In this edition of Minneapolis Promise Zone Updates:
- Feature Story: Fifth Annual Healthy Homes Resource Fair
- Attention Local Businesses! Advertise on Google with Posts
- You Might Be Owned Back Wages
- How to Use CDBG for Public Service Activities
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News and Events
- Recent Federal Grant and Partnership Opportunities
- About the Minneapolis Promise Zone
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Fifth Annual Healthy Homes Resource Fair
On June 22, 2017, the Neighborhood Hub located on Lowry and Washburn in North Minneapolis held their fifth annual Healthy Homes Resource Fair. Organizations from the Northside set up tables and booths in order to connect with and offer free resources to the community they serve. The Neighborhood Hub was thoughtful in the planning of this event and supplied many activities that were aimed at children. These activities included a bouncy house, face painting, dancing and even free lead testing for children. Partnering organizations supplied dinner that included chicken, corn on the cob,
baked beans, fruit and dessert, keeping in mind all dietary restrictions.
The University of Minnesota's Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) project gave out matter boxes and signed up community members for an email list to provide them with more information around the SNAP program and healthy eating.
The Minneapolis Promise zone VISTAs were able to volunteer their time and build relationships with the community including set up, face painting, temporary tattoos and clean up. Although the weather in the morning was not cooperating, when the Health Homes Resource Fair began, the sun came shining on through, making the evening the perfect place for families to come and enjoy time with their community.
Attention Local Businesses! Advertise on Google with Posts
Until now, Posts on Google only allowed a small number of celebrities, sports teams, movie studios and museums to post social network-style updates about their activities right to Google's search result pages. Using this, these organizations could post images, videos, GIFs and text and use that to drive traffic to their sites.
Starting now, local businesses can also use this feature to publish their events, product and services (or just a photo of a nice cupcake) to Google Search and Maps.
Google says local businesses can use this new feature to, for example, share daily specials and current promotions to promote events and showcase new products. What's maybe even more important for these businesses, though, is that they can link these posts to their own sites and use Posts on Google to drive sign-ups for their newsletters or get potential customers to specific product pages.
Read the entire article
Find out more information on Google Blog
You Might Be Owned Back Wages
There might be unclaimed money waiting for you from unpaid wages. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) works on behalf of employees to recover back wages that have resulted from labor law violations. Get more information and services to help you find unclaimed money from the government at USA.gov.
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How to Use CDBG For Public Service Activities
Welcome to Community Development Block Grant's (CDBG) video tutorial on How to Use CDBG for Public Service Activities.
You will learn about CDBG's eligible and ineligible public service activities, receive guidance on how to determine the appropriate national objective category for public services, and how to document compliance with the national objective. We will explain why public services can strengthen grantee communities and review considerations for building an effective public service program in order to maximize impact in the community.
Watch the video
News
Amazon Lowers Prime Membership Rate for Low-Income Customers (06/07 - NPR)
Amazon is attempting to lure low-income shoppers from Walmart by offering a discount on its pay-by-month Prime membership for people who receive government assistance. The giant online retailer said in a statement Tuesday that people who have a valid electronic benefits transfer card - used for programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs, or food stamps - will pay $5.99 per month for a year.
Why Looking at Crash Stats Alone Doesn't Tell the Whole Story About Pedestrian Safety (06/20 - Streets Blog USA)
Some intersections are riskier to cross than others, but looking at the number of pedestrian injuries alone doesn't tell the whole story. A new study from Minneapolis combines crash data with pedestrian counts to deliver a more nuanced picture of traffic dangers for people on foot. Among the findings: There's safety in numbers for pedestrians.
A fitness sisterhood grows in north Minneapolis (06/21 - MPR News)
Turner and business partner, Chaz Sandifer, created that fitness sisterhood in the Twin Cities to help close the disproportionate health risks that African-American women face. Almost 80 percent of African-American women in the U.S. are obese or overweight and they have high rates of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Northside native beats mostly-White-male dentistry odds (06/21 - Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder)
When we go looking for a dentist, what we will most likely find are White males. According to the 2014-15 "Minnesota Dentists Workforce Survey," 67 percent of dentists are male, 92 percent are White, and 0.7 percent are African American. A young African American Woman from North Minneapolis has successfully challenged those odds.
