Search Through Grants for After School Programs in Arkansas in the U.S.

About Us

Academy Sports + Outdoors is one of the nation's largest sporting goods and outdoor stores. With 301 stores across 21 states, we offer a broad assortment of quality hunting, fishing, and camping equipment and gear, along with sports and leisure products, footwear, apparel and much more.

Community Relations

By providing members of our communities with the right gear and knowledge while also promoting safety and responsibility, we empower people with the confidence to simply get active, have fun together, and enjoy life.

Our Pillars

• Empower
  • Academy Sports + Outdoors encourages safety so that everyone can feel confident and comfortable doing what they love. We help people gear up properly for sports and outdoor activities, and we promote ways to be smart and stay safe. We’ve got your back… and the rest of you too.
• Encourage
  • Academy Sports + Outdoors makes it possible for people to enjoy more sports and outdoors activities. We believe being active is an essential part of life. Starting with our assortment, we motivate people to try new things and give them opportunities to enjoy a variety of fun activities. We’re always game.
• Connect
  • Academy Sports + Outdoors creates ways for members of the community to connect and have fun with each other. We build connections within the community by supporting events, programs, and organizations that make a positive impact. Let’s get together.

About

HumanitiesAR, under the official name of Arkansas Humanities Council, is a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In spring 2024, we rebranded with HumanitiesAR as our name. But the new brand serves as more than a new name—it embodies our commitment to accessibility, inclusivity, and forging stronger community ties through the humanities. It’s about providing clarity in our identity and strengthening the recognition of our role within the state of Arkansas

Through the humanities, we remember our history and envision our future. Reading, writing, storytelling, research, and many forms of public dialogue and conversation are central to the humanities and the core of what we do at HumanitiesAR.

Our mission is to empower Arkansans to connect with and promote understanding, appreciation, and use of the humanities and ultimately discover our mutual experiences through programs that:

• Engage educators across the state of Arkansas
• Offer profound storytelling from local historians, authors, and scholars
• Provide Arkansans a place to celebrate and be empowered to connect with the humanities through the discovery and understanding of our diverse and mutual experiences

We work to achieve its mission by awarding grants through a competitive process to nonprofit groups, organizations, teachers, and schools statewide, and by working with key partners to develop local humanities projects and programs for Arkansas audiences.

What are the humanities?

The term “humanities” includes the study of history, literature, ethics, philosophy, language, and the various legal, cultural, religious, and folk traditions—past and present—that define the human condition.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Arkansas Humanities Council is to promote understanding, appreciation, and use of the humanities in Arkansas.

What We Fund

We support innovative, humanities-based projects that connect Arkansans to the past, to one another, to the community, and to all areas of the humanities we share across our state.

Access to the Humanities Grant

The purpose of this grant is to assist nonprofit organizations in ensuring their humanities projects, events, and programs are accessible to Arkansans with disabilities and/or language interpretation or transcription. The program, event, or project must be related to the humanities in order to be eligible.

The goal is to provide a stop-gap solution for organizations to ensure access when other funds are not available to do so.

Types of Eligible Projects:

• captioning services,
• language transcription,
• American Sign Language or other language interpreters for in-person or virtual events,
• acquiring services to make documents, websites, presentations, and exhibits accessible, and for the captioning of videos.

The Blue & You Foundation creates a state of better health for all Arkansans by investing in community-based organizations and grantee partners who are committed to improving the lives of the people they serve.

Mission

To achieve the goal of better health for all Arkansans, the Blue & You Foundation seeks to harness the power of partnership. By strategically focusing its grant funding on community-based solutions, the Foundation hopes to nurture community health leadership, foster collaboration and innovation, and leverage financial, human and community resources to produce a measurable, positive impact.

Mini-Grants Program

The mini grants are $1,000 – $2,000 grants that focus on food security, emergency response equipment such as AEDs, Narcan, stop the bleed kits, car seats and accident prevention items, and health initiatives that will positively impact a school, college or university. Applicants are only able to apply for one category.

Purpose 

The Blue & You Foundation is offering grants to eligible organizations who are addressing health disparities in the state of Arkansas. The funds must be used for specific programs targeting:

Emergency Medical Equipment

• AEDs
• Stop the Bleed Kits
• Narcan

Maternal and Pediatric Health

• Car Seats
• Safe Sleeping Equipment
• Blood Pressure Cuffs
• Diapers
• Formula
• Transportation Support

Food Pantry Support

• Fresh Proteins
• Fresh Fruits & Vegetables
• Dairy
• Whole Grains
• Healthy Fats
• Pantry Supplies

Health Initiatives at a public school, college, or university

• Calming Rooms
• Food Pantry Supplies
• Hygiene Products
• Financial Literacy
• Preventative Programs

What does this program do?

This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings.

