Game On-Community Places to Play is an initiative of The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation and LISC. The initiative provides funding and technical assistance to community-rooted organizations working to create and renovate multi-use youth sport spaces in under-resourced communities across the country. The goal is to improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of local athletic spaces for young people. Grant awards will range from $50,000-$100,000 and will require 1:1 match funding. Funds will be awarded to outdoor and indoor facilities that enable and demonstrate local community access and usage for all organized youth sports, including but not limited to basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, football, tennis, lacrosse, and volleyball.

Deadline: August 15, 2026

Funder: The DICK’s Sporting Goods Foundation and LISC

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Deadline: August 7, 2026

ACM Lifting Lives is the philanthropic partner of the Academy of Country Music, dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, ACM Lifting Lives has supported hundreds of organizations using music to heal, connect, and transform communities across the United States. The 2026 Grant Cycle reflects our deepest commitment: supporting nonprofits delivering innovative, evidence-informed music therapy programs that improve mental, physical, and emotional health outcomes for individuals and communities in need.

• Clinical Music Therapy: Programs delivering board certified music therapy services in clinical care environments, including hospitals, hospices, rehabilitation centers, and specialized treatment camps. Programs must demonstrate a clear therapeutic framework and qualified clinical staff.
• Therapeutic Interventions: Music based programs using therapeutic approaches to support behavioral, emotional, or social outcomes in structured community settings. Examples include programs serving students in K–12 schools, veterans and active-duty military, or other defined community populations.
• Industry Mental Health: Initiatives providing direct therapeutic services to music industry professionals, including touring artists, songwriters, crew members, and other music industry workers facing mental health challenges. Programs must offer direct clinical or therapeutic services.

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The Senior Learning and Instruction Manager (SLIM) will work with the Learning and Instruction team to support Impact Department leadership in developing site learning strategy. The SLIM will oversee the successful execution of the AmeriCorps Volunteer (ACV) Learning and Development strategy by coordinating the scheduling and implementation of site learning activities. The Senior Learning and Instruction Manager (SLIM) will report to the Senior Director of Learning and Instruction (SDLI).

This is a year-round position, with a minimum of 4 days in-person at the office, Philadelphia and/or Norristown area schools, and Learning and Development Day (LDD) venues.

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Position Overview

Perform onsite construction tasks necessary for completing new construction, rehab, and owner-occupied residential repair projects; perform technical carpentry repairs while working with key HFHP staff, subcontractors, and homeowners; effectively utilize the labor and enthusiasm of Habitat’s volunteer workforce; uphold HFHP’s quality and safety standards; work as a community partner; and promote Habitat’s mission to eliminate substandard housing and revitalize neighborhoods.

Application Deadline: August 21, 2026

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JOB OVERVIEW:

Under the direction of the Chief Program and Evaluation Officer, the Program Manager (“Manager”) will be responsible for supporting the implementation of several programmatic initiatives, including but not limited to Member training and events, PYSC Girls Initiative events, Hello Insight Outcome Measurement, and other initiatives as assigned.

The Manager will provide administrative support and coordination for programs that engage multiple partners and stakeholders and will be expected to be creative, flexible, and organized to meet all program deliverables. The Manager must have the ability to deal effectively with multiple stakeholders, including the staff of PYSC, member organizations, partners, and other outside organizations.

The Manager understands and believes in the mission of PYSC and is willing to be an ongoing advocate for our organization, our partners, and the youth that we serve together. He/she/they should be detail and results-oriented, creative, and administratively capable.

The Manager will be a highly collaborative individual, and communicate regularly with the Chief Program and Evaluation Officer, the Director of Member Engagement, and Director of Communications.

Application Deadline: September 7, 2026

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Pluralism in Place: Civic Engagement and the Democratic Promise of Metropolitan Higher Education

This themed issue invites scholars to explore the intersection of civic engagement, place-based higher education, and community partnerships with pluralism. Metropolitan universities, because of their location within diverse and often complex civic environments, offer particularly fertile ground for examining how institutions cultivate cooperation across differences, while remaining attentive to issues of justice, power, and community voice.

This issue will explore key questions and lines of inquiry around pluralism and democracy, such as:

• How can community engagement initiatives help students develop the skills needed to navigate deep social and ideological differences?
• What role do metropolitan universities play as pluralistic civic actors within their communities?
• How can place-based learning help students understand and engage the histories, tensions, and diversity of the communities surrounding their institutions?
• What tensions arise between pluralism, justice-oriented engagement, and traditional service-learning models?
• How do community partnerships create opportunities for democratic learning across religious, cultural, and political differences?
• In what ways can metropolitan universities function as anchor institutions for pluralistic civic life?

