The Corporation for National and Community Service (hereinafter the Corporation) anticipates the availability of approximately $500,000 to award 2006 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Grants, subject to the availability of FY 2006 appropriations. The Corporation expects to make up to 5 awards covering a period of up to three years. The award amount for the first year will range from approximately $100,000 to $300,000. Upon approval, funding will be made available for only the first year. Funding for the second and third years is contingent upon satisfactory performance in the first year (including securing the applicable match), the availability of funds and other criteria established in the award agreement. The Corporation has no obligation to provide additional funding.

Purpose of Grants: The purpose of the grants is to mobilize more Americans to observe the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday as a day of service in communities, to encourage people who do serve on this Holiday to make a long-term commitment to community service, and to bring people together around the common focus of service to others.

Focus of Grants: Applicants must address how they will: 1) improve the lives of disadvantaged youth through engaging them in providing service to others or as recipients of service, 2) fund projects with a multi-state, national focus (10 or more states), or a comprehensive statewide initiative; 3) make a minimum of 10 subgrants or projects, 4) ensure that all subgrants or projects have significant activities that take place on or during Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekends, and 5) grow the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service activities from one year to the next.

This notice, with the complete application instructions is available on the Corporation?s web site at http://www.nationalservice.gov/for_organizations/fun ding/nofa.asp. For further information or for a printed copy of this NOFO and the application instructions, contact James Willie at jwillie@cns.gov or 202-606- 5000, ext. 280.

The Center for Entrepreneurship offers a distinctive business training experience for current and aspiring business owners. Courses are targeted for those who are interested in building the capacity and revenue of their businesses.

The Center's most unique quality is that it focuses on deliverables and outcome determinative learning. Their clinics, short courses and certificate programs not only provide hours of instructive training to participants, they enable participants to apply their learning to deliverables that are produced at the end of the sessions.

In addition to traditional small business development programs and services, Continuing Education is available to individuals to address their training and personal development needs. Courses offered under the continuing education component can also be used for university degree credit. These courses have flexible schedules and vary from one- time sessions to full- length quadmester offerings.

For more information about the CfE, please call 202- 478-8231. You can visit www.seu.edu or email entrepreneur@admin.seu.edu.

Join DC Action for Children for their second annual child and youth policy forum. This event will feature findings from DC ACT's annual budget analysis What's in it for kids? DC ACT staff will brief attendees on the investments being made in children and youth as well as outstanding issues and recommendations for FY 2007. Other panelists will respond to the findings and will present their priorities for the FY 2007 budget. Following the panel presentation, there will be an hour of Q&A.

The fee includes refreshments and materials.

Registration is required and the registration deadline is September 14. Direct questions to Alexis, 234- 9404, dcaction@dckids.org. Please make checks payable to DC Action for Children and note "Policy Forum" in the memo section.

Mail completed form with payment* by September 14 to: DC Action for Children, 1616 P St NW, Suite 420, WDC 20036, Attn: Policy Forum

DC ACT is only accepting registration via postal mail.

To find this site, from Trinity's Home page, go to Academics; on the left, there is a link for Service Learning. This website was created in partnership with their program funder, the CoRAL Network (http://www.coralnetwork.org) and Trinity University's webmaster, Timothy Russell. It features up-to-the-minute news and updates about the many forms of service-learning, community-based learning and research, and civic engagement on Trinity's campus. In addtion, the site provides a wealth of information and resources for students, faculty, community partners, univrsity adminstration and other audiences.

For more information, please contact Melynda Major, their part-time service learning coordinator. She may be reached via telephone to (202) 531-1969 or e-mail, majorsm@trinitydc.edu .

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, this event is highly recognized by both the Latino and non-Latino community, and has been known to attract as many 5,000 people of all ages and backgrounds.

Fiesta DC Inc. is a non-profit (501c) community based organization located in the heart of the nation?s capital. This organization plays an essential role in enhancing development and civic participation of the Latino community. The mission of Fiesta DC Inc. is to actively contribute to the preservation, diffusion and promotion of Latino culture; while enhancing, promoting and assisting in the artistic cultural expression of this unique population. Additionally, Fiesta DC Inc. also serves as a distribution center for public information, entertainment, and educational events for the entire Washington DC metropolitan area.

The National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA) is a Women of Color led non- profit committed to ensuring that systems-wide policies and social change initiatives related to sexual assault are informed by critical input and direction of Women of Color.

For more information contact: Luz Marquez-Benbow at 860-693-2031 or marquez@sisteslead.org

The Nonprofit Roundtable and Washington Grantmakers will convene an information sharing meeting to receive a briefing from the Red Cross and others on the status of relief efforts for Katrina evacuees in our region.

Roundtable members should register with Eduardo Romero at eromero@nonprofitroundtable.org. (Note: this meeting had been previously scheduled for 9/12 but was changed to accommodate the schedules of the relief leaders.)

Evacuees at the Armory

As of yesterday the Red Cross stated that 342 evacuees were at the Armory. After an initial intake by the Red Cross, these individuals are being served by a network of caseworkers organized by the District's seven family support collaboratives (e.g., Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative), which will help connect them to needed services. If your organization wants to help, it is suggested you contact the Red Cross at 301-456-8800 or the District's hotline at 202-727-1000. (For example, Goodwill made available new wheelchairs to the evacuees by working with the Red Cross.)

Possible Regional Response

As state and county governments have ramped up their plans to receive evacuees and possibly open shelters (e.g., Montgomery, Loudoun, Prince George's), regional leaders are calling for a ordinated regional response. One possible (but not confirmed) scenario is to use the DC Armory as an initial intake site and disburse evacuees from there. To be prepared for this, and if your organization is not in the District and you want to help, it is suggested you contact your local emergency management office or department of human services to let them know what you would like to offer. (Also, Virginia is making plans to receive 4,000 evacuees, with many to be housed at Fort Picket, south of Richmond; call 1-866- 880-4288 if you would like to learn more.)

Self-Deployed Evacuees

It is estimated that hundreds of evacuees from the Gulf Coast have arrived in our region through their own means. Many of these self-deployed have arrived at Red Cross offices in the region. Others are being served by community-based organizations or local government agencies. If your organization is serving an evacuee, it will be important to connect them with a local Red Cross office to ensure they receive all of the benefits they may be entitled to, including registering for relief from FEMA.

Other Resources

Last Friday, the United Way of the National Capital Area (UWNCA) announced a $100,000 donation to the Red Cross and Salvation Army in support of disaster relief efforts. UWNCA is also encouraging community citizens and local corporations to make donations to the Hurricane Katrina Fund, Designation Code 9070 as a part of its annual fundraising United Way campaign which begins later in September.

If you would like to share any announcements from your organization or campus with the CoRAL Network community, send a brief blurb to kcarter@coralnetwork.org by close of business each Thursday for inclusion in the following Monday's Newsbits.

Please note that submissions MUST be about local events, news, opportunities and activities that are related to community affairs in the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Northern Virginia.