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The Thriving Cultures program is based on a belief that communities with robust arts and culture are more cohesive and prosperous, and benefit from the diversity of their residents. We know that artists and cultural organizations can help us explore shared values and spark innovation, imagination and advancement for our communities. Too often, however, arts and culture is undervalued as a catalyst for creating just and sustainable communities, which is a key priority for the Surdna Foundation. The Thriving Cultures Program seeks to create just and sustainable communities in four ways: Teens' Artistic and Cultural Advancement We support artistic training programs that help teens explore their cultural identity and equip them with the life-enhancing skills they need to achieve their educational and career goals. Community Engaged Design We support efforts to involve artists, architects and designers in community-engaged problem solving and development efforts. Artists and Economic Development We support efforts that provide artists with business training and financial resources that enable them to be, and create, valuable economic assets for their communities. Artists Engaging in Social Change We support the potential of artists to be catalysts for social change and to promote the cultural traditions of their communities. We seek organizations that: -Embrace artistic and design excellence; -Find innovative ways to use arts and culture to make communities more just and sustainable; -Prioritize the needs of low-income communities and people of color in their work; -Maintain sound financial practices and management; and -Demonstrate a capacity and willingness to share best practices and knowledge with their colleagues and others in the field.

The RBOG program promotes sustainable economic development in rural communities with exceptional needs through provision of training and technical assistance for business development, entrepreneurs, and economic development officials and to assist with economic development planning. Rural Development is participating in the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP), which is a new Administration-wide initiative that will accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing and help cultivate an environment for businesses to create well-paying manufacturing jobs in regions across the country. The IMCP is designed to reward communities that demonstrate best practices in attracting and expanding manufacturing by using long-term planning that integrates targeted investments in workforce training, infrastructure, research, and other key assets. The IMCP is being initiated in FY 2013 as EDA, USDA, SBA and EPA each provide funding for regional implementation strategy grants.

The Intermediary must provide a program of financial and technical assistance to recipients to develop their capacity and ability to undertake projects related to housing, community facilities, or community and economic development that will support the community.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration for Native Americans (ANA) announces the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funds for the Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) program. This program is focused on community-driven projects designed to grow local economies, strengthen Native American families, including the preservation of Native American cultures, and decrease the high rate of current challenges caused by the lack of community-based businesses, and social and economic infrastructure in Native American communities. Native American communities include American Indian tribes (federally-recognized and non-federally recognized), Native Hawaiians, Alaskan Natives, and Native American Pacific Islanders.

The Instrument Development for Biological Research (IDBR) Program supports the development, production, and distribution of novel instrumentation that addresses demonstrated needs in biological research in areas supported by NSF Biology programs (see http://www.nsf.gov/bio). These systems would benefit a broad user community through mass distribution of the technology. Interdisciplinary collaborations are strongly encouraged, as are partnerships with U.S. industries that can facilitate knowledge transfer, commercialization and broad utilization in the research community. The program accepts two types of proposals:Type A - Innovation: Proposals for the development of novel instrumentation that provides new research capabilities or, where appropriate, that significantly improves current technologies by at least an order of magnitude in fundamental aspects such as accuracy, precision, resolution, throughput, flexibility, breadth of application, costs of construction or operation, or user-friendliness.Type B - Bridging: Proposals for transforming ‘one of a kind' prototypes or high-end instruments into devices that are broadly available and utilizable without loss of capacity. If appropriate, PIs should seek SBIR/STTR Program, or similar support mechanism for implementation of broad distribution following an IDBR award.

A microenterprise development organization or program (or group or Collaborative thereof) such as a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution or similar entity, that has a demonstrated record of delivering microenterprise services to disadvantaged entrepreneurs or An Intermediary (as defined in Section 8.1) which has experience in delivering technical assistance to disadvantaged entrepreneurs; or A microenterprise development organization or program (as defined in Section 8.1)that is accountable to a local community, working in conjunction with a State or local government or Indian Tribe; or An Indian tribe acting on its own, if it can certify that no private organization or program referred to in paragraph in paragraphs (1) exists within its jurisdiction. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: Yes, 50%. Expected Number of Awards: SBA anticipates issuing approximately 35 awards under this Announcement.

Mission: For over 150 years, Union Pacific has been committed to Building America - serving as an economic engine and improving the standard of life for millions across the country. Building upon this heritage, the mission of the Union Pacific Community Ties Giving Program is to build safe, prosperous, and vibrant communities by investing in high-quality nonprofits and programs in the cities and towns in which we operate and our employees live and work.

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities that can provide planning, hosting and training conference facilitation support for the nation-wide State Small Business Ombudsman (SBO)/Small Business Environmental Assistance Providers' (SBEAP) 507 Program, a regulatory compliance assistance program created under section 507 of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. The state compliance assistance 507 Programs, which are dispersed throughout the U.S. states and trust territories, often partner together to share ideas, resources and support small business assistance on a national level. Typically, their partnership efforts include communication, distributing and exchanging of information on compliance assistance and program activities, as well as locating environmental compliance and sustainability information focused on small business. In order to sustain the states' partnership and sharing of resources, the state 507 Program staff members meet in person on an annual basis. Funding under this announcement will be used for planning, hosting and facilitation activities that support this nation-wide 507 Program Training Conference on a biannual basis only. The goal of this co-sponsorship agreement is to provide state and trust territory SBO and SBEAP staff, as well as the small business community that are required to comply with environmental regulations, with support in regulatory compliance training and resource development through a biannual event, where each can access environmental regulatory/technical training and information, resources, small business content or activities; all which help this nation-wide program stay connected and provide well rounded environmental compliance assistance to the small business community and public overall.

