Rep. Demings shares grant opportunities for July

From the Office of Rep. Val Demings

Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program – National Science Foundation

Recipient: Valencia College

Award: $1,500,000

Description: The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program assists universities and colleges in diversifying the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce through their efforts at significantly increasing the numbers of students from historically underrepresented minority populations to successfully complete high-quality degree programs in STEM. Over the next three years, the Central Florida STEM Alliance (CFSA), an alliance of four community colleges, will partner with three baccalaureate degree-granting institutions (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Florida Institute of Technology, and Florida Polytechnic University) from the State University System of Florida to support the retention, transfer, and successful graduation of Alliance students in STEM fields. The alliance institutions include Valencia Community College (Lead institution), College of Central Florida, Pasco-Hernando State College, and Polk State College.

Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program – National Science Foundation

Recipient: Tablecraft Games

Award: $993,773

Description: The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to improve middle school Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. The project will create a whole-classroom virtual reality (VR) experience for middle school students to be exposed to topics interactively as a supplement to the existing curriculum. While immersed in their very own 3D virtual treehouse lab, students will be able to join other student labs and collaboratively explore a variety of scientific concepts. This is facilitated by a teacher-oriented desktop and VR interface that makes it possible to manage an entire class of students simultaneously participating in VR activities. By leveraging the use of affordable standalone VR headsets, and elevating VR beyond its current one-student-at-a-time use case, the project will help launch virtual field trips for use in authentic learning environments.

Community Development Financial Institutions Rapid Response Program (CDFI RRP) Fund– Department of the Treasury

Recipient: Black Business Investment Fund, Inc.

Award: $1,278,385

Description: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act; Pub. L. 116-260) provided $1.25 billion to the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) to award Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) with grants to deliver immediate assistance in communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDFI RRP grant funds will be used to support eligible activities such as financial products, financial services, development services, and certain operational activities, and to enable CDFIs to build capital reserves and loan-loss reserves. The CDFI Fund designed the program to disburse the funds rapidly in light of the nationwide economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community Development Financial Institutions Rapid Response Program (CDFI RRP) Fund– Department of the Treasury

Recipient: Florida Community Loan Fund, Inc.

Award: $1,826,265

Description: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act; Pub. L. 116-260) provided $1.25 billion to the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) to award Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) with grants to deliver immediate assistance in communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDFI RRP grant funds will be used to support eligible activities such as financial products, financial services, development services, and certain operational activities, and to enable CDFIs to build capital reserves and loan-loss reserves. The CDFI Fund designed the program to disburse the funds rapidly in light of the nationwide economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airport Rescue Grants – Department of Transportation

Recipient: Orlando International Airport

Award: $171,309,787

Description: This funding provides economic relief to eligible commercial services, relievers, and general aviation airports. The money will help keep people safe and employed by reimbursing operational expenses, debt service payments, and costs related to combating the spread of pathogens at the airport. Airports can also use the money to provide rent relief to in-terminal retail and concession companies. The funding requires that airports continue to employ at least 90 percent of their pre-pandemic employees for those airports that cover a majority of the traveling public. The funding for the grants comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 President Biden signed into law on March 11, 2021.

Head Start Rescue Grants – Department of Education

Recipient: Community Coordinated Care for Children, Inc.

Award: $1,252,736

Description: American Rescue Plan Act allocates $1 billion to further support Head Start. This additional funding provides essential support for local Head Start programs’ continued delivery of safe, high-quality services to children and families from under-resourced backgrounds. Programs can use these funds across their operations, including the purchase of or upgrades to their early childhood assessments that are used to meet Federal reporting requirements and to assess and monitor the developmental needs of the children attending the programs. The funding for the grants comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 President Biden signed into law on March 11, 2021.

Head Start Rescue Grants – Department of Education

Recipient: Children’s Home Society

Award: $279,981

Description: American Rescue Plan Act allocates $1 billion to further support Head Start. This additional funding provides essential support for local Head Start programs’ continued delivery of safe, high-quality services to children and families from under-resourced backgrounds. Programs can use these funds across their operations, including the purchase of or upgrades to their early childhood assessments that are used to meet Federal reporting requirements and to assess and monitor the developmental needs of the children attending the programs. The funding for the grants comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 President Biden signed into law on March 11, 2021.

Head Start Rescue Grants – Department of Education

Recipient: Orange County Head Start

Award: $1,837,824

Description: American Rescue Plan Act allocates $1 billion to further support Head Start. This additional funding provides essential support for local Head Start programs’ continued delivery of safe, high-quality services to children and families from under-resourced backgrounds. Programs can use these funds across their operations, including the purchase of or upgrades to their early childhood assessments that are used to meet Federal reporting requirements and to assess and monitor the developmental needs of the children attending the programs. The funding for the grants comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 President Biden signed into law on March 11, 2021.

Head Start Rescue Grants – Department of Education

Recipient: Redlands Christian Migrant Association – Zellwood

Award: $1,743,301

Description: American Rescue Plan Act allocates $1 billion to further support Head Start. This additional funding provides essential support for local Head Start programs’ continued delivery of safe, high-quality services to children and families from under-resourced backgrounds. Programs can use these funds across their operations, including the purchase of or upgrades to their early childhood assessments that are used to meet Federal reporting requirements and to assess and monitor the developmental needs of the children attending the programs. The funding for the grants comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 President Biden signed into law on March 11, 2021.

