Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) is sending his “April Grants Action News Update” to residents, organizations and local governments about a series of grants available from the state, federal government and private entities. Each month, the Assembly provides an updated list of grants for a variety of categories.

“During a time of economic recovery, grants can play an integral part in helping our local communities complete needed infrastructure repairs or support under-funded projects,” said Palmesano. “Many people don’t realize the scope of available opportunities because they aren’t sure where to look. The ‘Grants Action News’ bulletin makes finding these grants much easier by consolidating the information and making it available to everyone. I hope that residents, organizations and local governments throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions will be able to use this resource to find much-needed support to strengthen communities in our rural area.”

The Grants Action News bulletin is updated at the beginning of each month with newly-available grants and information on how to apply. Continuing his monthly updates, Palmesano will be providing regular updates on his Assembly website at: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Philip-A-Palmesano, as well as posts to his Facebook page.

State Grants

Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee

The Child Passenger Safety (CPS) grant program will continue to support the educational activities of child passenger safety programs through four different initiatives or schedules: fitting stations, training and education programs, child passenger safety check events and car seat distribution programs for low-income families.

• Eligibility: Eligible applicants include not-for-profit, government entity and tribal organizations.
• Funding: The maximum grant amount is $40,000.
• Deadline: May 1, 2017
• Contact: Paul Overbaugh Phone: 518-486-5395 Email: safeny@dmv.ny.gov Website: http://safeny.ny.gov/egrants/default.html and www.safeny.ny.gov/hs-forms/2017callletter.pdf

New York State Department of Labor

The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to solicit projects providing work-based training to dislocated workers with emphasis on longterm unemployed unemployment beneficiaries likely to exhaust benefits and foreign-trained immigrant worker populations. These projects will empower participants to reconnect to the workforce and obtain employment. The following types of work-based training will be supported: on-the-job training, registered apprenticeships and customized training.

• Eligibility: Eligible applicants include private sector for-profit businesses, private not-for-profit businesses, local workforce investment boards and training providers. Applicants must have two or more employees and be in good standing regarding unemployment insurance, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, public works, labor standards, safety and health, NYS Department of State Division of Corporations, workers compensation insurance and disability insurance.
• Funding: Up to $1.6 million has been made available for awards under this RFA. Applicant award amounts will not exceed $250,000.
• Deadline: May 26, 2017, 4 p.m.
• Contact: Christopher Myers Phone: 518-402-4624 Email: christopher.myers@labor.ny.gov Website: www.nyscr.ny.gov/iframes/openAdDetail.cfm?id=6A711A93-A103-4F6A-B2FD-39FDEA11656F

Federal Grants

National Endowment for the Humanities, Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions

Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections. Applicants must draw on the knowledge of consultants whose preservation skills and experiences are related to the types of collections and the nature of the activities on which their projects focus. The program encourages applications from small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant.

• Eligibility: U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt statuses are eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies and federally recognized Indian tribal governments. Applicants must demonstrate that they care for and have custody of the humanities collections that are the focus of the application, have at least one staff member or the full-time equivalent (paid or unpaid) and make their collections open and available for the purpose of education, research and/or public programming.
• Funding: The maximum award is $7,000.
• Deadline: May 2, 2017
• Contact: Phone: 202-606-8570 Email: preservation@neh.gov Website: www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/preservation-assistance-grants-smaller-institutions

Private Grants

Alex’s Lemonade Stand

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) evolved from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004) into a national fundraising movement to raise awareness and find cures for all childhood cancers. Their mission is to raise money and awareness of childhood cancer causes, primarily for research into new treatments and cures, and to encourage and empower others, especially children, to get involved and make a difference for children with cancer. They are seeking applications for the ‘A’ Award program, the goals of which are to encourage the best and brightest early career independent researchers to build lifelong careers and become leaders in the field of pediatric cancer research and to advance research that will lead to new treatments and cures impacting children with cancer. This funding is for a four- to five-year program.

