c Application Guidelines Grant Summary Grant description Grant amount (Great Lakes) seeks to provide funding to organizations in Minnesota or Wisconsin that have developed a program designed to provide direct services that increase the academic preparedness of students from traditionally underserved backgrounds. These direct services must prepare students for postsecondary education, be measured by strong data collection methods and metrics, and be designed to result in improvements in one or more of the following: ACT/SAT scores, GPA, or academic performance as measured by pre- to post-test scores. Up to $300,000 per grantee, in support of direct service program costs Region/Eligibility Population to be served Nonprofit, Title-IV-eligible Minnesota or Wisconsin institutions of higher education and community-based nonprofit organizations Students from traditionally underserved backgrounds (students from low-income households, students of color, and students who will be the first in their family to attend college) in grades 6-12 and prospective college students (e.g., rising freshmen/returning adults not currently enrolled in undergraduate classes) Application deadline 5:00 p.m. Central on December 7, 2012 Grant period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 Funding notification May 24, 2013 Contact information Nikki Wachter, Community Investments Program Manager nwachter@glhec.org 888-889-3299 2013-2014 College Ready Grant Guidelines Page 1
College Ready Grant Great Lakes goal is to see more students from traditionally underserved backgrounds enter postsecondary education with the academic skills they need to succeed. Through this grant opportunity, Great Lakes seeks to provide funding to programs that provide direct services that increase academic preparedness of students from low-income households, students of color, and first-generation students. During this one-year grant period (July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014), grantees will track a specific cohort of students with the goal of demonstrating a positive impact within one or more of the following measures: Eligibility ACT or SAT scores comparing pre- and post-test scores Grade Point Average (GPA) increase in cumulative GPA over the course of the grant period Academic performance as measured through increased pre- to post-test scores excluding state mandated tests (e.g., WKCE and MCA) This regional grant opportunity is open to community-based organizations and nonprofit institutions of higher education located in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Applicants must be one of the following types of organization (eligible organizations may submit more than one application for this grant opportunity): Nonprofit, Title IV-eligible, institution of higher education in Minnesota or Wisconsin Community-based nonprofit organization in Minnesota or Wisconsin, classified as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code Individual K-12 schools and school districts are not eligible to apply for funding, but may be the beneficiary of services performed by an eligible applicant. The end goal of programs should be increased academic preparedness for entrance and success in post-secondary education; programs with an end goal of GED/HSED completion are not eligible to apply. Organizations receiving grant funding cannot re-grant the funding or subcontract funds to other organizations. This opportunity is not for planning grants; programs must be in operation during the grant period. Program Requirements To be considered for funding, programs must: Prepare students academically for enrollment and success in higher education Provide a defined set of continuing services to a cohort of students. For purposes of this grant, a cohort is a clearly defined group of students that the program can identify, measure, and track from the beginning of the grant period through the end of the grant period. Services may not be provided on a drop-in basis. Be designed to serve students in grades 6-12 or rising freshmen/returning adults not currently enrolled in undergraduate classes; participants must be from traditionally underserved backgrounds (e.g., students from low-income households, students of color, and first-generation students) Collaborate with external and/or internal partners to collectively impact the cohort 2013-2014 College Ready Grant Guidelines Page 2
Track student outcomes related to either ACT or SAT score improvement, cumulative GPA improvement, or academic performance, as measured through increased pre- to post-test scores, excluding state mandated tests (e.g., WKCE and MCA) Provide direct services designed to increase core academic preparedness; services should focus on increases in math, English, science, reading, and/or writing skills Provide a data-sharing agreement with school/school district if relying on grades in outcomes reporting Budget Guidelines The following guidelines are designed to assist in program budget development. Eligible programs (See Eligibility and Program Requirements above) may request grant funds of up to $300,000 to be expended during the grant period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 Grant funds may not be re-granted or subcontracted to other organizations Eligible Expenses Examples of eligible expenses include, but are not limited to: Personnel (salary and benefits) Supplies Books Academic tutors Food Transportation to direct service activities Program staff development (up to $3,000 if a specific training opportunity is imperative to the program success and is justified in the Budget Narrative) Administration of exams or tests Evaluation costs, limited to no more than 10% of the total funding request. If funds are used for external evaluation, grantee will be expected to share results/publications with Great Lakes. Wrap-Around Services Wrap-around services are those direct service activities that are not specifically academic in nature. If wrap-around services or activities are included in the budget, requests for funds directed toward these services may not exceed 25% of the total funding request. Examples of wrap-around services include (but are not limited to) college visits, mentors, parental involvement activities, team-building activities, student incentives, field trips, and travel to/from wrap-around services. Ineligible Expenses Indirect costs are not eligible for funding through this grant opportunity. Examples of indirect costs include: Tuition for college credit Scholarships or other forms of postsecondary financial aid Administrative fees Computers (e.g., PCs, laptops, ipads, tablets) Equipment (e.g., office furniture and printers) Rent Utilities 2013-2014 College Ready Grant Guidelines Page 3
