About a week and a half ago I emailed the federal program contact to check to see if the originally anticipated timetable for awards (originally discussed in the RFP as June or July) was still the anticipated timetable. She confirmed that ED expected to make awards “late June/early July.” As today is June 22, awards could be made any time between now and the next month. Exciting stuff, right? )

Many folks are also asking how they would find out their results. There are a few different ways that could happen.

Prior to announcing any grant awards, ED provides Congress with the list and allows the members a brief period (anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks) to be the first to notify and congratulate any winners within their constituency. Many members take advantage of this opportunity, but others do not. If your Representative or Senator is among those who enjoys making the announcement, you might hear from him or her directly (probably via phone or possibly fax) and/or you might see a press release from his or her office in a local paper. Remember, though, not all members do this, so not hearing from a member does not necessarily mean your application was not a winner.

ED will make its public announcement via a 2009 awards list of winning schools and their contacts at http://www.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/awards.html and/or via a press release posted at http://www.ed.gov/news/landing.jhtml?src=gu. Additionally, ED will send out letters with instructions for “next steps” to winners via mail. While these packages are technically supposed to be sent prior to the public announcement being made, winners rarely receive them before learning they won through either their Congressional members or ED’s public announcement.

Following mail notification of all winners, ED will send out mail notifications to all non-winners that include reviewer scores and comments. (You should have THREE sets of reviewer scores and comments!) With so many people to notify, sometimes it takes weeks or even months for the non-winner packages to arrive. If it’s been a couple of months and you haven’t received anything, though, you should email the PEP contact (Carlette.Huntley@ed.gov) and request that your scores and comments be resent since several do seem to get lost in the mail every year. If you weren’t fortunate enough to win in 2009, use your reviewer scores and comments to improve your application in 2010. Please note, however, that you will still need to adhere to the newest RFP and that your application will NOT be read by the same reviewers.

Insight monitors many press release channels for PEP daily, and we frequently check both the PEP and ED Press Release sites, so we often know very soon after the winners list is posted. Additionally, using press releases from Congress and information from Congressionally-notified schools with which we are in contact, we begin compiling a “tentative” winners list of our own and then compare that to the final list. We’ve been able to learn of as many as a third of the winners prior to the official announcement this way, however only the official list will concretely name all winners. Insight will send out emails to all applicants that worked with us on PEP once the official announcement is made, as well as sending out tweets from our Twitter accounts (insightgrantspe and insightgrantsed). Certainly, if you have questions in the interim, let us know. If you didn’t work with us but would like to receive an email when the PEP awards list comes out, leave your email address under comments or email us at info@insightgrants.com. (If you send an email, please be sure to note that you are requesting a PEP awards notice email and provide your full contact info.)

This grant surfaced in 2007. Lindsay Simpson (802-828-1461 or lindsay.simpson@state.vt.us) at VT Department of Education is the program contact, and I can’t say enough good things about her. She is extremely committed to improving PE across the state and to this program in particular. My professional communications with her have revealed her to be a very helpful, responsive contact who is ready and willing to support PE programs in her state in any way that she can. This year’s late May application release is just one more example of her ongoing efforts to make VT schools successful. While the program has historically had a pretty short application period (just a few weeks to a month), this year schools have been given several months to prepare their applications: the deadline is September 18, 2009.

Any Vermont public school serving grades 9-12 may apply for this grant, provided the school has not already won this grant and/or has not already won a Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) grant. Three applicants will be selected to receive awards of up to $9,000 for the purchase and implementation of Polar heart rate monitors (www.polarusa.com/education) to ensure objective assessment of time spent physical active in PE. Awardees will be notified by October 9, 2009. (I love the quick turn-around this program provides! It’s a rare treat to know the results of your grant efforts so soon after submission.) All project activities, expenditures, and required reporting must be completed by June 30, 2010.

As found on page 2 of the RFP, the goals of this program are to:

• Document and increase the amount of time high school students spend engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity during physical education.
• Develop student self-knowledge, personal goal setting and fitness planning skills for lifetime physical activity.
• Develop students’ 21st century skills of tracking, interpreting and evaluating personal physical activity effort with objective, technological measures.

The RFP is clearly written and easy to respond to, but you will need time to gather information and form the required project committee (see page 4 of the RFP), if you do not already have one in place. The committee verification DOES require signatures from ALL members—in addition to your administrator—to evidence commitment and support for the project. Hence, I recommend taking full advantage of the additional time the Department of Education has allowed for this year.

What additional thoughts or questions do you have? Good luck to all applicants! Be sure to let us know via comments on this blog or info@insightgrants.com if you win an award!

Most funders allow minor changes within the same major budget category, but the percentage of change allowed without approval is often very small, and it varies by funder. (The common major categories are Personnel, Fringe Benefits, Travel, Equipment, Supplies, Contractual, Other, and Indirect.) Changes beyond the allowed percentage (usually made clear during the grant award negotiation process) or from one major category to another, typically require prior funder approval.

