Monday Mailing
Year 20 • Issue 07 21 October 2013 1. EPA Report Covers Stormwater Management Practices for Vacant Lots and Brownfields 2. Charities Question Donation Bins 3. Look Who's Accused of Secretly Paying To Prevent Labels on GMO Food 4. Economic Impact – Tools and Templates 5. In Portland, Craft Beer Thrives at Low-Brow Bars 6. Mobilizing Community Partnerships in Rural Communities: Strategies and Techniques 7. New NACo Report: Digital Coast: Tools to Promote County Resilience 8. Webinar to Discuss the Impact of Downtown on Economic Development, October 23, from 2-3pm ET 9. Inside 23andMe Founder Anne Wojcicki’s $99 DNA Revolution 10. The Young Girl Who's Best Friends with African Wildlife 11. Funding Opportunities.
Quote of the Week: Always remember that the future comes one day at a time. ~Dean Acheson
Oregon Fast Fact #72: The John Day River has more miles of scenic waterway than any river in the United States. The river's total length is 281 miles.
1. EPA Report Covers Stormwater Management Practices for Vacant Lots and Brownfields This EPA report presents information to assist communities, developers, and other stakeholders in determining the appropriateness of implementing stormwater management practices that promote infiltration at vacant parcels and brownfield sites. The new guide walks decision-makers through a series of questions to determine whether infiltration or other stormwater management approaches are appropriate for a specific brownfield property. Strategies for reducing or eliminating these risks can include removing contaminated soil or waste materials, treating soils on site, placing a cap or barrier over contaminated areas, bioremediation, or monitored natural attenuation. To access the full report, click here. 2. Charities Question Donation Bins A Chicago-based nonprofit environmental group with a dubious record of giving has moved into Eugene’s used-clothing donation marketplace, and locally established nonprofit groups hope people will steer clear of the newcomer’s distinctive green collection bins. Gaia Movement — which for years has earned a failing grade by a leading national charity watchdog organization — began setting up its bins in Lane County last month, and has big plans to expand throughout the state. “The idea is to put a collection bin in every neighborhood and community in Oregon,” said Kevin Escobar, a Portland resident who serves as Gaia’s operations manager in Oregon. Escobar, who said he used to be an executive for Portland-based Voodoo Doughnut, has this year overseen the placement of about 90 Gaia clothing donation boxes in the state, most of them in the Portland area. Ten such bins have appeared outside businesses in Eugene and Page 1 of 6
Springfield since mid-September, and “there will be more,” Escobar said. To access the full story, click here. 3. Look Who's Accused of Secretly Paying To Prevent Labels on GMO Food GMO labeling hasn't exactly been embraced by major food corporations. Companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills and Kellogg’s have thrown down plenty of cash to defeat various initiatives across the country, and the story isn't any different in Washington state, where a new push to label GMO foods has been gaining momentum. The rub? You wouldn't know it. The major brands have been accused of hiding behind a trade association to lobby against the effort in an attempt to avoid customer backlash and a public relations nightmare. Washington state's Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit yesterday claiming the Grocery Manufacturers Association—which represents more than 300 household brands—has violated campaign disclosure laws. The group is accused of failing to form a political committee registered with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission after it solicited and collected nearly $13.5 million in contributions, spending $7.2 in efforts to a defeat ballot measure I-522, which would require genetically modified foods to be labeled. To access the full story, click here. 4. Economic Impact – Tools and Templates Each year the National Center develops new applications of the impact model to policy relevant issues. These applications can be modified to fit other states regardless of geographical or demographical differences and serve as tools for community and state leaders facing rural health related challenges. The model can be applied at the state, regional, county, or zip code level. For more information, click here 5. In Portland, Craft Beer Thrives at Low-Brow Bars When location scouts for 1995's "Mr. Holland's Opus" went searching for a nondescript Portland location where the film's eponymous music teacher could doodle on his masterwork in peace, they chose Roscoe's. In the scene, set in 1980, star Richard Dreyfuss sits at a faded booth in the longtime Southeast Stark Avenue dive -- done up as a diner -- and encourages a breathless student to follow her singing passion to New York. At Roscoe's today, you'll find the ambiance mostly unchanged. The walls are still lined with the same chevron-patterned wooden slats. The booths are still there, now stationed to the left of the door. If anything, the lighting is dimmer. But there is a difference. Behind the bar, Roscoe's now pours some 20 draft beers, recently dominated by an enviable assortment of fresh hop ales. To access the full story, click here.
