Main Street Arkansas Update - August 11, 2008

OCTOBER 6-8, DESTINATION DOWNTOWN, BAY ST. LOUIS, MS

Main Street Arkansas Calendar August 11-15, 2008
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MONDAY Susan – annual; Caroline – Batesville, pm
TUESDAY Susan – annual; Cary – LR, pm
WEDNESDAY Susan – annual; Cary – LR, pm
THURSDAY Susan – annual; Greg & Caroline – LR, pm
FRIDAY Mark – Morrilton
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IN THIS ISSUE
Paragould Press
Batesville Press
Russellville Press
NLR Press
Rector Press
AmeriCorp Volunteer Recruitment Opportunity
Conference That Includes Track on Non-Profit Management
Community Colleges & Entrepreneurship
Rypkema Blogs
How Buildings Learn
3 Grant Opportunities
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Good Paragould Press:
http://www.paragoulddailypress.com/articles/2008/08/05/top_story/doc489888a984d8b927578886.txt

Good Main Street Batesville Press:
http://www.guardonline.com/?q=node/46901

Russellville Named Top 10 Affordable Homes
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0807/gallery.bplive_affhomes.moneymag/10.html

Good Downtown NLR Press:
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/233919/

Rector ADN Press
http://www.claycountydemocrat.com/story/1450841.html

Obtain a AmeriCorps Promise Fellow for Your Community to Aid in Non-Profit, other work

The Arkansas Service Commission and Division of Volunteerism will provide oversight to support the twelve (12) AmeriCorps Promise Fellows awarded to the state for the 2008-2009 program year.

Deadline – August 18

http://www.arkansas.gov/dhs/rfp/DOV-Application%202009%20-%20AmeriCorps%20Promise%20Fellows.doc

Central Arkansas Development Council’s Annual Conference Features Tract on Nonprofit Management - September 10-11. Little Rock
http://www.cadc.com/images/stories/Conference/2008%20registration%20brochure.pdf

Select Arkansas community colleges plan to offer entrepreneurship curriculum beginning this fall with an eye toward fostering economic development
http://arkansasnews.com/archive/2008/07/25/News/347202.html
- those of you with Community College’s in your towns should investigate this for potential partnerships

Rypkema Blogs on Downtown Revitalization
http://www.placeeconomics.com/2008/08/museum-of-expensive-mistakes-in.html

How Buildings Learn
In 1997, the BBC aired a three-hour documentary based on Stewart Brand's book, How Buildings Learn. Brand has posted the whole program on Google Video in six 30-minute parts: part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six.
If you're hesitant about whether to watch the series or not, check out this two-minute appetizer of perhaps the meatiest tidbit in the book: the oak beam replacement plan for the dining hall of New College, Oxford.

Hiking Society Seeks Applications for Trail Grants

Deadline: August 15, 2008

The American Hiking Society (http://www.americanhiking.org/ )
2009 National Trails Fund is open for applications. The National Trails Fund is the only privately funded, national grants program dedicated solely to building and protecting hiking trails. Now in its eighth year, the fund has awarded nearly $382,000 to 105 grassroots organizations all over the United States working to establish, protect, and maintain foot trails in America.

American Hiking will be awarding two different types of National Trail Fund grants in 2009: 1) American Hiking Society Trail Grants, which will range from $500-$4,999 each; and 2) Nature Valley Trail Grants, which will be for $5,000 each. Twenty applicant organizations for the Nature Valley Trail Grants will be selected as prospective grant recipients and will be featured on Nature Valley's Web site (http://www.wheresyours.com/ ).

Nature Valley Trail Grant award winners will be chosen by public vote from October 1 through 31, 2008. The top ten projects will each receive $5,000.

Applicants must be a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. Projects that will be considered for the 2009 grants are as follows: projects that have hikers as the primary constituency, though multiple human-powered trail uses are eligible; projects that secure trail lands, including acquisition of trails and trail corridors and the costs associated with acquiring conservation easements; projects that result in visible and substantial ease of access, improved hiker safety, and/or avoidance of environmental damage; and projects that promote constituency building surrounding specific trail projects -- including volunteer recruitment and support.

Visit the American Hiking Society Web site for complete program guidelines and the online application system.

Home Depot Announces Housing Impact Grants Program

Deadline: September 15, 2008; and December 15, 2008

Home Depot (http://corporate.homedepot.com/wps/portal/ ) has aligned its online grants program with the Home Depot Foundation's (http://homedepotfoundation.org/ ) Affordable Housing Built Responsibly program and will focus exclusively on housing.

The Home Depot Housing Impact Grants program supports affordable housing projects built or preserved with environmentally friendly, efficient, and durable materials that increase energy and water efficiency, improve indoor air quality, and reduce maintenance costs. The grant program supports 501(c) (3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations in the United States and organizations with registered status in Canada.

Grants range between $500 and $3,000 each. Preference will be given to requests that engage community stakeholders and result in building or rebuilding houses and/or apartments that are affordable to individuals/families earning a modest income (typically 80 percent or less of the area median income).

Applicants who pass the program's online Eligibility Quiz must then complete and submit the entire application in order to be considered for a grant. The 2008 Housing Impact Grant Program will accept applications according to the following schedule:
August 1 to September 15, 2008; and November 1 to December 15, 2008. In order to be considered during a grant cycle, the application must be completed and submitted prior to the application deadline.

Visit the Home Depot Web site for complete program information and application procedures.

Support for Southern Grassroots Organizations
Southern Partners Fund
The Southern Partners Fund serves rural communities in the southeastern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Through the Fund's Regular Grants Cycle, support is provided to grassroots organizations striving for progressive fundamental change in the areas of social, economic, and environmental justice. Applications for this program must be submitted by August 1, 2008. The Fund also accepts applications on a rolling basis for the Katrina relief, technical assistance, and travel grants programs. Visit the website listed above for details on all of the Fund's programs.

Bank of America is partnering with the Institute to provide grants to small museums, libraries, and archives. The grants will raise awareness and fund preservation of treasures held in small museums, libraries and archives.

Grants will help to preserve specific items, including works of art, artifacts and historical documents that are in need of conservation. Applicants will build on completed conservation assessments of their collections, to ensure that the Bank of America/IMLS grants are used in accordance with best practices in the field, and underscore the importance of assessment planning.

Deadline: September 15, 2008
For more information CLICK HERE!