Maine schools are invited to apply for State Farm’s 2014 Good Neighbor Citizenship Company Grants program, which offers programmatic support to U.S. schools in two focus areas: education and safety. The application for 2014 funding is open from Sept. 3 through Oct. 31.
State Farm believes creating better educated communities includes providing access to personal financial education and job training. Funding for education grants is directed toward:
- Basic economics
- Budget counseling
- Employable skills training
- First-time homebuyers workshop
- Foreclosure prevention counseling
Funding for safety grants is directed toward:
- Auto and roadway safety
- Teen driver education
- Home safety and fire prevention
- Disaster preparedness
- Disaster recovery
State Farm also supports efforts to provide all children with an education that will allow them to reach their greatest potential and prepare them to participate in a nation and economy that continues as a global leader. K-12 public schools are invited to apply for three types of grants: teacher development, service learning and education reform/systemic improvement. Charitable contributions are also awarded to educational institutions but are not available for one-time events or sponsorships.
The budget for Good Neighbor Citizenship is very limited. If the program is unable to fund a school through its traditional grant, the school may be interested in applying for the State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant program when it becomes available in February of 2014. The Neighborhood Assist program is a crowd-sourced philanthropic initiative that invites customers and consumers to submit a community cause about which they are passionate and rally behind that cause for a chance to win a $25,000 grant, exclusively through Facebook.
Schools may also consider exploring the more traditional Youth Advisory Board grant program. Every year, the State Farm Youth Advisory Board funds up to $5 million for youth-led service-learning projects to solve issues important to State Farm and communities across the country. Grant requests can range anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 and should be completed online through the Youth Advisory Board website.