Keep America Beautiful: Taking Pride in Your Community
Keep America Beautiful (“KAB”): This may be one of the best kept secrets that, instead, should be made known throughout the U.S.! If you’re amongst the many who are just now ‘discovering’ this ‘secret,’ prepare to be enlightened about the work they do! The work of this organization isn’t just to pick up litter along the roads. It may be one of the largest and most important organizations around! Did you know that KAB involves MILLIONS of volunteers? How about THOUSANDS of activities and projects? Not only will you want to read more, but also see how YOU can get involved in this nationwide effort!
GrantWatch wants to contribute to this ‘newfound attention’ by providing listings of a variety of community grant opportunities. In addition, GrantWatch offers a list of over 4,000 grants in its Community Services grants list category. Be sure to also take the time to review some of the national and international grant listings available to choose from.
Keep America Beautiful (“KAB“) – Overview
- A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country in which every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live.
- Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful provides the expertise, programs and resources to help people end littering, improve recycling, beautify America’s public spaces, and restore & support resilient communities.
- The organization is driven by the work and passion of millions of individual volunteers, nearly 700 community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, and the support of municipalities, elected officials, and corporate partners.
- Our collective action champions environmentally healthy, socially-connected, and economically-sound communities. Keep America Beautiful continues to bring people together to transform public spaces into beautiful places.
- We’re in this together. Let’s #DoBeautifulThings now for a better tomorrow! (kab.org, “About Keep America Beautiful“)
KAB – The Community Perspective
- Trust and Respect. We will be transparent in our communication, with candor, caring personally, and challenging thoughtfully…will recognize and appreciate the uniqueness of everyone, treating individuals with respect, equity, and integrity.
- Creative Drive. We will support leadership that drives renewed relevance, focusing on solutions instead of problems…commit to creating a team that is greater than the sum of its multiple parts and provides fertile and fruitful ground for educational, creative, and social progress.
- Positive Attitude. We will use our positivity as a way of inspiring stakeholders, being inclusive, and celebrating our wins…and always assume the best in people before rushing to judgment…where individuals can thrive, contribute, and be respected…without bias.
- Collaborative Accountability. We will execute with discipline, staying focused on our mission, organizational priorities, and strategic plan…will collaborate with others…taking responsibility for our actions, understanding decisions, and how priorities impact others…honoring our commitment to each other and our shared values.
- Courageous Authenticity. We will remove the fear of retribution, creating a safe space for everyone to be open and honest. We will walk the talk and offer constructive ideas rather than criticism. (kab.org, “Beautification. Together We Keep America Beautiful“)
KAB Affiliates Are the Backbone – Achieving Goals Beyond Just Physical Beauty
- Volunteers work through a network of community-based organizations called affiliates. This network works hard every day to clean, green, beautify and restore our nation.
- What do affiliates do?
- Organize millions of volunteers.
- Educate hundreds of thousands of students and citizens.
- Plan and organize thousands of cleanup, recycling, beautification, and restoration events.
- Partner with hundreds of local companies and organizations.
- Provide priceless work to clean and protect our waterways, roadways, and open spaces.
- Most recent program year, volunteers logged over 2.94 million hours:
- Planting over 3.2 million plants, shrubs, and trees.
- Cleaning up and creating over 3,000 green spaces & gardens.
- Beautifying nearly 900 public spaces with murals and artwork.
- KAB Network Shared Purpose and Values
- Purpose...to take action every day to improve and beautify their community.
- Beliefs...we believe we are better together…we will accomplish more and…better.
- Values…proactive collaboration…open and transparent…shared desires…integrity. (kab.org, “Affiliate Network – Keep America Beautiful“)
Below is a current list of Community Services grants and in-kind support.
Grants and In-kind Support for KAB and Other Community Services Funding
- Grants to schools for recycling and environmental awareness programs. Funding provides resources to implement recycling and litter prevention programs.
- Grants to nonprofits, government entities, universities, and school districts to enhance the lives of local residents. Funding promotes health and prosperity for residents.
- There are grants up to $5,000 to nonprofits, churches, schools, agencies, and governmental units for community benefit projects. Focus areas include community development, community needs, the environment and parks.
- Nonprofits may receive funding for activities to promote the recycling of rubber tires. Funding provides incentives to manufacturers and processors to market recycled products, prevent tire dumping, and divert waste tires from landfills, thereby benefiting the environment.
- Grants to nonprofits for projects and programs promoting healthy communities. Funding supports community engagement, health and wellbeing, environmental protection, and economic and agricultural development.
- $1,000 to nonprofits, for-profit businesses, government agencies, schools, and school districts for recycling and waste reduction initiatives in eligible locations.
- Grants to eligible community groups and neighborhood organizations for community betterment activities/projects to enhance the quality of life for residents.
- There are grants and in-kind services to eligible homeowner associations and neighborhood groups for neighborhood beautification projects. Funding enhances environmental sustainability and an improved sense of community through community planning.
- Grants of up to $1,000 to eligible nonprofits, for-profit businesses, government agencies, schools, and school districts for recycling and waste reduction initiatives. Funding is for source reduction activities, purchasing collection containers and recycling equipment, and promoting waste reduction education.
- In addition, there is also grant funding for activities in the areas of education, disaster preparedness and relief, and recycling.
Additional Grants and In-kind Support for KAB and Other Community Services
- Grants to nonprofits to promote healthy/sustainable communities. Funding is for programs and projects in the focus areas of environmental stewardship, nutrition, and physical activity.
- There are grants to nonprofits, government agencies, and schools for programs and projects that will enhance the quality-of-life to benefit communities. Funding is to enrich the local quality of life for residents.
- Grants and in-kind donations to eligible neighborhood associations and municipalities for community cleanup projects. In addition to financial support, the funding source will also provide safety vests, gloves, tools, and other items relevant to the cleanup.
- Grants of up to $1,000 to eligible nonprofits, schools, and groups for a wide variety of public garden projects. Funding is for food garden projects that serve community members in need. Eligible projects include youth gardens, community gardens, community farms, and food bank gardens.
- There are grants to land trusts, nonprofits, public agencies, homeowners associations, and civic groups, together with an award to a land trust representative, for land-conservation/community-stewardship activities. Grants support youth and community engagement, capacity building for land trusts, and tree planting on agricultural land.
The Bottom Line
To conclude, we hope you will have the interest and opportunity to get involved in your community and help Keep America Beautiful!
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