All Articles Tagged "grants"
Education Money Awarded: Race to the Top-District Winners Announced
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The latest version of President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative allowed specific school districts to apply for nearly $400 million in grants, rather that just at the state level. Race to the Top-District awarded grants ranging from $10 million to $40 million to 16 applicants, which represent 55 districts in 11 states. According to the AP, three charter schools won grants and more than 300 applications were rejected. Districts could team up and apply together.
Winners were from all areas—suburban, urban, rural—and included Green River Regional Educational Cooperative in Kentucky, Carson City School District in Nevada, School Board of Miami-Dade County in Florida, and the Puget Sound Educational Service District in Washington.
“Districts have been hungry to drive reform at the local level, and now these winners can empower their school leaders to pursue innovative ideas where they have the greatest impact: in the classroom,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, in a statement about the winners. “The Race to the Top-District grantees have shown tremendous leadership though developing plans that will transform the learning environment and enable students to receive a personalized, world-class education.”
The announcement of Race to the Top-District winners comes as two international studies found that US students still lag behind students from around the world, particularly those from Asian countries. Additionally, the NAACP also released a study highlighting how pre-K prep, effective teaching, “targeted spending,” and additional learning time will help improve education overall in the US.
Hopefully these grants will help, as the winnings schools have said they will use the funds to introduce technology for a more personalized learning experience, expand partnerships with community organizations, and create courses designed to go deeper with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), among other projects.
Good News for Schools: Government Awards Millions in Grants To HBCUs
Image: Flashon Studios
Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) have been financially strapped as of late, so the recent announcement that millions will be awarded to HBCUs is welcome news.
The U.S. Education Department has awarded five-year grants totaling $228 million to 97 black colleges in 19 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the Associated Press. The schools can opt to use the money to expand their campuses, acquire science and tech equipment, develop counseling programs and train faculty. A majority of the schools are in the South.
Cash-strapped Morris Brown in Atlanta, however, was not on the list of colleges receiving grants. The money could have helped relieve some of the school’s $30 million debt. Morris Brown College is in danger of shutting its doors due to its continuing financial struggles.
The following schools will receive more than $5 million:
• Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA
• Jackson State University in Jackson, MS
• St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, TX
Other schools getting some of the funding are Tuskegee University (about $2.28 million), Morehouse College (about $2.3 million), Clark Atlanta (about $2.76 million) and South Carolina State University (about $3.35 million).
For a full breakdown of how much will go to each school, click here.
Reverse: Susan G. Komen Changes its Mind on Planned Parenthood Funding
It only took breast cancer giant Susan G. Komen for the Cure, three days to have a change of heart—or get sick of the backlash—regarding it’s controversial decision to cut breast-screening grants to planned parenthood.
Komen CEO Nancy Brinker just released a statement outlining it’s reverse decision, saying in part:
“We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives…
“Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair…
“We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants,while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.”
Initially, it was assumed that the Komen Foundation withdrew its funding due to the fact that Planned Parenthood is under government investigation, but yesterday, the Komen Foundation said the real cause for their initial decision was that Planned Parenthood does not directly provide mammograms. As the Washington Post points out, Nancy Brinker’s statement doesn’t address that concern at all, presumably leaving open the possibility that the foundation may reject Planned Parenthood’s future grant applications.
We’ll have to see if this latest decision sticks.
What’s your stance on the Komen Foundation? Were they wrong to withdraw funding in the first place? Do you think this reversal makes things right or are they still sketchy?
Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
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How to Get a Gov't Grant for Your Business
(Wall Street Journal) — Grants aren’t for only nonprofits. Small businesses can sometimes get their hands on that money too—and get a big boost in the process. Take Wombat Security Technologies Inc. When it was spun off from Carnegie Mellon University in 2008, the software start-up had seed money from the school but needed more to develop new antiphishing products. So, the Pittsburgh firm turned to the federal Small Business Innovation Research program. Its efforts were rewarded with a number of grants—including a $750,000 award in 2010 and one for $100,000 this year. The grants “can be a tremendous source of funding,” says Norman Sadeh, co-founder and chief executive at Wombat. “It’s a great opportunity.” But identifying and applying for grants requires jumping through some hoops. Here are some tips to help you decide if a grant is right for you and navigate the application process.
New Steps Toward Free Tuition
(Smart Money) — For students not yet enrolled, the financial math behind choosing a college has radically changed. Here are the new steps students and their parents can take to get more free aid. 1) Apply ASAP: Officially, students have a long time to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. In practice, students have typically had until June to get a shot at state grants. Not anymore. Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee have already announced that FAFSAs should be submitted immediately, and they will dole out grants in the order of applications received, until the money’s gone. In a break with the traditional trends, families should no longer wait until their tax returns are ready to file the FAFSA, says Mark Kantrowitz, founder of FinAid.org, which tracks financial aid trends. Just get it in ASAP, with estimates using a W-2 and 1099 forms and the last pay stub of the year, and update the actual numbers once they’re ready. This way, the FAFSA is filed on time while grant money is still up for grabs.
The Best Places to Find Grants, Loans and Financing for Entrepreneurs
(Black Voices) — The best resource to find grants, loans and financing for entrepreneurs is the federal government’s website http://www.business.gov. There, you will discover a wealth of resources for all kinds of small business owners, including…
Miami Agencies Serving Haitians Win Big Grants
(BlackAmericaWeb.com) — Some Miami agencies meeting the demands of a Haitian community that swelled significantly following January’s earthquake are getting a financial helping hand from the Knight Foundation.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced this week that grants totaling $600,000 will go to five Miami non-profits that address the short-term and long-term challenges facing Haitians in South Florida.
