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Grants

a03build.jpgOne of the biggest challenges facing any community-build playground project is fundraising. That is why KaBOOM! offers communities occasional grant opportunities to begin or complete playspace projects.

KaBOOM! is not a direct grant-making foundation, nor do we act as a fundraising agent, seeking contributions for specific projects. Occasionally, however, we are able to administer challenge grant programs thanks to our dedicated and generous Funding Partners.

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A National Partner of KaBOOM!, Dr Pepper Snapple Group has made a $15 million, three-year commitment to the organization as part of the company’s Let’s Play initiative. Let’s Play is a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group designed to get kids active nationwide. Together through Let’s Play, DPS and KaBOOM! will build or fix up 2,000 playgrounds by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated five million children across North America.  For more information about Let’s Play, visit letsplay.com.

 

Let's Play Community Construction Grants

Dr Pepper Snapple & KaBOOM! are excited to offer $15,000 grants to qualifying organizations to be used toward the purchase of playground equipment that will be built using the KaBOOM! community-build model. Grantees will plan their project, share best practices and challenges through the KaBOOM! website.

Benefits of Let's Play Community KaBOOM! Construction Grantees

  • $15,000 grant award applied towards your equipment purchase from a KaBOOM! Preferred Vendor
  • Participation in monthly discussion calls with KaBOOM! staff to introducing you to a community of project leaders across the country
  • Access to valuable planning tools on the KaBOOM! Project Planner website
  • Opportunity to receive one-on-one planning support from KaBOOM! Alumni
  • Post-Build access to the KaBOOM! Alumni Network, where grantees have access to exclusive grants to maintain and expand on their playspace, as well as opportunities to learn more about the state of Play in the U.S.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

This grant is open to U.S.-based municipalities, neighborhood associations, schools, day care centers, and non-profit organizations without a playground or with existing equipment that is unsafe for children to use.

Other eligibility requirements:

  • Applicant must own the land or possess a long-term lease and must obtain permission from the land owner to construct a playground
  • Scope of the playground project must include a total playground equipment purchase between $24,000 and $40,000
  • Applicant must demonstrate his/her ability to maintain the playground and fulfill commitments of the grant program, and keep the project planner page up to date
  • Playground project cannot be supported through any other KaBOOM! funding
  • Applicant must be willing to use the KaBOOM! community-build model throughout the planning and installation process
  • Applicant must complete the playground project within a year of receiving the grant award
  • Applicant must be willing to work with a KaBOOM! Preferred Equipment Vendor

Selection criteria:

Only applicants who have submitted complete applications and demonstrate they meet the eligibility requirements will be considered. Key criteria used in the competitive selection process include:

  • Demonstrated need for a playground in the community
  • Anticipated impact that the playground and project will have on the community
  • Impact on low income areas
  • Capacity to engage the community in planning and building the playground
  • Capacity to generate the matching funds to support and complete the build within the time frame of the grant period
  • Demonstrated enthusiasm for this project and commitment to fulfill requirements

How to Apply

We are no longer accepting applications for our Spring round of Let’s Play Community Construction grants. The application will reopen in June 2012. If you have any questions, please contact Deva Jones, Grants Manager at djones@kaboom.org.

Imagination Playground in a Cart

If your community does not have the land to build a playground, there is also an option to apply for a $9,000 grant for Imagination Playground in a Cart. For more information on the grant or to start an application, email grants@kaboom.org.

 

Let's Play Maintenance Grants

Attention all playground owners! Thanks to generous support from Dr Pepper Snapple Group, KaBOOM! will be awarding grants of $750 each to communities this year who wish to make their playgrounds cleaner, safer and more inviting. The Let's Play Maintenance Grants are designed to reward communities that have maintained and "spruced" their playspaces since their playground build.

Benefits

  • $750 gift card to communities to further enhance or improve their playspace

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

This grant is open to communities and organizations within the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that meet the following requirements:

  • Submit a completed application by a priority deadline
  • Must have a record of playground in the KaBOOM! Map of Play
  • Must have a well-maintained playground or plan to refill the Engineered Wood Fiber
  • Must have completed a playground spruce project in the last 6 months or plan to refill the Engineered Wood Fiber in the next 60 days
  • Must be able to sign off on the following liability language:

    The Grantee undertakes the project supported by the Grant funds on its own behalf and not on behalf of KaBOOM! or DPS, and the Grant shall in no way be construed as creating the relationship of principal and agent, of partnership or of joint venture as between KaBOOM! or DPS and the Grantee or any other person involved in the project. By accepting the Grant, the Grantee acknowledges that neither KaBOOM! nor DPS nor their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, and their officers, directors, employees or agents shall be liable for any acts, omissions, errors, injuries or damages, whether direct, indirect, incidental or consequential, associated with the use of the Grant funds or the Grant sponsored project.

