Police Athletic League PEP Grant Video
Insight has the privilege of serving as the grant evaluator for the Police Athletic League’s (PAL) 2010 PEP Grant entitled PAL PEP!. Over the past two years, we have been thoroughly enjoying collaborating with the great folks that work for PAL and watching the already-strong programs they offer expand and evolve to include solid, comprehensive, and FUN physical and nutrition education components. PAL’s Harlem Center has partnered with the Public School 180 (the school with the greatest number of students taking part in program activities), at least 11 other neighborhood schools, Harlem Seeds, FC Harlem, Bike NY, Healthy Schools/Healthy Families, NYC Police Department, the Office of NYC Councilwoman Inez Dickens, the NYC Department of Health, and others to operate a PEP project that includes an afterschool program, a summer program, and an innovative lunchtime physical education program. Evaluation results to date have consistently shown that the percentage of students who are physically active for 60 minutes daily, achieving age-appropriate cardiovascular fitness, and enjoying and increasing their engagement in physical fitness activities has increased and continues to rise!
Check out the video about their program that the PAL team put together! It includes commentary from the Assistant Principal of PS 180, PAL staff, and active kids participating in PAL PEP!
The PAL PEP! program is designed to give students from Central Harlem opportunities to take part in a variety of activities designed to improve their health, increase their physical fitness, and develop lifelong healthy habits.
The Police Athletic League also recently did a flash mob with participation from about 200 kids and adults in support of another project. Watch it here:
Be Sure Your 2011 PEP Application is a 2011 Application!
The PEP grant application/RFP for 2011 is very similar to the application for 2010, however, some changes have been made since the last competition. Note that all RFP changes—large or small—are important! Be sure you submit an application that is developed and assembled based on the newest PEP RFP to ensure you are in a position to score as many points as possible. You can obtain a copy of the official RFP at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/applicant.html.
The most notable changes this year are the deadline, submission mode, and Selection Criteria.
- The 2011 PEP deadline is May 13, 2011. If you assume the deadline is the same as 2010 (July 19), you’ll miss the application period by more than two months.
- In 2011, applicants must submit their grants using grants.gov rather than e-grants.ed.gov as required last year. Register your organization now for a grants.gov account, or update your existing account to ensure a smooth and timely submission.
- Among the Selection Criteria, one criterion from 2010 has been removed (the criterion referencing target population previously placed in section B2), and two new criteria have been added. Below are the Selection Criteria for 2011 PEP according to pages 33-35 of the RFP. Criteria B2 and C2 are new this year. See the RFP for notes on what should be included to respond to each criterion.
Selection Criteria
(A) Need for the Project.
(1) The extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses in services, infrastructure, or opportunities have been identified and will be addressed by the proposed project, including the nature and magnitude of those gaps or weaknesses. (10 Points)
(B) Quality of the Project Design. (40 Points)
(1) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable. (10 Points)
(2) The extent to which performance feedback and continuous improvement are integral to the design of the proposed project. (10 points)
(3) The extent to which the proposed project is designed to build capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of Federal financial assistance. (10 Points)
(4) The extent to which the proposed project will be coordinated with similar or related efforts, and with other appropriate community, State, and Federal resources. (10 Points)
(C) Quality of the Management Plan. (30 Points)
(1) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing project tasks. (15 Points)
(2) The extent to which the time commitments of the project director and principal investigator and other key personnel are appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed project. (15 Points)
(D) Quality of the Project Evaluation. (20 Points)
(1) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the proposed project. (10 Points)
(2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended outcomes. (10 Points)
Carol M. White PEP is now open!
PEP is now open! The official grant deadline is 5/13/2011.
The Federal Register posting is at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/2011-7349.htm.
The full RFP will be posted to http://www2.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/applicant.html later today or in the next few days.
Best of luck to all!
2011 Carol M. White PEP Grant Competition
The announcement for the 2011 Carol M. White PEP grant competition is finally in queue for tomorrow’s Federal Register. That means the grant competition is scheduled to open tomorrow. Applications are listed as due 45 days from the date of that posting, so the deadline should be May 11 or 12.
Are you applying? If you are interested in applying with Insight’s assistance, email info@insightgrants.com today. We have just a few slots remaining. We have a terrific record of success with this program. In 2010 alone, we had 11 PEP grant winners. As there were only 77 winners across the nation, this means one in seven 2010 PEP winners was an Insight client.
Whether you work with Insight or on your own, very best of luck with your application this year!!
See the blog tomorrow for the official grant deadline and more information.
PEP Update: When Will We Find Out Who Won?
Most 2009 PEP applicants are now anxiously wondering when the awards announcement will be made. Several folks have emailed in the last couple of weeks asking whether I know of schools who have learned their results yet. No, I do not know of any schools that have received their results yet, but yes, I do have some idea of when the information should be available.
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? :o)
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.)
VT Heart Rate Monitors Grant
It’s exciting to see states stepping up to the plate to encourage schools to improve physical education (PE) programs to increase student activity and decrease obesity! Especially considering the tough economy. Yesterday we discussed PA’s new program for middle schools. Today we look at the Vermont Department of Education’s 2009-2010 School Wellness Grant Application for Implementation of Heart Rate Monitors in High School Physical Education—fondly referred to (at least by me :o) ) as the VT HRMs grant. http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_curriculum/physical_ed.html#monitor_app
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!
Grant Budget Changes Post-Award
A school contact emailed today asking about making changes to the Year 2 budget plan for their PEP grant awarded in 2008. We receive questions about the potential for budget changes a fair amount. Generally speaking, when you prepare your grant budget narrative during the application process, you should make it as complete as possible and assume few if any changes can be made. This is because while funders do understand that things can change during the grant period and/or your understanding of specific needs may become clearer during implementation, they have approved your project only for the funding plan described, and deviations from it may make a difference in terms outcomes, target population, grant focus, etc.
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.
Grants for Running Programs
A Lead PE teacher in PA asked about grants for running programs this morning. Thanks for the blog topic, Steph! :o) This is a very timely one due to upcoming grant deadlines, as you’ll see below.
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.
2009 PEP Grant Update: Inquiries
A client contacted me today because the US Department of Education (ED) emailed some questions related to their Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) grant submission. This is exciting stuff! I was not expecting inquiries such as this to begin for at least two more weeks, possibly a month. Perhaps this means PEP awards will be announced even earlier than last year (early July), but time will tell.
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.
