investing in the future of Arizona's blind and deaf children                               

2010 Grant Opportunities

Recognizing that, especially in our economic times, programs serving blind and deaf youth are subject to funding cuts, Arizona Blind & Deaf Children's Foundation is pleased to make available two Emergency Grant Rounds in 2010.  The purpose of these grant rounds is to provide a needed boost of funding for a program which has either lost funding, or despite strong efforts to find funds, has fallen slightly short of its budget.  Emergency Grant Funds are not intended to support an entire program, and are not intended to provide on-going, year to year support of the same program.

If your program or activity meets the criteria described above, please click here to learn more about Arizona Blind & Deaf Children's Foundation's Emergency Grant Round Rules and Application Process.

Grant-Making Philosophy, Policies, and Process

Foundation Background

Arizona Blind and Deaf Children’s Foundation invests in the future of Arizona’s blind and deaf children.  Established in 2002, the Foundation began fulfilling this mission by supporting programs at Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind.  Today, the Foundation is committed to ensuring that all of the 4,000-plus blind, deaf, low-vision and hard-of-hearing children throughout the state have access to experiential learning in key areas that encompass, and expand upon traditional education.  By focusing on these areas, the Foundation aims to prepare the young people it serves to be self-sufficient, contributing members of society.  The Foundation’s key focus areas include:

· Art for Life – innovative programs which, through the Arts, stimulate and encourage creative thinking, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and individual or cultural awareness for blind and/or deaf children.

· Fit for Life – programs which provide opportunities in sports and recreational activities not usually available to blind and deaf children, and programs which encourage healthy, active lifestyles, ensuring confidence, self-sufficiency, and mobility beyond the minimal levels typically expected of blind or deaf youth.

· Literacy for Life – programs which provide access to adaptive communication tools, ways of accessing information, and which provide support for adult and/or peer mentorship in literacy, thereby reinforcing communication skills.

· Success for Life – programs which teach independence skills, provide access to and competence in technology & career readiness.

Within its focus areas, the Foundation assesses programmatic needs of blind and deaf children, brings together collaborations of related agencies, serves as an information source to blind- and deaf-serving agencies and the general public, and incubates, develops and funds programs. 

Values & Philosophy 

The Foundation’s guiding principles are the basis for all funding and partnership decisions we make, and are as follows:

·         The blind, deaf, low-vision and hard-of-hearing children we serve are our top priority

·         To meet this priority, our vision is to increase meaningful, experiential learning and increase the overall standard of service, while being respectful and responsive to providers’ needs

·         Stewardship of all donations entrusted to us is a fundamental business principle of the Foundation, and for this reason, we hold ourselves accountable for all grants we make, and in turn, expect to hold our grantees accountable for the results they produce

·         The Foundation aims to remain sustainable, and continue to grow in order to ensure that innovative experiential learning is available for blind, deaf, low-vision and hard-of-hearing children now and in the future. 

Grant Guidelines & Criteria

The Directors of Arizona Blind & Deaf Children’s Foundation have high hopes for the 4,000+ children in Arizona who are blind, deaf, low-vision and hard-of-hearing, and as such, also have high expectations of the people who provide education and services to these children.  The Foundation seeks to partner with, and award grant funding to, those organizations and providers who demonstrate the following: 

·         Serves blind, deaf, low-vision and hard-of-hearing children in the state of Arizona.

·         Has current 501(c)(3) designation, or is an educational institution certified by the State of Arizona to teach blind, deaf, low-vision and hard-of-hearing children.

·         Experience in providing services to blind, deaf, low-vision and hard-of-hearing youth in the four areas of giving.

·         Proposed project is not part of a child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP), nor part of a regularly scheduled school program or activity. 

·         Specific goals and a well-organized plan and timeline to achieve those goals.

·         Specific budget line items, current cost estimates, and a clear timeline for making expenditures with Foundation funds.

·         A fiscally sound program budget delineating additional means of support outside of the request to our Foundation.

·         An effort to collaborate with, or leverage support from, partner organizations.  Please note that, in some instances, the Foundation may choose to issue a challenge grant, and award funding based on the organization’s ability to meet the funding challenge within a specified amount of time.

·         An evaluation plan which substantiates the benefit of the program.

·         Sustainability of the project after the Foundation grant funding has ended, or a clearly delineated plan to make the program finite in a way that best serves the needs of blind, deaf, low-vision, or hard-of hearing children who benefit from the project.

·         Agreement to Foundation reporting requirements.

·         Agreement to Foundation publicity requirements, and demonstration of the means to provide publicity as stated.

Grant-making Policies & Process

Based on the foregoing background, values, philosophy and guidelines, the Foundation has established the   following grant opportunities:

2010 Emergency Grants

Requests for Emergency Grants must be submitted on the Emergency Grant Application, along with required documentation.  Incomplete applications will be rejected.  Arizona Blind and Deaf Children’s Foundation reserves the right to request additional information or clarification from applicants.

Winter/Spring 2010 Emergency Grant

Posted:  February 1, 2010

Deadline:  5:00pm, March 1, 2010

Award Notification:  by March 15, 2010

Fall 2010 Emergency Grant

Posted:  August 30, 2010

Deadline:  5:00pm, October 15, 2010

Award Notification:  by October 25, 2010

Click here for Emergency Fund Grant Rules and Application (You will need to save this form to your computer and then email it to us at rita@azblinddeafchildren.org

Reporting

If awarded an  Emergency Grant, successful applicants will be required to sign a Contribution Acceptance Form prior to receipt of funds.  Additionally, successful applicants will be required to submit a report of how funds were used within 60 days of expenditure.  The foundation will request return of any funds for which there is not documentation of timely expenditure as proposed in the grantee's original submission.  Finally, grant recipients will be asked to document how the Foundation was recognized for its contribution, and to provide documentation of the program for which funds were awarded.

Grants Awarded in 2009

Grants Awarded in 2008

                                                 Your donations make our grant-making possible.

To DONATE

Arizona Blind and Deaf Children's Foundation 3957 East Speedway Blvd. #207, Tucson, AZ 85712
520-577-3700 ~ info@azblindeafchildren.org