The Sikh Spirit Foundation is now accepting 2009 Grant Proposals

ssf.jpg.png I know, from personal experience, that Sikh student organizations are always looking for a way to “get involved” and participate in a good cause. So, when I read about a recent initiative encouraging this type of active involvement, I cheered (abeit silenty… and to myself). The Sikh Spirit Foundation is an organization dedicated to promoting sikh values through education.

Earlier this year, The Sikh Spirit Foundation announced the award recipients from its Idea Contest 2009. The first five participants to submit project ideas will be receiving a t-shirt of their choice from PanjabMall.com. These individuals are:

Harman Singh Sadana
Pardeep Singh Nagra
Ardaas Kaur Hora
Ravinder Singh
Baljinder Singh

The Foundation awarded the grand prize, an iPod Nano, to Pavandeep Singh Sandhu. Pavandeep suggested a media campaign that would promote the awareness of Sikhs in the advertisement spaces of public transportation systems

Congratulations to the award recipients and to all those who participated!

Continuing its mission, the Foundation has announced the opening of its first application cycle of 2009 and humbly calls on the global community to submit their project proposals. Grants range from $500 to $25,000. Each proposal will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Foundation supports the preservation and advancement of Sikh issues and seeks progress in all realms of Sikhi, from education and human rights to arts and culture.

All proposals must be received by June 1, 2009. Interested applicants should request the grant proposal guidelines from [email protected]

Some of the organization’s previous grantees include: Ensaaf, Gyan Sewa Trust, Nanakshahi, Sikh Coalition, SikhNet, Sikh Research Institute, and Ujjaldidar Singh Memorial Foundation.

We’ve previously discussed involvement in the Sikh cause and lac(k)tivism - so it would be great to hear how youth and student organizations take the opportunity to suggest solutions to problems in gurdwaras and provide new ideas for improving sikh education. Whether we acknowledge this or not, we are building a world today where our children will live tomorrow. To see the positive impact, it really comes down to how much we are willing to invest in our community today.

To apply for a 2009 grant, we encourage you to write directly to [email protected] however, if you’d like to leave some thoughts here too - we will love to hear your ideas!