Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Philanthropist

NBC has an interesting show premiering tonight called the Philanthropist. One of the tagline's used in the promo spots is "He can have whatever he wants, but he just wants to help." The description of the show as seen on the website is:

"Teddy loves money, women and power, but following a severe flood in a Nigerian town, he is haunted by the memory of a young boy he rescued. Teddy is spontaneous and impulsive and quickly decides to channel his passion, power and money into helping those in need. The danger and risk to his life is the only way Teddy can feel genuinely alive and he'll do anything in order to achieve his goals and keep the adrenaline pumping; putting his business head and money-making skills to good use through bargaining with the self-righteous, making deals with drug barons, and trading with the nefarious."

I watched a few of the clips, and the show looks quite interesting. Another show about giving to people in need is always welcome. It looks like the Philanthropist will be action packed and filled with adventure. I am looking forward to watching it

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Federal Grant Opportunities

There is a light at the end of the tunnel...We all know the toll that the current economic landscape is taking on America-and the world. Corporate bankruptcies and consumer's spending less have everybody nervous. However, there is some good news on the horizon.

To date the Federal government has allocated over $126 billion in grant funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. $36.7 billion has already been paid out to states and other organizations. Some of these funds are being spent to help states to improve their infrastructure (Roads), education programs, and increased unemployment benefits.

Government agencies are releasing Requests for Proposals (RFP's) on a daily basis. Typically the due dates for grant applications are about one month after the RFP's are released. The applications can be quite arduous-to say the least, so it is important to have a project or program that is at least in the later part of the concept stage when responding to an RFP.

There are a lot of new funding opportunities available for new technologies that especially relate to greening the planet. To keep track of new grant opportunities, check out grants.gov, and also look at the Obama administration's Recovery website.

Much work is yet to be done, but we should begin to realize the positive impact of these grant funds within the next several months.