Author Archives: Christa Porter

AARP is currently soliciting applications for 2023 funding for quick-action projects that can help your community become more livable for all residents, especially those age 50 and over.

Applications are due by March 15, 2023, 5:00 p.m. ET, and all projects must be completed by November 30, 2023. Applications must be submitted through http://www.aarp.org/communitychallenge , where you will also find full details about the grant program.

These grants are open to the following types of organizations: 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) nonprofits; Government entities; Other types of organizations considered on a case-by-case basis. AARP Community Challenge grants may be used to support three project types: Permanent physical improvements in the community; Temporary demonstrations that lead to long-term change, and New, innovative programming pilots or services.

Examples of previously funded Community Challenge Projects include:

• Hazen (ND) Public Library: The library basement where there are meeting rooms and where a local arts association rents space was inaccessible and underutilized for community meetings. The library used grant funds to install two chair lifts in the two stairwells to ensure residents can safely attend community meetings at the library.

• Avoca (IA) Public Library: The AARP Community Challenge grant funded the city’s new “music park” outside of the public library. The location’s oversized, weather-proof instruments require neither training nor talent to play. During the summer, Avoca closes its main street for a weekly farmer’s market. The instruments provide a stay and play area that encourages people to spend time creating music outdoors and enjoy the downtown.

In 2023, the AARP Community Challenge is accepting applications across three different grant opportunities, two of which are new this year. Organizations are eligible to apply for more than one grant opportunity and may submit multiple applications.

1. Flagship Grants

Flagship Grants continue the successful Community Challenge grant program, first launched in 2017. Flagship Grants have ranged from several hundred dollars ($500) for smaller, short-term activities to tens of thousands of dollars ($50,000) for larger projects. These grants offer a broad opportunity for communities to apply for funding across several project categories:

• Public Places
• Transportation
• Housing
• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
• Digital Connections
• Community Resilience
• Civic Engagement
• Community Health and
• Economic Empowerment

2. NEW! Capacity-Building Microgrants

By combining $2,500 grants with additional resources — such as webinars, AARP Livable Communities publications, cohort learning opportunities, and/or up to two hours of one-on-one coaching with leading national organizations — this new grant opportunity will benefit residents (especially those age 50 or older) in the following categories:

• Walkability: Implement a walk audit to assess and enhance the safety and walkability of a street or neighborhood with support from America Walks, using the AARP Walk Audit Tool Kit.
• Community Gardens: Start or enhance a community garden with support from 880 Cities, using the new AARP publication Creating Community Gardens for People of All Ages.

3. NEW! Demonstration Grants

Demonstration Grants are designed to encourage innovative replication of promising local efforts, drawn from previous projects from the Flagship Grants in Housing and Transportation. This new grant opportunity will benefit residents (especially those age 50 and older) by:

• Advancing solutions that build capacity towards transportation systems change. This opportunity for grant funding of $30,000 to $50,000 per project is sponsored by Toyota Motor North America.
• Implementing accessory dwelling unit (ADU) design competitions that increase public understanding of this housing option and encourage the implementation of ADU supportive policies. This opportunity for grant funding will provide $10,000 to $15,000 per project.

For more grants like this one, check out the NLC’s Grant Opportunities for Nebraska Libraries.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is pleased to announce that grant guidelines and application materials are now available for Challenge America and Grants for Arts Projects (GAP). These grants to organizations support specific projects in any part of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. jurisdictions. See below for additional information and access the full guidelines at arts.gov/grants.  

Eligible applicants include nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) U.S. organizations, units of state or local government, and federally recognized tribal communities or tribes. Eligible organizations that received American Rescue Plan (ARP) or CARES funding are also eligible to apply to Challenge America or GAP. Applicants may be arts organizations, local arts agencies, arts service organizations, local education agencies (school districts), and other organizations that can help advance the NEA’s goals.

Challenge America

Challenge America offers support primarily to small organizations for projects in all artistic disciplines to reach historically underserved groups/communities that have rich and dynamic cultural identities. Challenge America may be a good entry point for organizations that are new to applying for federal funding. The category features an abbreviated application, a robust structure of technical assistance, and grants for a set amount of $10,000. 

Grants require a cost share/match of $10,000 consisting of cash and/or in-kind contributions. Total project costs must be at least $20,000 or greater.

Application Deadline: April 27, 2023 for projects taking place beginning in 2024. 

Grants for Arts Projects 

Grants for Arts Projects is the NEA’s largest grant program for organizations, providing expansive funding opportunities for communities across the nation in a wide range of artistic disciplines. Through project-based funding, the program supports opportunities for public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector.

This grants program also welcomes projects that engage with individuals whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, race or ethnicity, economics, or disability. 

In recognition of the United States of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, the NEA also welcomes arts projects that educate and engage communities in dialogue about the past, present, and future of our nation.

Cost share/matching grants range from $10,000 to $100,000. Designated local arts agencies that are eligible to subgrant may request from $30,000 to $150,000 for subgranting projects. A minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount is required. 

Application Deadlines: February 9 and July 6, 2023 for projects taking place beginning in 2024. 

For more grants like this one, check out the NLC’s Grant Opportunities for Nebraska Libraries.