State Education Grants

The Michigan Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate in the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) offers the Environmental Justice (EJ) Impact Grant program. This program is designed to reduce environmental health burdens and impacts within Michigan’s Environmental Justice communities. The core mission of this grant aligns with the broader goal of promoting environmental equity and public health, particularly in areas disproportionately affected by environmental issues. The primary target beneficiaries of this program are residents within Michigan’s Environmental Justice communities. The overarching impact goal is to positively affect these residents by funding place-based and equity-focused projects. This direct focus on communities facing environmental injustice ensures that the grant addresses critical needs where they are most prevalent, aiming for tangible improvements in their living environments and health outcomes. The program prioritizes several key areas for funding. These include community improvement projects aimed at enhancing public health, initiating or expanding monitoring of background pollution levels in air, water, or soil (with air monitoring equipment classified as air quality sensors and not for regulatory use), new or improved equipment or management techniques to improve indoor air quality in schools, and the remediation/redevelopment of contaminated or blighted sites. These priorities reflect a comprehensive approach to environmental justice, addressing both pollution and its direct impacts on community well-being. Expected outcomes include measurable improvements in public health through community projects, enhanced understanding of pollution levels via monitoring, better indoor air quality in schools, and the revitalization of environmentally degraded areas. The program has a total of $20,000,000 available, with a maximum of $500,000 per applicant. This substantial funding allows for significant, impactful projects. Eligible applicants include federally recognized Tribes, community-based non-profit organizations (including grassroots and frontline organizations), schools, institutions of higher education, and local governments, reflecting a strategic approach to engage diverse stakeholders in achieving environmental justice.

This grant is designed to support the implementation of Idaho's Science Standards approved in 2022, emphasizing a shift towards inquiry-based learning in science education. By encouraging students to think and act like scientists, the grant aims to foster a deep understanding and application of scientific principles, processes, and content. Eligible applicants include nonprofit corporations that have been incorporated or registered in the State of Idaho for at least one year prior to the project application. The total award amount for all projects under this program is set at $24,100. Key dates for the program include the opening of applications on July 17, 2023, the application deadline on September 15, 2023, by 5:00 pm MST, and the notification of awardees by approximately October 13, 2023. The project period concludes on May 26, 2024, with a final report due by June 23, 2024.

This program provides funding to employers in Ohio to create training opportunities that help employees on public assistance improve their skills, increase their wages, and achieve financial independence.

This funding initiative provides financial support for workforce training programs in New Jersey's green economy, specifically targeting organizations that serve Overburdened Communities and prepare individuals for high-demand green jobs.

This funding opportunity supports projects that improve public health and the environment in communities disproportionately affected by pollution and environmental issues across Colorado.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to community-based organizations in California to improve behavioral health services for children aged 0-5 and mothers, focusing on collaboration and early intervention to enhance overall health outcomes.

This program provides funding and educational resources to Kansas licensed early child care facilities to promote healthy eating habits and increase the use of locally grown fruits and vegetables among young children.

This program provides financial support to Massachusetts community colleges for establishing or upgrading HVAC training centers to expand the workforce in heat pump and HVAC technologies, aligning with the state's clean energy goals.

This grant provides financial support for North Dakota schools and organizations to collaborate with professional artists, enhancing arts education for pre-K-12 students and teachers.

This funding opportunity is designed for Illinois-based nonprofit organizations to provide asthma education and support programs for children, caregivers, and school staff, while also evaluating emergency asthma medication access in schools.

This funding opportunity is designed to support organizations in Texas that will create and expand Esports programs for youth aged 14 to 21, promoting interest in STEM careers through education and competition.

This funding opportunity is designed to support organizations in Kansas that are focused on developing registered apprenticeship programs to attract and retain skilled employees in response to industry demands.

This grant provides funding to Minnesota-based organizations to develop and expand primary care residency programs, particularly in underserved and rural areas, to help address the shortage of primary care physicians in the state.

This program provides competitive funding for community organizations and local governments to build or improve public facilities that support work, education, and health monitoring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This funding opportunity supports projects that improve the competitiveness of California's specialty crops, benefiting a wide range of organizations, including nonprofits, government entities, and educational institutions.

This funding opportunity supports organizations in developing educational resources and outreach initiatives to reduce tobacco use and improve asthma health among healthcare professionals in the District of Columbia.

