Letters of Intent Due September 6

August 13, 2019 (WASHINGTON, DC) – The Junior League of Washington (JLW) today announced the opening of its 2019-2020 grant application period for programs and projects in the Washington, DC, area. Interested organizations are invited to submit a Letter of Intent no later than September 6, 2019.

JLW’s targeted grant program seeks to fund innovative program(s) in the greater Washington, DC, metropolitan area that: address at least one aspect of the JLW definition of literacy; or are tied directly to programs where JLW’s trained volunteers provide services to maximize impact and that meet defined objectives when evaluated against measurable outcomes. The League prioritizes organizations with strong leadership capacity, who demonstrate fiscal responsibility, and who have partnerships with JLW or other organizations in the local community.

Preference will be given to programs and projects that address one or more of the following adult and/or children’s literacy considerations:

(1) Developing Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) skills;
(2) Developing skills necessary to function on the job and in society, such as financial or digital literacy;
(3) Developing cultural literacy, including knowledge of history, performing or experiencing the arts, building creative expression or visual thinking skills; and/or
(4) Improving early childhood literacy through access to reading materials and resources in the home, classrooms, and libraries; and exposure to reading aloud (ages 0 – 5).

For the last two decades, JLW has focused its financial and volunteer resources on the complex issue of literacy in the greater Washington metropolitan area. JLW is celebrating its 20th Anniversary of literacy as a focus area all year long and through its campaign, Readers2Leaders.

JLW defines literacy as “an individual’s ability to read, write, and speak English and to compute and problem-solve at levels of proficiency necessary to: function on the job and in society, achieve one’s goals, and develop one’s knowledge and potential” (adapted from the National Literacy Act of 1991).

The Letter of Intent form and additional information are available at https://www.jlw.org/grants/.