FW: Publications, Tools, Learning, and Funding

From our colleagues at USDA-RD!

 

From: Agans, Suzette - RD, Washington, DC [mailto:Suzette.Agans@wdc.usda.gov]
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2013 7:35 AM
Subject: Publications, Tools, Learning, and Funding

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

The Farmers Market Directory, a voluntary online database at farmersmarkets.usda.gov, identifies new farmers markets, the states with the highest number of markets in operation, and the total number of farmers markets that have registered throughout the United States.

 

Small-Town Main Streets Go Mobile - A West Virginia project helps communities build their own mobile apps, creating tools for business and communication. Mobile Main Street is a nonprofit project working to develop a free system that communities can use to build their own mobile apps – software applications that work on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. These apps work by aggregating the social media feeds of various community participants. Rather than generate profits for their developers, the apps are designed to generate information that supports the community. Mobile Main Street is in its pilot stage, exploring the economic potential of this mobile technology for rural America.

For the whole story - http://www.dailyyonder.com/small-town-main-streets-go-mobile/2013/07/22/6634

The percent of rural households with Internet at home varies across the Nation - By 2010, 73 percent of U.S. urban households had home subscriptions to the Internet, compared with only 62 percent of rural households and farms, according to Current Population Survey (CPS) data. Rural Internet usage, however, is not uniform across the country. On average, rural households in the Northeast and West are more likely to have some form of inhome access to the Internet, while households in the rural South are the least likely to subscribe. The regional disparity in subscriber rates reflects, to some degree, demographic differences such as income, education, and age. Among rural households that use the Internet, broadband adoption rates (not shown here) are lowest in Appalachia and in several areas—such as Michigan and South Carolina—that experienced the highest unemployment rates during the Great Recession of 2007-09. Rural broadband adoption rates are uniformly below corresponding statewide urban rates. A map is found in the ERS report, Rural Broadband At A Glance, 2013 Edition, June 2013.

Promoting Opportunity for America's Workers - The department is updating its strategic plan to reinforce priorities and strengthen its efforts to ensure opportunity for all. The best way to promote and protect opportunity is through collaboration. The public, including stakeholders, is encouraged to contribute to the plan's development by joining a series of discussions on the department's priorities and strategies. These discussions will take place Aug. 5 - 8 at 2 p.m. EDT. Your participation will help assure that the department develops a strong roadmap designed to build an opportunity society for the nation's workers. Review Strategy Proposals and Join Webchats or Submit Ideas and Comments

 

TOOLS

The Toolkit for Community Conversations About Mental Health has been released. These documents, developed by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration), can be downloaded for your use in convening a community conversation on mental health. The toolkit includes three parts: an Information Brief, a Discussion Guide, and a Planning Guide. The Toolkit for Community Conversations About Mental Health is available for download at: Creating Community Solutions (on this page, you'll also find other resource materials that can help you in organizing a community conversation)

Census Bureau's New Tool Puts Congressional District Statistics at Your Fingertips - The U.S. Census Bureau has released My Congressional District, the first interactive tool geared exclusively toward finding basic demographic and economic statistics for every congressional district in the U.S. This Web app uses the latest annual statistics from the American Community Survey, providing the most detailed portrait of America's towns and neighborhoods.

Users can sort through statistics in five key categories upon selection of a specific district in the application. Summary level statistics covering education, finance, jobs and housing, as well as basic demographic information, can quickly be displayed, downloaded and shared with others.

A major feature of the My Congressional District app is the ability to embed a selected 113th congressional district on a user's own webpage. The embedded district will display the latest statistics from the American Community Survey, allowing visitors to quickly view statistics for any of the 435 congressional districts and the District of Columbia.

 

LEARNING

 

WEBINAR: Develop a Mission-Driven Sales Culture for Your CDFI!, August 22, 2:00 pm EDT/1:00 pm CDT/11:00 am PDT
Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/630705297

With increasing demands to meet the needs of underserved local communities, CDFIs are re-assessing how they build their pipelines and produce results. More and more CDFIs are finding it necessary to build a mission-driven sales culture.

