Main Street Arkansas Update - September 29, 2008

NEXT WEEK - OCTOBER 6-8, DESTINATION DOWNTOWN, BAY ST. LOUIS, MS
We depart for BSL Sunday & return very late Wednesday night.

Arkansas Art Links Conference October 20-21

http://www.arkansasarts.com/ArtLinks2008.pdf

Main Street Arkansas Calendar September 29 – October 3

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MONDAY
TUESDAY Susan, Mark, Nancy – DeWitt
WEDNESDAY Cary & Caroline - Helena
THURSDAY Susan & Nancy – Crawfordsville
FRIDAY
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Main Street Searcy’s Get Down Downtown
Downtown Siloam Springs Reborn
Condos in LR Still Selling Well
Hear the Wyoming Main Street Conference in its Entirety
Sustainable Cities Website
The Bad News About Green Architecture
Brussels Taking On Downtown Tackiness
6 Grant Opportunities

Main Street Searcy’s Get Down Downtown
http://eventful.com/searcy/events/main-street-searcy-getdowndowntownfestival-/E0-001-015611011-5?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=EDP

Downtown Siloam Springs Reborn
http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/66168/

Condos in LR Still Selling Well
http://arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?lID=61&sID=77&ms=62&cID=Z&aID=108391.54928.120517&view=all

Economy Shakes Up Success of Arkansas Charities
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/238597/

Hear the Wyoming Main Street’s Conference in its Entirety
http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/WhatsNew/PodCasts.asp
- learn without leaving your home. Kudos to WY for being so progressive

Website Promotes Sustainable Cities
Liveable Streets Network
The Liveable Streets Network is an online community for people working to create sustainable cities through sensible urban planning, design, and transportation policy. The Network provides free, open source, web-based resources to citizens interested in developing a greener economy, addressing climate change, reducing oil dependence, alleviating traffic congestion, and providing better access to good jobs in healthy communities. Visit the Livable Streets website for more information.

The Bad News About Green Architecture
http://www.newsweek.com/id/157576

Brussels Taking On Downtown Tackiness
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/getaways/09/23/brussels.tackiness.ap/index.html

Grants Help Interpret Historic Sites
National Wildlife Refuge System "Preserve America" Grant Program
The National Wildlife Refuge System Preserve America Grant Program, an initiative of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, provides grants to help foster interpretive, education, and visitor initiatives that incorporate history and historic sites into the Refuge System's mission. This program seeks to protect historic sites, integrate history into refuge interpretive and education programs, and build partnerships with communities and organizations interested in supporting refuge programs. Collaborative projects between local refuges and schools are also encouraged. Grants range from $10,000 to $15,000 and require matching funds. Proposals must be postmarked no later than November 1, 2008. Visit the website listed above to review the Requests for Proposals.

Thanks to Kathy LaPlante for this
Allstate Foundation
The Allstate Foundation supports national and local programs that fit within three focus areas. Proposals for program support must address needs within one of the three focus areas to be considered for funding
http://www.allstate.com/foundation/funding-guidelines.aspx

Taproot Foundation Service Grants
Taproot has announced its September 2008 grant round for capacity-building service grants to other nonprofit organizations. Taproot engages teams of business professionals in pro bono marketing, IT, HR, and strategy management service grants, each of which is valued at between $25,000 and $50,000. Interested nonprofits should visit Taproot's website to check out the full catalog of service grants, as well as the basic eligibility criteria. Applications are being accepted through September 15. If you have questions, contact Allyse Heartwell, Program Coordinator, at 415.359.1423 x324.

State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants Available for Global Youth Service Day Projects

Deadline: October 15, 2008

With support from the State Farm Companies Foundation (http://www.statefarm.com/about/part_spos/grants/foundati.asp ), Youth Service America (http://www.ysa.org/ ) is offering the annual State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant for youth led community improvement projects across the United States and Canada (Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick provinces only).

The program offers one hundred grants of up to $1,000 each to teachers and service-learning coordinators who engage youth (ages 5 to 25) in implementing service-learning projects on Global Youth Service Day (http://www.gysd.net/home/index.html?width=1280 ), April 24-26, 2009. The program encourages semester-long projects that are launched on Martin Luther King Day on January 19, 2009, and ex- tends through Global Youth Service Day.

Grant applicants must meet the following requirements: 1) be a resident of the fifty states or the District of Columbia, or the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick; and
2) Be a teacher or professor who currently teaches in a public, private, faith-based, charter or higher education institution within the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or the Canadian provinces above; or be a school-based service-learning coordinator whose primary role is to coordinate service-learning projects in a school or university as described above.

Funds for Innovative Museum Programs
MetLife Foundation: Museum and Community Connections
The purpose of the MetLife Foundation Museum and Community Connections program is to encourage art museums to reach out to large numbers of people of all ages and backgrounds through imaginative programs and/or exhibits that help people understand and appreciate each other and the world. Museums that have been in existence at least five years and are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, or Wisconsin are eligible to apply. Funding may be requested for one or a combination of the following categories: Collaborations, Artist Residencies, Exhibits, and Offsite Programming. The application deadline is October 17, 2008. Visit the website listed above to download the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Grassroots Local Projects Funded
Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation
The Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation is dedicated to improving the communities the company serves through support of public education, community improvement projects, and home safety initiatives. Support is provided to grassroots projects located in communities where Lowe's operates stores and distribution centers. Priority is given to projects that can utilize Lowe's volunteers. Grants generally range from $5,000 to $25,000. Requests may be submitted throughout the year. Visit the website listed above to take the eligibility test and submit an online application.