Improvements at North High lay foundation for even more academic advancement (06/25 - Star Tribune)
Spirit within and for the school has been boosted by state championships in basketball and football. And the mighty effort that the community and alums waged to keep the school alive helped attract students. The positive changes demonstrate that with the right leadership, staff, instruction and community support, struggling schools can be transformed.
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Events
Broadway Vibrations - Meditation lead by LesleyAnne Crosby
July 7, 2017 - 5:30-8:00pm
Hawthorne Crossings Parking Lot - 916 W. Broadway Ave., Minneapolis
Red, White & Blue Pamper Me Party!
July 8, 2017 - 11:00am-3:00pm
NEON - 1007 W. Broadway Ave., Minneapolis
NEON Eat on the Avenue
Thursdays all Summer - 11:00am-2:00pm
NEON - 1007 W. Broadway Ave., Minneapolis
West Broadway Farmers Market
Fridays through October 6, 2017 - 3:00-7:00pm
Freedom Square - 2034 West Broadway Ave N., Minneapolis
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The following content is for informational purposes only. For additional details on the opportunities below, and to find additional opportunities, please visit www.grants.gov.
For past email updates from the Minneapolis Promise Zone, please visit www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/promisezone/.
Promise Zone
Preference Points
If a discretionary funding opportunity indicates Promise Zone
(PZ) preference points are available, please visit http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/promisezone/WCMSP-190631
for additional information on forms and contacts to request preference point
certification from the City of Minneapolis Promise Zone. Please submit your preference point request at least two weeks prior to the application deadline for Promise Zone certification approval consideration.
If a funding
opportunity does not indicate PZ preference points, you are still encouraged to
contact the Promise Zone Manager, Julianne Leerssen
(612-225-7721), about potential partnership opportunities to strengthen your
application.
Non-Federal
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THE ALLSTATE FOUNDATION is inviting U.S. nonprofit organizations that address domestic violence to join the annual Purple Purse Challenge. This competition gives nonprofits that offer financial empowerment services to domestic violence survivors a chance to compete for a total of $700,000 in incentive funding. This year, the Foundation will partner with up to 250 national, state and local nonprofit organizations. These organizations will be divided into two divisions of roughly equal size based on organizational budget. Each selected Community Partner will have its own “Team Page” where it can raise funds through the Challenge from October 2 through October 31, 2017. At the end of the Challenge, the Foundation will award grand prize grants ranging from $5,000 to $100,000 to the top seven organizations in each division. The deadline to apply to be a Community Partner is 8/1/2017. (Organizations are encouraged to apply early to take advantage of training and support leading up to the competition in October.) Visit the Foundation’s website here to learn more about the Challenge.
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THE
WALMART FOUNDATION STATE GIVING PROGRAM awards grants to
nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico for programs that
give individuals access to a better life. There are three funding cycles per
year; the first two funding cycles are targeted to specific states. For the
final funding cycle of the year, requests are accepted from organizations
nationwide in the following two categories: Hunger Relief supporting programs
such as food pantries, backpack programs, and SNAP outreach; and Community
Engagement supporting other programs that focus on the unmet needs of
underserved low-income populations. Examples of eligible programs include
career opportunity, disaster preparedness, education programs, healthcare
access, shelters, etc. Grants range from $25,000 to $250,000; the average grant
size is $40,000. Deadline:
applications for the final funding cycle will be accepted from 8/7/2017 through
8/11/2017. Visit the Foundation’s website here to learn
more about the State Giving Program.
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THE
LOWE'S CHARITABLE AND EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION is
offering grants through the Foundation’s Community Partners grant program to
nonprofit organizations and local municipalities undertaking high-need projects
such as building renovations and upgrades, grounds improvements, technology
upgrades and safety improvements. Grants range from $2,001 to $100,000. Applications for the fall funding
cycle will be accepted from 7/3/2017 to 8/25/2017. Visit the
company’s website here to review the giving guidelines and
to take the eligibility quiz.
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American Honda Foundation Accepting Applications for STEM
Education Projects
Application Deadline:August 1,
2017
Grants of up to $75,000 will be awarded to youth education
projects with a specific focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics) subjects and the environment.
