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Application Deadline: July 1, 2010
To submit your application, go to: http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/projects/97

Overview

This year, grants of $2,000, $3,000, or $5,000 will be awarded to as many as ten state or regional networks. Grants are available to groups of sites that belong to networks or are located in the same region, and to individual sites that serve an entire state. Applications need not include every site within the state or region. The writing of the grant proposal may be collaborative; however, the funding must be sent to a designated host site. Sites must have completed one complete cycle of NWP funding to be eligible to apply for SRN funding.

NOTE: The director of the host site designated to receive the funds should complete the online submission of the application and budget on behalf of the group.

Purposes for SRN grants that have been funded include strengthening the capacity of sites in a state or region to provide professional development or to offer professional development that addresses particular state or regional needs, issues, or educational priorities, such as examining state standards and assessments or closing the achievement and equity gap for English language learners. SRN minigrants have allowed sites within a state or regional network to do collaborative work, including planning documentation projects, sharing inservice or continuity resources and expertise, or developing plans to increase visibility. Smaller grants have provided support for site leaders within states and regions to share resources and expertise for administering, growing, or sustaining sites.  

While proposals can still address these purposes, given the current funding shifts and challenges at both the national and state levels, the SRN Leadership Team recommends that state and regional networks consider submitting a proposal to:

• study the changes in the professional development funding structures and procedures in their state or region, 
• develop strategies to partner with schools to access, make effective use of, or apply for funding, and
• develop network and site capacity to provide Writing Project professional development in a new funding context.

The choice of funding ($2,000, $3,000, or $5,000) allows a network to apply for the level of funding that best supports the proposed project. In general, $2,000 supports a planning grant,  $3,000 funds a planning meeting or visioning retreat that develops the capacity of site leaders and the collaborative reach of sites, and $5,000 funds a particular project that needs the ongoing collaborative work of sites and more extensive time for site leaders to develop, launch, and disseminate.  Note that the minigrant process is competitive and networks and sites are not assured of funding year to year.

Applying for a Minigrant

Submit a grant proposal online at http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/projects/97.

Your proposal should have four parts:

• Narrative
• Budget (submitted via our separate, online budget system)
• Timeline
• Summary

See below for detailed instructions.

Narrative

Submit a narrative of approximately four pages describing your proposed project. Because the proposal will come from a host site, consider attaching letters of support from the sites that are collaborating on the project.

Your narrative should include the following:

• Proposal rationale: Explain the purpose of the proposed project, program, or initiative. Identify and describe the state or regional issues, priorities, or needs the proposed work addresses and provide any additional background information that will be helpful for the reviewers.
• Description of proposed work: Include project goals and activities, as well as the roles and responsibilities necessary for program implementation.
• Description of collaboration: Describe the collaboration across and among sites in the state or regional network. What sites are included and which site leaders are involved? How is the coordination of the proposed project being handled? Support letters or emails from the collaborating sites or similar evidence of sites' support for the proposal can be included but are optional.
• Explanation of capacity-building: Describe how the proposed project will develop the capacity of the local sites involved and of the network to address the identified state or regional needs.

Budget

Please include a completed budget request for $2,000, $3,000, or $5,000. Between June 1 and July 1, 2010, the director of the host site receiving the funds should email sitebudget@nwp.org to request that a budget worksheet be made available for this grant in the online budget system. In the email, please indicate whether you are applying for a $2,000, $3,000, or $5,000 grant. In order to complete your minigrant proposal, the director of the site receiving the funds is required to enter the requested budget into the online budget system found at http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/nwpsites/budget_system.html. You may use the Minigrant Budget Template (found at http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/projects/97) to prepare your budget request for entry into the online system.

Minigrant budgets and project reporting must meet federal requirements and schedules as specified in overall site awards. Minigrants are funded with federal funds, which must be used for activities that provide professional development opportunities to professional educators.

Explain how you will use the funds. Requests cannot exceed $5,000, as funds are limited. As is the case with all NWP funding, food costs may be paid from NWP federal grant funds only if associated with overnight travel for meetings.  If desired, funds may be budgeted for costs related to minigrant presentations. Even though a match is not required, proposed projects will most likely need some local site support. Be sure to include any supplementary funding in the budget. You may use the budget comments or notes in the online system to explain what the funding sources are and how those funds will be spent.

Timeline

Provide a timeline of your activities, showing what you plan to do and when activities are scheduled as you move toward completion of the project.

Summary

Compose a one-paragraph description of your project. If your project is funded, the summary may be used in whole or in part on NWP's website.

Assessment of Proposals

See "Supporting Information: Assessment of Proposals" below.

Obligations of the Grant

Minigrant progress reports are due March 2011 and final reports are due June 2011. Minigrant award letters will specify reporting requirements. Additionally, minigrant recipients are expected to share projects, models, and lessons learned from their work. This sharing will take two forms:

• a project narrative and budget report
• a presentation at a cross-site event (e.g., the NWP Annual Meeting, other NWP meetings of state and regional networks, or state and regional retreats) or resources to be shared with other sites on the NWP website or another public forum.

Schedule

• March 15, 2010: Minigrant opportunity announced, with application materials available on the NWP website
• June 1, 2010: Application system opens for submissions; requested budget worksheets made available in online budget system
• July 1, 2010: Minigrant proposal deadline
• August 2010: Minigrant awards announced
• March 2011: Progress reports due
• June 2011: Final reports due

Supporting Information

Assessment of Proposals

In addition to reading the proposals for how they address the guidelines, the review team will assess them with a focus on how each proposal as a whole

• makes a strong case for the proposed project and clearly explains how the work will develop the capacity of each collaborating site and the network of sites to address the identified state or regional need(s)
• explains how the proposed project builds both on the talents and expertise and also on the needs, questions, or interests of the collaborating sites; if the proposed work is a continuation of a project that has previously been funded by a minigrant, explains how the new work expands the project or builds on lessons learned from the previous work
• demonstrates that the collaborating sites have the commitment and resources to carry out the work
• describes the proposed work so that connections among the goals, activities, roles, and responsibilities are clear and coherent
• provides a realistic timeline and a reasonable budget.