Depreciation Capital campaigns Endowments Event sponsorships or fundraising activities Informational Webinar For answers to questions you may have about this application, please plan to attend an informational webinar on October 25, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. Central. This webinar will include advice on how to submit a successful application. Please visit www.mygreatlakes.org/community to register. If you are unable to attend this webinar at the scheduled time, a recording will be available on www.mygreatlakes.org/community. Submission Information A complete application package must be submitted via email to communityinvestments@glhec.org no later than 5:00 p.m. Central, Friday, December 7, 2012. Application receipt will be confirmed via email. A complete application package will include: Application Attachments, as indicated in the application instructions below Proof of tax-exempt status (community-based organizations only) Current, dated within the past two years, audited financial statements (community-based organizations only) Incomplete packages will not be considered for funding. Format The application should be submitted as a Word document, using Times New Roman, 12 pt font. Applications must be limited to 20 pages. Applications submitted in PDF format will not be considered for funding. Attachments Great Lakes will only review and consider those attachments requested in the Application Instructions. Attachments are requested in Section 2E, Section 3, and Section 5A. Application Timeline October 11, 2012 October 25, 2012 December 7, 2012 December 10, 2012 March 18, 2013 May 24, 2013 Application period begins Informational webinar Applications due to Great Lakes by 5:00 p.m. Central Great Lakes begins review of all complete applications Programs notified of promotion to final review phase Programs will be notified of final funding decisions 2013-2014 College Ready Grant Guidelines Page 4
Program Notification March 18, 2013: All applicants will be notified whether or not they have been selected to proceed to the final review phase. Applications that do not move on to the final review phase will not be considered for funding. March 18 May 24, 2013: The final review phase will take place March 18 through May 24, 2013. Programs that proceed to this phase of review may or may not be awarded grant funds. During the final review phase, Great Lakes may contact you for additional information, clarification, supporting documentation, and/or to schedule a site visit. May 24, 2013: Final funding decisions will be announced on Thursday, May 24, 2013. Please note that Great Lakes will notify applicants of all decisions via email. Great Lakes will send the notification to the program contact listed in the grant application. Grant Funds Disbursement and Reporting Process Awarded grant funds, in most cases, will be distributed in two disbursements. The initial disbursement will take place upon execution of a Grant Agreement between Great Lakes and the grant recipient. The second disbursement will be made during the second semester of the 2013-2014 academic year and will be contingent upon Great Lakes receipt of an interim report outlining expended funds and the program s progress toward its stated goals. A final report will be due at the end of the grant period. Disbursement and report due dates will be outlined in the Grant Agreement. If funded, programs will be expected to report on the number of students served, with the expectation that all cohort students indicated in the grant application will be served. The amount of funds requested for the cohort should accurately reflect the number of students the program can reasonably recruit, serve, and track during the program year. Applicants should propose outcomes that accurately reflect the focus and capacity of their program. Charts similar to those in Section 3 and Section 4 will be used for interim and final reporting. Grant recipients will be expected to report on their progress toward achieving the outcomes and activities indicated in the application. Grantees will be required to report, for the selected Primary Outcomes, the average pre-test score or starting GPA for the total cohort in an interim report. Corresponding total cohort post-test scores and GPAs will be reported in the final report. 2013-2014 College Ready Grant Guidelines Page 5
Application Instructions These application instructions should be used to complete the application. The application must be completed as a Word document, using Times New Roman, 12pt font, and be limited to 20 pages. Applications submitted in PDF format will not be considered for funding. Section 1: General Information Provide General Information as indicated, including organization name and mailing address. The Funding Request should use completed budget information from Section 5 of the Application. Section 2: Program Narrative 2A. Program and Contact Information The program summary should provide a brief and general overview of the program. This overview is limited to 600 characters (not words), including spaces. Provide the contact information for the person responsible for communications with Great Lakes staff in the event the program is awarded grant funds. If the program is selected for the final review phase, Great Lakes will request additional information from the indicated program contact. 2B. Program Details Clearly describe the program s history, what the program does, activities that will be conducted and why the program focuses on the identified outcomes. It should be clear who specifically is served by the program, how students are recruited and selected, risk factors experienced by the target population, and how the program addresses these risk factors. When complete, this section should stand alone as a description of the program, and the reader should have a clear understanding of what exactly the program does and who it serves. 2C. 2013-2014 Program Participation Data Total number of students to be served during the 2013-2014 grant period should reflect the total number of cohort students to be served under this grant application. For purposes of this application, a cohort is a clearly defined group of students that the program can identify, measure, and track from the beginning of the grant period through the end of the grant period. This number should accurately reflect the number of students the program can reasonably recruit, serve, and track during the program year. In addition to indicating the total number of students to be served, indicate, in the provided chart, the grade and projected demographics for all students. This is measured as the grade in school that students will be in during the 2013-2014 school year. Define the demographics using definitions as determined by your program. The projected cohort may or may not fit into more than one demographic; as a result, percentages do not have to add up to 100%. 2D. Program Staff Briefly describe the experience and role within the program of key staff and organizational leadership as well as the staff members who will be responsible for leading program activities. A position description should be attached for each staff member indicated in the budget. 2013-2014 College Ready Grant Guidelines Page 6
