11/10: Promise Zone opportunities and the new Idea Generator

SC Promise Zone

A weekly update for the S.C. Lowcountry Promise Zone

PromiseZone_logoIn this post, you can find descriptions of new events, webinars, resources and funding opportunities that may be helpful to Promise Zone partners and supporters.

Pay close attention to the information outlined in a new section — Idea Generator.  It highlights how collaboration in Kentucky is paying off.  Also in this issue:  Webinars on the Affordable Care Act, environmental and rural grants, and several interesting reports.

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IDEA GENERATOR

New Workforce and Revitalization Resources Announced

The White House has announced over $14 million for partnerships in 12 states intended to leverage a range of economic development programs to assist communities negatively impacted by changes in the coal industry.

For organizations in the South Carolina Lowcountry Promise Zone, this series of awards, most of which benefit Kentucky, show how pulling together and focusing on big ideas can lead to big awards if there is collaboration and cooperation.

COMING EVENTS

WEBINARS:  Learn about the Affordable Care Act

Find out how to navigate the opportunities in health care through the Affordable Care Act 101 webinar series. Registration is free, but required.

The webinar takes place every other Thursday at 2 PM ET.

NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

EPA Announces New RFP for FY16 Brownfield Grants
Deadline:  Dec. 18, 2015

The US EPA announced a new request for proposals for FY16 brownfield assessment, revolving loan fund, and clean up grant guidelines.

Funding and Design Assistance Available for Rural Communities: CIRD Issues Request for Proposals
Deadline:  Jan. 12, 2016

The Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) has issued a request for proposals to rural communities interested in applying for funding to host a community design workshop in either 2016 or 2017. The deadline for submitting a proposal is Tuesday January 12, 2016 at 11:00 PM EST. Successful applicants will receive a $10,000 stipend (that must be matched one-to-one) in addition to in-kind professional design expertise and technical assistance valued at $35,000. The Request for Proposals is posted on the CIRD website. Selected communities will be announced in March of 2016 and workshops will be held during the fall of 2016 through spring of 2017. Register for the Pre-Application Conference Calls. Read the full Request for Proposals.

NEW RESOURCES

SUSTAINABILITY:  Top Ten Lessons Learned from the Sustainable Communities Initiatives

This prerecorded webinar gives an overview of the groundbreaking grant program, The Sustainable Communities Initiative. The webinar will touch upon the lessons learned from this program and highlights from locally-led collaborative efforts that brought together diverse interests from the many municipalities in a region to determine how best to target housing, economic and workforce development, and infrastructure investments to create more jobs and regional economic activity. This webinar also explores how the SCI grantees developed the Six Livability Principles into strategies that direct long-term development and reinvestment and used data to set and monitor progress towards performance goals.

ARTS:  Investments in Arts Fertilize Growth in Rural Towns

Sauk County, Wisconsin is linking local culture and the arts with the unique attributes of the community to grow the economy. According to Star Tribune, Sauk County is one of only three counties in the state, and the only rural county that has a public arts funding program.

CHANGE:  Large Foundations Making ‘Big Bets’ on Social Change

A growing number of large, national foundations are making “big bets” on structural solutions to complex problems in an effort to bring about lasting social change, the New York Times reports. Earlier this year, for example, the Ford Foundation announced that it was refocusing its grantmaking — about $500 million annually — on inequality in all its forms, while the Rockefeller and MacArthur foundations announced that they are redoubling their commitments in the areas of climate change, urban resilience, and criminal justice reform. Philanthropic organizations have long supported efforts to alleviate poverty and inequities, of course, but many of the largest increasingly are seeking to address not just the symptoms but the structural causes of those problems — inspired, in part, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation‘s efforts to not only treat or prevent diseases such as polio and malaria but to eradicate them altogether, the Times suggests.

ENTREPRENEURALISM:  Enabling Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

This report from the Kauffman Foundation is a valuable read for anyone interested in growing an entrepreneurial economy.

ENTREPRENEURALISM:   Becoming “the place” for local food firms

Read how one Iowa town is building an economy around the local food and farm sector as a way to attract young people and entrepreneurs.

TOURISM:  Ten Principles for Responsible Tourism.

This article from UrbanLand magazine is a must read for any community interested in improving their tourism development game plan.

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