Grant Programs Soliciting Proposals:
> Environment Community	> Science & Technology Blasker
> Environment Blasker	**FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS**

Grant Programs Not Currently Soliciting Proposals:
> Arts & Culture	> Health & Human Services
> Civil Society	> Science & Technology

Welcome! We are very excited to announce our grantmaking programs. For those of you new to The San Diego Foundation, this program awards grants on a competitive basis across specific subject areas, each headed by Working Groups of committed volunteers.

"Understanding the San Diego Region" is the guiding principal for staff and Working Group volunteers in reviewing eligible proposals and making their recommendations for grantee partnerships. Since we work with limited resources, we must prioritize among competing needs. Thus, successful partnerships will be those that advance the grantmaking priorities of our Working Groups. We give preference to projects that have transformational goals with measurable, positive results in our communities.

We recognize that in order to advance long-term solutions, it is critical that we work with donors and nonprofit organizations to build and preserve enduring assets with permanent endowments. To that end, The San Diego Foundation will explore various strategies, products and services to build the financial capacity of our current and future partners. In your application, we encourage you to share with us your plans for growing and sustaining financial support to fulfill your mission in perpetuity.

Our grants programs cannot succeed without our volunteers, our donors, and you. We look forward to working with you to improve the quality of life for all our communities in the San Diego region.

*New this year:  All organizations applying for program grants from The San Diego Foundation and our family of affiliates will be required to complete an organizational portrait in BetterGiving to be eligible for funding.  The BetterGiving portrait will help form the core of your grant application allowing you the benefit of filling out a specific set of information once.  This information will then be used when your organization applies for future grants from The San Diego Foundation and/or our affiliates.  Portraits include programmatic, management, governance, and financial information on your organization.

To start a portrait for your organization, visit http://www.bettergivingsd.org and click on “Request a Portrait”.  Staff at The San Diego Foundation is available to answer any questions you have regarding your portrait.  Training session availability can also be found on the website.  The BetterGiving organization portrait will take approximately 4-6 hours to complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Grant Programs Soliciting Proposals:

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Environment Community

Spring 2010 Environment Community Grant Guidelines

The vision of The San Diego Foundation’s Environment Working Group is to ensure that all generations enjoy clean air, safe water, wildlife and access to green spaces and natural areas.

Within the next three years, the Environment Working Group will help strengthen the capacity and financial viability of environmental and environmental health & justice organizations to ensure the protection of the public trust—our air, land, water and other resources -- so people can live, work, play and learn in a clean and healthy environment. 

To this end, the Working Group will accept proposals requesting up to $50,000 focusing on the two initiatives listed below. In projects with timelines that exceed one year or involve significant collaboration between two or more groups, The Working Group will consider proposals of up to $75,000. 

Land and Watershed Conservation Initiative
This initiative will advance the completion of a network of green spaces, recreational parks and natural areas on rivers, canyons, lagoons and beaches to provide healthy lands, clean water and habitat for people and wildlife. The Foundation will support organizations whose programs contribute to one or more of the expected results listed below.

Expected results of the initiative over the next three years:

• Protection of an additional 3,300 acres annually for a total of 10,000 acres of critical habitats by 2013, through acquisition, easements, and open space dedication.
• Increased ability of at least 6 nonprofit organizations to work with public agencies to develop and implement plans and protocols for adaptive management, monitoring, and public use for recreational parks and natural areas by 2013.
• Increased ability of at least 3 nonprofit organizations to develop and enhance green space in park-deficient communities and to construct trails in parks and natural areas where appropriate.
• Increased ability of nonprofits to leverage Foundation funding (through support of organizations working to acquire and steward lands) in order to generate at least $5 million in additional public and private funding annually, for a total of $15 million by 2013.
• Recruitment and training of at least 300 new, long-term volunteers (at least 100 annually for docents, habitat/wildlife monitoring, etc.), at least 1,000 short-term volunteers (at least 330 annually for canyon clean ups, invasives removal, etc.), and 1,000 community advocates (e.g., new organizational membership, participants in public workshops, etc.).

