Community Optimization

New funding opportunity posted: Fundamental Research Program for Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (FRP)

2013-01-15T11:55:00.000-05:00

Check out the new NSF funding opportunity posted on the blog's Current funding opportunities page.

Cross-sector partnerships credited for the lack of new polio cases in India

2012-08-10T09:00:00.001-04:00

In a new article by the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), a 27 year cross-sector partnership is being credited for India not reporting a single new case of polio last year. The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Rotary International, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Indian government were said to be the key partners that have helped to bring about this accomplishment. To read the article in full, please see the link to read the article from SSIR The End of Polio in India.

*Please note that this is a subscriber-only article that is being provided by SSIR for free through Aug. 16, 2012.

NIH, EPA announce competition for personal air pollution and health sensors

2012-08-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

In an intersection between technology, health, & design lies the opportunity to win $100,000. Sounds like the perfect opportunity for collaboration right?

On June 6, 2012, the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in partnership with the US Environmental Protection Agency US Environmental Protection Agency EPA announced a competition to create a personal sensor system that measures air pollution and a persons physiological response to it. According to the press release, the goal of the My Air, My Health Challenge is to "help researchers, communities, and physicians better understand the connection between air quality and health."

For details of the competition please see the website http://www.challenge.gov.

To read the press release in its entirety, please see the following link http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2012/niehs-06.htm

New funding opportunity added to the "current funding opportunities" page

2012-08-03T09:10:00.000-04:00

Check out the new funding opportunity from the American Cancer Society:

RFA: Pilot Studies Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities

Award amount: Type 1: $200,000 & Type 2: $200,000
Deadline: October 15, 2012

To see more about this and other funding opportunities, click the "Current Funding Opportunities" tab or click here.

Grammy-award winning artist Mýa partners with African clothing brand Koshie O. for charity

2012-06-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

New York, NY (May 29, 2012) Grammy-award winning artist Mýa is set to design pieces for the Spring/Summer 2013 collection of African brand Koshie O. as part of "The Koshie O. Woman” campaign.

Koshie O., an African luxury clothing brand, and Grammy-award winning artist Mýa, have teamed up on a design project that will provide more than great looks. Mýa is set to work with Koshie O. as part of the "The Koshie O. Woman" campaign which is said by Koshie O. to be a, "progressive initiative that celebrates strong, confident and bold women who are able to juggle various day-to day tasks while staying fashionable and stylish."

The partnership is for a good cause. Mýa, a Grammy-award winner and Philanthropist in her own right, will be donating 5% of sales from her co-designed pieces to Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian agency.

Fans can take part in the campaign as well - they will be able to follow the Mýa and Koshie O. design process through various social media outlets.  

For more information, please visit:

Koshie O. - www.koshieo.com, @koshieo, www.facebook.com/koshieo
Mercy Corps - mercycorps.org
For Buyer/Press information contact The R’ajwa Company - Catherine (Lady May) Hagan catherine@r-ajwa.com info@r-ajwa.com

Ugandan Community Health Workers "Packed and Ready To Go" thanks to a partnership between the Millennium Villages Project and FEED

2012-06-21T15:42:00.000-04:00

FEED is a social enterprise that uses the money gained through the sale of products to provide school meals and much more through it's nonprofit the FEED Foundation.

The Millennium Villages Project, a partnership between several organizations that was spearheaded by the Earth Institute at Columbia University, helps rural communities in 10 countries across sub-Saharan Africa lift themselves out of extreme poverty by providing them access to efficient technologies that can enhance their farm productivity, health, education, and access to markets.

For more information, please visit:

FEED - http://www.feedprojects.com/default.asp

*To get the backpack featured in the video please visit the FEED Store http://www.feedprojects.com/shopping_product_detail.asp?pid=49370

Millennium Villages Project - http://www.millenniumvillages.org/

Partnerships in NYC provide professional development opportunity for female veterans

2012-06-05T17:20:00.000-04:00

A partnership between NYC Service, the Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs, and JPMorgan Chase has made it possible for a professional development conference aimed at female veterans from all uniformed services.