2E. Partnerships Briefly describe internal and external individuals, organizations, and departments with whom the program will collaborate in order to better prepare students for academic success. It should be made clear how the program and partner work directly together to positively impact the program cohort. If collaborating with external partners, letters of support may be submitted as attachments. Section 3: Outcomes Outcome Identify up to six total outcomes. As the goal of the College Ready grant is academic preparedness, at least one of these outcomes must be selected from the Primary Outcomes listed below (Outcomes A, B, or C). A. Increase in ACT or SAT scores: % of total cohort students will increase ACT or SAT scores by. OR B. Increase in grade point average (GPA) scores: % of total cohort students will increase cumulative grade point average (GPA) by. OR C. Increase in academic performance as measured by pre-to post-test scores: % of total cohort students will increase test scores by between pre- and post-test. Percentages should be calculated with a denominator equal to the total number of students to be served during the grant period (from Section 2C). If other outcomes are proposed (Outcomes D, E, or F), they must be quantifiable and written in a format similar to that of the Primary Outcomes. A strong outcome will be objective and numerical and indicate the measureable change in student achievement. For assistance with developing measureable outcomes for your program, Great Lakes encourages programs to utilize the Evaluation Toolkit provided by the Pell Institute and Pathways to College Network (http://toolkit.pellinstitute.org). Data Source For each outcome, applicants should describe the data source(s) that will be used to collect and track student achievement. For the following outcomes, specific data source attachments are required: Increase in grade point average (GPA). Programs proposing student increases in GPA must submit, as an application attachment, a data-sharing agreement with the school district the student cohort attends. Increase in academic performance as measured by pre-to post-test scores. Programs proposing academic performance as an outcome and using a self-selected pre- and post-test (instead of a standardized test like COMPASS, Accuplacer, or TABE) must submit, as an application attachment, both the pre- and post-test instruments. 2013-2014 College Ready Grant Guidelines Page 7
Section 4: Activities Activities In chart format, describe the academic and wrap-around activities that will be conducted throughout the grant period to impact outcomes. Where appropriate, indicate how often or how many sessions will take place. In order to describe the timeline of activities, include the month that each activity is planned to take place. All activities for which funding is requested must be listed in the Activities chart. Wrap-around services are those direct service activities that are not specifically academic in nature. If wrap-around services or activities are included in the Budget, funds requested for these services may not exceed 25% of the total funding request. Examples of wrap-around services include (but are not limited to) college visits, mentors, parental involvement activities, team-building activities, student incentives, field trips, and travel to/from wrap-around services. Additional activity lines may be added as necessary. Number of Students Participating Indicate how many students will participate in each activity. This should be a number, not a percentage of students. Outcomes Indicate (using corresponding letters) which outcome(s) are impacted by each activity (e.g., A, D, E). Justification Provide a brief justification for how or why the academic or wrap-around activity impacts the indicated outcome(s). Section 5: Program Budget and Budget Narrative Applicants must provide a detailed description of program costs. Eligible expenses include direct program costs associated with services designed to increase the academic preparedness of the student cohort. All funds requested must relate to and be included in the Activities outlined in Section 4. See Budget Guidelines (page 3) for specific details related to eligible expenses. 5A. Program Personnel Salaries and Fringe Benefits Replace Position Title with the actual position title of the requested personnel. Indicate the percentage of full-time employment (FTE) that will be spent performing activities directly related to the funding request. If funds are requested for personnel salaries, position descriptions must be submitted as application attachments. Funds may be requested for fringe benefits directly related to the requested personnel positions. Indicate in the Total Program Budget column the total program cost of each requested line item. In the Total Requested of Great Lakes column, indicate the dollar amount of the total program expense requested of Great Lakes. These two columns may be equal. Additional lines may be added as necessary. 2013-2014 College Ready Grant Guidelines Page 8
5B. Other Direct Expenses Replace Program Expense with a brief description/title of funds requested. Provide a full description in the Budget Narrative. Indicate in the Total Program Budget column the total cost of each line item. In the Total Requested of Great Lakes column, indicate the dollar amount of the total program expense requested of Great Lakes. These two columns may be equal. Additional lines may be added as necessary. 5C. Total Program Expenses Total Program Budget and Total Requested of Great Lakes should reflect the sum of each column. Great Lakes strongly encourages programs to review this section and verify the accuracy of Subtotals and Totals prior to submission. 5D. Budget Narrative The Budget Narrative should provide a brief justification for each line item requested; describe each line item separately. The Budget Narrative should make clear the specific purpose of requested funds. A simple calculation to demonstrate how the request was determined should be provided. An example of a clear and specific budget request is provided below. Example: $4,500 is requested for Food in Section 5B Other Direct Expenses. Budget Narrative: Food: Snacks for after-school programming (30 weeks x 50 students x $3/student/week=$4,500) Before submitting your complete application, please proofread and review Submission Information on page 4. If you have immediate questions about this grant application, please contact Nikki Wachter, Community Investments Program Manager, at nwachter@glhec.org or 888-889-3299. 2013-2014 College Ready Grant Guidelines Page 9