Hurricane Irma Funding – Federal Emergency Management Agency

Recipient: Orange County Government

Award: $1,363,158.38

Description: FEMA has approved a grant of $1,363,158.58 to help Orange County defray costs associated with Hurricane Irma in 2017. FEMA Public Assistance program funds will reimburse the county for administrative costs of tracking and accounting for labor, equipment, materials, and other expenses after the storm. The federal share for Public Assistance projects is not less than 75 percent of the eligible cost.

Veteran Federal Procurement Entrepreneurship Training Program – Small Business Administration

Award Ceiling: $500,000

Application Deadline: July 12, 2021

Description: The purpose of this funding opportunity is to invite proposals for funding from eligible non-profit organizations and private sector firms to scale and to deliver their existing entrepreneurship training program(s) to veteran-owned and service-disabled-owned small businesses which intend to pursue, or are already engaged in, federal procurement.

More Information: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=334119

Lead Hazard Reduction Grant Program – Department of Housing and Urban Development

Award Ceiling: $5,000,000

Application Deadline: July 12, 2021

Description: The purpose of the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction (LHR) grant program is to maximize the number of children under the age of six years protected from lead poisoning by assisting states, cities, counties/parishes, Native American Tribes, or other units of local government in undertaking comprehensive programs to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately-owned target housing.

More Information: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333884

Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction (CCFWR) Pilot Project – Department of Agriculture

Award Ceiling: $90,000

Application Deadline: July 12, 2021

Description: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), under the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP), is soliciting applications from local governments to host a Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction (CCFWR) pilot project for fiscal year (FY) 2021.

More Information: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333589

Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP) – Department of Homeland Security

Award Ceiling: $1,200,000

Application Deadline: July 16, 2021

Description: The FY 2021 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP), as appropriated by the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2021, provides funding to close known capability gaps, encourages innovative regional solutions to issues related to catastrophic incidents, and builds on existing regional preparedness efforts. The purpose of the RCPGP is to build regional capacity to manage catastrophic incidents by improving and expanding collaboration for catastrophic incident preparedness. The National Response Framework defines a catastrophic incident as any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, or government functions. Effective prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery activities require a cohesive regional approach to catastrophic planning.

More Information: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333711

American Rescue Plan Grants – Institute of Museum and Library Services

Award Ceiling: $50,000

Application Deadline: June 28, 2021

Description: The IMLS American Rescue Plan grants program supports museum and library services in addressing community needs created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and in assisting with recovery. Projects may continue, enhance, or expand existing programs and services, or they may launch new ones to address emergent needs and unexpected hardships.

More Information: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333821

Community Policing Development (CPD) De-Escalation Training Solicitation – Department of Justice

Award Ceiling: $1,750,000

Application Deadline: July 21, 2021

Description: The Department of Justice is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights, increases access to justice, supports crime victims, protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. Law enforcement plays a vital role in each of these areas, through developing and maintaining meaningful relationships with all segments of their communities and working in partnership with those communities to provide effective crime prevention, intervention, and response services and resources. Community Policing Development (CPD) funds are used to develop the capacity of law enforcement to implement community policing strategies by providing guidance on promising practices through the development and testing of innovative strategies; building knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; and supporting new, creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities.

More Information: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333989

CyberCorps Scholarship for Service – National Science Foundation

Award Ceiling: $5,000,000

Application Deadline: July 28, 2021

Description: The goals of the CyberCorps(R): Scholarship for Service (SFS) program are aligned with the U.S. strategy to develop a superior cybersecurity workforce. These goals are to increase the number of new entrants to the government cyber workforce, to increase the national capacity for the education of cybersecurity professionals, to increase national research and development capabilities in critical information infrastructure protection, and to strengthen partnerships between institutions of higher education and relevant employment sectors. The SFS program welcomes proposals to establish or to continue scholarship programs in cybersecurity. All scholarship recipients must work after graduation for a federal, state, local, or tribal government organization in a position related to cybersecurity for a period equal to the length of the scholarship.

More Information: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333084

SolSmart Program Management – Department of Energy

Award Ceiling: $10,000,000

Application Deadline: August 17, 2021

Description: The activities to be funded under this funding announcement will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, this funding program will help to reduce the soft costs of solar energy deployment—those costs not associated with the hardware—which account for up to 64% of the upfront cost of a residential solar installation. This funding announcement seeks an entity to manage and expand DOE’s SolSmart program, which supports and recognizes local governments that reduce soft costs and expand access to solar energy. This community designation and technical assistance program was launched in 2016 and has recognized almost 400 communities from Florida to Alaska. Now, DOE is expanding the program to incorporate new solar-related technologies and respond to the evolving needs of local governments. The chosen entity will manage the program for the next five years.

More Information: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333292

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) – National Science Foundation

Award Ceiling: $3,000,000

Application Deadline: August 25, 2021

Description: The goals of the HSI program are to enhance the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and to increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students pursuing associates or baccalaureate degrees in STEM. Achieving these, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires additional strategies that support building capacity at HSIs through innovative approaches: to incentivize institutionally and community transformation; and to promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs. Intended outcomes of the HSI Program include broadening the participation of students that are historically underrepresented in STEM and expanding students’ pathways to continued STEM education and integration into the STEM workforce.

For more information, go here.