2010 Breaking the Cycle Grant Initiative

The Vanderburgh Community Foundation recently announced a three-year commitment to Breaking the Cycle of Generational Poverty. In keeping with this commitment, we are pleased to announce a one-time, $20,000 grant opportunity available to organizations that are addressing the issues that contribute to generational poverty and thereby reducing or eliminating the cycle of poverty.

Focus of the Breaking the Cycle Initiative 
Through a multifaceted research study commissioned by the Foundation's Community Coalition Committee, the University of Southern Indiana Center for Applied Research identified four "recurring themes" that contribute to the cycle of poverty. The Breaking the Cycle grant initiative aims to address these themes, outlined below:

Recurring Theme 1: Housing

The study found that housing stability is critical to successful education, employment, and parenting. Potential projects will deliver one or more coordinated, proactive strategies to:

• prevent people at risk of homelessness from becoming homeless
• rapidly re-house people experiencing homelessness
• deliver services and assistance that will promote housing stability

The study found that substandard housing contributes to negative health outcomes, which in turn contribute to persistence of poverty. Potential projects will help families and individuals at the lowest income levels to become or remain affordably housed, and may include:

• emergency assistance
• improved living conditions
• re-housing
• alternative financing sources to those that are presumed orlabeled predatory in nature

Recurring Theme 2: Education

The study found that educational attainment is a critical component of breaking the cycle of poverty and economic well-being. Potential projects will strengthen educational attainment in at-risk and low-income students and families through:

• improved college access and/or success
• increased high school graduation rates
• emphasis on learning essential academic skills of math and English
• supporting educational success for minorities
• educational access for adults living in poverty

The study found that learned behaviors contribute to the cycle of poverty, such as a lack of understanding of the value of education/skills. Potential projects will encourage students and adults to value education and understand the importance of staying in school by:

• eliminating barriers for at-risk students to succeed in school
• reducing truancy
• supporting students by providing assistance for improving grades and teaching study skills
• improving motivation of at-risk students
• assisting single-parents to stay in school
• strengthening the family unit and home environment to promote support for educational success
• emphasizing thelink between post-secondary education and higher career/wage attainment

The study found that financial literacy and training is important to breaking the cycle of poverty. Potential projects will improve the ability of low-income individuals to make positive financial decisions by:

• providing access to basic banking services
• encouraging budgeting of income and managing expenses wisely
• developing a positive attitude towards financial planning
• assisting with family pressures that discourage budgeting and planning
• developing necessary skills to make prudent financial decisions
• making basic instruction for financial literacy available and accessible to underserved populations

Recurring Theme 3: Employment

The study found that there is a growing mismatch with the skills of displaced workers and available jobs. Potential projects will train or re-train individuals to develop skills that will assist them in obtaining gainful employment by:

• providing essential training for people in transition
• assisting older adults with updating skills necessary to enter or re-enter the workforce
• identifying resources for career selection, skill requirements, and access to training

The study found that barriers to work must be identified and addressed, and adults must be connected to employment opportunities. Potential projects will remove obstacles to becoming self-sufficient through employment via:

• affordable child care to enable single mothers to be able to work
• affordable and reliable transportation that allows low-income individuals to obtain and keep a job
• breaking downbarriers for minorities in the workplace
• improvement of handicap conditions in the workplace

Recurring Theme 4: Single Parenting

The study found that single parents are less likely to achieve educational attainment and are more likely to be in low paying jobs. Potential projects will assist single-parent households in breaking the cycle of generational poverty by:

• providing affordable, safe, and accessible childcare for parents
• strengthening and supporting the family unit
• eliminating barriers to employment and educational opportunities for single-parent households
• providing a support system for parents and/or children in single-parent families

The study found that teen pregnancy and multiple pregnancies during the teen years increase the risk for poverty. Potential projects will be directed at prevention of unplanned and teen pregnancy through:

• strengthening a culture of personal responsibility regarding sex and pregnancy
• providing education to teens and parents about the risks associated with sexual activity and early teen pregnancy
• providing appropriate and non-politicized support services to pregnant teens and teen mothers

Letter of Inquiry
After registering online, a Letter of Inquiry is the next step required for submitting funding requests to be considered by the Breaking the Cycle grants committee. The Letter of Inquiry helps in determining whether a funding request qualifies for consideration before applicants invest time and effort in completing a full grant proposal.

Deliberation and Award
The Breaking the Cycle grants committee will review Letters of Inquiry and select four finalists to submit formal proposals. Once the committee has completed its review and deliberation of full proposals, one recipient and three runners-up will be identified. The recipient will receive a $20,000 grant to be used for its proposed project, and each runner-up will receive a $1,000 grant to be used for general programming or operations.

Deadline to Submit a Letter of Inquiry
12 noon, July 14, 2010