Arkansas Service Memorial Scholarship Applications Available

Arkansas students whose parents have died in service to their community, the state of Arkansas or to the nation are eligible to apply for an Arkansas Service Memorial Scholarship.  The scholarships are funded by an endowment created in the mid-eighties largely through the fundraising efforts of Sheffield Nelson.  Since 1984, income from the fund has provided 125 scholarships totaling over $150,000.  Henderson State University, Southern Arkansas University, The University of the Ozarks and the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) will provide matching funds for a qualified student.  To receive an application, contact Margaret Birdsong of the Arkansas Community Foundation at 501-372-1116 or by email mbirdsong@arcf.org.  Applications received by May 1, will be given priority.

Weyerhaeuser Announces Change in Educational Minigrant Program

The Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation will not be accepting applications for educational minigrants in 2007. A new program is being designed to align with Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation's new strategic plan. Please watch the ARCF website in June 2008 for a different program, one that will reward creativity and innovation in math, science and environmental education.

2007 Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Grant Recipients

The Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation awarded its annual grants on July 24, 2007 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.  ARCF manages the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame fund and assists the Foundation in the grantmaking process.  In the fourth annual grant cycle, the Foundation awarded more than $41,000, making a total of almost $100,000 in four years awarded to nonprofits serving the minority community.  Recipient agencies are:

• Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault for a statewide conference on assault against women of color.
• Arkansas Food Bank Network to support the Stuttgart “Backpacks for Kids” Project.
• Black Community Developers, Inc., Little Rock, for a nonviolent conflict resolution for youth
• Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado for the “Goals for Graduation Program” for youth at the Main and Southeast Boys and Girls Clubs
• Chicot Memorial Hospital Foundation to support the Chicot Youth Diabetes Initiative in the Lakeside Schools
• City Year Little Rock to support the “Young Heroes” health and wellness program
• Clarksville/Johnson County Development Foundation for the Clarksville Amateur Boxing Program
• Delta Youth Empowerment Project, Lee County, to support an after school program for elementary school children
• Faith, Love and Hope Youth Corporation, Texarkana, for a “Learning to Sew” project
• Good Hope Opportunity Development Corporation, Inc., Wheatley, for "Project Exposure" Education and Youth Development Program
• J. Austin White Cultural Center, Eudora, for “Mind Your Manners,” a project teaching appropriate workplace etiquette.
• KIPP Delta College Preparatory School, Helena, to support Southern Civil Rights History Field Lessons for ninth graders.
• Lee County Community Development Corporation for “Summer Freedom School” program
• Pine Street Free Clinic, Conway.  “They Shall Move Mountains” mental health and youth counseling program.
• Targeting Our People’s Priorities With Service, (TOPPS), Pine Bluff, for “Excel for Changing Steps,” a leadership and communication skills program for girls.
• Union Grove Concerned Citizens, Inc., Camden, to assist with a renovation project in the new community building.

The Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation grants are designated to support programs and projects that address problems, challenges and opportunities in the Black communities in Arkansas.  Focus areas of the Hall of Fame grants are education, health and wellness, youth development, and small business or economic development.  For additional information about the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation, visit www.arblackhalloffame.org.

Mary Dillard, Clarice Miller with Paula Patterson Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault		Shay Jones, Deborah Bell & Paula Patterson Black Community Developers		Ruth Daniel and Melody Reasoner with Paula Patterson Clarksville Amateur Boxing Program

Lee County Community Development Corporation Renee Wilburn with Paula Patterson and		Dr. Rhonda Mattox Pine Street Clinic

AETN Foundation and the Hot Springs School District received grants totaling $70,000 from the Arkansas Community Foundation’s component fund, IMPAC Technology in Education Endowment (IMPAC). This is the third year for these awards that support technology institutes for teachers in Arkansas public schools.

The Hot Springs School District was awarded $35,000 to support the Hot Springs Educational Technology Institute June 15-17, 2005.  This annual event established by educators for educators offers all Arkansas teachers and administrators an opportunity to receive hands on training, resources, and information regarding integration of technology into education.  Each year nationally known speakers are invited to share their expertise along with over 200 breakout session presented by Arkansas' top technology educators.   This year’s keynote is Ron Clark, Disney’s American Teacher of the Year, and author of Essential 55, a book that parents and teachers can use to help teach children manners, encourage them to succeed and stress the importance of respect and having an appreciation of others.  His latest book is Essential 11, which lists the qualities that all teachers and parents need in order to motivate students and help them achieve academic and personal success.

AETN Foundation was awarded $35,000 to support the Arkansas Technology Institute.  The Institute provides two five-day training opportunities, in a technology-rich environment to enable educators to merge the use of technology into ongoing curriculum applications.  The impact of the institute will be multiplied by using a train-the-trainer model to train other educators to use technology as an effective tool in Arkansas classrooms.  This year’s Institutes convene June 6-10 and July 25-29.   

Until 2002, IMPAC Learning Systems, Inc. provided programs and services to all Arkansas school districts in the area of technology and, on average, impacted more than 80,000 students and 4,000 teachers each year.  In 1983, the legislature established the Commission on Improving Public Schools Basic Skills through Technology.  The Commission’s programs were funded through the Arkansas Department of Education.  The program ended June 30, 2002. 

In December of 2002, the Board and Staff of the non-profit company, IMPAC Learning Systems, Inc. established a $1.5 million endowment with the Arkansas Community Foundation.  The endowment represents the residual from income earned by IMPAC during the 17 years the Company served public education through technology.  The return on the endowment with the Arkansas Community Foundation will be used to provide grants in perpetuity for programs that promote the use of technology in K-12 public schools.

The Arkansas Community Foundation (ARCF) was incorporated in 1976 as an independent philanthropic organization serving donors, the nonprofit sector, and the communities of Arkansas.  The Foundation manages almost 800 individual charitable funds and has assets of approximately 80 million dollars. As Arkansas’ only statewide community foundation, ARCF has dramatically furthered its efforts to build philanthropic resources by developing a network of 25 Affiliates directly serving 32 counties. One of the state's largest foundations, ARCF has made grants totaling more than 38 million dollars during its 29-year history. Contributions to ARCF, its funds, and any of its 25 Affiliates are fully tax deductible.

ARCF’s largest statewide unrestricted endowment, the Bridge Fund, established in 1993 by an anonymous donor, supports projects aimed at increasing the knowledge and understanding of Arkansas history, especially through research and publication, with an emphasis on county and local history projects.  The fund makes grants throughout Arkansas to schools, archives, local, county and state historical societies, and museums for initiatives that provide training for teachers of state and local history.  Support is also granted to initiatives that will improve access to information and services to patrons of community, public school, and college libraries.

When funds are available for granting from the Bridge Fund Endowment, a link to the application form will be posted here.


James H. Atkinson Award for Excellence in Teaching of Arkansas History is a $1,000 award made possible in part by a grant from the Bridge Fund.