Preference will be given to proposals that focus on:

• Protecting and connecting large blocks/cores of natural habitat of local/regional significance in order to protect biodiversity and enhance resilience to climate change.
• Increasing green spaces, recreational parks and natural areas - including trails and community gardens - in communities where such commons resources are deficient.
• Improving community stewardship of canyons, parks and nature preserves through development of recreational amenities, educational programs, and opportunities for long-term volunteer engagement.
• Identifying specific adaptive management techniques, etc.
• Engaging in community outreach and advocacy efforts that are needed to inform public policy/public funding priorities in land and watershed and conservation.

Clean Environments, Healthy Communities Initiative
This initiative will support efforts to enhance human health and environments in low-income communities in the San Diego region. There is a significant amount of funding for this initiative that is restricted to tribes. The Foundation will support organizations whose programs contribute to one or more of the expected results listed below.

Expected results of the initiative over the next three years

• Increased capacity of at least 3 local organizations and/or low-income communities to more effectively advocate for public policy that ensures clean air, safe water and access to green space in the San Diego region.
• Increased ability of at least 2 local nonprofits and 6 low-income communities to reduce exposure to toxic pollutants, increase access to green space, and build healthier places.
• Increased ability to monitor and track at least 6 primary sources of pollution (at least 2 annually), and related detriments to the health and well being of low-income communities.
• Recruit and train at least 30 long–term volunteers (at least 10 annually for air/water quality monitoring, environmental health education outreach, etc.), at least 300 short-term volunteers (at least 100 annually for reservation clean ups, canvassing activities, etc.), and 1,000 other community advocates (e.g., new organizational membership, participants in public workshops, etc.).

Preference will be given to proposals that focus on:

• Increasing data collection/analysis/integration that assists in the development, improvement and/or enforcement of effective measures and/or policies to abate pollutants and improving access to green space in low-income communities and our region’s 18 tribal reservations.
• Efforts that integrate climate action planning and disaster preparedness into environmental health-focused work.
• Collaboration among organizations,  agencies  and/or low-income communities to more effectively advocate for public policy that ensures clean air, safe water and access to green space in the San Diego region.

New this year: All organizations applying for a 2010 Environment Community Grant will be required to complete an organizational portrait in BetterGiving in order to be eligible for funding.  Portraits include programmatic, management, governance and financial information on your organization.  To start a portrait for your organization, please visit www.bettergivingsd.org and click on “Request a Portrait”. 

Questions?  Contact Marisa Quiroz, Manager, Environment Program, at Marisa@sdfoundation.org

GRANT GUIDELINES & APPLICATION 2010 Community Impact Grant Guidelines - Environment Community To be begin a new application https://www.GrantRequest.com/SID_502?SA=SNA&FID=35047 To return to your application – Account Log in https://www.grantrequest.com/SID_502/?SA=AM Logic Model Chart - Click here to view the chart Rationales Assumptions and Results - Click here to review

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Spring 2010 Environment Blasker Grant Guidelines

The Blasker-Rose-Miah Fund was established at The San Diego Foundation “to nurture and develop unique and innovative discoveries and experiences which may be of benefit to all mankind, and to support and encourage individuals with high potential in the scientific, engineering, and medical fields to reach their full potential in their chosen areas of study, work, and analysis.”  Emphasis is placed on supporting students and young scientists. 

Blasker Grants are awarded in two areas: Environment and Science & Technology. Grants will support programs and projects that have the potential to improve the quality of life in the San Diego region and to support and encourage San Diegans to reach their full potential.  Preference will be given to programs or projects that facilitate collaboration between university researchers and local nonprofits whose work helps to advance either of the above listed program areas.

Environment Blasker grant applicants are encouraged to apply for grants up to $75,000. Multi-year proposals may be considered, where proposed project timelines exceed one year.

 To be eligible, proposed projects or programs should:

• Advance innovative and creative scientific projects or research.
• Foster the development of individuals with high potential in the scientific, medical, and engineering fields to reach their potential in their chosen areas of study, work, and analysis.
• Be conducted in and have practical application for the San Diego region.
• Focus on (1) the potential local impacts of global climate change (i.e., in areas such as extreme weather patterns, environmental health, biodiversity, fire ecology, our local water and energy supply, and sea level rise), and (2) ways to reduce our local greenhouse gas emissions and minimize climate change impacts.

