A $2 Million Dollar Grant Competition For Inventions!

The first prize in this science competition is $2 Million Dollars!

2nd place prize is $900,000!

This science fiction competion is being sponsored by a foundation and is not a government grant program for free money.

Funded by a NASA program to explore bold technology, the contest is intended to encourage development of a theory that originated in the 1960s and was popularized by Arthur C. Clarke's 1979 novel "The Fountains of Paradise." Although this competition has not produced a winner in its previous years it has encouraged a lot of inventors to enter their inventions in this kind of competition!

The rules allow one team to collect all $2 million or for sums to be shared among three teams depending on their achievements.

Grants For Non Profit Grant program for fire companies Eligible program activities include Hiring of Firefighters Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Since this particular grant program has become more and more popular with more fire departments all those who wish to submit their grant application should submit their grant application filled out completely and make your grant proposal as brief and "to the point" as possible! This grant program is open only to volunteer and combination departments. Career departments are not eligible under this specific category. Combination and volunteer departments may also submit an application under a specific title which will require that they submit a separate application for this. In addition, statewide or local organizations representing the interests of several volunteer and/or combination departments may request funding for this grant program as well. Under this category, fire departments may provide incentives to their members to reward their continued commitment to the fire service, as well as pay for recruiting resources to entice new members. Some possible initiatives under this activity include: Insurance packages such as accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), disability, health, dental, and life. Reimbursement to the new member for attending required basic training. This can include compensation for lost wages, mileage, lodging, daycare and per diem expenses. Marketing costs to recruit new volunteer members. Salary and benefits for a recruitment and retention coordinator. Development and initiation of an explorer, cadet, and/or mentoring program. The cost of a department staffing needs assessment Tuition - Tuition assistance for higher education (including college tuition) and professional certifications (coursework or certifications in this category should be above and beyond what the department typically funds for required minimum-staffing firefighter certification. Books and lab fees are eligible, but computers are not.) Length of service awards and other retirement benefits Costs associated with team building activities and motivational speakers. This is just a short list of potential activities that are eligible under this grant program. The important objective for your department is to analyze why current members are not staying active and/or why new members are not joining. This barrier or barriers to recruiting or retaining members should become the focus of your application. The key to getting your request funded is to develop a clear and defined program to address this need. Then, justify how the financial assistance you are requesting will be used to overcome your identified recruiting and/or retention issue. Your application should address these items in a complete but concise manner. All applications will be reviewed by both an automated evaluation and a peer review panel. Scores will be based on how well the applicant addresses the established program priorities and how well the applicant is able to establish a correlation between their request and their identified needs. Program priorities for this application period are: Meeting Staffing Standards - The highest priority will be given to departments that have experienced a high level of turnover and whose staffing levels do not meet NFPA 1710 or 1720. If you are not familiar with this requirement, you can get more information at this website. Meeting OSHA Respiratory Protection Standards - To receive the highest consideration, your application must adequately address the OSHA 1910.134(g) standards that deal with procedures for interior firefighting, most notably the two in, two out rule. Volunteer Membership - Priority will be given to applicants whose membership contains mostly volunteer members or departments that have a significant number of volunteer members. Recruitment/Retention Plan - A higher score will be achieved by applicants who have a formal recruitment and retention plan that includes a project coordinator and marketing program. In addition, programs that include accident and/or injury insurance and lost wages for its firefighters will also receive a higher score. Continuity - Applicants will receive a higher score if their recruitment and retention program is designed to continue after the period of performance without federal assistance. Call Volume and Population Served - Departments that respond to a higher number of calls and protect a larger population will receive a higher consideration. Firefighter Health Measures - Applicants whose program includes an entry level physical exam that meets NFPA 1582 and show a commitment to have their firefighters receive immunizations will receive a higher score. Training - Applicants whose program will ensure that new recruited firefighters meet the minimum fire and EMS certification requirements of the state or locality within 24 months of joining will receive a higher consideration. Regional Requests - Applications that have a regional impact will receive a higher score than applications that benefit only one department. In the past some volunteer departments have stayed away from this grant program and its application process because they didn't understand this particular grant program, its priorities and the possible benefits that could be derived by their department and its members. It is hoped that providing more information about this particular grant program will encourage even more applicants to apply for this grant program. For an application form just clck here and to find out more about this grant program just clck here.

Foundation Donates More

Than $400,000 Dollars To

Nonprofits that Provide Basic-need Services!

So far this year this same foundation has distributed more than $2 million dollars in grant funding to non-profit organizations. The grants went to organizations that focus on providing services in the areas of hunger prevention, self-sufficiency, health care, and education to children and families in need. According to a spokesperson, the organization "is proud to continue supporting some of the best organizations in our communities who focus on social services. We are especially happy to give back during the holiday season to assist the nonprofits with their increased demand for donations."

Here is a partial list of non profit organizations that have received grant funding from this foundation:

• a community soup kitchen received $5,000 to support a portion of the general operating costs of the soup kitchen, which is expected to serve more than 70,000 meals in 2009.
  
  
• a shelter received $10,000 to stock their chest freezers and storage pantry with non-perishables and frozen meats. During 2008, they served 191,594 soup kitchen meals and 179,493 food pantry meals to “homeless and working poor men, women and families throughout the state.
  
  
• a food bank received $15,000 to leverage their bulk buying power to purchase nutritious food such as rice, beans, peanut butter, tuna and beef stew. This food bank food bank distributes food to 800 member agencies serving approximately 146,653 individuals per year.
  
  
• a local battered women's organization received $10,000 for food and household items as well as apartment refurbishment upon a client’s departure from the shelter which is the organization’s transitional living program for abused women.
  
  
• a children's foundation received $20,000 to fund medical supplies for their homeless program which provides medical care to homeless children.