What is an eligible area?

Rural areas including cities, villages, townships and towns including Federally Recognized Tribal Lands with no more than 20,000 residents according to the latest U.S. Census Data are eligible for this program.

How may funds be used?

Funds can be used to purchase, construct, and / or improve essential community facilities, purchase equipment and pay related project expenses.

Examples of essential community facilities include:

• Health care facilities such as hospitals, medical clinics, dental clinics, nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
• Public facilities such as town halls, courthouses, airport hangars or street improvements.
• Community support services such as child care centers, community centers, fairgrounds or transitional housing.
• Public safety services such as fire departments, police stations, prisons, police vehicles, fire trucks, public works vehicles or equipment.
• Educational services such as museums, libraries or private schools.
• Utility services such as telemedicine or distance learning equipment.
• Local food systems such as community gardens, food pantries, community kitchens, food banks, food hubs or greenhouses.

Grant Approval

Applicant must be eligible for grant assistance, which is provided on a graduated scale with smaller communities with the lowest median household income being eligible for projects with a higher proportion of grant funds. Grant assistance is limited to the following percentages of eligible project costs:

Maximum of 75 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 5,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 60 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 55 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 12,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 70 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 35 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 80 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income.

Maximum of 15 percent when the proposed project is:

• Located in a rural community having a population of 20,000 or fewer; and
• The median household income of the proposed service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 90 percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income. The proposed project must meet both percentage criteria. Grants are further limited.

About Us

Our Mission:

Arkansas Community Foundation engages people, connects resources and inspires solutions to build community.

Giving Tree – Early Literacy Grants

Giving Tree grant opportunities focused specifically on early literacy may be available in your area. It it is important for potential grantees to contact their local affiliate office to learn more about their local grant process and if early literacy grants will be available during their grant cycle.

What We’re Looking For

Grant proposals should support early literacy for Arkansans by addressing one or more focus areas below:

Our Mission

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation exists to relentlessly pursue economic, educational, social, ethnic and racial equity for all Arkansans.

Our Vision

WRF affirms the legacy of our founder who envisioned a thriving and prosperous Arkansas that benefits all Arkansans.

How We Work

Our approach to philanthropy centers on changing systems and policies to solve problems over the long term and expand power and access for marginalized communities. 

We work with multiple sectors —public, private, and nonprofit—to support the leadership, policies, movements and cultural changes that are required to achieve widespread equity and prosperity in Arkansas.

We use our tools and resources in grantmaking and capacity building, strategic communications, strategic partnerships, convenings, and program- and mission- related investments.

Changing the Narrative Grant

We seek to fund creative projects that reveal systems of injustice and disrupt harmful stereotypes and assumptions about poverty and financial vulnerability in Arkansas. We look for projects that capture the public’s imagination for a more just Arkansas through storytelling, media engagement and journalism, campaigning and advocacy, digital media and technology, pop culture, youth engagement and movement-building.

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF) will prioritize funding requests that do the following:

• Have an explicit commitment to educational, economic, social, ethnic, and racial equity.
• Have an explicit strategy to disrupt the status quo, address the root causes of inequity, and eliminate policies and practices that perpetuate barriers to equity.
• Prioritize community-led initiatives, movement building, public policy and advocacy, innovation, and systems disruption as the strategies for change.
• Prioritize and engage people most impacted to lead the process of defining root causes of inequity and developing innovative solutions.
• Have a 2Gen approach that equally and intentionally creates opportunities for and address the needs of both children and the adults in their lives together— whole-family strategies.
• Create or build upon existing partnerships or coalitions because no one organization or sector will achieve equity alone.
• Are innovative, strategic, and future-focused to inspire and support creative problem solving to make Arkansas better for everyone.
• Are able to monitor, assess, and document the impact of the change(s) being sought, strategies being used, and the progress being made.

Our Mission

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation exists to relentlessly pursue economic, educational, social, ethnic and racial equity for all Arkansans.

Our Vision

WRF affirms the legacy of our founder who envisioned a thriving and prosperous Arkansas that benefits all Arkansans.

How We Work

Our approach to philanthropy centers on changing systems and policies to solve problems over the long term and expand power and access for marginalized communities. 

We work with multiple sectors —public, private, and nonprofit—to support the leadership, policies, movements and cultural changes that are required to achieve widespread equity and prosperity in Arkansas.

We use our tools and resources in grantmaking and capacity building, strategic communications, strategic partnerships, convenings, and program- and mission- related investments.

Creative Solutions Grant

We look for opportunities where goal-oriented, flexible relationships among the nonprofit, public and private sectors can leverage resources, achieve impact, and spark innovative solutions. Networks may be formal or informal, short-term or long-term, and structured in a variety of ways.

Our Mission

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation exists to relentlessly pursue economic, educational, social, ethnic and racial equity for all Arkansans.

