The amfAR announces $180,000 Grants for HIV Research

Deadline: 10 October 2014

The amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is inviting applications to explore the mechanisms for HIV persistence and the potential for HIV eradication. The amfAR will support basic, pre-clinical, clinical, and especially transnational research exploring the mechanisms whereby HIV infection persists; the chronic nature of viral reservoirs and latency; and barriers to the eradication of HIV, with the potential goal of ultimately curing HIV infection.

Grant request can be made for up to $180,000 and the project will have to be implemented between 1 February 2015 to 31 January 2017.

Categories

1. Determine the location of persistent reservoirs of HIV in tissues, cell subsets or within cells
2. Determine the cellular and viral mechanisms and kinetics that establish and/or maintain HIV persistence
3. Develop, compare, or validate assays to measure persistent infection
4. Develop and test strategies to safely eliminate or control viral reservoirs (in the absence of ART)

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications are accepted from nonprofit research institutions worldwide; applications are not accepted from individuals or for-profit entities.
• The Principal investigators
  1. Must hold a doctoral level degree
  2. Must be affiliated with the applicant institution
  3. If the proposal is a collaboration including sub-component projects, the principal investigator will be expected to lead one of the component projects, coordinate the development, implementation and analysis of the projects as a whole, and be responsible for overall financial Management and the preparation and submission of required reports.
• Research teams may include members from, and budgets may include subcontracts with or sub-awards to for-profit entities.

For more information, please visit the Request for Proposals.

Mental Health Initiative Grants of the Open Society Foundations

Deadline: Ongoing

The Open Society Public Health Program of the Open Society Foundations invites grant applications from the projects that stimulate the reform of national health, social welfare, education, and employment policies. The Mental health initiative provides support for organizations that work on policy-based advocacy at local or national levels with the aim of promoting community living for people with intellectual disability.

Project Areas – projects must be for people with disabilities

1. Community-based housing
2. Early intervention
3. Inclusive education
4. Supported employment

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be non-governmental organizations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
• Applicants can also be organizations based in other countries that focus their activities in this region.

Interested applicants must submit a page letter of intent with information on the applicant organization’s purpose and goals, total income in the last financial year, and some biographical details of the organization’s leadership; proposed project, grant amount requested.

For more information, please visit OSF Mental Health Initiative.

The David & Lucile Packard Foundation Population and Reproductive Health Grants to South Asia & Sub-Saharan Africa

Deadline: Ongoing

The David & Lucile Packard Foundation accept grant applications from organizations in South Asia & Sub-Saharan Africa for the Population and Reproductive Health program. The Foundation is committed to promoting reproductive health and rights and stabilizing population growth. The program invests in new ideas that explore a range of innovative approaches to advance sexual reproductive health and rights.

Population and Reproductive Health Grants Sub-Programs

1. South Asia: to expand access to and improve the quality of voluntary family planning and contraception, gender responsive comprehensive sexuality education, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health services, including comprehensive abortion care. Focus areas – Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India, Karachi in Pakistan and Myanmar.
2. Sub-Saharan Africa: to increase access to quality reproductive health information and services, including safe abortion and post-abortion care, for women and girls, and to advancing political and financial support for quality family planning and reproductive health. The Sub-Saharan Africa subprogram investments at the national level and in Oromia, Ethiopia and makes targeted investments in Kenya, Rwanda and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in regional advocacy efforts.
3. United States: to support efforts at national, state and local levels to advance reproductive health and rights for women and young people by improving access to quality comprehensive sexuality education, voluntary family planning/contraception and safe abortion care. The US subprogram funds nongovernmental organizations and networks at the national level and in Louisiana and Mississippi (especially for women and young people from low-income and vulnerable communities).

Besides the Population and Reproductive health grants, the Packard Foundation focuses on following issues –

• Improving the lives of children
• Enabling the creative pursuit of science
• Conserving and restoring the earth’s natural systems.

With a belief that the young people have the best potential for building and sustaining a movement of change across the regions, the Packard Foundation emphasizes on serving and engaging young people.

Who can submit applications?

Nongovernmental organizations and networks that allow the Foundation to partner with government and donors are highly encouraged to apply for grants. The Foundation does not fund governmental institutions or direct services.

Note: Interested grant-seekers may submit an email inquiry (one page) to population@packard.org. Only inquiries that clearly support a particular subprogram strategy and fall within the subprogram’s geographic priorities will be considered. The inquiries will be responded within 4-6 weeks.

For more information, please visit The D & L Packard Foundation.

Enter the Think.Eat.Save Student Challenge of $10,000

All the school/university students around the globe are invited to participate in the Think.Eat.Save Student Challenge to fight against food waste and encourage children (as well as the elders) to help save people around the globe from hunger and malnutrition.

If you are a school/university student, take action by launching a team project that will prevent or reduce food waste; raise awareness among students and teachers to stop wasting food; spread the word to all your friends on your social media networks and bring about changes in at least your school or your country to help reduce malnutrition, help people around the globe fill their stomach.

The winners will be announced on 15 December 2014. The UNEP will send the winners an email notification.

Prizes

1. US$5,000 – 1st Prize
2. US$3000 – 2nd Prize
3. US$2,000 – 3rd Prize

Determining Factors

1. Ideas & approach
2. Results accomplished
3. Level of interest and support generated

Eligibility Criteria

• Entrants can be any students at the secondary and university levels from any school worldwide.
• Proposed project should address one of the following:
  1. Assess the level of food waste that is generated by the school and identify/understand the causes of this.
  2. Generate an idea or ideas for eliminating or reducing food waste in their schools and undertaking a project to implement at least one of these.
  3. Raise awareness in their schools or communities on the issue of food waste and why it should be reduced and eventually eliminated.
• Entrants can be individuals or teams.
• Participants should formulate and implement their activity from registration date till 16 November. The posting of entries should be made on 16 November 2014.
• Entries can be submitted in one of the following languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
• Entrant under the age of 18 must get consent of their parent/guardian/school.
• Submissions must have been taken witht the permission of the subject(s) and/or venue/location and does not infringe on the copyright of any third party.
• The entrant warrants that they own the copyright for the submissions and for the usage rights required by the challenge, and that their entry does not infringe on the privacy rights, copyright or any other rights of any person.

How to Enter & Promote the Project?

• Signup for the Challenge.
• Create a project on how you can reduce (or check) the food waste in your school. Think about an innovative solution and implement the proposed solution to bring about the changes you think you can bring.
• Come back to your account on the website to report your accomplishments once the project is completed. You will have to describe what the project was, its objectives and the results.
• You should post the supporting photos on your own twitter, Facebook or Instagram accounts using the hashtag #ThinkEatSave.
• Make your social media accounts public so that your work gets promoted.
• You can post maximum 3 minutes videos on your Youtube Channel. (need not upload a professionally produced video)
• Promote your projects as much as you can.
• Share the links to facebook photo albums, instagram photoes and/or Youtube video in your report.

For more information, please visit ThinkEatSave Student Challenge.