I can’t count the number of hours I have spent in libraries and what that has done for my education and my well-being. I am happy to say I am raising two sons who also love libraries and are very lucky to attend public schools that have great library facilities. Our office staff enjoys time in the library which is extremely important to the field of research and evaluation. One of our own Improve Group staff members is currently seeking a Masters degree in library and information science.

My funder today wants to help school libraries and serve students who come from lower economic backgrounds by awarding money for needed library resources.

This week’s pick: The National Education Association Foundation believes “public education is the gateway to opportunity.” To assist in providing public schools with the resources they need for quality education the Foundation offers the NEA’s Books Across America Library Books Awards. Fifty awards of $1,000 each will be made to purchase books and other reading materials for public school libraries.

Applicants must be public school librarians, teachers or education support professionals. Seventy percent of the students in applicant schools must be eligible for free or reduced lunch. The deadline to apply is November 20, 2008. Applications are online and submitted via email. Click here to learn more.

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At the Improve Group, we work with surveys and survey data nearly every day. Surveys are a great method for reaching a large audience in a cost-effective manner, but they also have their drawbacks. The people you’re interested in reaching are not always motivated to take the survey and return it back to you. In our work with the Performing Arts Workshop, we have achieved some high response rates using an incentive to motivate teachers and parents to return surveys and consent forms.

In order for students to participate in our Performing Arts Workshop evaluation, their parents must first give consent. Last year, we found that many parents had not returned consent forms. We didn’t know if these parents truly did not want their child to participate in the evaluation or if they simply forgot to return the form. This year, we wanted to decrease the number of parents who forgot to return forms, so we enlisted the help of the teachers and offered an incentive for their help.

We consulted with teachers that were involved in last year’s evaluation and asked them suggestions for an incentive for their classrooms that would help motivate parents to return forms. Based on their advice, we are offering teachers with high response rates a $100 gift card to be used in the classroom for healthy snacks or other classroom supplies. This incentive has been highly successful so far; two weeks before the surveys are due back to us, we’ve already had three packets returned with 100% response rates.

We believe the incentive works so well because it motivates parents to return their forms and it also motivates teachers to follow up with parents that do not return forms. The incentive is given for offering the consent form, so parents who choose not to participate in the evaluation are not “counted against” the classroom total. We just ask that teachers let us know that the parents declined to participate in the study.

In offering an incentive, our goal was to ensure that each parent knew about the evaluation and was able to make an informed choice about whether their child would participate. Thanks to the help of the teachers, we have achieved this goal. We’ve found that the right incentive can do wonders for motivating people to proactively participate in evaluation.

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In the past month I have had the pleasure of conducting interviews on a 20-year arts education initiative in the State of South Carolina. I learned a great deal from those who have been involved in this ever-evolving and fully-engaged effort to integrate arts education so that every school child in South Carolina has the opportunity to experience and reap the benefits of what the arts disciplines have to offer. I have been particularly impressed with the management of this statewide initiative and the time talented individuals have put into making it a success.

One of the lessons I learned from their experience is the importance of getting the right people involved and impassioned about the work at hand. Everyone brings specific skills to the table. My funder this week is looking for skilled people to help in urban education settings through residencies in K-12 school districts.

This Week’s Pick: “The Broad Residency is an opportunity to use your education, business experience and passion to make a difference in a management career that truly counts.” The Broad Foundations offers two-year managerial placements in urban school districts and charter management organizations to have an impact in areas such as, new school openings, budgeting, operational efficiencies and human services.

Residents earn starting annual salaries of $85,000 to $95,000. Those with an advanced degree, four years of work experience, and who work in more than one area of business (marketing, strategic planning, budgeting, etc.) may apply. Having an ability to lead, strong problem solving skills and a real interest in urban education are desired. Interested candidates should submit a resume online at www.broadresidency.org.

Schedule to Apply:

• Resumes submitted by Dec 1
• Full applications by Dec 15
• Followed by phone interviews
• In person interviews by Feb/Mar
• Final interviews Apr
• Offers no later than May 29
• Residency begin Jul/Aug 09

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One of the key findings of the Rand Corporation’s 2005 research on early childhood education was that “early childhood intervention programs have been shown to yield benefits in academic achievement, behavior, educational progression and attainment, delinquency and crime, and labor market success, among other domains.” (See http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9145/index1.html). This plus many, many other early ed research projects support the need for enriching early childhood opportunities for children. The funder I am looking at today feels the same way.

This Week’s Pick: The A.L. Mailman Foundation offers the Mailman Family Foundation Grants “to promote the building of sustainable systems that provide access to high quality early learning experiences for all children.” Their funding priorities are:

• System-wide change
• Creating quality curriculum tools
• Providing families, teacher and caregivers knowledge and support to nurture and inform children

An application to the Foundation begins with a letter of inquiry - with the next deadline of December 1, 2008. Final submissions are by invitation only. Interested organizations must be 501©3 nonprofits with a national reach or a scope that entails more than one state. Typical grants amounts are in the $25,000 to $35,000 range. For more information and application guidelines, click here.

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As I continue to pay on a multitude of health care bills for my oldest son’s operations I feel immensely lucky to have an employer who offers health insurance to help ease some of the huge financial burden these bills pose. I know that my retired parents do not have health insurance. I worry about them and the thousands of others who are not adequately covered. Today’s funder has grants to help nonprofits serve this underserved population.

This Week’s Pick: McKesson International is a health care pharmaceutical and IT software company. Every year the McKesson Foundation grants $5 million in support of non-profits in the communities where they have an employee presence. The Foundation primarily funds direct health care services for uninsured and underinsured children for specific projects and programs, but general operating support will be considered in some circumstances.

Online applications for the $5,000 to $50,000 grants are accepted throughout the year and decided upon on at the end of the calendar year with distributions made the following March.

501©3 nonprofits in the following communities are eligible to apply:

Atlanta, GA
Broomfield, CO
Canada
Carrollton, TX
Charlotte, NC
Chicago, IL
Delran/Philadelphia
Dubuque, IA
Hadley, MA
Hartford, CT
Lakeland/Orlando, FL Livonia, MI
Los Angeles, CA
Memphis, TN
Newton, MA
Pittsburgh, PA
Richmond, VA
San Francisco, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
Springfield, MO
Twin Cities, MN

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