In all cases, if something on your end changes, and you need to make a budget change as a result, the best course of action is to discuss the issue with your grant award officer/funder contact. Describe the situation fully, and explain what change you think should be made and your rationale. Be sure to note how the change fits in with the originally approved grant project concept, major activities, and anticipated goals and outcomes. Ask if you need to file a formal project amendment. You may be surprised to find how understanding and accommodating your funder can be, or your request may be declined. In the latter instance, at least you can be confident you will not be utilizing grant funds in a manner that could get you into trouble with the funder later.

While you can certainly use general physical activity grants such as the GRHF Community Mini-Grants (Monroe County, NY; http://www.thegrhf.org/) discussed the other day, Highmark Healthy High 5 School Challenge grants or Highmark Healthy High 5 grants for NonProfits (49 counties in PA; http://www.highmarkhealthyhigh5.org/), General Mills Champions for Healthy Kids (national; http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/commitment/champions.aspx), PEP (http://www.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/index.html), or others, there are several grants out there that are specifically designed to support running programs. Here are three key opportunities listed in order of deadline—the first two are due in the next few weeks!

ING Run for Something Better offered in partnership with the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE): This program is new—just announced last month. Fifty (50) $2,000 grants will be awarded in 2009 to fund the start-up or expansion of school-based running programs lasting a minimum of eight weeks aimed at increasing activity to reduce childhood obesity. Applications are due 6/1/2009. http://www.orangelaces.com/site/index/get_your_school_involved and http://www.aahperd.org/Naspe/template.cfm?template=run/main.html.

Saucony Run for Good: This program surfaced in 2006. It offers grants of up to $10,000 to 501(c)(3) organizations for projects designed to use running to encourage healthy, active lifestyles among youth—particularly youth not typically exposed to running programs. The ultimate, long-term goal is again to reduce childhood obesity. Grants have been made to schools and school districts in the past, including public schools. The next application deadline is 6/13/2009, with award announcement anticipated on or around 8/13/2009. This program is open to organizations across the nation. Typically about five awards are made per application round. http://www.sauconyrunforgood.com/

Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Kids Run the Nation: The Kids Run the Nation Fund was established in 2007. This year a total of $5,000 will be given out in the form of mini-grants of $500 to $1,000 each. (So 5-10 awards will be made.) Grants can go to new or existing running programs offered by running clubs, 501(c)(3) organizations, or elementary or middle schools. Programs cannot be one-time events. At minimum, programs must operate once per week for multiple weeks. Discrimination in any manner is unallowable, and programs must be open to both boys and girls. Applications are due 10/1/2009. http://www.rrca.org/programs/kids/

Good luck! If you apply for and win one of these grants, please let us know at info@insightgrants.com.

If you applied for a 2009 PEP grant, please let the listed project director and authorized representative (the person who signed your grant forms) know they should now be vigilantly watching their email in case ED sends questions about your application. These questions do not guarantee you have won, but they often suggest your application at least scored well. The questions allow ED to receive more clarity on contacts, budget information, etc., as they continue the review process. Questions are only sent after the application has been scored, so your answers do not affect your total points or your rank on the applicant slate for the program year. They may, however, affect which items are funded if an awarded is made. The best approach is to answer questions clearly, honestly, and with as much detail as possible. If you feel the answer is presented elsewhere in your proposal, you may want to reference that and expound on it. You cannot, however, change information you have presented (with the exception of contacts if someone has left the district) or revise your budget request. If Insight wrote your grant, your service includes assistance with these inquiries, so be sure to contact us if you need help. If you do not receive any questions, do not assume that means you won’t win—sometimes ED just doesn’t have any further questions.

If you are not familiar with the PEP grant but are interested in the funding topics addressed by this blog, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with this program (my personal favorite) ASAP! Here’s a quick summary of the program in 2009 to get you started…

Carol M. White Physical Education for Progress (PEP)
Who is offering this grant? The program is offered by the US Department of Education (ED)—Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS).
What is the purpose? The program provides grants to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs for K-12 students in order to help them make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education.
What types of activities might be supported? Funds may be used to provide equipment and support to enable students to participate actively in physical education activities. Funds may also support staff and teacher training and education. Supported equipment includes Heart rate monitors; fitness assessment technology; Project Adventure (http://www.pa.org/); fitness center equipment; weight lifting equipment; lifetime fitness equipment such as: bicycles, cross-country skis, snowshoes, ice skates, snowboards, etc.; among others.
Who can apply? Local education agencies (school districts) and non-profit community-based organizations are eligible to apply.
When is the application due? In 2009, applications were due 3/6/2009.
When should I get started? PEP grants are major undertakings, and these grants have become extremely competitive. You should begin preparations early—in advance of the application’s release, if possible.
How much is available? $78,000,000 is expected to be available in 2009 for new and continuing grant awards. Of that amount the total available for new awards is not yet known. ED is anticipating approximately 88 new awards.
How much can I request? The average award size is $100,000 to $500,000 per year for one to three years.
Do I have to offer a match of any kind? Yes, you are obligated to match 10% the total project cost the first year and 25% of the total project cost each year for the second and third years. In-kind matching is acceptable—a cash match is NOT required.
When will the awards be made? Awards have historically been made most commonly in August-September following the application’s due date, though awards were announced in July in 2008. Awards for 2009 are anticipated in June or July.
How can I find out more? Visit www.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/index.html, or contact Carlette Huntley at carlette.huntley@ed.gov or (202) 245-7871.