The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) is offering a new funding opportunity for local organizations to support water safety programming, utilizing Title V funds. This grant aims to expand efforts in protecting Hoosier families around water by developing or expanding drowning prevention activities, with a specific focus on increasing water safety among infants, children, and adolescents. The program encourages creative initiatives to address identified barriers that put children at higher risk of drowning, directly working to reduce fatalities among families in Indiana. While the exact foundation mission alignment isn't explicitly stated, the grant's focus on public health and safety aligns with a broad public health mandate. The target beneficiaries for this grant are infants, children, and adolescents in Indiana, particularly those in at-risk or vulnerable populations. The impact goals are to increase water safety and reduce drowning fatalities among these groups. Programming may include education for families, resource development and dissemination, connecting families with swim lessons, and increasing safety in various water environments such such as bathtubs, pools, retention ponds, and open water. Local organizations applying for the grant must have identified the specific barriers families encounter that contribute to higher drowning risks, and their proposed programs must directly address these barriers. The priorities and focuses of this grant include partnering with local health departments (though health departments themselves are not eligible to apply), adhering to guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and IDOH, and addressing water safety barriers in at-risk or vulnerable populations. Proposed activities must be evidence-based, data-informed, or utilize promising practices to ensure effective programming. Collaboration with local community action teams and child fatality review teams is also encouraged for maximum impact. The grant specifically serves Indiana residents, and grantees must comply with financial requirements. The expected outcomes and measurable results of this grant are not explicitly detailed with specific metrics, but the overarching goal is to reduce fatalities among families by increasing water safety. By focusing on evidence-based practices and addressing identified barriers, the grant aims for tangible improvements in water safety outcomes for children and adolescents. The implicit strategic priority is public health improvement through targeted prevention efforts, and the theory of change suggests that by empowering local organizations to implement tailored drowning prevention initiatives, the IDOH can effectively mitigate risk factors and improve safety for vulnerable populations across Indiana. The project period for the budget is Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2025, indicating a short-term, impactful project cycle.

The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health (BWCH) oversees Adolescent Health programming to improve the health and well-being of young people in the state. As of 2005, BWCH has been administering state lottery funds for the prevention of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). According to the Arizona Vital Statistics, from 2011 to 2021, the teen birth rate for Arizona teenagers ages fifteen through nineteen (15-19) has declined from thirty-six point nine (36.9) to fifteen point three (15.3) per 1,000 females. The repeat birth rates of youth of the same age, who had already had a child decreased from 142.7 in 2011 to 135.8 per 1,000 in 2021. Despite the declines, birth rates for Arizona teens ages fifteen through nineteen (15-19)   exceeds   the   national   rate   of   thirteen   point   nine   (13.9)   in   2021 (https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2023/01/20/7245/). Arizona's racial and ethnic groups exhibit significant disparities in teen pregnancy rates, with Hispanic, American Indian, and African American females aged nineteen (19) or younger experiencing the highest rates. In 2021, American Indian youth had a notably elevated pregnancy rate of sixteen point three (16.3) per 1,000 females, surpassing the state average of ten point six (10.6) per 1,000. Similarly, rates for Hispanic or Latino youth were fourteen point four (14.4) per 1,000, and for Black or African American youth, they were twelve point six (12.6) per 1,000, both above the state average, while rates for White Non-Hispanics six (6) per 1,000 and Asian or Pacific Islanders three point four (3.4) per 1,000 were considerably lower. Teen pregnancy is intricately linked with complex factors such as school failure, behavioral issues, and family challenges, which often hinder youths’ ability to avoid pregnancy. Positive Youth Development (PYD) programs present a promising approach by emphasizing the enhancement of protective factors over merely addressing risk behaviors. These programs have shown efficacy in reducing sexual risk behaviors, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and unintended pregnancies. By fostering ongoing development and maturation, PYD programs empower youth to recognize and manage risk-taking behaviors, making them a viable strategy for teen pregnancy prevention (Gavin et al., 2010). According to the 2021 Arizona Surveillance STD case data, forty-nine percent (49%) of STD cases (chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis) in Arizona were among adolescents under the age of twenty-five (25). Since 2019, the rate of chlamydia among teenagers fifteen through nineteen (15-19) years old has been slowly decreasing but still remains high at 2,031 per 100,000 in 2019 to 1,729 per 100,000 in 2021. For gonorrhea, the rate among these teenagers increased from 384 per 100,000 in 2019 to 467 per 100,000 in 2021. As for syphilis, in 2019, twenty-two (22) per 100,000 fifteen through nineteen (15-19) year-old teenagers were reported to have syphilis, increasing to twenty-six (26) per 100,000 in 2021. Regarding STDs/STIs, major disparities between Arizona’s racial and ethnic groups also persist. The Arizona 2021 Annual STD Report indicates that Black (994 per 100,000) and American Indian/Alaska Native (787 per 100,000) populations have consistently higher rates of chlamydia, the Black population (763 per 100,000) continues to have the highest rate of gonorrhea, and the American Indian/Alaska Native (172 per 100,000) and Black (123 per 100,000) populations have the highest rates of syphilis, surpassing their Hispanic, White, and Asian/Pacific Islander counterparts. Financial Notes: Approximately $700,000.00 will be available each Grant year for a five (5) year grant period to provide services to youth for the prevention of teen pregnancies and STIs. Annual funding for services will be provided during the state fiscal year, from July through June; Therefore, the first and last years of funding will be partial funding: first year funded upon award through June 30, 2025; fifth year from July 1, 2029 through September 30, 2029. Budgets will be reviewed annually and may be decreased based on: 1. Changes in state lottery funding allocations. 2. Failure to meet the number of youths proposed to be served; or meet the required program completion by youth for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programming. 3. Failure to comply with Grant requirements. 4. Negative audit findings. 5. Failure to spend budget funds efficiently.

This program provides a no-cost, 20-week development opportunity for small business owners in Massachusetts, Maine, or Rhode Island to receive mentorship and resources to grow their businesses and positively impact their communities.

This grant provides funding to K–12 public schools and nonprofit arts organizations in North Carolina to deliver high-quality arts performances and residencies that promote student resilience and emotional well-being.