If you are interested in these or any other private funding opportunities, please contact Jim Dauer at 577-6468 or jdauer@wayne.edu.

The Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) can assist you with private funding prospect identification, proposal development including grant writing, and the coordination of a variety of university resources. Please see CFR’s website http://www.dev-alumni.wayne.edu/giving/corpfound.php for more information.

Federated Department Stores Foundation

Scope: Federated Department Stores, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading retailers. The Federated Department Stores Foundation focuses its giving in several areas: education; arts and culture; women’s issues; HIV/AIDS; and youth and minorities. It is also one of the nation’s largest United Way contributors, so health and human services initiatives unrelated to the foundation’s strategic focus areas will not be considered.

Deadline: Ongoing.

Funds: In 2004, more than 1,000 grants were made ranging from a low of $250 to a high of $331,522 for total awards of more than $10 million.

Eligibility: Since May 2005, the Federated Department Stores Foundation application process has been completely automated. All applications must be submitted online at www.fds.com. Applications approved in January through April are funded in August through September. Applications approved in July through December are funded the following February through March. In general, individuals, private foundations, fraternal organizations, political groups, events, nonprofits outside the U.S., international charities, religious organizations, salaries, and umbrella organizations are not considered for funding. Applicants must be nonprofits with current 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. See Web site for complete details.

Contact: For more information or to start the application process, visit http://www.fds.com/community/applicationprocess.asp.

Open Society Institute

Scope: The Open Society Institute, a private operating and grantmaking foundation, aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal and social reform. OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media and other issues on a regional and international level. One such initiative, the U.S. Justice Fund, focuses on prison expansion and sentencing reform to diminish the role of prisons in the U.S. criminal justice system and to pave the way for the creation of a larger system of public health and social supports.

Deadline: Brief letter of inquiry accepted on a rolling basis.

Funds: Vary by project.

Eligibility: The After Prison Initiative provides funding for policy reform, including advocacy; coalition-building; public education, impact litigation, policy-driven research and analysis; and leadership development for formerly incarcerated men and women. The initiative considers proposals from advocacy groups, community groups, scholarly or research institutions, government agencies, associations of elected officials, and nonprofit business associations or initiatives. Priority will be given to organizations in which people with criminal convictions have a leadership role and/or meaningful participation.

Contact:
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019
Telephone (212) 548-0600
Facsimile (212) 548-4666
Internet http://www.soros.org/grants