Preference will be given to proposals that focus on water, assessment of potential adaptive management techniques to enhance species and habitat resilience to climate change, and evaluation of the carbon sequestration potential of parks and natural areas throughout the San Diego region. The most competitive proposals will be those that match all of the above listed criteria.

Projects may include but are not limited to: internships, fellowships, and promotion of mentorship, but not scholarships. Preference will be given to individuals who have attended and graduated from a high school in San Diego County and are continuing their studies at an institution in San Diego. Additional preference will be given to projects or programs that enhance collaboration between university researchers, local nonprofits and/or community residents engaged in environmental work.

Questions? Contact Dr. Emily Young, Senior Director, Environment Program at Eyoung@sdfoundation.org.

GRANT GUIDELINES & APPLICATION 2010 Community Impact Grant Guidelines - Environment Blasker To be begin a new application https://www.GrantRequest.com/SID_502?SA=SNA&FID=35049 To return to your application – Account Log in https://www.grantrequest.com/SID_502/?SA=AM

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Spring 2010 Science and Technology Blasker Guidelines

The Blasker-Rose-Miah Fund was established at The San Diego Foundation “to nurture and develop unique and innovative discoveries and experiences which may be of benefit to all mankind, and to support and encourage individuals with high potential in the scientific, engineering, and medical fields to reach their full potential in their chosen areas of study, work, and analysis.” 

Blasker Research Awards are awarded in two areas:

• Environment Blasker Research Awards and
• Science & Technology Blasker Research Awards

Science and Technology Blasker grant applicants are encouraged to apply for grants up to $75,000.

To be eligible, proposed projects or programs must:

• Advance innovative, unique and creative scientific projects or research.
• Foster the development of individuals with high potential in the scientific, medical, and engineering fields to reach their potential in their chosen areas of study, work and analysis. Emphasis is placed on projects that stimulate and encourage early-career scientists with high potential. Early-career scientists are defined as those scientists at the critical early stage of their research programs, generally postgraduate and pre-tenured scientists.
• Be conducted in and have practical application for the San Diego Region
• The most competitive proposals will be those that match all of the above listed criteria.

Along with the above criteria, strength of the proposal and scientific merit evaluation will also consider the dissemination of information component and potential for multiple beneficiaries either in the form of students, co-investigators, or otherwise.
Along with supporting innovative research, projects may include but are not limited to: internships, fellowships, postdoctoral support and promotion of mentorship, but not scholarships. Preference will be given to individuals who have attended and graduated from a high school in San Diego County and are continuing their studies or research at an institution in San Diego.

Questions? Contact Kerri Favela, Community Grants Administrator at kerri@sdfoundation.org.

GRANT GUIDELINES & APPLICATION 2010 Community Impact Grant Guidelines - Science & Technology Blasker To be begin a new application https://www.GrantRequest.com/SID_502?SA=SNA&FID=35048 To return to your application – Account Log in https://www.grantrequest.com/SID_502/?SA=AM

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Grant Programs Not Currently Soliciting Proposals:

Arts & Culture

Community Impact Grant applications for Arts and Culture will not be solicited for the 2010 grant cycle. Only the 2009 Community Impact Arts and Culture grantees were invited to apply for Phase Two funding of the multi-year Art Works for San Diego Initiative and those awards have already been made. All grant funding has been committed for the 2010 calendar year; no additional or discretionary funding is available. For more information concerning the Initiative, please see below or contact Felicia Shaw, Director Arts and Culture at 619-235-2300 or Felicia@sdfoundation.org .