Our Vision

WRF affirms the legacy of our founder who envisioned a thriving and prosperous Arkansas that benefits all Arkansans.

How We Work

 Our approach to philanthropy centers on changing systems and policies to solve problems over the long term and expand power and access for marginalized communities. 

We work with multiple sectors —public, private, and nonprofit—to support the leadership, policies, movements and cultural changes that are required to achieve widespread equity and prosperity in Arkansas.

We use our tools and resources in grantmaking and capacity building, strategic communications, strategic partnerships, convenings, and program- and mission- related investments.

General Operating Support Grant

General operating support grants are flexible and allow funds to be used when and where they are needed most. This is especially important for organizations led by and serving people of color who tend to receive less grant money with more strings attached compared to their white counterparts.

Our Mission

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation exists to relentlessly pursue economic, educational, social, ethnic and racial equity for all Arkansans.

Our Vision

WRF affirms the legacy of our founder who envisioned a thriving and prosperous Arkansas that benefits all Arkansans.

How We Work

 Our approach to philanthropy centers on changing systems and policies to solve problems over the long term and expand power and access for marginalized communities. 

We work with multiple sectors —public, private, and nonprofit—to support the leadership, policies, movements and cultural changes that are required to achieve widespread equity and prosperity in Arkansas.

We use our tools and resources in grantmaking and capacity building, strategic communications, strategic partnerships, convenings, and program- and mission- related investments.

Policy, Advocacy, & Organizing Grant

As an equity funder focused on systems change, we look for partners and ideas that strengthen policies, protections and investments that improve economic mobility for ALICE households. We seek to resource and equip the leaders, networks and movements behind these policy initiatives with the necessary tools and support.

Our Mission

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation exists to relentlessly pursue economic, educational, social, ethnic and racial equity for all Arkansans.

Our Vision

WRF affirms the legacy of our founder who envisioned a thriving and prosperous Arkansas that benefits all Arkansans.

How We Work

 Our approach to philanthropy centers on changing systems and policies to solve problems over the long term and expand power and access for marginalized communities. 

We work with multiple sectors —public, private, and nonprofit—to support the leadership, policies, movements and cultural changes that are required to achieve widespread equity and prosperity in Arkansas.

We use our tools and resources in grantmaking and capacity building, strategic communications, strategic partnerships, convenings, and program- and mission- related investments.

Program and Mission Related Investments

From GrantCrafts’ Program-related Investing: Skills and Strategies for New PRI Funders: Program Related Investments (PRI) are investments made by foundations in support of charitable purposes, with the explicit understanding that those investments will earn below market returns, adjusted for risk and mission. Although a PRI is not a grant, it counts toward a foundation’s payout requirement in the year a disbursement is made.

Funding Objective

Program-Related Investments are below-market investments that generate both social and economic returns and are in support of charitable purposes. Mission-related investments serve as a flexible tool for the Foundation to address crucial problems in communities on a much larger scale than grants alone.

About Us

HumanitiesAR, under the official name of Arkansas Humanities Council, is a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In spring 2024, we rebranded with HumanitiesAR as our name. But the new brand serves as more than a new name—it embodies our commitment to accessibility, inclusivity, and forging stronger community ties through the humanities. It’s about providing clarity in our identity and strengthening the recognition of our role within the state of Arkansas

Through the humanities, we remember our history and envision our future. Reading, writing, storytelling, research, and many forms of public dialogue and conversation are central to the humanities and the core of what we do at HumanitiesAR.

Our mission is to empower Arkansans to connect with and promote understanding, appreciation, and use of the humanities and ultimately discover our mutual experiences through programs that:

• Engage educators across the state of Arkansas
• Offer profound storytelling from local historians, authors, and scholars
• Provide Arkansans a place to celebrate and be empowered to connect with the humanities through the discovery and understanding of our diverse and mutual experiences

We work to achieve its mission by awarding grants through a competitive process to nonprofit groups, organizations, teachers, and schools statewide, and by working with key partners to develop local humanities projects and programs for Arkansas audiences.

What are the humanities?

The term “humanities” includes the study of history, literature, ethics, philosophy, language, and the various legal, cultural, religious, and folk traditions—past and present—that define the human condition.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Arkansas Humanities Council is to promote understanding, appreciation, and use of the humanities in Arkansas.

What We Fund

The Arkansas Humanities Council supports innovative, humanities-based projects that connect Arkansans to the past, to one another, to community, and to all areas of the humanities we share across our state.

Documentary Film Preproduction

Documentary film preproduction and production projects must be specific to Arkansas subjects such as, but not limited to, historical figures or events, culture, archeology, history of an Arkansas community or organization, activities, music, or similar topic.

