JCK INDUSTRY FUND CURRENTLY ACCEPTING GRANT APPLICATIONS

JCK INDUSTRY FUND CURRENTLY ACCEPTING GRANT APPLICATIONS

The JCK Industry Fund is currently accepting grant applications from individuals, groups or associations whose work results in the betterment of the overall jewelry industry. The JCK Industry Fund awards hundreds of thousands of dollars each year across multiple entities whose programs and services help the overall industry. 

The deadline for submission is December 15, 2012.

Now in its 15^th year, this fund awards grants to projects that: (1) improve the image of the jewelry industry in the eyes of the consumer, and/or (2) aids jewelry industry organizations in addressing serious problems faced within the industry, and/or (3) assists internal organizations and associations in developing training materials. 

"Being able to give back each year to the industry in which we all benefit from, is very rewarding," said Yancy Weinrich, Group Vice President, JCK. "Our industry continues to evolve, and so do the programs that our associations, organizations and individuals have developed. I am very proud of this annual contribution and encourage all organizations to consider submitting their grant proposal."

Past winners have included Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), The American Gem Society (AGS), The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), The Jewelers Security Alliance (JSA), Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) and the Women's Jewelry Association (WJA).

In order to be considered, applicants must submit a formal proposal in writing directly to JCK and include all of the following elements: The purpose of the grant; the amount requested; timing for allocation of monies and a plan for its allocation; historical budget data; measurable expected benefits; and an agreement outlining JCK's right to conduct financial auditing of funds allocated to ensure suitable usage.  

All applications will be reviewed and final recipients will be chosen by a Fund Advisory Committee comprised of representatives from the manufacturing and retail segment, as well as JCK. The recipients will be chosen based upon their synergy with the overall core goals and intentions of the Fund. Winners are notified in early 2013 and a formal announcement listing the winners will be distributed.

To apply for the JCK Industry Fund click here: http://lasvegas.jckonline.com/JCKs-Industry-Fund/ 

ABOUT JCK EVENTS:
JCK is a trusted partner connecting jewelry retailers and manufacturers/suppliers with trends, news, products, education and partners to build business. Whether attending face-to-face events, building inventory with online and onsite sourcing or obtaining authoritative news and insights from JCK, the leading industry magazine in print & online, JCK offers a suite of tools, events and information to deliver sound solutions, innovative opportunities and essential information. Mark your calendars as JCK Events presents its portfolio of upcoming buying opportunities:

-	LUXURY Privé Panama: October 22 – 24 – Panama City, Panama, Westin Playa Bonita
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-	JCK Las Vegas: May 31 – June 3 – Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
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JCK Industry Fund Awards Diamond Development Initiative

Diamond Development Initiative, Jewelers of America, Womens Jewelry Association, American Gem Society, Jewelers Vigilance Committee and the Jewelers Security Alliance received part of the $400,000 that is granted every year to individuals, groups, or associations who work towards the betterment of the overall industry.

The JCK Industry Fund aims to address problems and challenges facing the jewelry industry, and to assist organizations and associations in developing training materials for its membership and the industry at large.

"We are thrilled that the JCK Fund has supported the initiative. The positive impact at the source of the diamond pipeline will, in time, be enormous." said DDII Board Chair Ian Smillie following the announcement that they have been awarded a grant from the JCK Industry Fund.

The JCK award will assist DDII in its effort to develop and create ‘Development Diamond Standards’, a verifiable certification system for artisanally mined diamonds. DDS will be a tool for addressing development issues and formalizing the artisanal diamond mining sector, and will be a foundation for enhancing the effectiveness of the Kimberley Process regulatory mechanism.

The standards will enable artisanal diamond miners to play an active role as change agents in their own communities, changing a legacy of chaos and victimization with a proactive tool for positive development. The grant will also help DDII tell the development diamond story to the wider jewelry industry.

Dorothee Gizenga, DDII’s Executive Director, said, "The confidence that the JCK Fund is showing in DDII is an important signal to the people we work with at the grass roots, that the industry is concerned about them. It is also an important signal to the governments and civil society organizations that we work with – and the others we hope to attract to our aims and objectives – that the industry is a valued and necessary player in this joint approach to some of the most basic problems in the alluvial diamond fields of Africa and South America."

There are an estimated 1.3 million artisanal diamond diggers across Africa, serving as the primary breadwinner for families that total as many as 10 million people. These diggers earn, on average, about a dollar a day, and there are tens of thousands like them in South America. Historically, governments have treated them as criminals and have attempted to drive them away. After 75 years, this is clearly not the solution.

Regulation and the rule of law are important, but DDII believes that economic problems and the poverty that lures people to the diamond fields also require economic and development solutions. The creation of verifiable standards for ‘development diamonds’ is one step in this direction.

Diamond Development Initiative International

Mission Statement

To gather all interested parties into a process that will address, in a comprehensive way, the political, social and economic challenges facing the artisanal diamond mining sector in order to optimize the beneficial development impact of artisanal diamond mining to miners and their communities within the countries in which the diamonds are mined.