THE INITIATIVE
The Foundation’s Arts and Culture Working Group (ACWG) has established a broad and ambitious vision for San Diego’s arts and culture: To galvanize the San Diego community around enhanced arts and culture to ensure that the San Diego region has all the resources to become a nationally-competitive arts and culture center .
With this vision in mind, the Foundation launched Art Works for San Diego, a multi-phased regional initiative developed to demonstrate the power of art and culture to bring communities together to address community needs. This initiative is grounded in research from the 2006 pARTicipate San Diego study that emphasized the valuable role arts and culture plays in our lives. Over the next several years, Art Works for San Diego will enable the Foundation to realize the boldest vision for art-based community development through strategic grantmaking, capacity building activities, donor engagement and cultivation efforts, and increased public awareness and advocacy around issues that would benefit from San Diego Foundation leadership. Under this Initiative and with support from a generous grant from the James Irvine Foundation’s Communities Advancing the Arts Initiative, the ACWG is also studying the feasibility of establishing a permanent endowment for arts and culture at the Foundation.

THE PROCESS – PHASE ONE AND TWO
In Phase One, the ACWG invited nonprofit organizations to propose projects that support the singular Art Works for San Diego goal: to use arts and culture to bring people together to address a greater community need. The ACWG was particularly interested in projects in which civic engagement is an important catalyst for cultural development and social change.  Grants of $25,000 each were awarded to eight nonprofit organizations to help further develop their project ideas, to engage the community in their planning processes and to research other models that could inform and inspire their work. To increase capacity and ensure success, the Foundation also provided the grantees as well as the larger arts and culture community with a variety of networking and learning opportunities focusing on arts and civic engagement.

At the end of Phase One, each of the eight grantees completed a final performance report which helped the ACWG determine which projects offered the greatest opportunities for success. Of the eight grantees, six were invited to reapply for funding and of the six applicants, four were awarded grants of $45,000 each to implement their projects. Phase Two grantees include: Cygnet Theatre (The HeART of Old Town); Escondido History Center (Saturdays in the Park); The Old Globe Theatre (Southeastern San Diego Residency Project); and the Playwrights Project (Telling Stories: Giving Voice to Foster Youth). Phase Two implementation grants will begin in January 2010 and conclude in December 2010.

MOVING FORWARD
Due to the unexpected decline in the economy no decisions concerning Phase Three of the Art Works for San Diego Initiative have been made. However, it is anticipated that a call for new proposals under this Initiative will not occur until the latter part of 2011 for the 2012 calendar year.

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Civil society

The San Diego Foundation envisions San Diego County as a region where people willingly come together around shared interests and purposes, embrace diversity and divergent points of view, collectively participate in problem solving, and mobilize to take action that leads to improved quality of life in their own communities and in the region as a whole.   The Civil Society Program is focused on building and strengthening four key elements of a vibrant civil society:

• equity and inclusion of diverse communities in all areas of civic life; 
• “public square” discussions and convenings, where individuals and groups come together to learn from each other and to work towards new understandings;
• quality information that is freely available, commonly shared and dedicated to the specific needs and requirements of San Diegans throughout the region; and
• decision-making processes that are transparent, participatory and accountable.

Community Impact Grant applications for Civil Society will not be solicited for the 2010 grant cycle.  Only 2009 Civil Society grant recipients will be invited to apply for Year 2 funding under the Regional Information Initiative.   Please see below or contact Cheryl Alethia Phelps, Director of Civil Society Analysis & Strategy at 619-235-2300 or Cheryl@sdfoundation.org for more information.

The REGIONAL INFORMATION INITIATIVE
In 2009, the Civil Society Working Group embarked upon a major, multi-year Regional Information Initiative to better inform and engage the region’s diverse communities through innovate use of digital media.  This Initiative was made possible by a two-year challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  It will create a scalable digital network of local news and information characterized by professional and lay journalism, community-based digital storytelling, and robust user-engagement.  Our primary partners in this endeavor are the voiceofsandiego.org, Media Arts Center San Diego, and the San Diego County Library.  Special interest partnerships with the SDSU Department of Religious Studies and Lincoln High School were established in 2009.   

In January 2010, we will launch “The People’s Post: Local Voices.  On The Web.” a significant project under the Regional Information Initiative. Over the next two years, the resources and efforts of the Civil Society Program will be focused on strengthening the capacity of the Regional Information Initiative primary partners to sustain this project financially and via broad-based public participation.  Again, the Working Group may selectively foster special interest and site-based partnerships to ensure significant participation of overlooked, underserved and marginalized individuals and communities.   Proposals will be considered by invitation only. 

