On Friday, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced the establishment of $500,000 in grant funding program geared toward non-profits in the county innovatively addressing today’s most pressing issues.
The Transform Howard Innovation Grant program will accept applications now through November 19 from categories aimed at students, infrastructure, residents, cybersecurity, and the environment. Grant awards will range from $5,000 to $50,000.
The five grant application categories are:
- Reliable & Accessible Infrastructure – Modernization, Technology, or Equity in Digital Access
- Ready & Successful Students – Youth Education and Empowerment
- Thriving & Healthy Residents – Next Generation Storytellers
- Safe & Engaged – Improving Cybersecurity and Resilience
- Clean & Sustainable Environment – Innovation in Sustainability
County Executive Ball emphasized the importance of the program and its impact in a county press release:
Progress and transformation are not possible without imagination, and we want to continue to do our part to support and encourage innovative ideas. These grants support projects that will benefit our residents of all ages and abilities but will also foster a culture of inventive ideas throughout our non-profit community. This pandemic has left a clear strain on support services, and we know that to truly Transform Howard, we need to support our non-profits on the ground interacting with our most vulnerable day in and out.
Application requirements for Transform Howard Innovation Grants are as follows:
- Applicants must demonstrate that the organization is a 501c(3) and in good standing.
- Applicants must provide direct services to the residents of Howard County. Maryland (if the agency serves a larger geographic area, funding may only be requested for those services offered within Howard County, Maryland).
- Alignment with at least one of the grant categories.
- Organization demonstrates equitable partnerships with other non-profit organizations. Specifically, the non-profit must be able to show the collaboration and willingness of the partnership with other organizations.
The grants build on the original round of Innovation Grants distributed in February 2020, which awarded eight grantees with a total of $225,000.
Read the full Howard County Press release.
Learn more about the program and apply for a Transform Howard Innovation Grant.
