Society for Science Awards $165,000 in Microgrants to 38 Nonprofits Diversifying Science and Cultivating Science Literacy
WASHINGTON, DC — The Society for Science, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding scientific literacy, effective STEM education and scientific research for the past 100 years, today announced $165,000 in microgrant funding to 38 creative, community-driven organizations across the United States through their STEM Action Grant program. While this year’s recipients are operated out of 21 different states, each group serves multiple states outside of their base; collectively, this class of grantees is serving the entire nation.
The STEM Action Grant program bolsters and improves outcomes for groups that have been historically left behind in STEM education and careers, including Black and Latinx individuals, women and gender-expansive persons, the hearing and visually impaired as well as low-income students. One organization, for instance, is focused on providing STEM opportunities in some of the most vulnerable populations in the United States. Through programming tailored for refugee youth and survivors of genocide, they are helping to ensure that the refugee population is not excluded from STEM pathways and are empowering them for economic self-sufficiency in the United States. Others among the recipients include a collection of organizations encouraging Black girls to explore marine science, engineering or aviation pathways.
An array of organizations supported this year are leveraging passions for music, sports and nature to draw students into science and engineering fields via hands-on activities. As the United States emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, a cluster of organizations are also using their funding to expand newly established virtual programs, maximizing creative technologies and effectively reaching global audiences and students who face geographic boundaries.