This page will be updated frequently. Please bookmark this page and check regularly. 
Opportunities are listed earliest deadlines first, with open deadline opportunities listed at the bottom of the page.
If you would like to submit a funding opportunity for posting, please contact David Yum.  
 
 

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HUD Looking for Case Studies for Financing Affordable Housing on Brownfields Sites 

HUD’s research office will be conducting an in-house research project on building housing, particularly affordable housing, on brownfields or former brownfields sites.  HUD is interested learning about the issues and challenges faced by developers and sponsors in building on urban brownfields.  This is part of a follow-up to HUD’s Study of HUD’s Site Contamination Policy, which examined the Office of Housing’s brownfield policy, which currently does not allow risk-based cleanups for assisted and insured housing developments. In particular, HUD is concerned with the challenges caused by, and the need to address, the site contamination issues of the brownfield.  HUD would like to obtain information about how the project addressed site assessment, site cleanup, the role of regulatory bodies, costs of brownfield assessment/ cleanup and how they affected overall costs, relationships with lenders/investors, and relationships with the local jurisdiction and local community.  Among the types of housing projects HUD is interested in are housing developments with risk-based cleanups, which may be consistent with and acceptable under brownfield cleanup regulation.  The contact for this effort is Edwin Stromberg, Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S. Dept of HUD, at Edwin.a.Stromberg@HUD.gov.  He can be reached at (202) 402-5727.
  

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Deadline: Quarterly
Bikes Belong Offers Funding for Bicycle Advocacy and Facilities
Bikes Belong is a national coalition of bicycle suppliers and retailers working together to put more people on bicycles more often.

 

Bikes Belong welcomes grant applications from organizations and agencies within the United States that are committed to "putting more people on bicycles more often." The Bikes Belong Grants Program funds projects in two categories: 1) facilities; and 2) advocacy.

 

For the facility category, Bikes Belong will accept applications from nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and departments at the national, state, regional, and local levels. For the advocacy category, Bikes Belong will only fund organizations whose mission is expressly related to bicycle advocacy. New organizations that are not yet legally nonprofit organizations may submit an application with the assistance of another nonprofit that has agreed to serve as fiscal agent. Bikes Belong will not fund individuals. Because of the program's limited funds, it rarely awards grants to organizations and communities that have received Bikes Belong funding within the last three years.

 

Applicants can request up to $10,000. In very limited cases, Bikes Belong will consider amounts over $10,000. The organization awards an average of fifteen grants per year. Bikes Belong reviews applications on a quarterly cycle. Applications must be postmarked by the due date to receive consideration for the ensuing decision date. Upcoming application deadlines are August 27, 2007; and November 26, 2007.

 

 
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Active Living Research and Healthy Eating Research Rapid-response Grants
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has posted a call for proposals (CFP) in the Childhood Obesity program area. Active Living Research and Healthy Eating Research are national programs of RWJF that support research to identify promising policy and environmental strategies for increasing physical activity, promoting healthy eating and preventing obesity. The overall aim of both of these programs is to provide key decision- and policy-makers with evidence to guide effective action to reverse the rise in childhood obesity.
   The objective of this CFP for rapid-response grants is to support time-sensitive, opportunistic studies that can evaluate changes in policies or environments with the potential to reach children who are at highest risk for obesity, including African-American, Latino, Native American, Asian American, and Pacific Islander children (ages 3 to 18) who live in low-income communities or communities with limited access to affordable healthy foods and/or safe opportunities for physical activity. All studies funded under this CFP are expected to inform the policy debate on childhood obesity and advance RWJF’s efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.

 

Two types of studies are eligible for rapid-response funding:

1) Opportunistic evaluations of imminent changes in policies or environments (i.e., “natural experiments”).

2) Studies that can inform an ongoing or upcoming policy debate ( e.g., small experimental studies, secondary data analyses, cost-effectiveness analyses, health impact assessments, simulations of policy effects or macro-level policy analyses).

 

Up to $800,000 total will be awarded for rapid-response research grants during the 2008 calendar year. The maximum amount for a single grant is $150,000, with a maximum funding period of 12 months.

 

Visit the Active Living Research or Healthy Eating Research websites for more details about this CFP and information on how to apply.
   
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Deadline: Open
Baseball Tomorrow Fund Offers Support for Youth Baseball and Softball Programs
The Baseball Tomorrow Fund is a joint initiative between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association designed to promote and enhance the growth of youth participation in baseball and softball around the world by funding programs, fields, coaches' training, uniforms, and equipment.

 

Grants are intended to finance a new program, expand or improve an existing program, undertake a new collaborative effort, or obtain facilities or equipment necessary for youth baseball or softball programs.

 

The Baseball Tomorrow Fund supports projects that meet the following evaluation criteria: increase the number of youth participating in baseball and softball programs; improve the quality of youth baseball and softball programs; create new or innovative ways of expanding and improving baseball or softball programs; are able to match funds for programs; provide programs for children aged 10-16; support existing programs that have demonstrated success in providing a quality youth baseball/softball experience; and address opportunities for minorities and women.

 

Nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations involved in youth baseball programs are encouraged to apply for Baseball Tomorrow Fund grants.

 

Applicants are invited to submit a Letter of Inquiry. Letters of inquiry are accepted throughout the year. Selected applicants are invited to submit a full application. Grants are awarded on a quarterly basis.