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6. Mobilizing Community Partnerships in Rural Communities: Strategies and Techniques This Report describes how rural communities can develop and maintain organizational and community partnerships with local health departments, community health centers, healthcare organizations, offices of rural health, hospitals, and non-profit organizations. To access the report, click here. 7. New NACo Report: Digital Coast: Tools to Promote County Resilience The National Association of Counties’ new report, Digital Coast: Tools to Promote County Resilience, provides an overview of Digital Coast, a suite of tools that can be used to analyze and communicate about coastal natural resource management issues. Digital Coast, developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center, offers powerful tools to assist users in accessing data on coastal vulnerability, simulating projections of impacts, creating visualizations of potential future scenarios, and more. The report goes in-depth on specific Digital Coast tools that address needs related to natural resource management and habitat restoration, land use and planning, and outreach and communication. It closes with an exploration of emerging trends and public policy initiatives in coastal communities and next steps for counties interested in putting Digital Coast tools into action. To access the report, click here. 8. Webinar to Discuss the Impact of Downtown on Economic Development, October 23, from 2-3pm ET Downtown is the heart of any community, and public spaces can provide fun, safe, gathering areas in any city center. But when these spaces are not well-maintained, they can fall into disrepair, becoming less welcoming to visitors and residents. In this webinar hosted by Community Builders, Lisa Harmon, Executive Director of the Billings Downtown Association in Billings, Montana will share her experience in public space management. She will discuss success stories and lessons learned, covering topics including: the role of Business Improvement Districts; Public Space Beautification; Cooperative safety programs; Creating grassroots committees for lasting impact; and more. To register for this webinar, click here. 9. Inside 23andMe Founder Anne Wojcicki’s $99 DNA Revolution You can purchase 14 gallons of organic milk or 396 lollipops. You can give her 33 rides on the Ferris wheel at the state fair, or you can get him a couple of violin lessons. You could put the money in a savings account, you could buy her her very own LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer digital learning tablet, or you could buy enough pizzas to feed all of her friends on the block. So many options, so many choices. I took that money and got my daughter's genes tested, ordering up an analysis of the composition of her very small self and its odds of living a long and healthy life. And in so doing, I in some small way tied her fate to the success of the company doing the analysis, a genetic-testing startup called 23andMe in Mountain View, California. To access the full story, click here.
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10. The Young Girl Who's Best Friends with African Wildlife Born in Africa to French wildlife photographer parents, Tippi Degré had a most unusual childhood. The young girl grew up in the African desert and developed an uncommon bond with many untamed animals including a 28-year old African elephant named Abu, a leopard nicknamed J&B, lion cubs, giraffes, an Ostrich, a mongoose, crocodiles, a baby zebra, a cheetah, giant bullfrogs, and even a snake. Africa was her home for many years and Tippi became friends with the ferocious animals and tribespeople of Namibia. As a young child, the French girl said, “I don’t have friends here. Because I never see children. So the animals are my friends." Parents Alain Degré and Sylvie Robert documented Tippi's life and relationships with the African wildlife and transformed those moments into captivating books and movies. Tippi of Africa, published in 1998, told Tippi's story of she and her parents, and Tippi's close bonds with wild animals made her quite famous. Her mother said, "She was in the mindset of these animals. She believed the animals were her size and her friends. She was using her imagination to live in these different conditions." To access the full story, click here. 11. Funding Opportunities Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Innovations in Rural Health Award - Application deadline: Oct 31, 2013. Award for original, innovative solutions to drive health improvement in rural communities. Source: Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Foundation for Rural Education and Development Revises Eligibility Guidelines for Fall Technology Grants - Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to rural public schools for projects that enhance learning by increasing the use of technology in the classroom.... Deadline: November 15, 2013 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Invites Entries From Creative Teens Scholarships of up to $10,000 are available to talented teen artists and writers in the United States and Canada in twenty-eight art and writing categories, including film and animation, video game design, sculpture, photography, fashion design, poetry, journalism, humor, dramatic script, and science fiction.... Deadline: Various Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Seeks Proposals to Strengthen Secondary Education Grants of up to $200,000 will be awarded to support innovative professional development programs that strengthen teachers, and their teaching, in grades 9-12.... Deadline: Ongoing New Music USA Invites Submissions for New Music Project Grants Grants of up to $20,000 are available to musicians or organizations with music projects that involve premieres of new music through a live performance or recording.... Deadline: November 4, 2013 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Students to Service Loan Repayment Program (S2S LRP) - Application deadline: Nov 14, 2013 Provides loan repayment assistance to medical students (MD and DO) who agree to provide primary care health services in eligible Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) of greatest need. Source: National Health Service Corps Rural Health Network Development Grant Program (RHND) - Application deadline: Nov 22, 2013. Grants for health care networks in rural areas to assist with increasing access to and maintaining the quality of health care services. Source: Office of Rural Health Policy
