make a large impact either because you will affect a lot of students (there were many multi-district winning projects in Round 1) or because you will make a huge change or both.

Something Cool or Unique About This Opportunity: Projects proposed for Straight A funding MUST be sustainable. In addition to providing thorough, detailed narrative explanations about sustainability, applicants must also complete a five-year Financial Impact Table that demonstrates the project can be sustained for at least five years beyond the grant period. Additionally, sustainability is not only scored, but there is an entire scoring round specific to rating sustainability. While you may propose a project that is expected to yield income, and you may discuss that income in your narrative, you may not count income as part of your sustainability plan due to the wording of the funding legislation. The project must be sustainable even without the anticipated income.

More Information/How to Apply: Access the Straight A Fund application here. Webinars aimed at helping potential applicants understand the rules and requirements of the program and application were scheduled for 2/11, 2/18, and 2/25/2014. If you weren’t able to attend a webinar that has already occurred, check out the links to the recorded events at the program’s site.

We’ll continue to add more featured grant opportunities to the Insight Blog. If you would like more information on Insight’s grant writing, editing, or research services, please contact us by phone at 716-474-0981, email info@insightgrants.com, or fill out our online contact form.

Insight Grants