A sales culture can help bring in more clients and increase mission fulfillment, but developing the right culture requires a change in thinking, behavior, communications and learning.

In this groundbreaking webinar, Friedman Associates will highlight the steps you need to take to develop a culture of sales. Key questions we will address are:

* What is mission-driven sales and why it is important?
* How do you develop the right mission-driven sales goals?
* How do we get everyone in our organization focused on getting borrowers and keeping them?
* How do you measure and monitor progress?

The webinar will be led by Leslie Hoffman, Catherine Meyrat and Barbara Eckblad, nationally recognized leaders in the micro enterprise CDFI industry. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. For more information, contact Jason Friedman at jasonj@friedmanassociates.net

 

Attracting Returnees and Newcomers webinar series will be launched in October. Sign up to be notified of this interactive webinar to create a community brand and message that will attract people looking to move to small communities.  

 

DOT Hosting Webinar Series on Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) - The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is hosting a series of upcoming Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) webinars to provide outreach and information on TAP. 

 

·         Webinar 1: Final TAP Guidance and Qs & As, Date: Wednesday, August 7, 2013, Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST  Click here to register.

·         Webinar 2: Panel Discussion of Agencies that Have Implemented TAP, Date: Monday, August 12, 2013, Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST, Click here to register.

·         Webinar 3: Outreach and Discussion on Program Performance Information, Thursday, August 29, 2013, Date: Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., Click here to register.

For questions about the TAP webinar series please contact Christopher Douwes at Christopher.douwes@dot.gov or 202-366-5013 or Shana Baker at shana.baker@dot.gov or 202-366-4649.

 

 

FUNDING

 

Promise Zones – HUD has posted the draft selection criteria for both urban and rural/tribal on www.hud.gov/promisezones.

 

Project Learning Tree Greenworks! Grant, Deadline: September 30, 2013

Grant to Support Science or Math Education: K-5 Teachers, Deadline: October 1, 2013. Funder: Toshiba America Foundation

 

Academic-Community Partnership Conference Series (R13), Deadline: October 17, 2013. Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH

 

Grants for Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability Initiatives, Deadline: December 1, 2013. Funder: The Ray C. Anderson Foundation

 

Regional & National Grants, Deadline: Open. Funder: Aetna Foundation

Association of Performing Arts Presenters Accepting Applications for Cultural Exchange Fund Awards
Travel subsidies are available to help U.S.-based presenting performing arts professionals and organizations build partnerships and collaborations with international peers.... Deadline: August 15, 2013

Kennedy Center Seeks Nominations for Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards
Awards of $10,000 will be presented to K-12 teachers and college or university instructors in the United States in recognition of their outstanding impact on the lives of students.... Deadline: December 15, 2013

 

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Invites Nominations of Theater Directors and Choreographers for 2013 Zelda Fichandler Award
The annual award provides an unrestricted grant of $5,000 to a director or choreographer making an exceptional contribution to the arts through theater work in a particular region of the United States; this year, the region is the country's heartland.... Deadline: August 15, 2013

Partners for Sight Foundation Announces RFP for Projects to Assist Blind, Visually Impaired
Grants totaling up to $700,000 will be awarded to organizations working on initiatives that align with the foundation's mission to assist the visually impaired and blind in leading independent and productive lives.... Deadline: September 20, 2013 (Pre-proposals)

Whole Kids Foundation Accepting Applications for School Garden Grant Program - Grants of $2,000 are available for garden projects at public and private K-12 schools in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.... Deadline: October 31, 2013

Sloan Foundation Accepting Nominations for 2014 Research Fellows - Through the program, $50,000 fellowships will be awarded to a hundred and twenty-six researchers in recognition of their distinguished performance and potential to make substantial contributions to a STEM field.... Deadline: September 16, 2013

Department of Labor Funding Opportunities - http://www.dol.gov/dol/grants/funding-ops.htm

 

 

Suzette M. Agans

Community and Economic Development
Rural Development | U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W. | Washington, D.C. 20250 - 3253
Phone: 202.401.1922 | Fax 202.401.7311
www.rurdev.usda.gov

 

"Committed to the future of rural communities"
"Estamos dedicados al futuro de las comunidades rurales"

 

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