Film preproduction applications must provide a schedule, name of filmographer with information regarding their expertise and filmography, a research concept, and those to be interviewed (if applicable).

Film production applications must include a schedule, name of filmographer with information regarding their expertise and filmography, copy of script, editing suite, distribution plan, and signed consent forms from interviewees (if applicable).

What We Fund

Supporting contemporary craft & visual arts in the United States, Windgate Foundation’s funding priorities are to:

Advance Contemporary Craft

• ​​​​Fellowships, residencies, or career development programs for craft artists
• Contemporary craft programming, educational outreach, and scholarships
• Materials, tools or equipment for craft programs
• Museum acquisitions of contemporary craft by living artists​

Strengthen Visual Arts in Colleges & Universities

• Artist residencies, visiting artists, or fellowships
• Visual arts programming and scholarships
• Materials, tools, or equipment

Expand Visual Arts in K-12 Schools

• Visual art-integrated programs through nonprofit organizations which develop creative, innovative ways of learning
• Visual art-integrated training or professional development programs for teachers and school leaders

Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant Program

The Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant Program provides support for African American historic and historical preservation and public programming projects in Arkansas. The program accepts grant applications year round. Past projects include historical research, exhibits, workshops, publications, oral history interviews, documentary films and cemetery preservation and documentation.

Who was Curtis H. Sykes?

Curtis H. Sykes was born in 1930 in the Dark Hollow community of North Little Rock. He was a tireless community activist and historian. Sykes was an educator for over 34 years, was a school principle and served as a charter member of the North Little Rock History Commission. Sykes was an original member of the Black History Advisory Committee, now The Black History Commission of Arkansas (BHCA), in 1991. He served as its chairman from 1993 until his death on Sept. 9, 2007. During his time as the BHCA chair, he pushed for legislation to have African American history taught in Arkansas schools, leading to the pass of Act 326 of 1997. The former chairman was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Historical Association in 2008. In 2009, the Arkansas General Assembly named this grant program in his memory (Act 660).

Evaluation Criteria Includes:

• Track record as a previous grant recipient in grant reporting, meeting project deadlines, success of project vs. project goals, etc…
• Likelihood that project can be completed within proposed timeline
• Likelihood that project can be completed with available funds
• Reasonableness of project budget 

T.L.L. Temple Foundation

The T.L.L. Temple Foundation works alongside rural communities to build a thriving East Texas and to alleviate poverty, creating access and opportunities for all.

Focus Areas

In support of its mission to build a thriving Deep East Texas and to alleviate poverty, the foundation makes grants in the areas of education, economic development and community revitalization, health, human services, arts and culture, and conservation and the environment. Central to the foundation’s work is the aim of breaking the cycle of poverty, and the foundation prioritizes support for residents and communities that most lack access to opportunities they need to succeed

Health

America’s Health Rankings, an independent health measure that combines more than 30 health-related metrics, ranks Texas 34th out of 50 states in resident health. Texans show comparatively high rates of obesity, physical inactivity, and diabetes. Disparities in health status–by race and ethnicity, geography and income–are also higher in Texas than in many states: Texas ranks 44th in the prevalence of health disparities in the nation.

Access to health care providers is also a challenge in Texas, particularly in rural areas of the state. This is partly a function of insurance coverage. According to the U.S. Census, Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the nation: in 2016, 17.1% of Texas residents do not have health insurance coverage, compared to 9.4% nationally. It ranks second in lack of health insurance coverage for children: 9.5% of children in Texas have no health insurance, compared to 4.8% nationally. In our region, insured rates are even lower: in 2014, 21.3% of residents had no health insurance coverage, compared to 19.1% for the state in 2014. 

Given these challenges, our goal is simple: to improve the health of residents of Deep East Texas. The barriers of poverty, geographic isolation, and a lack of access to health care services make it particularly difficult for many residents in our region to improve and maintain their health. Yet poor health status often limits residents’ ability to get a high quality education, hold down a sustaining job, and stay out of poverty.

Education

Educational attainment is a significant challenge in our region. Based on U.S. Census data, Texas ranks 49th out of the 50 states for having the lowest percentage of adults with a high school diploma, with 18.5% of people 25 and older not having earned a high school degree or equivalent. According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board the problem is even more pronounced in our region. In the most recent 8th grade cohort available, there were 24,639 students in upper and southeast Texas counties we serve. Five years later, only 72.0% completed high school, meaning that almost 7,000 young people did not complete the most basic education.

The counties in our region lag even further behind when it comes to college completion: according to the U.S. Census’s 2015 American Community Survey, only 14.0% of people 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 27.1% in Texas and 29.3% nationally. This is particularly problematic considering that many of the region’s fastest growing occupations require at least an associate’s degree, if not a four-year degree. 

