GrantSeeker

Navigating through the breadth of information on funding opportunities to find matches for your program ideas can be a daunting task. Limited staff and resources, lack of time, and the prohibitive cost of subscription services may not allow you to devote a full effort to those critical first stages of researching external funding options.

NASSMC's GrantSeeker service can help you identify both federal and private funding opportunities exclusively designed to meet the needs of member coalitions. Thanks to a recent expansion, NASSMC now has access to information on over 300,000 public and private sponsoring agencies, including program announcements and guidelines, application materials, the latest updates and deadlines, awards lists, and funded proposals.

GrantSeeker is a personalized, one-on-one assistance service that provides custom grants searches based on your program ideas and needs. In order to make sure that you receive a comprehensive and timely response, please submit a GrantSeeker Request either:

• (password protected); or
• by fax, by downloading and printing the pdf version of the form. Fax completed forms to 703-516-5979.

Requests must be submitted by the NASSMC member Coalition Director or his/her designated representative. Requests made by individuals or organizations not affiliated with NASSMC will not be filled.

NASSMC will make every effort to respond to requests within three business days. For additional information, contact: Jessica Venable, 703-516-5974.

The Staples Foundation for Learning grants provide funding to programs that support or provide job skills and/or education for all people, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. The Foundation considers educational funding to be an investment in the future of our communities. Their goal is to help local groups with programs and services that will positively impact their communities every day.

The three pillars of the foundation's support mission are:

• Teach: Staples Foundation for Learning strives to encourage children of all ages and backgrounds to discover the joy of growth through study and academic achievement.

• Train: The Foundation supports assistance and training for individuals who choose to use their hands, hearts and minds to be contributing members of their communities.

• Inspire: The Foundation aims to create and sustain in our youth the desire to realize their full potential.

To be eligible, the organization must:

• Have a nonprofit tax-exempt classification under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

• Align with Staples Foundation for Learning's mission and give focus on job skills and education.

The requested amount of each grant can be up to $25,000. Most grants awarded by the Foundation are in the $5,000-$25,000 range.

Deadlines: August 3, 2007 and December 7, 2007. Contact: foundationinfo@staples.com. For More Information: http://www.staplesfoundation.org/foundhome2.html.

The American Honda Foundation makes grants to worthy non-profit causes, programs and organizations that directly benefit the people of the United States in the areas of youth education and scientific education. Since its inception, the American Honda Foundation has provided more than $20 million in grants.

Grants are provided in the fields of youth education and science education to the following: educational institutions, K-12; accredited higher education institutions (colleges and universities); community colleges and vocational or trade schools; scholarship and fellowship programs at selected colleges and/or universities or through selected non-profit organizations; other scientific and education-related, non-profit, tax-exempt organizations; gifted student programs; media concerning youth education and/or scientific education; private, non-profit scientific and/or youth education projects; other non-profit, tax-exempt, institutions in the fields of youth education and scientific education; and programs pertaining to academic or curriculum development that emphasize innovative educational methods and techniques.

The American Honda Foundation reflects the basic tenets, beliefs and philosophies of the Honda companies, which are characterized by the following qualities:

• dreamful (imaginative);

• creative;

• youthful;

• foresightful (forward-thinking);

• scientific, humanistic, and innovative.

The average grant range is $40,000 to $80,000 per year. The Foundation does not support indirect costs.

Upcoming Deadline: August 1. For more information: http://corporate.honda.com/america/philanthropy.aspx?id=ahf.

The NSTA New Science Teacher Academy, co-founded by the Amgen Foundation with a three-year, $3 million grant, is a professional development initiative created to help strengthen quality science teaching, enhance teacher confidence and classroom excellence, and improve teacher content knowledge. The academy will initially support up to two hundred science teachers across the United States each year.

There are two tiers of participation:

• NSTA Associate Fellows: Promising first- and second-year teachers can apply to become an NSTA Associate Fellow at the academy.
  
• NSTA Fellows: Middle and high school science teachers in their second or third year of teaching in select states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, and North Carolina) can apply to become an NSTA Fellow.

Both fellowships include a year-long immersion in a host of science-related activities and professional development opportunities, a comprehensive NSTA membership package, and an NSTA-funded trip to attend NSTA's national conference. NSTA Fellows will also receive online mentoring with trained mentors who teach in the same discipline.

NSTA expects to have fellows in additional states in the years ahead.

Deadline: September 30, 2007. For more information: http://www.nsta.org/academy/.

The Department of Education is proposing to change temporary indirect cost reporting rates for grantees. The proposed temporary rate, for a grantee that does not have a federally recognized indirect cost rate at the time the department awards its first grant to the grantee, would be ten percent of the direct salaries and wages of the project. These changes will permit the use of a temporary indirect cost rate under the grant award for the first ninety days after the date of issue of the Grant Award Notification.

For further information: Richard Mueller at 202-377-3838 or Richard.Mueller@ed.gov; or http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/E7-10036.htm.

To comment on the proposed changes, go to http://www.regulations.gov, select “Department of Education” from the agency drop-down menu, click “Submit.” In the Docket ID column, select ED-2007-OCFO-0132 to add or view public comments and view supporting and related materials available electronically.

Actuarial Foundation: Advancing Student Achievement Mentoring

The Actuarial Foundation awards monetary grants to schools and groups to develop a viable mentoring program involving actuaries in the teaching of mathematics. The Actuarial Foundation can provide a local network of actuaries ready to participate, as well as suggestions on how to integrate math concepts from the workplace into the classroom. Groups applying for grants will be given wide latitude in designing programs that enhance learning and create a “love of math” in each student. Collaboration among school systems, local actuarial clubs, corporations and other stakeholders in education is encouraged in order to enhance the chances of success, particularly on a long-term basis. Geographic focus: National. Deadline: None. For more information: http://www.actuarialfoundation.org/grant/index.html.

UPS Foundation: National Programs

The UPS Foundation's Educational Programs effort supports academic research, programs that raise the level of educational instruction, family learning opportunities, and school involvement projects. Geographic focus: National. Deadline: None. For more information: http://www.community.ups.com/philanthropy/grant.html

Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation: Teachers as Scholars

Through the Teachers as Scholars program, K-12 teachers and administrators participate in small, content-based seminars led by professors in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences and are, thus, connected to the world of scholarship. In turn, university faculty become far more fully involved in the ongoing efforts of the schools, not only by teaching seminars, but also by visiting schools to discuss standards and improve curriculum. Organizations may submit proposals for start-up grants to establish Teachers as Scholars collaborations. Geographic focus: National. Deadline: Ongoing. For more information: http://www.woodrow.org/tas/.

US Department of Energy: Office of Workforce Development for Scientists and Teachers

The Office of Workforce Development aims to provide a continuum of opportunities to the Nation's students and teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Several programs are available that place undergraduates, teachers and university faculty in direct working relationships with researchers at DOE labs. Geographic focus: National, placement at DOE labs. Deadline: Varies. For more information: http://www.science.doe.gov/Program_Offices/Workforce_Development.htm.

• PubHub is the Foundation Center's repository of foundation-funded documents covering the full scope of philanthropic activity in the United States. It provides annotated links to electronic versions of research findings, fact sheets, policy briefs, annual reports, and other types of reports. Search the repository by keyword or browse by subject, publication year, and organization. New additions are listed on a regular basis. For more information: http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/pubhub/.

• Links to the NASA Center Procurement Sites are available online. Each site contains points-of contact, and industry assistance representatives are identified at the How to Market NASA Centers page.