When: THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2012
9:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Program to begin promptly at 9:45 AM

Where: JPMORGAN CHASE
270 Park Avenue
Manhattan, NY

For more information click the link to see the full NYC Workforce 1 Career Blog entry

This partnership falls in line with the "100,000 Jobs Mission", a campaign launched by a coalition of 50 U.S. Corporations, which included JP Morgan Chase, in March 2011. Members of the coalition aim to hire 100,000 veterans collectively by 2020. For more information about the campaign, coalition members, and/or jobs for veterans please see the "100,000 Jobs Mission" website http://www.100000jobsmission.com/

International social enterprise inspires restaurant partnership

2012-05-17T11:31:00.000-04:00

Pots 'n Pans, a restaurant showcasing "innovative Vietnamese cuisine" as the website describes, is not your typical restaurant. Pots 'n Pans actually exists because of a partnership between KOTO, a social enterprise, KOTO Alumni, and Small Giants, an Australian investment social enterprise. Each party brings their unique talents to the partnership. For KOTO, it was their branding, KOTO Alumni their passion, skills, experience, and network, and Small Giants, their capital investment.

The Pots 'n Pans partnership is an example of how the beneficiaries of services, provided by a service-oriented organization such as a social enterprise, can become empowered and use the skills gained to truly change the course of their lives.

See the links to learn more about the Pots 'n Pans restaurant partnership and each of the partners.

Pots 'n Pans restaurant website http://potsnpans.vn/
More information about Pots 'n Pans http://www.koto.com.au/pots-n-pans
KOTO website http://www.koto.com.au/
Small Giants website http://www.smallgiants.com.au/

Online support community partners with the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation

2012-05-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

This article highlights a great partnership that demonstrates how online social communities can play a positive support role.

Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Launches Partnership With Inspire Online Support Community - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee -- from via SacConnect.us
source: Sacramento Connect

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) team up to save lives from severe weather

2012-04-27T17:26:00.001-04:00

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency launched the first "National Severe Weather Preparedness Week" this week (April 22 – 28). The purpose of the initiative is to highlight the importance of preparing for and taking shelter before severe weather. To learn more about the initiative see the link

Severe Weather – Know Your Risk, Take Action, Be a Force of Nature

Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education (SCALE) to host Virtual Conference - November 1st - 3rd, 2012

2012-04-17T13:59:00.000-04:00

The Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education (SCALE), a collaborative that supports campus-based literacy programs locally, statewide, and nationally, is hosting a "Virtual Conference" on November 1-3, 2012. The theme for the conference entitled Read.Write.Act 2012 Virtual Conference is "Literacy as a National Priority."

Please see the website http://readwriteact.org/rwa2012 to get more information on conference topics and being a presenter. Proposal deadlines are May 31st, 2012 by 5pm (Priority Deadline) and Sept 7th, 2012 by 5pm (Final Deadline).

U.S. Intercouncil Agency on Homelessness seeking input by April 30th

2012-04-11T11:32:00.001-04:00

The U.S. Intercouncil Agency on Homelessness, is seeking input for an update to their Opening Doors report. Specifically they are are looking for "additional content and clarity [that] would be helpful in two key areas: early childhood learning and educational outcomes for youth and children experiencing homelessness and broad strategies on unaccompanied youth up through age 24." The deadline is April 30th. See the link below:
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/ALERT--We-Want-Your-Input.html?soid=1011269667270&aid=B-LhztNiPOg

Collaboration across all sectors is a key point in U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness "Constructive Alternatives to the Criminalization of Homelessness" Report

2012-04-09T15:51:00.001-04:00

Link to report: Solutions not Criminalization - Alternatives for an End to Homelessness

Tips from the Harvard Business Review for building effective teams

2012-04-05T09:58:00.001-04:00

Building Effective Teams Isn't Rocket Science, But It's Just as Hard - Douglas R. Conant - Harvard Business Review

Using community partnerships to transform schools

2012-03-17T15:57:00.000-04:00

Great article from the Huffington Post that highlights an alternative school in the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona that uses community partnerships to integrate "positive youth development and family outreach programs" with academics. Click here to read the article, written by Dan Cardinali President, Communities In Schools, Inc., in its entirety.

