applying for Special projects funds

The USBBY Special Projects Committee is currently accepting applications for funding future activities and projects.

Applications are judged on urgency of the need, the quality of the proposed project, short term and long term benefits, and compatibility with IBBY and USBBY´s mission and goals. No more than $4,000 will be awarded annually to any one project.

If you know of worthy domestic or foreign projects that would fit the designated criteria, please submit an application to V. Ellis Vance, Special Projects Fund chairperson. An application and guidelines are available for downloading or can be obtained by contacting Ellis Vance at [email protected]. 

The deadline for application submission is August 1 each year.

History

In February 2007, the USBBY Board of Directors approved creating a Special Projects Fund to be used specifically to fund worthy projects, both domestic (U.S.) and foreign (IBBY related projects) that merit USBBY support. A committee was formed to develop criteria, guidelines, and the application and selection process. These have been in place now for the past two years and several projects have been funded, including the following approved by the Board.
The Zimbabwe Web Site Project (2010)
$1,500 Special Projects funds were approved by the USBBY Board to help IBBY Zimbabwe establish a website for their section, specifically to pay for the website design, the domain name registration, web hosting, web updates, and training on its use. When completed, the Zimbabwe website will have a link to USBBY.
The Lebanese Library Project (2010)
The funding for this project was made possible through USBBY´s twinning partnership with IBBY Lebanon. The money will be used to fund a portable library with 120 fiction and non-fiction books in a needy public school in a deprived area of Beirut. Workshops will be held in the school on the importance of reading for the development of each family member, techniques to promote reading among children, and techniques of story reading and story telling for parents. The IBBY Lebanon goal is to find funding for reading centers for ten libraries.
The Lubuto Library Project (2009)
The funding for this project was made possible through USBBY´s twinning partnership with IBBY Zambia in Africa. The funds will be used to make the next Lubuto Library a reality. As stated by Jane Myers, Project President, "USBBY´s gift will contribute to the construction of the second Lubuto Library, to be built in the rural area of Nabukuyu, Zambia, as a centerpiece of the Matantala Rural Development Enterprise. Specifically this amount will cover the costs of lighting and electrical power outfitting for the library—literally turning on the lights of the Lubuto Library."

​USBBY members can follow the progress of that construction, see the impact of their donations, and access all newsletters at www.Lubuto.org.  Zambia´s IBBY dues are being supported by USBBY for the next three years as part of the USBBY´s twinning relationship with that country.