Education has always been a top priority for the T.L.L. Temple Foundation because it is the most effective tool to break the cycle of poverty and build a thriving region. Addressing the region’s low rates of educational attainment—particularly for low-income students—is critical to improving outcomes in poverty, health and economic development. We aim to increase access to high quality educational opportunities for residents in Deep East Texas. We invest in programs that measurably improve education outcomes in the region, including: early childhood education, out-of-school-time programs, and programs dedicated to increasing postsecondary preparation, access and success. We also support efforts to ensure that Deep East Texans have the skills needed to obtain and retain high quality jobs.

Economic Development and Community Revitalization

The 24 counties in our service region have very high rates of unemployment: according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2016, 52.9% of the population 16 and older was in the labor force, compared to 64.4% in Texas and 63.5% nationally. In the Deep East Texas Workforce Development Area, the unemployment rate was 7% in 2016. While this decreased from 10% in 2011, it is significantly higher than the state unemployment rate of 4.7% and the national unemployment rate of 4.9% during the same period.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, between 2012 and 2022, jobs are expected to increase by 13.1% in the Deep East Texas Workforce Development Area, compared to 21.3% for Texas, and 10.8% for the U.S. The fastest growing occupations correspond to the region’s aging population: home health and personal care aides, nursing, medical secretaries, and medical assistants. Most of these jobs require a two or four-year degree. 

We aim to improve economic opportunities and help develop and sustain thriving communities in the most economically challenged places in our service area. Vibrant communities and a robust regional economy are central to creating and sustaining a thriving Deep East Texas. We invest in efforts to transform disinvested communities into places with economic opportunities and equitable access to the essential community resources needed to help families thrive. Impact Lufkin, a foundation-initiated program, is an example of the foundation’s approach to holistic, resident-engaged community revitalization. Because engaged citizens are central to fostering strong communities, we also fund programs to increase civic participation. Finally, we invest in programs that strengthen the regional economy and improve economic opportunities for residents of Deep East Texas.

Human Services

Too many residents of Deep East Texas live in poverty. According to the U.S. Census, in 2015 in the 24 counties that we serve, 19.3% of residents live in poverty, compared to 15.9% of Texans and 13.5% of people in the U.S. The median household income (2010-2014) is 21% lower than the state of Texas, and 22% lower than the U.S. For these residents, poverty can become a vicious cycle, limiting access to the quality education, self-sustaining employment, and health care needed to rise above poverty.

The foundation works to ensure the most vulnerable residents in our service region have their basic needs met. By helping provide access to food, shelter, social services and other programs, we strive to make sure that there is a strong safety net to support the region’s low-income and vulnerable residents.

Arts and Culture

Arts and culture are critical for healthy communities and a thriving region. The foundation has long supported efforts to celebrate the region’s cultural heritage and document its important history. We will continue to help enrich the lives of Deep East Texans by investing in programs that provide access to artistic and cultural experiences.

Conservation and the Environment

Beginning with the first timber harvested in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Temple family has had a special bond with the forests, wetlands, and open spaces across our region. We believe that the health of our natural environment is closely connected to the health of our residents, our communities, and our region and so seek to protect our important natural resources.

The primary emphasis of the foundation’s conservation and environmental efforts is the Boggy Slough Conservation Area  - a Temple Foundation-managed program.

The aim of the Boggy Slough Conservation Area is to:

• serve as a model for conservation and land management;
• serve as a catalyst for creating a stewardship ethic and connection to nature in our communities; and
• bridge critical research gaps regarding the forest and bottomland ecosystems of the Neches River basin and the Southeast.

Type of Support

The foundation awards funding for multiple purposes, including: general operating support, project support, capital improvements, and organizational development and capacity building.

Size and Duration of Grants

The size and duration of grants is matched to the applicant’s scale of impact, need, capabilities and opportunities, and typically follow these guidelines:

• We provide one-year funding for initial grants
• We rarely make grants that exceed 30% of a project or organizational budget

The Assisi Foundation of Memphis Grant

Creating Positive Change

At The Assisi Foundation, we work with nonprofit organizations to address pressing challenges and search for root causes with the goal of healthy, positive transformation. Our focus areas are listed below. However, it should be noted that whether or not an organization falls neatly within one of these categories, we always invite the exploration of good ideas that align with our mission of philanthropy, done well.