The REGIONAL VISION INITIATIVE
The Regional Vision Initiative is a multi-year, multi-phase endeavor launched by the Civil Society Working Group and guided by a special committee of The Foundation’s Board of Governors.  This Initiative will develop and implement  a process leading to the creation of a 50-100 year strategic vision and subsequent action plan for the greater San Diego region that encompasses the shared values and priorities of all its residents.  The Working Group will continue to shepherd the “Let’s Imagine…” convenings integral to galvanizing public support for the Initiative, however grant-making is not under consideration at this time.

Community Partnerships grant applications for Civil Society are not being solicited for the 2010 grant cycle.

For additional information, please contact Cheryl Alethia Phelps, Director of Civil Society Analysis & Strategy at 619-235-2300 or Cheryl@sdfoundation.org.

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Health & Human Services

The Health and Human Services Working Group is not seeking grant applications for the 2010 Community Impact competitive grants cycle.  The program currently supports two focus areas based on the grant making priorities of previous grant cycles: the San Diego Family Asset Building Coalition and the Paradise Valley Community Health Fund program.

San Diego Family Asset Building Coalition

The Health & Human Services Working Group’s research, investigation and grant awards to date indicate that families who are vulnerable to episodic homelessness benefit from financial education that leads to budget management, traditional banking relationships, reduction of debt, improved credit, and increased savings.
From 2004 through 2008, through the Prevention of Family Homelessness Initiative, the Health & Human Services Working Group provided broad support for financial education and asset building programs of community-based organizations serving the residents of the San Diego region.

In 2005, The San Diego Foundation asked its grantees to partner and form the San Diego Family Asset Building Coalition. Each organization, focused on serving particular populations or geographic areas throughout San Diego County, provides financial education and asset-building programming through a combination of classroom training and one-on-one counseling. Together, the Coalition organizations pool their knowledge and resources to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in program delivery with the goal of improving the quality of life for individuals and families through the development of their financial and human capital. By adopting common outcome measures, the Coalition aims to demonstrate the impact of its programs and develop a powerful collective voice.
As a true partnership, the Coalition embodies the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Center for Working Families model and, thus, offers access to a full array of client services across the Coalition that may not be available within one organization.
From 2009 through 2010, the Health & Human Services Working Group will focus support on strengthening and expanding the San Diego Family Asset Building Coalition to assure its sustainability.

Paradise Valley Community Health Fund Program

In October 2009, The San Diego Foundation approved grants totaling $3,071,674 to increase access to health care services, with special attention to early intervention of chronic disease and/ or the integration of primary and behavioral care, to organizations providing services in the community surrounding Paradise Valley Hospital located in National City.  The grants were funded through the Paradise Valley Community Health Fund, which was seeded with $3 million when Prime Healthcare Services, a for-profit corporation, bought the hospital from Adventist Health in 2007.  The San Diego Foundation supplanted the fund with contributions from its own broad and narrow field of interest funds.
Eight organizations received funding for two-year programs which will collectively address the following themes: increased access to care at community clinics through the medical home establishment model; reduced non-emergent use of hospitals’ Emergency Room departments, especially for chronic conditions; increased access to dental and primary care for school aged youth K-12 and residents with no other form of health benefits; increased domestic violence support programming; and increased behavioral health case management services integrated into primary care delivery settings.  Grantees include: the California Dental Association Foundation/ University of the Pacific; Metro United Methodist Ministries/ CASBIRT; San Ysidro Health Center; SAY San Diego; Scripps-Whittier Diabetes Institute; Sharp Healthcare Foundation/ Sharp Chula Vista Hospital; South Bay Community Services; and the UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic.

In 2010 and 2011, the Health and Human Services Working Group will focus its efforts on supporting this cohort of grantees and monitoring the progress of the grant-funded programs.

For additional information, please contact Robyn Chatten, Manager, Community Partnerships at 619-235-2300 or robyn@sdfoundation.org.

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Science & Technology Community

Questions?
Please contact Kerri Favela, Community Grants Administrator, at (619) 235-2300.

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