Selection criteria:

Only applicants who have submitted complete applications and demonstrate they meet the eligibility requirements will be considered. Key criteria used in the selection process include:

  • Demonstrated diligence in maintaining playground
  • Documented spruce project at playground or plan for refilling the Engineered Wood Fiber
  • Registered playground in KaBOOM! Map of Play
  • Has not previously received a Let's Play Spruce Grant

How to Apply

To be considered, applicants must complete the application no later than May 31, 2012. Click here to go to the Let's Play Maintenance Grant Application.

If you have any questions about the Let's Play Maintenance Grant application, please email Mila Liachenko, Grants and Alumni Network Manager, at mliachenko@kaboom.org.

 

Let's Play Completion Grants

Dr Pepper Snapple Group & KaBOOM! are excited to offer $500 grants to qualifying Do-It-Yourself communities to be used toward the improvement of an existing playground built using the KaBOOM! community build model.

Benefits of Let's Play Completion Grantees

  • $500 American Express Gift Card will be provided to use towards any improvements in your existing playground
  • Recognition as a successful DIY community build and possible feature on our website
  • Opportunity to join the KaBOOM! Alumni Network and receive invaluable resources from other successful communities, other exclusive grants, maintenance help, as well as opportunities to learn more about the state of Play in the U.S.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

This grant is open to U.S.-based municipalities, neighborhood associations, schools, day care centers, and non-profit organizations who have built a playground without any KaBOOM! funding. KaBOOM! funding includes Dr Pepper Snapple Group Grant recipients, Community Partner communities and previous Let's Play Completion Grant recipients.

Other eligibility requirements:

  • Build 100% independent of KaBOOM! grant or financial support
  • Applicants must have completed the playground build within the current year
  • Applicant must own the land or possess a long-term lease and must obtain permission from the land owner to construct a playground
  • Playground project cannot be supported through any other KaBOOM! funding
  • Applicant must have used the KaBOOM! community-build model throughout the planning and installation process, unless installation restrictions apply. *Restrictions on installation may include local Board of Education rules or public use laws requiring professional installation.

Selection criteria:

Only applicants who have submitted complete applications and demonstrate they meet the eligibility requirements will be considered. Key criteria used in the competitive selection process include:

  • Demonstrated capacity to build, plan and organize on their own
  • Demonstrated need for a playground in the community
  • Anticipated the impact that the playground and project would have on the community
  • Engaged the community in planning and building the playground
  • Demonstrated enthusiasm for this project and commitment to fulfill requirements

How to Apply

To be considered, applicants must complete the following:

  1. Applicants must start a playground project by downloading the application here.
  2. Complete the application narrative made up of fifteen (15) questions.
  3. Submit photos of the actual playground
  4. Sign and submit the Letter of Agreement, found at the end of the application

Deadline: Rolling

Additional Information

Questions about this grant can be emailed to Ebonie Johnson Cooper at ejohnsoncooper@kaboom.org with the subject line: Completion Grant Inquiry.

 

Playful City USA

A total of 103 Let's Play Grants worth $2.1 million are available to Playful City USA communities between 2011–13. The $20,000 Let's Play City Construction Grants can be used towards the purchase of playground equipment that will be built using the community-build model. The $15,000 and $30,000 Let's Play Access Grants are available for projects relating to joint-use agreements to open school playground facilities to the public during non-school hours. Learn more about the Playful City USA Grants.

Imagination Playground Research Program – Request for Proposals

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KaBOOM! is seeking to partner with a research institution to assess the impact that Imagination Playground products have on children’s play. Research proposals will address factors that are core to the KaBOOM! mission and vision, as well as major factors contributing to the Play Deficit in the United States. Learn more here.

