New Mexico Library Association

The mission of the Suder Foundation is to dramatically improve the graduation rate of first-generation college students by providing financial, academic, emotional, and social assistance at selected public universities across the United States.

The foundation accomplishes its mission by engaging with selected four-year public universities to implement its Suder Scholars Program, which provides holistic support for first-generation students in on-campus Scholar Development Sites.

The foundation is expanding its Scholar Development Site network and will add two university partners as new sites during this grant cycle. The selected institutions will receive a one-year planning grant followed by multiyear grants for scholarships and program operation. The new partners will spend the 2010-11 academic year involved in further developing the program materials and model and securing campus collaborations to launch their site and first scholars cohort in August 2011.

The foundation will award planning grants of up to $60,000 each toward a planning coordinator, the planning process, and one visit to each of the two existing program sites. Funding for the first year of scholarships and program support will be disbursed in the spring of 2011. Co-investment by the institution is required. Complete funding responsibility is expected to transition to the university by the program’s fifth year.

The program is open to public four-year institutions of higher education in the United States. Ideal grantees will have enrollments between 10,000 and 25,000 undergraduate students and a sizeable residential population.

Complete program information is available at the foundation’s Web site

Deadline: April 13, 2010

Part of the Center for Social Inclusion, the Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program supports long-time activists of color by giving them the resources to take time out for reflection and renewal.

Fellows receive a $25,000 award to take sabbaticals of three months or more.

To be eligible, an applicant must be a person of color, have more than ten years of community organizing experience, be committed to continuing social change work in communities of color, and live in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or U.S. Virgin Islands. Both paid and unpaid leaders are eligible to apply.

Beyond the basic eligibility criteria, the program seeks applicants whose work attacks root causes of inequity by organizing those affected to take strategic collective action, challenges the systems that perpetrate injustice and effect institutional and structural change, builds community capacity for democratic participation and develops grassroots leadership, acknowledges the cultural values of the community, creates accountable participatory structures in which community members have decision-making power, and contributes to building a movement for social change by making connections between issues, developing alliances with other constituencies, and collaborating with other organizations.

Visit the Alston Bannerman Fellowship Web site for complete program information.

05/30/2010 Submission Deadline – The Institute of Museum and Library Services is accepting applications for the 2010 Native American Library Services Enhancement Grants program. Federally-recognized tribes and Alaska Native villages and corporations may apply for grants to improve existing library services or implement new services, particularly as they relate to the goals of the Library Services and Technology Act.

In 2009, IMLS supported over two hundred tribes with the non-competitive Native American Library Services Basic Grants and an additional seventeen tribes with Enhancement Grants, for a total of $3.4 million. The tribes used their grants to develop a wide array of library-related projects, from providing new services to outlying reservation communities and promoting healthy lifestyles through new programs and materials, to creating pre-literacy programs for preschool children, their parents, and caregivers.

Grants will range in amounts of up to $150,000 each for a grant period of up to two years.

Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages are eligible to apply for the Enhancement Grant only if they have applied for a Native American Library Services Basic Grant in the same fiscal year.

See the IMLS Web site for program guidelines and specific eligibility criteria.

2010/04/03 – deadline

American Library Association Diversity Office Seeks Research Grant Proposals

The American Library Association’s Office for Diversity seeks proposals for its Diversity Research Grant program. Since 2002, the ALA has sponsored the program to address critical gaps in the knowledge of diversity issues within library and information science.

Applicants must be current ALA members, and proposals must address one of three identified topics: upward mobility of library leaders from underrepresented populations; information services and collections for diverse children and young adults; and libraries and the meaning of multiculturalism. Only proposals demonstrating relevance to the 2010 research topics will be considered.

The Diversity Research Grant consists of a one-time $2,000 award for original research and a $500 travel grant to attend and present at the 2011 ALA Annual Conference. A jury of ALA members will evaluate proposals and is encouraged to award one proposal from each of this year’s topics, for a total of three awards.

Visit the ALA Web site, for complete program guidelines and ALA membership information.

National Geographic All Roads Film Project Offers Seed Grants for Indigenous Storytellers

The All Roads Film Project is a National Geographic initiative dedicated to helping indigenous and underrepresented minority-culture storytellers around the world showcase their works and promote greater knowledge, dialogue, and understanding with a broader, global audience. All Roads includes a film festival, photography program, and seed-grant program.

The seed-grant program is open to indigenous and underrepresented minority-culture filmmakers as well as filmmakers who can demonstrate that they have been designated by indigenous or minority communities to tell their story. Grants funds should be used toward the development and production of a feature film, long documentary, short documentary, shorts, animation, or music video.

The program awards grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to up to sixteen film projects annually. Funding may be used for equipment, travel for field research, editing time, etc.

Submission deadlines are quarterly on the 15th of March, June, September, and December.

Visit the All Roads Web page for complete guidelines and application instructions.

An annual program of the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Tech Awards are designed to inspire global engagement in applying technology to humanity’s most pressing problems. The awards recognize individuals, organizations, and companies from around the world that are utilizing innovative technology solutions to address urgent issues in the areas of education, equality, environment, health, and economic development.

Each year, candidates are nominated and then invited to submit applications. Individuals, for-profit companies, and not-for-profit organizations are eligible. Self-nominations are accepted.

International panels of judges will review the applications and select fifteen laureates. Awards will be presented in five categories — health, education, environment, economic development, and equality. Three laureates in each category will be honored and one laureate per category will receive $50,000. Laureates will be honored at an annual gala event and inducted into the Tech Awards Network. The goal of the program is to create opportunities for learning, networking, and exposure to assist the laureates in furthering their work.

Nominations are accepted year-round. The 2010 deadline for nominations is March 31, 2010. Nominees that meet the eligibility guidelines will be invited to submit a more detailed application.

Visit the Tech Awards Web site for complete program information.