This call for complete, full manuscripts is open to all scholars who have experience with leading and facilitating civic priorities, policies, and programs that encourage pluralism and democracy, in the context of urban and metropolitan campuses. We are pleased to collaborate with our colleagues at Interfaith America, especially with Guest Editors, Dr. Susan Haarman and Dr. Todd Green.

This MUJ issue is scheduled for publication in spring 2027. We invite submissions of manuscripts by November 1, 2026.

Click here for more details about this call for submissions and submission guidelines.

For decades, Pennsylvania’s school funding system relied too heavily on local wealth rather than student need, leaving students in many low-income communities, communities of color, and rural communities without the resources they deserved. The Commonwealth Court ruled in 2023 that this system was unconstitutional, leading Pennsylvania to begin investing in school funding based on adequacy. This year’s enacted budget builds on that progress by making another significant investment toward closing those funding gaps.

Among the key findings:

• The adequacy funding formula is working as intended by directing the largest new investments to school districts with the greatest remaining funding gaps.
• Districts serving the highest concentrations of low-income students, Black students, and Hispanic students are receiving some of the largest reductions in funding gaps.
• Pennsylvania’s school funding inequities are not simply an urban issue. The adequacy formula is benefiting both urban and many low-income, predominantly white rural school districts by directing the largest investments where student need is greatest, regardless of geography.

The report makes something else clear: while Pennsylvania has made meaningful progress, billions of dollars in unmet need remain. Continued investments will be necessary to ensure every student, regardless of race, income, or ZIP code, has access to a thorough and efficient public education.

Read the report.

The SLCE Conference cultivates a thriving network of students, faculty, staff, and community partners working together to advance the public purposes of higher education through authentic, reciprocal partnerships.

This year’s theme, Co-Creating Change: Collaborative Community Partnerships, highlights the efforts of institutions of higher learning and community organizations that work side by side to address complex social challenges, strengthen civic learning, and expand opportunities for meaningful engagement, connecting best practices in service-learning, community engagement, and professional development to deepen relationships between campuses and the communities they serve. The conference is a catalyst for continued collaboration: attendees are encouraged to carry the conversations, partnerships, and ideas sparked here back into their classrooms, campuses, and communities.

Early bird registration available until August 9th, 2026.

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Young voters are a large and powerful segment of the electorate that can have a major impact on the 2026 midterms. Close to 50 million youth, ages 18-29, are eligible to cast ballots, including more than 8 million newly eligible voters since the 2024 election. These young people can cast critical swing votes and shape electoral outcomes in races across the country.

Read more.

This role combines educational leadership, staff supervision, program development, community engagement, and operational management. You’ll work closely with students, families, educators, community partners, and Project HOME staff to create high-quality learning experiences that strengthen literacy, technology skills, and academic achievement.

If you’re an experienced educator or youth development professional who is passionate about equitable educational opportunities, we’d love to hear from you.

Learn more and apply.

About the Role: Support Staff will support residents in achieving their goals that promote recovery, wellness, and successful community living. They will assist in the development of a culture of recovery and peer support, role model behaviors, assist in connecting with and using community resources, assist in building new competencies and other similar activities. Support Staff is key to maintaining the peace and quiet enjoyment of the community; assist in orienting new residents to the program & protocols; and maintaining security.

• Location: Philly Home at Girard, 2100 W. Girard Ave. 19130
• Schedule: Monday-Friday | 4:00 PM-12:00 AM
• Pay Rate: $19.68/hour

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This position combines leadership, resident services, crisis response, staff supervision, compliance oversight, and program operations. You’ll work closely with residents, staff, healthcare providers, referral partners, and community agencies to promote housing stability, wellness, and recovery.

If you’re an experienced human services professional who thrives in a leadership role and values person-centered care, we’d love to hear from you.

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Date and Time: Wednesday, July 29, 4:00 PM

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Date and Time: Wednesday, July 29, 2:00 PM

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For the seventh year, Independent Sector partnered with Edelman Data & Intelligence to examine how the American public views nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. The 2026 study includes a nationally representative survey of 3,000 U.S. adults and politically representative online focus groups.

This year’s findings show that nonprofits remain a rare point of common ground. Americans continue to trust nonprofit organizations more than government institutions, corporations, the media, and philanthropy — and increasingly see nonprofits as institutions that can bring people together and improve their communities.

The research also identifies a clear responsibility that accompanies this trust. Americans want nonprofits to be transparent about their funding and operations, accountable to the communities they serve, open to direct participation, and cautious and forthcoming when using artificial intelligence.

Learn more and download the report.

The application deadline is August 15, 2026.

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Read more.

When & Where: September 24-25, 2026, The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center, State College, PA

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Additional conference information.

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