Since September is National Preparedness Month, this article pays tribute to earthquake preparedness. In addition, Great ShakeOut earthquake drills occur the third Thursday of October.
Your first order of business is to consort with local, state, and federal emergency response agencies. These agencies have detailed plans in place for earthquake preparedness. Your school is just one part of the overall picture.
Then, there are four avenues to secure grant monies for earthquake preparedness:
- Corporate foundations
- Federal government
- State government
- Private foundations
Let’s chop our way through this thicket of grants.
1) Corporate Foundation - State Farm Good Neighbor Citizenship Company Grants. State Farms’ motto is, “We make it our business to be like a good neighbor, helping to build safer, stronger and smarter communities across the United States.” State Farm funds two program areas: disaster preparedness and disaster recovery. State Farm only awards grants to programs with a strong community outreach element. Your local Parent Teachers Association (PTA) is the perfect community outreach tool.
2) Federal Government - AmeriCorps State and National Grants. The first funding priority for AmeriCorps is Disaster Services; improving community resiliency through disaster preparation, response, recovery and mitigation. Most federal government grants are straight forward and extremely competitive. Use AmeriCorps mission, “To strengthen communities and develop leaders through team-based national and community service,” as your catalyst to write a winning grant.
3) State Government - California Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Use California’s proactive approach to “reduce loss of life and property.” California defines mitigation as “taking action now — before the next disaster — to reduce human and financial consequences later.” Take your own action and research your state grant opportunities.
4) Private Foundation - Coastal Bend Community Foundation Grants. One of Coastal Bend’s focus areas is Disaster Relief; local school districts are eligible to apply for “projects outside of their basic/core services.” High priority is given to requests that are collaborative and focus on new solutions to old problems. A helpful hint is to collaborate with your local sheriff, fire department and other first responders prior to writing your grant.
Are you ready?