 

 
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Deadline: Open
Nike Accepting Applications for Bowerman Track Renovation Program
A philanthropic initiative of Nike, Inc., the Bowerman Track Renovation Program provides matching cash grants to community-based, youth-oriented organizations that seek to refurbish or construct running tracks.

 

Administered by Nike's Community Affairs department, this ten-year, $2 million program provides matching funds of up to $50,000 to youth-oriented nonprofit organizations anywhere in the world. The program distributes approximately $200,000 in matching grants each year.

 

Organizations applying for the grant must demonstrate a need for running track refurbishment or construction. Grant recipients will provide track access to neighboring communities. Bowerman Track Renovation Program funds must be matched in some amount by other contributors by an agreed-upon deadline. Recipients of a Bowerman Track Reno- vation grant are encouraged, but not required, to use Nike Grind technology to resurface their track. Nike Grind material is made of recycled athletic shoes sliced and ground into rubber granules, providing a superior, environmentally conscious all-weather track surface.

 

U.S. applicants should be exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) or 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and be defined as a public charity or a unit of government. Athletic booster clubs, schools, and school districts are considered public charities and are eligible to apply. Applicants outside the United States should be charitable in purpose and nongovernmental organizations. To be eligible, applicants must employ at least one full-time staff person and maintain a viable track program serving boys and girls, ages 14-18.

 

Proposals will be accepted on an ongoing basis through May 31, 2009. A committee of Nike representatives meets to review eligible completed proposals quarterly (i.e., January, March, June, and September).

Complete program guidelines and an application form are available at the Nike Web site.

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Deadline: Open
The National Park Service Program and Grants

The National Park Service has several programs that assist community-led efforts to restore rivers, establish trails, save open spaces, rebuild parks, and preserve other special places. See http://www.nps.gov/ncrc/prog_summary.htm for a complete listing of these programs. 

1) Land and Water Conservation Fund
The National Park Service oversees the distribution of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) which provides matching grants to States and local governments for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities.  County and state lists of LWCF projects since the program’s 1965 inception are available on the website. A table listing the 2007 funding allocations by state is also available.
 
In order to use these funds a state government must prepare a statewide recreation plan (sometimes called a SCORP -- Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan).  Once the National Park Service approves the plan, all grant applications submitted must reflect the priorities listed in the plan.  A list of the state agencies which develop the state recreation plans and administer the LWCF programs is available.

Complete details are available at the LWCF website

2) Rivers & Trails Program
The Rivers & Trails Program provides technical assistance to community groups and local, State, and federal government agencies so they can conserve rivers, preserve open space, and develop trails and greenways.  Applications are due by August 1st for assistance beginning the following fiscal year (October 1st through September 30th).

Complete details are available at the Rivers & Trails program website

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Deadline: Open
Federal Highway Administration - Funding for Trails and Pedestrian Projects
The following are two programs by the Federal Highway Administration which support projects that promote non-motorized transportation and trails development. 

1) Surface Transportation Program -- Transportation Enhancement Activities
Pedestrian and bicycle projects are eligible for all Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds. The STP provides more than $6 billion annually to the States through a formula apportionment. Ten percent must be used for Transportation Enhancement (TE) Activities. TE funds may be used for project construction and related activities, but not for routine maintenance. TE projects must relate to surface transportation, but many TE projects benefit recreation. Three of the 12 TE categories specifically benefit pedestrians, bicyclists, and trails:
• Pedestrian and bicycle facilities (which may include sidewalks, bicycle parking, bicycles on buses, and pedestrian and bicycle transportation facilities, including shared use paths),
• Pedestrian and bicycle safety and education activities, and
• Preservation of abandoned railway corridors (also known as rail-trails or rails-to-trails).
Each State has its own application and selection process for the TE program. Generally, project sponsors must submit proposals to the State Department of Transportation (DOT). Each State has a State Transportation Enhancement Program Manager to assist project sponsors (see www.enhancements.org/statecontacts_TE.asp). The TE program is a Federal-aid reimbursement program, not an up-front grant program. In general, the maximum Federal share for TE projects is 80 percent (higher in States with large proportions of Federal lands). The non-Federal match must come from project sponsors or other fund sources. Some in-kind materials and services may be credited toward the project match. 

More information can be found at the program website or at the National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse website
   
  
2) Recreational Trails Program
The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provides funds to the States to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both nonmotorized and motorized recreational trail uses. Examples of trail uses include hiking, bicycling, in-line skating, equestrian use, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, off-road motorcycling, all-terrain vehicle riding, four-wheel driving, or using other off-road motorized vehicles.  The website includes information on how the Program is financed and whom to contact at the federal level and in states.   The grant program is administered at the state level and contacts for each state’s RTP administrator are located on the above website.

States must use 30 percent of their funds for motorized trail uses, 30 percent for nonmotorized trail uses, and 40 percent for diverse trail uses. Diverse motorized projects (such as snowmobile and motorcycle) or diverse nonmotorized projects (such as pedestrian and equestrian) may satisfy two of these categories at the same time. Many States give extra credit in their selection criteria to projects that benefit multiple trail uses. In general, the maximum Federal share for each project from RTP funds is 80 percent (higher in States with large proportions of Federal lands), but some States require up to a 50 percent match. A Federal agency project sponsor may provide additional Federal funds, provided the total Federal share does not exceed 95 percent. The non-Federal match must come from project sponsors or other fund sources.  Some in-kind materials and services may be credited toward the project match. Usually, project payment takes place on a reimbursement basis: the project sponsor must incur costs for work actually completed, and then submit vouchers to the State for payment.

More information is available at the RTP website