Question of the Week: Are Grants Worth the Effort?

You gotta love it : Question of the Week: Are Grants Worth the Effort?

New Grant Professional Certified

Congratulations to our latest cadre of local Grant Professional Certified (GPC) grant writers!

Jolene A. Ewing, Glenside, PA
Kelley E. Ewing, Jr., Glenside, PA
Susan Green, Cranford, NJ
Dena Hartigan, Shamong, NJ
Joanne Oppelt, Elizabeth, NJ
Patricia A. Phillips, Marlton, NJ
Diane Scarangella, MA, Leonia, NJ

The Board of Directors of the Grant Professional Certification Institute (GPCI) has announced the names of 21 new GPCs from exams hosted this spring and summer in New Jersey and Florida. The newest GPCs – who are from six states – bring the total number of GPCs to 246. The GPC exam was developed through rigorous national standards for professional credentials; new exam dates and locations will be posted in coming weeks to the GPCI website and announced during the AAGP Annual Conference in Austin.

For more information on GPCI and to see the list of new GPCs, go to: http://grantcredential.org/Default.aspx. And congratulations to the newest GPCs!

KaBOOM!, the national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children, is giving communities free kits to host KaBOOM! Play Days. From Sept. 19-27, communities across the United States are hosting free, fun-for-the-whole-family events that focus on the important role play plays in a child’s life.

To support the cause, NFL PLAY 60 is offering Play Day communities $25,000 in grants to come together to improve their local parks and playspaces with clean-ups and simple enhancement and construction projects.

To be eligible for a Play Day grant, at least one person that attended your Play Day must share stories and photos from your event.

Nickelodeon’s The Big Green Grants Program

Nickelodeon’s Big Green Grants Program is a funding initiative that teams up kids
and adults to bring resources to their community.

• 
  Adults complete the application. Kids include essays and/or artwork explaining why this
  project is important to them and their school, club, after-school program or community.
  
• Between April 22 and December 31, 2009, eligible schools and community-based
  organizations can apply for one of two funding opportunities.

1. A $2,500 grant for an environmentally-friendly project.
2. A $5,000 grant for an environmentally-friendly project. To request $5,000, applicants must provide a 1-to1 dollar-to-dollar match ($10,000+ total project budget).

Science Career Week grant

Science Career Week in the Delaware Valley region is October 19 – 23, 2009. To ensure region-wide participation and to promote the diversity of careers in the sciences, Delaware Valley Innovation Network will award grants to support science-related events for students, parents, educators, workforce providers and workers in the DVIN tri-state, 14-county region.


Individual Grant Projects:
Up to $1,000 for single classroom or club-size science activities

Proposals can include but are not limited to:
hands-on laboratory experiments• STEM programs for parents and students• Field trips to local science companies• Tours of science exhibits• Presentations by science industry professionals



Collaborative Grant Projects:
Up to $5,000 for science-related programs for school-wide events or events open to the publicProposals can include but are not limited to:

Science department open houses• Open lectures on science topics• Science Fairs• Career Fairs featuring science careers

Grant Reviewers Needed

Recovery Act's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and Broadband Initiatives Program needs the help of experienced professionals ensure the success of the BTOP grant to help review the many applications over the coming months for broadband grant funding. To be considered as a reviewer you must have significant expertise and experience in at least one of the following areas:

1) the design, funding, construction, and operation of broadband networks or public computer centers;
2) broadband-related outreach, training, or education;
3) innovative programs to increase the demand for broadband services.


Reviewers will come from diverse backgrounds and areas of the United States. Please feel free to circulate this "Call for Reviewers" to other individuals or organizations that may be sources of qualified reviewers.


If you would like to become a BTOP reviewer, please send a resume and conflict of interest form (on website) in an email to btopreviewers@ntia.doc.gov or FAX to BTOP Reviewers at 202-501-8009. Please send a signed paper copy as well by U.S. Mail to BTOP Reviewers Broadband Technology Opportunities Program National Telecommunications and Information Administration U.S. Department of Commerce HCHB, Room 4812 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230