Areas of Focus

• Health and Human Services: The Foundation supports initiatives that enhance the spiritual, mental and physical health and well-being of the Mid-South community. Grantees include organizations that address a variety of social determinants through the provision of direct care, research or preventive measures.
• Education and Lifelong Learning: The Foundation strives to strengthen our community’s educational well-being through programs that develop tools for life and focus on the awareness and importance of accepting social responsibilities. The Foundation funds nonprofits that build the organizational capacity of provider agencies, provide professional development, promote collaboration, and leverage local, state and federal resources.
• Social Justice and Ethics: The Foundation values organizations that help individuals strive to reach their greatest human potential. The Foundation funds projects and programs that strengthen ethical values among Mid-South citizens and promote social justice—initiatives that lead to a better understanding of, and a more effective response to, the economic and social challenges of the community.
• Cultural Enrichment and the Arts: Seeking to foster an even greater appreciation of Memphis arts and culture, The Foundation supports some of our area’s cultural icons and groups that work to promote the cultural and artistic heritage of the Greater Memphis area.
• Community Enhancement  & Capacity Building:  For grant applications that don’t fit neatly into other named categories, The Foundation welcomes the opportunity to explore activities that offer clear community benefit valued by named beneficiaries; address gaps and promote effectiveness within the socioecological system; and strengthen community resilience.

Access to Local Foods Grants

Arkansas Community Foundation is seeking proposals for projects that will increase Arkansans’ access to locally grown and produced foods and/or strengthen the local food ecosystem, including:

• Programs that support underrepresented specialty crop farmers from minority (including women) or diverse communities, including technical assistance, equipment, supplies, administrative support, or other needs.
• Programs that operate or pilot innovative strategies to aggregate specialty crops and/or connect local farmers/growers to distribution or retail markets.
• Programs that support local food ecosystems and collaboration among farmers/growers, technical assistance providers, co-ops, and others involved in food production and distribution (could include learning cohorts).  

Funding Range

This is a competitive grant cycle, with eight 1-year grant awards of $15,000 each available.

About

HumanitiesAR, under the official name of Arkansas Humanities Council, is a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In spring 2024, we rebranded with HumanitiesAR as our name. But the new brand serves as more than a new name—it embodies our commitment to accessibility, inclusivity, and forging stronger community ties through the humanities. It’s about providing clarity in our identity and strengthening the recognition of our role within the state of Arkansas

Through the humanities, we remember our history and envision our future. Reading, writing, storytelling, research, and many forms of public dialogue and conversation are central to the humanities and the core of what we do at HumanitiesAR.

Our mission is to empower Arkansans to connect with and promote understanding, appreciation, and use of the humanities and ultimately discover our mutual experiences through programs that:

• Engage educators across the state of Arkansas
• Offer profound storytelling from local historians, authors, and scholars
• Provide Arkansans a place to celebrate and be empowered to connect with the humanities through the discovery and understanding of our diverse and mutual experiences

We work to achieve its mission by awarding grants through a competitive process to nonprofit groups, organizations, teachers, and schools statewide, and by working with key partners to develop local humanities projects and programs for Arkansas audiences.

What are the humanities?

The term “humanities” includes the study of history, literature, ethics, philosophy, language, and the various legal, cultural, religious, and folk traditions—past and present—that define the human condition.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Arkansas Humanities Council is to promote understanding, appreciation, and use of the humanities in Arkansas.

What We Fund

We support innovative, humanities-based projects that connect Arkansans to the past, to one another, to the community, and to all areas of the humanities we share across our state.

Operations

The eligible costs for operations include: salaries for current full-time and part-time employees, utility costs for up to 6 months, website design and maintenance, building insurance, employee insurance, fire suppression systems and/or extinguishers, equipment purchase or repair for computers, scanners, printers, hot water heaters, and HVAC, software or web application licenses and fees.

Community Grants

Community Grants are awarded in Arkansas and West Texas in the following areas:

Aging Population

Meeting the physical and emotional needs of the elderly, especially efforts to preserve and promote the independence, health, and quality of life of seniors; to improve the quality and availability of both nursing home care and alternatives to nursing home care; and to protect seniors from abuse or financial exploitation.

Arts, Culture, And History

Supporting artistic, historical, or cultural experiences that enhance learning in school-age children, or extend the benefit of the arts to children, the elderly, and others who might not otherwise have access. 

Children And Youth

Meeting the physical and emotional needs of young people, especially efforts to prevent child abuse or neglect or mitigate their effects; to provide healthcare; and to promote and to develop sound character and values in young people.

Economically Disadvantaged

Moving low-income people toward economic independence; providing emergency shelter and assistance; providing healthcare; offering transitional housing and supportive services to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness; and promoting the creation of affordable housing. 

Education

Preparing young children for school; supporting the educational process broadly through means such as parental involvement and teacher training; promoting adult literacy; improving English-language skills in both children and adults; and supporting student-focused programs at the college level that advance other areas of the Foundation’s mission.

Nonprofit Capacity

Building the infrastructure of agencies working in aging, arts, children, economically disadvantaged, or education.

Arkansas Arts Council

The Arkansas Arts Council advances and empowers the arts by providing services and funding for programming that encourages and assists literary, performing and visual artists in achieving standards of professional excellence. The Arkansas Arts Council also provides technical and financial assistance to Arkansas arts organizations and other providers of cultural and educational programs. This statewide programming and assistance ultimately provides cultural, educational and economic opportunities for the benefit of all Arkansans.