SPOTLIGHT GRANTS:
PROMISE ZONE PREFERENCE
HHS: Department of
Health and Human Services
Eligible Applicants
Note: The CDC designation does not need to
be specified on any official documents as long as the three requirements stated
below are met.
To be
eligible for the CED program, an applicant must meet three conditions: 1.
Applicant must be a private, nonprofit CDC with 501(c)(3) status; 2. Applicant
must have articles of incorporation or bylaws demonstrating that the CDC has as
a principal purpose the planning, developing, or managing of low-income housing
or community economic development activities; and 3. The Board of Directors
must have representation from each of the following: community residents,
business leaders, and civic leaders. Faith-based and community organizations
that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under
this funding opportunity announcement. Applications from individuals (including
sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be
disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement.
Description
The
Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services
(OCS) will award approximately $17.2 million in Community Economic Development
(CED) discretionary grant funds to Community Development Corporations (CDC) for
well-planned, financially viable, and innovative projects to enhance job
creation and business development for individuals with low income. CED grants
will be made as part of a broader strategy to address objectives such as
decreasing dependency on federal programs, chronic unemployment, and community
deterioration in urban and rural areas. CED projects are expected to actively
recruit individuals with low income to fill the positions created by CED-funded
development activities, to assist those individuals to successfully hold those
jobs and to ensure that the businesses and jobs created remain viable for at
least one year after the end of the grant period. CED-funded projects can be
non-construction or construction projects, however, short-term construction
jobs associated with preparing for business startup or expansion are not
counted when determining the number of jobs created under the CED program as
they are designed to be temporary in nature. OCS is encouraging applications
from CDCs to target rural areas and underserved areas in states without current
projects. Furthermore, OCS is
encouraging projects that align with the Promise Zones Initiative or Choice
Neighborhoods Program.
NEA: National Endowment for the Arts
The
Our Town grant program supports creative placemaking projects that help to
transform communities into lively, beautiful, and resilient places – achieving
these community goals through strategies that incorporate arts, culture, and/or
design. Creative placemaking is when artists, arts organizations, and community
development practitioners deliberately integrate arts and culture into
community revitalization work - placing arts at the table with land-use,
transportation, economic development, education, housing, infrastructure, and
public safety strategies. This funding supports local efforts to enhance quality
of life and opportunity for existing residents, increase creative activity, and
create or preserve a distinct sense of place.
Through
Our Town, subject to the availability of funding, the National Endowment
for the Arts will provide a limited number of grants for creative placemaking.
Our Town requires partnerships between arts organizations and government, other
nonprofit organizations, and private entities to achieve livability goals for
communities.
Our Town offers support for projects in two areas:
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Arts Engagement, Cultural Planning, and Design Projects.
These projects represent the distinct character and quality of their
communities. These projects require a partnership between a nonprofit
organization and a local government entity, with one of the partners being
a cultural organization. Matching grants range from $25,000 to $200,000.
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Projects that Build Knowledge About Creative
Placemaking. These projects are available to arts and design service
organizations, and industry, policy, or university organizations that
provide technical assistance to those doing place-based work. Matching
grants range from $25,000 to $100,000.
Where
appropriate, Our Town applications should demonstrate how the project will align with
other place-based federal grant programs and policies, including, but not
limited to, those from the Department
of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of
Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Justice, Department of
Agriculture, Delta Regional Authority, and Appalachian Regional Commission.
Related federal programs may include Promise
Zones, Consolidated Plans, Long Range Transportation Plans, and Asset
Management Plans, as well as strategies to modify existing policies.
Other Federal Grants
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
DOI: Department of the Interior - National Park Service
Grants support the
survey, inventory, and designation of historic properties that are associated
with communities currently underrepresented in the National Register of
Historic Places and among National Historic Landmarks. Within one year of the
completion of the grant, all projects must result in: the submission of a new
nomination to the National Register of Historic Places or National Historic
Landmark program OR an amendment to an existing National Register or National
Historic Landmark nomination to include underrepresented communities.
PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
HHS: Department
of Health and Human Services
The
purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support
substantive investigation of the role of individual residential histories in
cancer etiology and outcomes, and to encourage the development of complex
analytical strategies in support of substantive investigation.
