$5 million in service-learning grants now available

State Farm® Youth Advisory Board sets October 12 deadline

Bloomington, IL.– Grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 are being offered by the State Farm Youth Advisory Board. Applicants may request any amount within this range based on a required budget which outlines project expenses.

Request for Proposals (RFP) must be submitted online by October 12. Complete details and contact information is available at the State Farm Youth Advisory Board web site.

The Youth Advisory Board will grant funds for student-led service-learning projects in the United States and in the Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario provinces of Canada. Service-learning is a teaching method which supplements classroom studies with hands-on projects that address pressing community issues and problems.

Grant requests much focus on one of the following issues:

* Disaster preparedness
* Driver safety
* Accessing higher education/closing the achievement gap
* Financial education

The number of grants awarded will depend on the number and quality of requests received. Grant amounts will vary according to the nature of the proposal and availability of funds. At least one service-learning project will be funded in each of the thirteen State Farm zones. In February 2007 the Board award over $3 million in grants to organizations in the U.S. and Canada.

To be eligible to receive a grant from the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, applicants should be either an educator who currently teaches in a public K-12, charter, or higher education institution, or a school-based service-learning coordinator whose primary role is to coordinate service-learning projects in a public, charter, or higher education institution. Non-profit organizations are also eligible if they are able to demonstrate how they plan to actively engage students in public K-12 schools in meaningful service-learning programs.