Deadline: 25-May-21
The Oregon Community Foundation has announced a call for proposals for the Early Childhood Summer Support Grants Program to provide group-based in-person or hybrid services supporting social-emotional development, parent engagement and/or school readiness through group activities, workshops and classes.
Through this one-time grant program, funded by the State of Oregon, OCF plans to award $1.2 million to support community-based, birth to 5 interactive parent-child programs, offered in group settings through public and nonprofit organizations across the state during summer 2021.
Priority will be given to programs that serve, reflect, and are responsive to the specific needs of children and families from Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x, and other communities of color, immigrant/refugee communities, children from low-income families, LGBTQIA+ families, children with disabilities, and children living in under-resourced rural communities.
OCF requests proposals from organizations seeking to deliver group-based summer programming (up to 12 weeks in summer 2021) for children birth to 5 and their parents, to support social emotional development, parent-child attachment, parent engagement, peer learning and community-building.
Eligible program models include, but are not limited to:
- “Play and Learn” programs
- Summer group-based programs delivered by providers of home visiting services
- “Baby and Me” workshops and classes
- Parent-child kindergarten readiness programs
This grant program recognizes that the pandemic has had wide and varied impacts on children and families across the state and that those impacts will also continue to influence how families will engage in summer learning and enrichment. Grants will fund a variety of programs to ensure young children and their parents have the best opportunity to choose the program that will help them address the educational, social, emotional, and other impacts of the pandemic.
Grants will cover general operating costs of programs, including but not limited to:
- Hiring and/or compensating staff or contractors to conduct outreach to families, coordinate and plan programs, and provide interactive summer activity and enrichment opportunities for children and their parents.
- Materials, resources, curricula, equipment, food and basic needs, transportation costs, stipends, incentives, and other items to successfully support providing summer learning opportunities.
- Costs associated with expanding summer program offerings to reach and include more young children and their parents, including additional space, materials, resources, transportation, and staffing.
- Materials, equipment, PPE, trainings, and other items to meet OHA guidelines and ensure that safety needs of staff, participants, and families are met.
- Hiring staff or contracting with experts to ensure program(s) are able to meet evolving OHA guidelines to ensure the safety of children, families, and staff.
Funding Information
- One-time grants ranging up to $50,000 will be awarded to eligible organizations.
- They anticipate a wide range of award sizes based on program size, type, and population focus.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must have experience offering similar programming to young children and their families. Eligible organizations include nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, tribal governments, public agencies, schools, and colleges located in Oregon that provide community-based programming.
- The OCF Early Childhood Summer Support Grant Program will target funds to organizations serving priority populations as previously described.
- At the time of submitting the grant application, organizations must also self-certify that they are in compliance with all local and state standards that ensure the safety and protection of the children with whom they provide services. They must self-certify that they will carry all requisite insurance needed to protect against loss or damages incurred.
For more information, visit https://oregoncf.org/grants-and-scholarships/grants/early-childhood-summer-2021-support-grants/