A new look and festive facts

August!

Sunflower is beginning its 6th year this month – we are very proud! – and we thought we would change up the format of the newsletter a bit!

Who knew?

Private-sector grants average four to five pages and take between 15 to 25 hours to complete. This may seem like a lot, but you are strategically making every word impactful and expressing your program or project needs succinctly and passionately.

Implement this idea

It is a popular notion that a person from, or working on behalf of, the applicant’s organization should attempt to make contact, or “lobby,” with trustees who vote on proposals. Lobbying trustees rarely has value and in fact may have the opposite result.

This is often seen as an “end run” around the outlined procedures or simply an unnecessary effort. Trustees and foundation staff are accustomed to people lobbying for their cause in hopes of swaying a positive vote; however, this is generally ineffective and may result in a negative response. It is better to put the time and energy into good planning and a well‐thought through grant project.

Featured grant story

The EDA (Economic Development Association) announced 27 investments from June 13 – June 27, 2024, totaling $54,806,882 which was matched by $34,147,519.60 in local investments.

These investments include the following: $41,912,354 in seventeen Economic Adjustment Assistance-2023 Disaster Supplemental projects to help regions that are experiencing severe economic distress or other economic hardship resulting from Hurricanes Ian and Fiona, wildfires, flooding, and other natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2021 and 2022, and to help save/create 5,362 jobs and leverage $1,048,500,000 in private investment.

$10,669,528 in four Public Works projects to help communities revitalize, expand, and upgrade their physical infrastructure, and to help save/create 120 jobs.

$240,000 in one Economic Adjustment Assistance project to help communities design and implement strategies to adjust or bring about change to their economy in response to structural damage to their underlying economic base.

$122,300 in two Planning and Local Technical Assistance projects to strengthen the capacity of local or state organizations and institutions to undertake and promote effective economic development programs.

$1,862,700 in three Partnership Planning projects to support the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy process.

This highlights the importance of grants, in particular when a natural disaster strikes, and how they can help rebuild communities!

Featured Sunflower Grants Writers Client

The House of Afros, Capes, and Curls is an organization based in Omaha whose goal is to connect people from diverse backgrounds and build a community based on a shared love of science fiction, fantasy, gaming, and Afrofuturism, while providing a safe space to explore the artistic literary and historic merits of geek culture.

They create space for community members of all backgrounds to discuss sensitive issues using “geek culture” as the catalyst for the conversation. The House is always looking for ways to build community, connect people, impact change, and create programming that generates a sense of community.

The House hosts many different events throughout the year in Omaha.

Black Fae Day, Afrocon, and Juneteenth Steampunk Tea Party are their major events celebrated annually. Black Fae Day is a celebration of Black’s in fantasy and takes place in early May each year.

Afrocon is a day-long comic and gaming convention, with community conversations, workshops and vendors. It is a 1–2-day festival of nerd culture and black culture with artists, vendors, food trucks, workshops, demonstrations, ESports games + tournaments, board gaming, cosplay and conference style community panels and conversations on a variety of topics.

The Juneteenth SteamPunk Tea Party is an immersive, multidisciplinary experience that explores the innovation and inventiveness of the Black Victorian era of excellence often overlooked. Open to the community, participants dress in Victorian era or steampunk modified Victorian era clothing and participate in conversations and activities while examining the intersectionality of history, technology, and the future.

Check it out

Please explore our new services section at https://www.sunflowergw.com/services/. We have added a lot to it! We have an amazing team in place and offer much more than grant research and writing, although that will always be the core of our business. Reach out if you need help with any of our new offerings!