The
purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support
substantive investigation of the role of individual residential histories in
cancer etiology and outcomes, and to encourage the development of complex
analytical strategies in support of substantive investigation.
CDC seeks to enhance the Nation's ability to rapidly mobilize
and respond to specific public health emergencies, which may include infectious
disease outbreaks, pandemics, and other public health emergencies that exceed
the capacity of jurisdictional public health resources. From experience through
previous emergency events, CDC recognizes the impact that initial funding and
immediate response can have in mitigating negative health outcomes. Thus, CDC
is creating this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to rapidly fund
pre-approved applicants to address immediate and time-sensitive needs that are
integral to specific public health responses. This NOFO is intended to fund
jurisdictional public health departments for response to HHS Secretarial
declared and non-declared public health emergencies and other public health
emergencies which CDC deems in accordance with the purpose of the NOFO. The
award dates and project periods listed are subject to change and are contingent
upon the occurrence of a public health crisis as defined in this NOFO and the
availability of funding for the response. Awardees would be approved but
unfunded until a crisis occurs, enabling them to plan for emergency activation
activities. CDC has strong relationships with state and local health
departments, community-based organizations and other domestic partners and
supports them for planning, capacity-building, preparedness, and response to
public health emergencies. This support is provided through various programs
including the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) and the Epidemiology
and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) cooperative agreements.
This new NOFO complements these ongoing capacity-building and response programs
by providing a mechanism for CDC to rapidly mobilize and fund jurisdictions for
specific response needs for specific public health emergencies.
The National Human
Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is soliciting grant applications for the
support of Centers of Excellence in Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI)
Research (CEERs). The CEER Program is designed to support the establishment of
sustainable trans-disciplinary research teams with the expertise and
flexibility to anticipate, conduct research on, and quickly address a range of
cutting edge ethical, legal, and social issues related to genetics and
genomics. The Program is intended to create new research opportunities that
cross disciplinary boundaries among investigators in diverse fields, such as
the genomic sciences, clinical research, clinical and health policy, ethics,
law, the humanities, economics, political science, anthropology and other
social sciences. In addition to conducting trans-disciplinary research, Centers
will disseminate their research findings as well as facilitate the use of their
findings to develop relevant research, health and public policies and
practices. Finally, Centers will contribute to developing the next generation
of ELSI researchers.
STEM and EDUCATION
NSF: National Science Foundation
With an emphasis on
two-year colleges, the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program focuses
on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our
nation's economy. The program involves partnerships between academic institutions
and industry to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering
technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels. The ATE program
supports curriculum development; professional development of college faculty
and secondary school teachers; career pathways; and other activities. The
program invites research proposals that advance the knowledge base related to
technician education. It is expected that projects be faculty driven and that
courses and programs are credit bearing although materials developed may also
be used for incumbent worker education. The ATE program encourages partnerships
with other entities that may impact technician education.
ED: Department
of Education
The
purpose of the High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) Teacher Pathway
Initiative is to improve CTE programs assisted under the Carl D. Perkins Career
and Technical Education Act of 2006 (the Perkins Act) by increasing the supply
of high school CTE teachers available to teach students in CTE programs that
align to In-Demand Industry Sectors or Occupations \1\ in States and
communities where shortages of such teachers exist.
Purpose of Program: The Academies Program
supports the establishment of: (1) Presidential Academies for the Teaching of
American History and Civics that offer workshops for both veteran and new
teachers to strengthen their knowledge of American history, civics, and
government education (Presidential Academies); and (2) Congressional Academies
for Students of American History and Civics that provide high school students
opportunities to enrich their understanding of these subjects (Congressional
Academies).