The Arkansas Arts Council was established in 1966 to enable the state of Arkansas to receive funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1971, Act 359 (A.C.A. § 13-8-101 et seq.) gave independent agency status to the Arts Council, with an executive director and a 17-member council appointed by the governor. In 1975, the Arts Council became an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, now the Division of Arkansas Heritage.

The Arkansas Arts Council is an agency of Arkansas Heritage and shares the goals of all big Division of Arkansas Heritage agencies, that of preserving and enhancing the heritage of the state of Arkansas. Funding for the Arkansas Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Arkansas and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Our Goals

• Encourage artistic excellence, diversity and innovation
• Promote equitable access to the arts for all Arkansans
• Develop arts in education for life-long learning
• Enhance community cultural and economic development
• Build and sustain the capacity of the Arkansas Arts Council to fulfill its mission

Arts In Education Grants 

The Arts in Education program initiates new arts programs, or enhances existing ones, in schools and local arts agencies by providing direct interaction with professional artists in residencies for pre K–12 students. All artists involved in AIE residencies must be selected from the Arts in Education Artist Roster.

After-School / Summer Residency Program

These major-grants help fund placing professional artists in residencies outside the school environment, school day or school year. The settings include after-school and summer programs and can be located in community centers, low-income housing projects, juvenile facilities, social service centers, parks/recreation programs, boys and girls clubs and other community-based or governmental organizations and institutions. 

The Arts In Education In-School Residency program (AIE ISR) places professional artists in residencies at specific school sites or nonprofit organizations to allow them to demonstrate their art forms in pre-K to 12th grade curriculum areas. The AIE ISR intent is based on the conviction that participation in the arts should be an integral part of the basic education process. The program is based on guidelines provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Funds from the AIE ISR grant may be used only for contracted administrative or artistic expenses related to the proposed program. 

Arkansas Arts Council

The Arkansas Arts Council advances and empowers the arts by providing services and funding for programming that encourages and assists literary, performing and visual artists in achieving standards of professional excellence. The Arkansas Arts Council also provides technical and financial assistance to Arkansas arts organizations and other providers of cultural and educational programs. This statewide programming and assistance ultimately provides cultural, educational and economic opportunities for the benefit of all Arkansans.

The Arkansas Arts Council was established in 1966 to enable the state of Arkansas to receive funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1971, Act 359 (A.C.A. § 13-8-101 et seq.) gave independent agency status to the Arts Council, with an executive director and a 17-member council appointed by the governor. In 1975, the Arts Council became an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, now the Division of Arkansas Heritage.

The Arkansas Arts Council is an agency of Arkansas Heritage and shares the goals of all big Division of Arkansas Heritage agencies, that of preserving and enhancing the heritage of the state of Arkansas. Funding for the Arkansas Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Arkansas and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Our Goals

• Encourage artistic excellence, diversity and innovation
• Promote equitable access to the arts for all Arkansans
• Develop arts in education for life-long learning
• Enhance community cultural and economic development
• Build and sustain the capacity of the Arkansas Arts Council to fulfill its mission

Arts In Education Grants 

The Arts in Education program initiates new arts programs, or enhances existing ones, in schools and local arts agencies by providing direct interaction with professional artists in residencies for pre K–12 students. All artists involved in AIE residencies must be selected from the Arts in Education Artist Roster.

Arts in Education In-School Residency Program

The Arts in Education In-School Residency program places professional artists during the school day or school year in residencies at specific school sites or in conjunction with other nonprofit community or governmental organizations and institutions. The program provides a way for artists to demonstrate their art form, create or perform works of art so that participants may observe the creative process and relate their art form to other K-12 curriculum areas. The program  is designed to strengthen the role of the arts in education with the understanding that the development of aesthetic awareness and participation in the arts should be an integral part of life and the basic education process. 

Funding

Grant award payments, of up to $40,000, are scheduled to accommodate the grantee program requirements to the extent possible. The 1:1 match can be 50% in-kind.

Clark County Community Foundation was founded as an affiliate office of Arkansas Community Foundation. We offer opportunities for nonprofits, corporations, families and individuals to protect and invest their charitable dollars in the people and the causes that they care about in Clark County.

Our mission is to engage people, connect resources and inspire solutions for the betterment of all of Clark County. We do this by creating endowment funds, building assets and awarding grants to help meet the needs of the community.

Giving Tree Grants

Local Giving Tree Grants Support Nonprofits working in and for Clark County. Giving Tree Grants are for general charitable purposes.  Our average grant size is $250 to $1,500.