Nurse-Family Partnership: Helping new moms nationwide

2012-02-22T12:18:00.000-05:00

(Source: Nurse-Family Partnership)

The Nurse-Family Partnership is an evidenced based program that provides new parents the support they need to experience a healthy pregnancy and contribute to the sound development of their child. For more information, please visit the Nurse-Family Partnership website at http://www.nursefamilypartnership.org/

Looking for grant funding in the NYC area?

2012-02-08T15:13:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for grant funding in the NYC area, try the Tiger Foundation. They offer grants for programs in the following areas: Education, Job Training, Social Services & Youth Development. For more information, see the Tiger Foundation website http://www.tigerfoundation.org/

A few days left 'till the JAY-Z at Carnegie Hall Benefit Concert

2012-02-02T18:17:00.001-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Net proceeds from these historic nights will benefit United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, two organizations committed to fighting poverty by putting higher education within reach for low-income students.

Participate in EF's CSR Study

2012-01-23T16:16:00.000-05:00

The Entrepreneurs Foundation is looking for participants for a study to "gauge the current state of corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts at companies." If you are employed by a company or know someone who may be, click here to find a link to the study on the Entrepreneurs Foundation home page.

Children's Aid Society: One organization, many partners

2012-01-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

The age-old saying, "It takes a village to raise a child", never gets old at Community Optimization, and it certainly doesn't at the Children's Aid Society. The Children's Aid Society is known as an organization that "helps children in poverty to succeed and thrive." How do they do it? They've managed to create a village with numerous partners that help them provide services ranging from legal advocacy to after-school and family programs to name a few. To learn more about the work that the Children's Aid Society does, visit their website http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/.

As has been said before on Community Optimization, partnerships create "villages." "Villages" work because the people in them support each other. Likewise, the Children's Aid Society gets around children and families and gives them the support they need. A "village" more proof that the problems of society cannot be solved alone. A problem's complexities require engaging many strengths amongst many sectors.

TV network and nonprofit partner to find missing African-Americans

2012-01-19T12:25:00.000-05:00

According to ABC News blog "Headlines", TV One, an African-American cable network, is working with the Black and Missing Foundation, on a show entitled "Find Our Missing" to create awareness and bring attention to the cases of missing African-Africans. The need for the show comes from what critics note as a lack of reporting of the cases of African-Americans and minorities in general. According to Derrica Wilson, the CEO and co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, "it is the public’s attention and media coverage that help find the missing, and this new effort could save lives or give families closure." Click here to read more on this partnership reported by Steve Osunsami.

Media partnerships are almost always great as they allow for more attention to be brought to an issue. More attention usually stirs up more action. This show joins the likes of Missing, a weekly TV show which highlights cases of the missing. I applaud this effort because another opportunity has now been created to help bring attention to under reported missing persons cases in the U.S.

Looking for partnerships in the Virginia-D.C. area? Try George Mason University

2012-01-18T12:31:00.000-05:00

George Mason University, located in Fairfax, Virginia, has an entire center dedicated to leadership and community engagement. So, if you're looking for partnership opportunities, here's what the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE) has to offer:

Community based learning
Interns
Federal work study
Volunteers

For more information, see the CLCE website http://clce.gmu.edu/community-partners

King Center Digital Archive Site brought to life through partnership

2012-01-17T13:16:00.000-05:00

According to Mediabistro's UnBeige, a design news blog, design firm C&G partners, with the help of Chicago-based web development firm Palantir, launched a digital archive site yesterday on MLK Day, for the Atlanta based King Center.

The site http://www.thekingcenter.org/ features items such as King’s handwritten notecards, speeches, and photos. Click here to read more at UnBeige.

National Science Foundation Grant Opportunity

2012-01-13T14:46:00.000-05:00

The National Science Foundation (NSF) currently has a funding opportunity available with the grant proposal due later this year.

What: The Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program which focuses on the education of technicians for high-technology fields. The program involves partnerships between employers and academic institutions to improve education for science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels. See the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program website for more information.

Due: October 18, 2012

See the "Current Funding Opportunities" page for this and other funding opportunities.

Interested in funding opportunities? Check out the "Current funding opportunities" page

2012-01-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Starting January 11, 2011 we will be compiling a list of current funding opportunities focused on capacity building and partnership development. To see the list, click here or go to the "Current funding opportunities" page.