The Thriving Cultures Program supports efforts that provide artists with business training and financial resources that enable them to be, and create, valuable economic assets for their communities. We seek to fund projects that: - Operate business and entrepreneurship training programs for artists and cultural organizations; - Provide financing to artists and artist-centered enterprises (such as financial institutions and resource providers); - Support arts and culture-based programs and services that directly engage and support the people who live and work in the area as a strategy for equitable economic development. These activities may include: 1) Cultural programming; 2) Business incentives that help build the local creative economy; 3) Cross-sector collaborations that yield opportunities for all residents to reap the cultural and economic benefits from neighborhood growth. - Document (both qualitatively and quantitatively) the growth of arts-based, creative industries in neighborhoods; - Identify and share best practices in order to strengthen the field of arts and economic development.

I-Corps@Ohio is a statewide program developed to assist faculty, staff and students from Ohio universities, colleges and community colleges in validating the market potential of technologies and launching startup companies. I-Corps@Ohio is modeled after the National Science Foundation's (NSF) successful I-Corps (Innovation Corps) program, which has been proven to increase innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry collaboration. The I-Corps@Ohio program incorporates lean launch, customer discovery and business model innovation methodologies to assess technologies, enhance the business acumen of research faculty and students and expand their entrepreneurial network relationships. Two cohort tracks are offered in Science & Engineering and Medtech, with each designed to offer both common and subject matter specific content. The long-term objective of I-Corps@Ohio is to systematically build a steady and predictable pipeline of  high-quality, high-growth startups from technology developed at the State's colleges, universities, and research institutions, that contribute to economic development in Ohio.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invites eligible United States small business concerns (SBCs) to submit Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant applications. United States SBCs that have the research capabilities and technological expertise to contribute to the R&D mission(s) of the NIH awarding components identified in this FOA are encouraged to submit STTR grant applications in response to identified topics. The NIDCD supports research on the normal mechanisms of, as well as on diseases and disorders of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language. The Institute also supports research related to disease prevention and health promotion. The NIDCD addresses special biomedical and behavioral problems associated with people who have communication impairments or disorders. The NIDCD also supports efforts to create and refine devices, as well as develop cellular-based applications that may replace or substitute for lost and impaired sensory and communication functions.

Applicants will develop portable assistance programs to support the start up and sustainability of small business concerns in communities that are economically challenged as a result of a business or government facility downsizing or closing, resulting in the loss of jobs or small business instability.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses. The SBIR program solicits proposals from the small business sector consistent with NSF's mission. The program is governed by Public Law 112-81 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011). A main purpose of the legislation is to stimulate technological innovation and increase private sector commercialization. The NSF SBIR program is therefore in a unique position to meet both the goals of NSF and the purpose of the SBIR legislation by transforming scientific discovery into both social and economic benefit, and by emphasizing private sector commercialization. Accordingly, NSF has formulated broad solicitation topics for SBIR that conform to the high-technology investment sector's interests. The topics are: Biological and Chemical Technologies (BC) Education Applications (EA) Electronics, Information and Communication Technologies (EI) Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials, and Manufacturing (NM)

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq invites eligible organizations to submit proposals to assist in the development and implementation of a business mentoring program in southern Iraq geared primarily toward female single heads of household who wish to start their own businesses or enter the job market. U.S. Consulate General Basrah seeks to engage southern Iraqi women who are in positions of increased financial responsibility due to the loss of a family member to armed conflict, violent extremism, and/or sectarian violence. The goal is to enable Iraqi women to meet their essential economic needs and those of their families. Grant objectives are to connect Iraqi women with mentors-preferably female-in the business community, who can teach skills and model strategies that will increase their participation in the local economy, including basic computer skills, resume building, and the use of social media and other online platforms. English training is a desirable, but not required component of the training. Training that facilitates direct contact between the Iraqi diaspora and local women is also desirable. Participants will receive training and access resources as part of a local network of mentors that can provide them real-time tailored feedback and offer ongoing support, advice, and resources to overcome the challenges businesswomen face in the context of southern Iraqi society. The program should also incorporate virtual mentoring sessions with American entrepreneurs - particularly women, and those fluent in Arabic - who can speak to their experiences, offer best practices, and promote linkages between Iraqi and American businesspeople.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses. The SBIR program solicits proposals from the small business sector consistent with NSF's mission. The program is governed by Public Law 112-81 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011). A main purpose of the legislation is to stimulate technological innovation and increase private sector commercialization. The NSF SBIR program is therefore in a unique position to meet both the goals of NSF and the purpose of the SBIR legislation by transforming scientific discovery into both social and economic benefit, and by emphasizing private sector commercialization. Accordingly, NSF has formulated broad solicitation topics for SBIR that conform to the high-technology investment sector's interests. The topics, listed below, are detailed on the SBIR/STTR topics homepage: Educational Technologies and Applications (EA) Information and Communication Technologies (IC) Semiconductors (S) and Photonic (PH) Devices and Materials Electronic Hardware, Robotics and Wireless Technologies (EW) Advanced Manufacturing and Nanotechnology (MN) Advanced Materials and Instrumentation (MI) Chemical and Environmental Technologies (CT) Biological Technologies (BT) Smart Health (SH) and Biomedical (BM) Technologies

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses. The topics, listed below, are detailed on the SBIR/STTR topics homepage: Educational Technologies and Applications (EA) Information and Communication Technologies (IC) Semiconductors (S) and Photonic (PH) Devices and Materials Electronic Hardware, Robotics and Wireless Technologies (EW) Advanced Manufacturing and Nanotechnology (MN) Advanced Materials and Instrumentation (MI) Chemical and Environmental Technologies (CT) Biological Technologies (BT) Smart Health (SH) and Biomedical (BM) Technologies