Erie's Future Fund

Erie’s Future Fund was created in 2011, an outgrowth of Erie Community Foundation’s Early Childhood Advisory Panel in partnership with United Way of Erie County, Success By 6, members of the Early Learning Investment Commission (ELIC) and Erie Together. Leaders from corporate, nonprofit and civic sectors sought to address growing concerns about lack of school readiness among many children entering kindergarten, and the significant impact it was having now and would have in the future on Erie County’s economy and quality of life. Erie’s Future Fund goal is provide scholarships for approximately 285 low-income children in 2012-2013 school year.

*To learn more, join us on February 16th beginning at 4 p.m. at the Ambassador Hotel and Conference Center. Make your reservation by calling 814-454-0843 or via email by clicking here.

The scholarships allow children to attend a high-quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) program at ages 3 and 4.Early Childhood research shows that well-focused early childhood education investments can produce high public returns, particularly for children living in families with low income levels. Erie’s Future Fund will provide scholarships to low-income families in neighborhoods with the highest percentage of families with children under 5 living in poverty.

Erie’s Future Fund through Success BY 6 and its task forces that target areas of health, children’s mental health, education, special needs, and prevention of abuse and neglect, promotes parents involvement beginning prenatally. Families are provided guidance on selecting an ECE program, skills, and knowledge necessary to promote school readiness throughout their child’s early years, and information about health, child development, community resources to support their family’s needs.

NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Funding Opportunity Number:

12-529

Current Closing Date for Applications:

Aug 14, 2012

Expected Number of Awards:	100
Estimated Total Program Funding:	$70,000,000
Award Ceiling:	$600,000
Award Floor:	$100,000
CFDA Number(s):	47.076  --  Education and Human Resources

Description

This program makes grants to institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented students demonstrating financial need, enabling them to enter the STEM workforce or STEM graduate school following completion of an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate-level degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics disciplines. Grantee institutions are responsible for selecting scholarship recipients, reporting demographic information about student scholars, and managing the S-STEM project at the institution.The program does not make scholarship awards directly to students; students should contact their institution's Office of Financial Aid for this and other scholarship opportunities. 

Link to Full Announcement

NSF Publication 12-529

Dept. of Education draft strategic plan

The Department of Education has posted its draft strategic plan for fiscal years 2011 through 2014 on its website for public comment.  The draft plan can be found here: www.ed.gov/about/reports/strat/index.html

National Financial Capability Challenge

From Penn State Erie's Center for Financial & Consumer Outreach

March 12 - April 13, 2012

The National Financial Capability Challenge is a FREE event for all educators working with high-school students ages 13-19.  The purpose of the challenge is to increase student knowledge and awareness of financial literacy topics so that they can take control of their own financial futures. Not only will the NFCC challenge all participants, but they will be rewarded for their participation and success.  Each student will receive a certificate, and those schools and states with the highest participation rates will receive special distinction.  If you are interested in learning more about the National Financial Capability Challenge, please visit the CFCO's website, or simply click here.

Farmers Grow Rural Education grants

[from Philanthropy News Digest] Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, has announced the launch of its America's Farmers Grow Rural Education program. The grant program will provide grants in over twelve hundred counties across thirty-nine states to help strengthen local communities and education systems, especially in the areas of science and/or math. Grants will be awarded based on merit, need, and community support.

The program invites farmers to nominate a public school district in their community to compete for a grant. Administrators from nominated school districts can then submit an application for either a $10,000 or $25,000 grant to support a science and/or math education program.

School districts that apply for a $10,000 grant will compete against other school districts located in a USDA-appointed Crop Reporting District; CRDs with fewer than five eligible school districts will compete against each other for a single grant. A school district that applies for a $25,000 grant will compete against schools located in its state or designated region. The Monsanto Fund will award a hundred and ninety-nine grants through the program in 2012: a hundred and seventy-seven $10,000 grants and twenty-two grants of $25,000. Overall, the fund will donate more than $2.3 million to school districts through the program.

To be eligible to submit a nomination, farmers must be at least 21 years old and actively engaged in farming a minimum of two hundred and fifty acres of corn, soybeans, and/or cotton, and/or forty acres of open field vegetables, or at least ten acres of vegetables grown in protected culture; and must reside in eligible counties where a minimum of thirty thousand acres of corn and/or soybeans and/or cotton and/or vegetables are planted each year.

Visit the America's Farmers Grow Rural Education Web site for the complete list of eligible states and regions, program guidelines, and nomination procedures.

Link to Complete RFP

Lumina Foundation announces grants

[from Philanthropy News Digest] The Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation has announced grants totaling $1.1 million working to develop the next generation of college-access supports and services and leverage the power of digital technology to support students on their path to college.

In a recent Gallup poll, 43 percent of respondents said it was somewhat or very difficult to locate information about college financial aid. To that end, planning grants were awarded through the foundation's Envisioning the Next Generation of Student Supports program to Texas-based College Forward ($200,000 ) for market research and design of a game prototype that engages students in financial aid and literacy topics; the Educational Policy Improvement Center in Oregon ($200,000) to build and test customizable transition management systems for open enrollment institutions; EduGuide in Michigan ($155,000) to pilot an enhanced information/mentoring platform with new partners; New York City-based iMentor ($200,000) for its efforts to develop a third generation student mentoring platform that incorporates new analytic tools and more data capacity; the San Francisco Education Fund ($150,900) to integrate public and private data into a new student tracking and guidance system; and Southern Region Education Board in Georgia ($200,000) to offer recommendations to states for quick-to-market mobile apps related to college access and success.

“Lumina Foundation Announces 'NextGen' Grantees Harnessing the Power of Digital Technology to Improve College Access.”Lumina Foundation Press Release 1/10/12.