Through our signature Giving Tree Grant Program, the Community Foundation supports a broad range of projects with the potential for statewide impact and programs serving immediate local needs. 

Funding Priorities/Focus Areas

The following have been identified as funding priorities for the SCBGP for Arkansas:

• Increasing sales and marketability and driving demand for specialty crops
• Increasing consumption of specialty crops in Arkansas’s schools by expanding child knowledge and/or improving access to the nutritional benefits of specialty crops
• Increasing access to local healthy foods
• Research projects focused on helping specialty crop growers reduce financial costs, improve pest and disease management, and/or value-added products
• Enhancing specialty crop food safety

About School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN).

Utilizing a unique framework of funding systems offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, managed care organizations, health insurers, and private donors, SBHSN promotes a system of care model (Coaching Model℠) offering a mix of evidenced-based intervention, prevention, and care coordination services to children in grades K-12. The Coaching Model aims to expand quality mental healthcare access on public school campuses and improve children's social, emotional, behavioral, family, and wellness outcomes.

School-Based Mental Health Implementation Grant

In response to the growing number of students who need mental health counseling, the School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN) is accepting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEA), Public and Private Universities, State and local Colleges, Charter School Management Companies, Public Schools, Charter Schools, and Non-Profit Organizations (501c3) to implement and expand mental health program services on local school campuses. Grantees will receive direct funding and reimbursement to support the following activities: 

• Expanding access to School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
• Coordinating mental healthcare services with school administration and staff. 
• Delivering mental healthcare services and coordinating academic-support activities to students with a history of attendance, behavior, and poor academic performance.

FUNDING

5-Years, renewable based on meeting performance goals 5-year award ceiling is $5,500,000.

Mission

The Roy & Christine Sturgis Charitable Trust was established in 1981 to support and promote quality educational, cultural, human services and health care programming for all people.

Roy Sturgis was one of ten children of an Arkansas farmer and homemaker. He dropped out of school after the tenth grade to join the Navy during World War I. Mr. Sturgis returned to his family home in southern Arkansas after the war and went to work in the local sawmills. In 1933, Roy Sturgis married Texas native Christine Johns. They became very successful in the timber, lumber and sawmill industries in Arkansas, owned other prosperous business enterprises and had notable success managing their investments. Mr. and Mrs. Sturgis spent most of their lives in Arkansas and Dallas, Texas. They did not have children, but were particularly interested in educational opportunities for young people. In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Sturgis supported organizations working in the areas of health, social services and the arts.

The majority of grants from the Sturgis Charitable Trust are 1 year in duration. On occasion, multi-year support is awarded. The Sturgis Charitable Trust encourages requests for the following types of grants:

• capital project-related
• medical research
• endowment campaigns

Funding for start-up programs and limited general operating requests will also be considered.

Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation

Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation helps provide a support system for Arkansas nonprofits working to create positive change for underserved populations.

Grants are awarded to programs that benefit African American or other underserved populations in Arkansas. Nonprofits with programs focusing on education, health and wellness, youth development, strengthening families, and economic development are eligible to apply. Grants that mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on these areas will also be considered.

The following factors are considered, although not exclusively, in reviewing proposals:

• Potential benefit to the community
• Capacity of the organization to achieve the results outlined
• Evidence of a plan for evaluating the project
• Potential for sustainability beyond grant period
• Evidence of cooperation or collaboration with other organizations
• Evidence of local financial support and the likelihood of future support for the project or program.

Background

Walmart’s more than 2 million associates are residents, neighbors, friends and family in thousands of communities around the globe. Walmart works to strengthen these communities through both our retail business and community giving. We support and invest in communities through local giving. The following programs have open application processes with specific deadlines for eligibility and consideration.

Northwest Arkansas Grant

Arkansas has been home to Walmart since 1962, when Sam Walton opened his first store in the town of Rogers. For the Northwest Arkansas Giving Program, eligible nonprofit organizations must operate within Northwest Arkansas or be affiliates/chapters of larger organizations that operate within the region and whose work directly relates to specific focus areas. To learn more, check out our Northwest Arkansas Giving Guidelines.

Improving Access and Availability to Healthier Food: 

We support programs that work to systematically improve access and availability to healthier food for underserved communities, including improving access to federal nutrition programs and evolving food recovery models. We also support collaboration between local nonprofits to meet the area’s long-term needs.

Behavioral Health Grant

The Behavioral Health grants will focus on improving the state of behavioral healthcare and mental health in Arkansas.

Grants will be awarded that address the following categories:

• Access to Quality Mental Healthcare
• Awareness, Education, and Outreach
• Crisis Care
• Early Intervention
• Mental Health Innovation
• Substance Use Disorder
• Suicide Prevention
• Preventative Behavioral Healthcare

Funding

Applicants may apply for amounts between $5,000 and $200,000. Partial Funding will not be granted.