2019 Good Neighbor Grant Application Now Open for Education Nonprofits in the DC Metro Area
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation will award grants of up to $35,000 to local nonprofits that serve high-achieving students with financial need
Lansdowne, VA – The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announced today the opening of the application period for its annual Good Neighbor Grants, which provide up to $35,000 in funding to nonprofit organizations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area that focus on supporting students with financial need in reaching their full potential through education.
“Each year we’re inspired by the transformational work that our Good Neighbor grantees are doing right in our own backyard,” said Seppy Basili, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. “This funding goes a long way toward supporting exceptional students in the Washington, DC region as they prepare for success in college and beyond.”
Established in 2012, the Good Neighbor Grant program has awarded nearly $1.5 million to 47 organizations to date. In 2018, the Foundation awarded the largest round of Good Neighbor Grants in its history, with a total of $250,000 committed to twelve programs serving more than 9,000 students in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
“Thanks to generous funding from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, we’ve teamed up with 24 schools, visited 444 classrooms, worked with 6,400 students, and conducted over 700 hours of free civic programming in Loudoun County Public Schools,” said Gwyneth Mac Murtrie, director of education at Morven Park, which offers recreation, education and civics programming. “Our aim with the Morven Park Center for Civic Impact is to teach students of all ages the skills they need to be informed, active, and effective citizens of our participatory democracy.”
Good Neighbor Grants can be used to support the establishment of new programs or the scaling of existing initiatives. The Foundation’s priority in this grant program area is to support projects that promote academic engagement intellectual curiosity, and talent development, and strive to exceed standards rather than meet them.
Eligible programs include in-school and after-school academic and summer enrichment opportunities; college access and completion initiatives; and arts education. Funding may be dedicated to either specific projects or program-based costs.
“With our $30,000 Good Neighbor Grant, we’ve been able to support paid fellowships for ten exceptional high school students to conduct intensive, real-life laboratory research under the guidance of a scientist mentor,” said Robert Moss, manager of corporate and foundation relations at the American Chemical Society. “The grant helped a rising senior at Montgomery Blair High School to complete her research on halogen fingerprinting for environmental and forensic analyses at Georgetown University with research mentor Dr. Kaveh Jorabchi.”
The 2019 Good Neighbor Grant applications are now available online. Eligible nonprofits are invited to submit applications until the deadline on November 1 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Grant recipients will be announced in April.
For more details on the grant program and the application process, please visit: www.jkcf.org/GNG.
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The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Since 2000, the Foundation has awarded $190 million in scholarships to nearly 2,500 students from 8th grade through graduate school, along with comprehensive counseling and other support services. The Foundation has also provided over $100 million in grants to organizations that serve such students. www.jkcf.org
Media Contact: Amber Styles, 571-442-0772, media@jkcf.org
Photo header: Students participate in a “Full STEAM Ahead!” activity at the Boys and Girls Club of Fauquier, a 2018 Good Neighbor Grant recipient.