Grantee & Partner News

March 22, 2013

Grantee News From Grantmakers in the Arts:

March 15, 2013

Grantee News From: Headlands Center For The Arts:

WORK.PLAY.THINK.MAKE.HERE.
Applications Open for 2013-2014 Programs

AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Subsidized Studios for Local Artists, Writers & Designers
The Affiliate Artists Program awards partially subsidized participation in an immersive studio practice program to approximately 20 Bay Area artists annually. Affiliates receive subsidized studio space in an artist-rehabilitated former military building, as well as full access to Headlands’ creative community. Learn more
Program Dates: July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014
Application Deadline: April 15, 2013

TOURNESOL AWARD
Annual Cash & Studio Award for One Bay Area Painter
The Tournesol Award recognizes one Bay Area painter each year, supporting him or her in taking major steps toward establishing and maintaining a career in the Bay Area. The Award is designed to support a full year of artistic work and development, and includes a $10,000 cash stipend, a private studio, and a funded final exhibition or project of the artist’s choice. Learn more
Program Dates: July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014
Application Deadline: May 3, 2013

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Residency Awards for Artists from Around the World
The Artist in Residence (AIR) program awards fully sponsored residencies to approximately 45 local, national, and international artists each year. Residencies of four to ten weeks include private studio space, chef-prepared meals, comfortable housing, and travel and living stipends when available. Learn more
Program dates: March 2014 – December 2014
Application Deadline: June 7, 2013

Grantee News From: Looking@Democracy

A new competition offers $100,000 in prizes for creative and provocative digital media pieces that offer new ideas and fresh perspectives to help improve American democracy. The competition –Looking@Democracy – aims to spark a national conversation about why government is important to our lives and how individuals and communities can come together to strengthen American democracy.

“Given our perception that the political system has failed to adequately address major issues confronting the nation, MacArthur seeks to stimulate discussion about the future of the Republic and invests in promising ideas to help enhance democratic ideals, institutions, and practices,” said MacArthur President Robert Gallucci. “This new public competition is all about engaging citizens and encouraging them to apply their creative talents and offer their ideas to strengthen American democracy.”

By welcoming submissions in any digital format (e.g., videos, apps, data visualizations, podcasts, graphic art), the competition hopes to engage independent media makers, investigative reporters, students, graphic designers, and artists – anyone with creative ideas to help engage Americans and shift the political discussion in a fresh and engaging way. Examples of successful approaches could include addressing a critical topic that is absent from the national debate, looking at data and exploring the stories behind them, or highlighting an aspect about democracy taking place on a local level.

Looking@Democracy is a project of the Illinois Humanities Council and funded by MacArthur. Submissions are due by April 30 and will be reviewed by a panel of expert judges from media and the nonprofit community.

February 22, 2013

Grantee News From RSF Social Finance:

We love our Seed Fund, it’s small and mighty like us. The RSF Seed Fund provides grants from $500 – $5,000 to projects that provide innovative solutions to further the field of social finance or address issues in one of our three focus areas. Although the grants are small, they make a large impact on the projects they support by providing essential start-up capital.  March 15^th marks the deadline to submit applications for the 2013.  More>

Grantee News From: Reproductive Health Technologies Project:

CDC Report Shows Critical Role of Emergency Contraception
Advocates Press HHS to Remove Unnecessary Restrictions

(WASHINGTON, DC) — A new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report confirms the key role emergency contraception plays in providing a safe, back-up birth control method.

“This report validates the importance of emergency contraception to millions of women and couples.  It’s a safe and simple method, and there is no need for the current restrictions that can create confusion and delays for someone seeking emergency contraception at a moment when timing matters,” said Susannah Baruch, Interim President and CEO of Reproductive Health Technologies Project.  One year ago, December 7, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled the Food Drug Administration (FDA) and continued restricting Plan B One Step® emergency contraception to its behind the pharmacy counter status for women 17 and older.