• Eligibility: Funds will be granted to nonprofit institutions or organizations operating in the United States or Canada. Primary applicants must have an M.D., Ph.D. or dual M.D., Ph.D. (D.O., MBBS or equivalent) and be within five years of their first faculty appointment as an assistant professor. Associate and full professors are ineligible. If still at the instructor level, the applicant must have a commitment from the department chair/division chief at the time of grant submission for an assistant professor position within one year of receiving the award. A minimum of 75 percent of the applicant’s time during the ‘A’ Award period must be allocated as protected time for all research activities. This percentage of time includes both ‘A’ activities and the applicant’s other research responsibilities. Applicants may have research grants from other funding sources during the ‘A’ Award period, but there must be clear documentation of mechanisms to avoid scientific and budgetary overlap. Investigators cannot have an R01 that has been funded, or recommended for funding (i.e. will be funded), at the time they apply.
• Funding: Initial awards are for $800,000 over four years (no more than $200,000 in any given year).
• Deadline: May 22, 2017, 11:59 p.m.
• Contact: Patty Ohlott Phone: 866-333-1213 Email: Grants@AlexsLemonade.org Website: www.alexslemonade.org

  American Humane

  American Humane provides funding and support to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) who are seeking lifesaving service dogs through the Wags4Patriots program.

  • Eligibility: Only active or retired military individuals with a PTSD diagnosis are considered for this grant. Successful completion of the service dog agency’s application is necessary, and only applications received through the appropriate online submission process will be eligible.
  • Funding: Funding may be used only to help offset the adoption costs for obtaining a PTSD service dog. Funding is paid directly to the service dog agency.
  • Deadline: The grant is on a rolling basis.
  • Contact: Mary Mackie Phone: 800-227-4645 Email: marym@americanhumane.org Website: https://secure.jotform.us/americanhumane/wags4patriots

  Scholars Awards

  National AIDS Memorial Grove

  The Pedro Zamora Young Leaders Scholarship seeks applicants who demonstrate an active commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS and taking on roles of public service and leadership. All applicants must describe their current leadership efforts/experience, its significance to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as well as how their future career plans or public service will be an extension of their current efforts.

  • Eligibility: Applicants must be current high school seniors or college freshmen, sophomores and juniors who demonstrate an active commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS and taking on roles of public service and leadership. Applicants must have a proven GPA of at least 2.5 overall or in the immediate past two semesters or three trimesters.
  • Funding: $50,000 was awarded to 10 students in 2016.
  • Deadline: May 1, 2017
  • Contact: Matthew Kennedy Email: mkennedy@aidsmemorial.org Website: www.aidsmemorial.org

  Against the Grain Productions

  The Lyly Koenig Mendez Memorial Artistic Scholarship’s purpose is to provide financial assistance and promotion of Asian-American college students pursuing a major in fashion and/or graphic design.

  • Eligibility: Students must be of at least 50 percent Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity, must be a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the U.S., must be either a high school senior or a college student currently enrolled full time pursuing a major in fashion or graphic design, have demonstrated leadership abilities and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  • Funding: The award is $1,000 to be applied toward school tuition and fees.
  • Deadline: May 15, 2017
  • Contact: Julianne Nguyen Email: outreach@againstthegrainproductions.com Website: www.againstthegrainproductions.com

  The Foundation Center

  The Foundation Center has scheduled the following free training classes.

  Introduction to Finding Grants

  Classroom: May 12 Webinar: May 17

  In this newly revised class, attendees will learn what funders want in nonprofits seeking grants and how to find potential funders. I

  Introduction to Proposal Writing

  Classroom: May 23

  This newly revised class will provide attendees with an overview of how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation.

  Introduction to Project Budgets (Proposal Budgeting Basics)

  Classroom: May 24

  This class will provide attendees with step-by-step instructions on how to generate a standard project budget for a foundation proposal. Prior attendance at Introduction to Proposal Writing is strongly recommended.

  Introduction to Corporate Giving

  Classroom: May 16 Webinar: May 3

  Corporate grant makers are different from traditional foundations in many ways. This class provides a basic overview of: the different types of corporate giving, what motivates corporations to give and how to find potential corporate partners.