To:       ALA National and Department Leadership;

cc:        TAL National Adjutant

Re:       ALA 9/11 Service Project Grant Opportunities – ALA will award 50 grants of $1,000 each.  Applications due June 30th !

 

9/11 National Day of Service Grant Projects – 1-time opportunity to apply for an American Legion Auxiliary $1,000 service project grant!  

Application DEADLINE June 30!    Time’s really tight, here’s the scoop:

 

The American Legion Auxiliary has just been awarded a CNCS grant to make 50 awards of $1,000 each for 9/11 National Day of Service Projects.

 

Grants will be awarded for service projects and 9/11 remembrance activities that must take place between Friday, September 8, 2017 and Wednesday, September 13, 2017.  Each grant of $1,000 requires a $250 cash or in-kind services match (making the grant total $1,250 on paper.) Applications are due June 30th !

 

The application and instructions/guidelines are attached.  The application isn’t difficult – it’s a 3-page fillable form.  For the $250 required match, you can show donated goods or a $250 additional cash contribution as the match.  It’s pretty simple.  Also, The American Legion, Sons, and other nonprofit organizations or schools can apply for an ALA 9/11 Service project grant, but they must show that they are collaborating with an American Legion Auxiliary unit, district/county, or department.

 

The 9/11 service projects must benefit veterans, military, and their families and engage ALA and community volunteers, meaning on average each project should involve about 30 community members and project beneficiaries. The service projects must benefit veterans, military and their families to address veterans’ community needs such as reintegration, employment, higher education, housing and community facility improvement, and youth civics education.  Each service project must also incorporate a reflection activity around the September 11th attacks on the United States.

 

Funding was awarded to the American Legion Auxiliary by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The 9/11 National Day of Service honors the sacrifice of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 or who rose in service as a result of that tragedy.  The ALA Foundation will be approving the individual grant awards via an expedited process on behalf of the ALA.  Both National President Mary Davis and ALA Foundation Board President Linda Boone are excited at this unexpected opportunity.  We know the time frame is short – but it’s a great opportunity and a very easy way to apply for $1,000 that can be used to help spruce up a Legion post or Auxiliary facility.

 

9/11 Day of Service Project options and examples include:

  1. a) Helping military families that have recently moved into the community feel supported such as: a) a “service providers fair” that brings together services providers so that veterans ad military families can meet people who provide such services as childcare, crisis management, education, employment, financial advice, tax preparation services, food aid, housing help, homelessness aid, insurance, legal assistance, mental health and substance abuse services, etc;  b) a meet-and-greet with community leaders to give advice on living in the area; c) a “town hall” type Q&A event with community leaders; or d) a combination of any of these.
  2. b) Hosting a job fair and sessions to help veterans and military families hone their employment skills provide one-on-one advisory sessions to veterans, transitioning servicemembers, and military spouses seeking employment; provide resume review, mock interviews, tips for workplace collegiality, small group training in workforce “soft skills
  3. c) Helping new veterans going to college understand their higher education benefits   present a fall semester kick-off event for recipients of the GI Bill, offer information sessions on using their GI Bill benefits and  additional veterans benefits, and making connections to off-campus resources, including volunteer opportunities in the community.
  4. d) Helping with home, post, and community facility improvement and beautification projects  (yes, this includes Legion posts and ALA facilities!) a hands-on work day to improve dwelling(s), a community facility utilized by or commemorating veterans, servicemembers, and their families; make light repairs, adaptations, or beautification to exteriors and/or interiors of residences and community facilities such as veterans’ memorial parks or veterans’ posts.
  5. e) Presentation to youth about civics, service, honoring our veterans and military veterans visit elementary and secondary schools to speak to students about service and remembrance, as well as the military and veteran experience; engage veterans who served post-9/11 as volunteers, following the lesson plans about September 11 developed by MyGoodDeed, Inc., and adapting those presentations to include their own “living history” .

 

Grant Period:   Grant awards will be available on a one-time, non-renewable basis for a budget period not to exceed five (5) months, beginning early July.  Funded activities must occur between Friday, September 8, 2017 and Wednesday, September 13, 2017.

 

The grant application is pretty self-explanatory.  To help raise your comfort level to quickly complete and submit a grant application, the ALA will host 3 conference calls to talk about the process and answer any questions.  You must pre-register to be on a call; see details in the attached instructions.

 

The ALA 9/11 Day of Service grant project began as an initiative of the ALA Centennial Strategic Plan Goal 1 Team, so congrats that another Goal 1 idea is coming to fruition!

 

This new, very limited grant opportunity follows the recent announcement shared at the ALA Department Leadership National Conference that, after nearly 8 years, the ALA Call to Service VISTA program is coming to an end.  The final grant will expire on July 31, 2017.  We appreciate those ALA entities that took advantage of this special program. Watch for an upcoming article about the achievements of the ALA Call to Service program in Auxiliary magazine.

 

Please circulate and share information about this terrific 9/11 Day of Service $1000 grant opportunity. We’re informing Legion NHQ. It doesn’t get much easier to ask for $1,000.  Applications MUST be submitted by June 30th !    Happy form filling – thanks!

 

Mary “Dubbie” Buckler I Executive Director/National Secretary I American Legion Auxiliary National Headquarters, 8945 N. Meridian St., Suite 200 I Indianapolis, IN 46260 I Direct: 317-569-4506; Fax: 317-569-4502; Cell: 317-220-1507 I DBuckler@ALAforVeterans.org I www.ALAforVeterans.org I In the Spirit of Service Not Self  for Veterans, God and Country

9/11 National Day of Service Grant Projects – 1-time opportunity to apply for an American Legion Auxiliary $1,000 service project grant!