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E3 — Effectiveness, Efficiency and Excellence in Healthcare - Application deadline: Dec 6, 2014. Supports programs that help healthcare providers implement best practices that can transform patient care. Sponsor: Cardinal Health Foundation Fiskars' Project Orange Thumb Seeks Applications for Community Garden Grants and Makeovers - Ten organizations in the United States and Canada will receive $5,000 in cash and tools for neighborhood beautification projects, while one applicant will receive a complete garden makeover.... Deadline: December 31, 2013 Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries Accepting School Library Grant Applications - Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to help school libraries in disadvantaged communities expand, update, and diversify their book collections.... Deadline: December 2, 2013 National Forest Foundation Accepting Applications for 2014 Matching Awards Program Matching grants ranging from $500 to more than $100,000 will be awarded for direct on-the-ground and citizen-based monitoring projects benefiting America's national forests and grasslands....Deadline: January 14, 2014 National Endowment for the Arts Releases Funding Guidelines for Our Town program Now available on the National Endowment for the Arts website are the guidelines and application materials for Our Town, the agency's primary creative placemaking grants program. Pending availability of funding, grants will range from $25,000 to $200,000. Our Town will invest in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with arts and/or design organizations and artists, seek to: improve their quality of life; encourage greater creative activity; foster stronger community identity and a sense of place; and revitalize economic development. Click here to learn more about the types of arts engagement, cultural planning, and design activities will be considered. The application deadline is January 13, 2014 at 11:59 PM ET. A webinar will be held on November 4 2013, 2:00pm EST to provide more information. Click here for Q&A’s about Our Town. E-mail any inquiries to OT@arts.gov. IBM Smarter Cities Challenge Open for Applications The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge 2014 is open for applications now through November 8. The Smarter Cities Challenge brings the skills and expertise of teams of top-talent IBMers to address the key challenges facing cities around the world. Over the past 3 years, 100 cities have been selected to receive grants. For the 2014 cycle, the Smarter Cities Challenge is open to local and regional generalpurpose governing bodies, including cities, counties, prefectures, boroughs, and districts. Special districts, such as port authorities, school districts or utility districts, are not eligible for the program at this time. Cities and regions apply to the Smarter Cities Challenge by identifying a top strategic challenge that they propose to address with IBM's support. Winning cities and regions receive a team of 5-6 IBM experts to work closely with them for a 3-week period on their proposed challenge. During the project, the IBM team gathers and analyzes all available data; meets with dozens of stakeholders in government, businesses, not-for-profits, and other organizations to gather diverse perspectives about root causes and potential solutions to the challenge at hand; and assesses success stories from other cities that might be applicable. At the end of the engagement, the IBM team delivers strategic recommendations and an implementation plan in a presentation and a written report that draw upon the technical experience and strategic insight of the IBM team, city staff, and community members. The application consists of essay questions and a brief letter signed by the mayor or equivalent executive officer certifying the submission and designating the project as a high priority. The applicant must describe an important challenge whose solution will tangibly improve residents’ lives Page 5 of 6
and is implementable by local and regional authorities, and demonstrate local commitment and capacity to engage in the Smarter Cities Challenge. Click here for more information on the program, past projects, and sample applications. New Grants and Scholarships Available from the Foundation for Rural Education and Development The Foundation for Rural Education and Development (FRED) has launched its new year of programs that benefit rural communities. Three programs are offered with up to $5K available for individual grants and scholarships. Total funding available for the upcoming year will be $125K. The Technology Grants for Rural Schools program helps meet the growing need for innovative technology in the classroom. The grants strive to help rural, public schools connect to high speed broadband, bring modern computers to every classroom, and ensure effective, engaging software and online resources are an integral part of the curriculum. Grants range from $1K - $5K. The deadline to apply is November 15. The Ethyl Grant program provides matching grants to fund projects aimed at bettering the educational and community development efforts of rural communities. The grants, ranging from $500 - $2,500, are awarded on a rolling basis throughout the year and must be matched by the community. $16K in funding is available. Bennet & Bennet, PLLC and Ericsson are the sponsors of the 2014 Ethyl Grant Program. The FRED Scholarship program, now in its 22nd year, awards $75K in scholarships to rural America's most accomplished and intelligent students. Scholarships range from $1K - $5K and are available to high school seniors and college students who are from rural communities. The deadline to apply is February 14, 2014. For more information about the FRED programs and how to apply, visit www.fred.org or contact Melissa Korzuch, Executive Director, at 202.660.2899 or melissa@fred.org. A Blade of Grass Invites Letters of Interest for Fellowship for Socially Engaged Art - ABOG fellowships support individual artists and artists collectives working on projects that promote art as a catalyst for social change.... Deadline: December 2, 2013 (Letters of Interest) U.S. Soccer Foundation Invites Letters of Interest for Safe Places to Play Grants - Grants of up to $200,000 will be awarded to organizations interested in building or enhancing a field space for children in underserved communities.... Deadline: Rolling Needmor Fund Offers Support for Community Organizing Efforts Core operating support ranging up to $40,000 is available to community organizing groups in the United States working to address social, economic, or political conditions that bar or restrict participation in democratic society.... Deadline: January 10, 2014
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