 |
|
|
|
|
|
Thrift and Thriving
Submission Window: Closed
The recent global financial meltdown has highlighted the devastating consequences of indebtedness and overspending at the individual, institutional, and governmental levels. It has also renewed interest in thrift as an essential component of both personal and public financial stewardship. Though often dismissed as mere frugality or penny-pinching, thrift is a classical American virtue, rooted in a profound understanding of the enduring worth of work, savings, and prosperity. Restoring a culture of thrift, based on principle not just on necessity, has become an urgent need for the success of individuals and even the survival of nations.
The Foundation wishes to encourage a greater understanding of the moral and spiritual dimensions of thrift; to support new, culturally astute approaches to teaching the habits and philosophy of thrift; and to shift public discourse so that thrift can be viewed as a key factor in producing the resiliency necessary for human thriving and institutional and social health. Proposals for achieving these ends might include such things as curricula to teach thrift and financial stewardship at the high school level; research on the social, psychological, and economic factors that foster thrift or undermine it; or media projects aimed at educating and encouraging the practice of thrift.
The Foundation’s 2010 Funding Priority on “Thrift and Thriving” aims to generate new research and innovative programming. Applicants are asked to respond directly to one or more of the following Big Questions:
- 1What is the relationship of self-control and future-mindedness to the practice of thrift and the avoidance of imprudent investments?
- 2Can a renewed cultural emphasis on the connection between thrift and thriving contribute to a recovery of the “American Dream”?
- 3What kinds of interventions and programs can be developed that will inspire and empower individuals and institutions to be thrifty?
Budget range and term for individual projects: From $50,000 to $400,000 and for up to two years.