ARTS AND HUMANITIES
NEA: National Endowment for the Arts
The Arts Endowment's
support of a project may start on or after June 1, 2018. Generally, a period of
performance of up to two years is allowed. Program Description The guiding
principle of "Art Works" is at the center of everything we do at the
NEA. "Art Works" refers to three things: the works of art themselves,
the ways art works on audiences, and the fact that art is work for the artists
and arts professionals who make up the field. Art works by enhancing the value
of individuals and communities, by connecting us to each other and to something
greater than ourselves, and by empowering creativity and innovation in our
society and economy. The arts exist for beauty itself, but they also are an
inexhaustible source of meaning and inspiration. The NEA recognizes these
catalytic effects of excellent art, and the key role that arts and design
organizations play in revitalizing them. To deepen and extend the arts' value,
including their ability to foster new connections and to exemplify creativity
and innovation, we welcome projects that: • Are likely to prove transformative
with the potential for meaningful change, whether in the development or
enhancement of new or existing art forms, new approaches to the creation or
presentation of art, or new ways of engaging the public with art; • Are
distinctive, offering fresh insights and new value for their fields and/or the
public through unconventional solutions; and • Have the potential to be shared
and/or emulated, or are likely to lead to other advances in the field. Beyond
encouraging projects that demonstrate these characteristics, we want to achieve
the following four objectives through the Art Works category: • Creation: The
creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, • Engagement:
Public engagement with diverse and excellent art, • Learning: Lifelong learning
in the arts, and • Livability: The strengthening of communities through the
arts.
NEH: National
Endowment for the Humanities
The Humanities Open Book Program is designed to make outstanding
out-of-print humanities books available to a wide audience. By taking advantage
of low-cost “ebook” technology, the program will allow teachers, students,
scholars, and the public to read humanities books that have long been out of
print. The Humanities Open Book Program is jointly sponsored by NEH and the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Traditionally, printed books have been the primary
medium for expressing, communicating, and debating humanistic ideas. However,
the vast majority of humanities books sell a small number of copies and then
quickly go out of print. Most scholarly books printed since 1923 are not in the
public domain and are not easily available to the general public. As a result,
there is a huge, mostly untapped resource of remarkable scholarship going back
decades that is largely unused by today’s scholars, teachers, students, and
members of the public, many of whom turn first to the Internet when looking for
information. Modern ebook technology can make these books far more accessible
than they are today. NEH and Mellon are soliciting proposals from academic
presses, scholarly societies, museums, and other institutions that publish
books in the humanities to participate in the Humanities Open Book Program. Applicants
will provide a list of previously published humanities books along with brief
descriptions of the books and their intellectual significance. Depending on the
length and topics of the books, the number to be digitized may vary. However,
NEH and Mellon anticipate that applicants may propose to digitize a total that
ranges from less than fifty to more than one hundred books. Awards will be
given to digitize these books and make them available as Creative
Commons-licensed “ebooks” that can be read by the public at no charge on
computers, mobile devices, and ebook readers. The final ebook files must be in
EPUB version 3.0.1 (or later) format, to ensure that the text is fully
searchable and reflowable and that fonts are resizable on any e-reading device.
CRIME,
JUSTICE, AND PUBLIC SAFETY
USDOJ: Department
of Justice
BJA seeks applications for a Technical Assistance Provider (TA
Provider) to assist in the establishment and facilitation of national-level
technical assistance to approximately 20 to 25 demonstration sites in
furtherance of the Sentinel Events Initiative (SEI). SEI is an effort led by
the National Institute of Justice the US Department of Justice's research,
development, and evaluation agency to explore whether an all-stakeholder,
forward-looking, non-blaming review of unanticipated events that signal an
underlying system weakness in criminal justice can be used to understand areas
of system risk and weaknesses, reduce the occurrence of these outcomes,
increase safety, and augment the criminal justice system's ability to fulfill
its mission. Drawing heavily from similar successful efforts in the fields of
medicine and transportation, this scientific inquiry aims to determine a)
whether sentinel event reviews (SERs) can be implemented and routinized in a
criminal justice context, b) whether these reviews can inform policy and
practice improvements to mitigate the risk of analogous errors or weaknesses in
the future, c) whether changes in policy and practice maximize the criminal
justice system's ability to meet its mission of reducing crime, protecting the
public, and advancing the administration of justice, and d) whether these
reviews are sustainable over time.
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About the Minneapolis Promise Zone
Promise Zones are federally designated, high poverty communities where the federal government partners with local leaders to increase economic activity, improve educational opportunities, and leverage private investment. The Minneapolis Promise Zone (MPZ) plan is a comprehensive, community-driven revitalization strategy that builds on and aligns numerous initiatives to address the persistent unemployment, crime, housing blight, and poor educational outcomes that affect that area.
Contact information: Juli Leerssen, (612) 225-7721
For more information, please visit www.minneapolismn.gov/promisezone
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