Application Deadline: May 15, 2012 at 5:00pm, EDT

 

Ludwick Family Foundation Imagination Playground in a Cart Grant

LFF logo

Together with the Ludwick Family Foundation, KaBOOM! is bringing play to vulnerable children in Southern California by deploying Imagination Playgrounds and training teachers to facilitate unstructured play for young children. Thanks to generous support from Ludwick Family Foundation, KaBOOM! is excited to announce Imagination Playground in a Cart Grants. Communities in Southern California are eligible to apply to receive one of the five Imagination Playground in a Cart sets that will be awarded through this 2012 grant program. Apply here!

Application Deadline: May 11, 2012 at 5:00pm, EDT

 

 

External grant opportunities

BE BIG in Your Community Contest

Enter for a chance to see your BIG Idea win a $5,000 grant! The 4th Annual BE BIG In Your Community Contest is open now! Other prizing consists of five $1,000 first prize grants. The BE BIG Fund can help bring your winning idea to life with the help of Scholastic, HandsOn Network and, of course, Clifford! Click here for full details.

Do Something Mini-Grants

Are you working to start a community action project or program? Do you need money to turn your ideas into action? Do you have a sustainable community action project, program or idea? We give out a $500 Do Something Seed Grant every week to help young people just like YOU!

Deadline: Currently none; 2-3 month notification. Click here for full details.

Get Ur Good On Grants

If you're ready to make a positive impact in your community, Miley Cyrus and her friends at YSA want to help! With $500 Get Ur Good On Grants, you'll have the inspiration, project support, and necessary funding to turn your idea into a reality. Kids and young adults ages 5-25 worldwide are eligible to apply for a $500 Get Ur Good On Grant to support youth-led projects. Projects must address a demonstrated community need or issue, and must take place during June, July and/or August 2012.

Deadline: May 27. Click here for full details.

The GOOD Maker GOOD New Year Challenge

Let’s help each other have a healthy start to the new year. We want to fund a workshop or project created by you, that promotes the fitness, health, and well-being of your community. Submit your ideas here to apply for $1,000 to make your idea happen.

Good Sports Equipment Grants

Good Sports is a non-profit whose mission is to increase youth participation in sports, recreation and fitness activities. Good Sports provides sports equipment, apparel, and footwear to youth organizations offering sports, fitness and recreational programs to youth in need. To learn more about their grant opportunities, visit their website.

Grable Foundation MAKESHOP Maker Micro Grants

The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, with funding from The Grable Foundation and support from The Sprout Fund and The Pittsburgh Foundation, will provide “Maker” micro grants to organizations who work with children and youth.  The micro grants will help youth involved in these organizations to design and produce objects around two themes: Wearables and Rideables. Youth Makers will be encouraged to think broadly about the themes and create items as diverse as a wearable gaming system or cupcakes on wheels.

The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh will provide the organizations with access to the skills, tools and techniques available in its new MAKESHOP exhibit, a permanent maker space for hands-on building and tinkering with old and new technologies. All Youth Makers may be asked to participate in the documentation of their project through the Children’s Museum’s online show, the MAKESHOP Show, and will participate in public events celebrating the work of the Youth Makers. These events are the Wearable Fashion Show and the Rideable Roundup, both of which will take place during the Pittsburgh Mini-Maker Faire on September 22, 2012 at the Children’s Museum. Through a robust online presence and public events, the Children’s Museum will share the inventive work of each participating Youth Maker with a broad audience and inspire the next generation of tinkerers. Click here for full details.

School Breakfast Wellness Partnership

Action for Healthy Kids and the Kellogg's Corporate Citizenship Fund are offering 90 schools a chance to expand their daily breakfast programs. The award amount will be based, in part, on a school's ability to mobilize parents and students around school breakfast initiatives. Priority selection will be given to schools with low student breakfast participation and to schools or districts that are nominated by or receive a letter of support from their state Action for Healthy Kids team. Click here for full details.

State Farm Good Neighbor Student Achievement Grants

State Farm™ is proud to team up with YSA to offer grants of up to $1,000 for programs enhancing student achievement through service-learning in K-12 public schools in all fifty US states, the District of Columbia, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick. Each grant engages participating teachers and students in a service and learning program that promotes academic achievement, workplace readiness, and stronger communities. The State Farm Good Neighbor Student Achievement Grant requires a 12 to 14 week Semester of Service™.

Deadline: May 31. Click here for full details.

 

Know of a playground related grant that's not listed here? Let us know! Email webmaster@kaboom.org with the details!