We've been big fans of the Knight Foundation for all that it's doing to not only promote but fiscally support innovators who are using media to change the world for the better - and now there's another reason to admire them:

They're supporting the Drupal Open Source Initiative with funding for projects that support communities through digital publishing. Here's more from them:

Knight Foundation is working with the Drupal community on the Knight Drupal Initiative with the following goals in mind:

• To enable more people to enter the digital conversation by lowering the technical barriers to entry.
• To provide powerful tools for digital publication, free and open to all.
• To encourage people to improve their communities by supporting the free exchange of information and ideas.

 

The grant opportunity is open to the public, proposals will be voted on by the Drupal community, and anyone is welcome to register in the Drupal Community and submit a proposal.

To find out more, visit the Knight Drupal Initiative (KDI) overview.

OK you tech-savvy and socially-conscientious NTEN community, get out there and submit your Drupal-Community proposals! 

The Salesforce.com/Foundation has just announced two new grant opportunities for 2008.  If you are a Salesforce user, you could earn up to $15,000 for your organization.  They have two types of grants during this round:

TURN IT UP GRANTS
The Salesforce.com Foundation is excited to announce the third annual Turn It Up grant round!  These grants, valued at 10,000 USD each, are designed to help existing salesforce.com license donation recipients enhance their use of the salesforce.com application.  Turn It Up grants will be awarded to nonprofits whose use of the application is most innovative and beneficial to the global nonprofit community.

TECHNOLOGY GRANT FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
The Salesforce.com Foundation announces the 2008 Technology Grants for Youth Development!  The Technology Grants for Youth Development will be awarded to visionary nonprofit organizations whose focus rests on youth development, for technology projects or solutions that advance the organization's core mission.  These grants will be awarded in increments of 5,000 USD ranging from 10,000 to 15,000.

 

 

The Verizon Foundation, the charitable arm of the telecom giant, has just announced a grant program for nonprofits and educational institutions working in South Carolina interested in supporting the use of technology in literacy and health care. A total of $50,000 – in blocks of $1,500 to $10,000 – will be awarded to eligible organizations submitting the best proposals.

According to the press release, proposals for literacy programs should focus on “the areas of family, adult, early childhood or K-12 literacy, including programs that develop English as a second language or basic computer literacy skills”, while health-related programs should address the “use of telecommunications technology to improve the quality of medical care for consumers or health care professionals, or both.”

Organizations do not necessarily need to be based in South Carolina, but all work done under this grant must benefit under-served communities in that state. Applications must be submitted by September 15, 2007. For more information, visit the Verizon Foundation’s web site.