“In light of this report, we hope that the Department of Health and Human Services will revisit the evidence and reverse its decision to restrict access to emergency contraception,” Baruch added.  “This is a medication the FDA said should be accessible to all ages.  It should be on the pharmacy shelf between condoms and pregnancy test kits, available to women and couples without hassle or delay.  All of us need tools like emergency contraception to avoid unplanned pregnancy and to stay healthy.”

In the year since HHS overruled the conclusions of FDA experts, barriers such as age, valid identification, and less than universal availability have continued to undermine timely access by those who need this product to prevent unintended pregnancy.  A recent Boston University study of 943 pharmacies in five major cities revealed that, when callers posed as 17 year olds seeking EC, one in five were incorrectly told they could not purchase EC under any circumstances.[1] Scientific research and expert opinions support removal of any age restriction and moving this safe and effective medication from behind the pharmacy counter to store shelves.

February 8, 2013

Grantee News From Truman National Security Project:

Truman National Security Project scored two major wins from Campaigns & Elections Magazine at their fifth-annual Reed Awards celebration this weekend. Winning “Best Television Advertisement of 2012″ and “Toughest Advertisement of 2012″, our ad, Commander in Chief, features veterans calling for strong leadership on national security during the presidential election and beyond.

Showcasing the top talent nationwide in newspaper, online, radio and television political advertising, the Reed Awards celebrate the best in savvy public affairs and political communications.

Over the past three years, we have also received Reed Awards for “Best Newspaper Advertisement of 2011,” “Best Online Independent Expenditure/Web Video of 2011,” “Best Use of Voiceover Talent of 2011,”and “Best Public Affairs Campaign of 2010.”

Commander in Chief was also highlighted by the New York Times as one of the four most influential messages of 2012.

Grantee News From One Million Bones:

On February 23, 2013, join MoAD and the One Million Bones Project to take the Students Rebuild Challenge : Make a clay bone, a symbol of solidarity with victims and survivors in ongoing conflicts in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and the Sudan. Each bone that is created generates funds for CARE’s work in the region.All the bones made at MoAD will beincluded in an installation that will blanket the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

January 22, 2013

Grantee News From MapLight:

Below is a video spotlighting some of MapLight’s projects and accomplishments from 2012.

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January 21, 2013

Grantee News From CoreAlign:

We are excited to launch the new CoreAlign website!
After launching our initial programs, we are pleased to provide an online space where you can learn more about CoreAlign’s work and engage with other leaders from around the country.

December 20, 2012

Grantee News from Groundswell Fund:

At the end of 2012, a year in which women, young people, and people of color flexed their political power and changed the face of politics in our country, Groundswell Fund is pleased to have granted approximately $3 million to more than 60 organizations – many of which are led by youth under the age of 35 and nearly all of which (94%) are led by people of color – in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Groundswell is also excited to have launched a new capacity building program for a cohort of organizations who are building power with voters in the Rising American Electorate.

In 2012, Groundswell grantee organizations used organizing, voter engagement, and culture change strategies to empower their communities, and were instrumental in winning several exciting reproductive justice victories:

In Florida, Mi-Lola, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and Power Uteamed up to help defeat Amendment 6, which would have changed the state constitution to remove a woman’s right to “privacy,” clearing a path for any number of abortion restrictions, such as barriers to insurance coverage, and mandatory ultrasounds or waiting periods.
The Native American Community Board won a commitment from the federal Indian Health Service’s Chief Medical Officer to add over-the-counter distribution of emergency contraception for women aged 17 and over to its protocols.
In California, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, in partnership with the Center for Young Women’s Development and Forward Together, helped win passage of AB 2530, which prohibits the shackling of pregnant women around the belly, ankles or behind the back at any point in their pregnancy and bars the use of any restraints during labor, delivery and recovery in CA prisons, youth authority, county jails and juvenile detention facilities.

The 2012 elections demonstrated the political power of women, young people and people of color. Groundswell Fund grantees are at the vanguard of mobilizing these key constituencies at a moment when a vibrant and representative democracy is more important than ever. And that makes Groundswell’s unique and effective mix of grantmaking, technical assistance and training more important than ever.

Your support made the difference in 2012. Please join us as we go forward to provide reproductive justice organizations around the country with the resources and support they need to keep winning.