APPENDIX 4: SAMPLE GRANT FORMS
Rosemont Youth Center
101 South Fourth Street
Rosemont, Newstate 11111-1111
[[DATE]]
Mr. Mark Rosenfeld, Executive Director
Rosemont Community Trust
574 East Main Street
Rosemont, Newstate 11111-2222
Dear Mr. Rosenfeld:
I am pleased to submit the enclosed proposal to the Rosemont Community Trust. We are requesting $6,000 to provide an after-school karate program for children from 10 to 13 years of age who are having disciplinary difficulties in school. As you probably are aware, karate engages high-energy children who need a physical outlet, and at the same time teaches respect and discipline.
We understand that in the last year you have given grants to assist several athletic programs for children at this age, and we hope that you will be able to assist us in the coming year.
Please visit our website, www.rosemontcenter.org, or call me at (555) 666-7777 if you have any questions. If you’d like to visit, I’d be happy to show you around the Youth Center.
Sincerely,
Judy Morrison
Executive Director
SAMPLE LETTER OF INQUIRY (LOI)
Princeton Community College
67–12 Water Street, Second Floor
Princeton, Newstate 10000
[[DATE]]
Mr. Mark Rosenfeld, Executive Director
Rosemont Community Trust
574 East Main Street
Rosemont, Newstate 11111–2222
Dear Mr. Rosenfeld:
I am writing to ask whether the Rosemont Community Trust would be interested in receiving a proposal for an adult literacy program for Spanish-speaking immigrants.
As you may know, the town of Princeton has experienced a significant influx of immigrants from South and Central America over the last 10 years. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the immigrant population from these countries has increased by 12 percent since the 2010 census, compared to 4 percent for Newstate as a whole. The Newstate Department of Employment indicates that lack of English language skills is the major barrier to employment in our area.
The adult literacy program is intended to provide about 60 immigrants with English skills at a level that will allow them to find and keep employment. At the same time, participants will develop résumés and job-seeking skills and will learn about the cultural expectations of local employers. Three teachers of English for speakers of other languages will offer two-hour computer-assisted ESOL classes at Princeton’s computer lab twice a week for 40 weeks. Classes will be limited to 10 to 15 students. The project director, a skilled bilingual employment counselor, will assess students’ abilities and interests and will work with each group for two hours on a third day each week, helping each student prepare for employment. All classes will emphasize job-related English conversation.
Students’ English will be tested at the beginning of the program and periodically through the year. It is expected that by the end of the school year at least 70 percent of the students will have reached at least an intermediate level of English fluency, will be able to carry out instructions given in English and ask questions in response, will have created an appropriate résumé, and will be comfortable taking part in job interviews in English.
The total cost for this program is $107,000. If the Rosemont Community Trust were to accept a formal proposal, we would request $25,000 of this cost. We have received a commitment from the Barish Foundation for $25,000 and have begun to prepare a proposal to the Rosemont Department of Employment for the balance; we understand that a request for proposals will be issued in about a month and that grants are expected to be in the $50,000 to $60,000 range.
We are very excited about the benefits this program can provide to our new immigrant population. I hope you will consider helping us to develop it. Please visit our website, www.princetoncc.edu, or call me at (555) 333-4444 if you have any questions. If you’d like to visit, I’d be happy to introduce you to our staff and show you our new computer lab. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Linda Lamb
Director
Throughout this book we’ve referred to the Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant-application package. Below is a short example of an abstract that might lead off a proposal for the $2,250,000 per year that three federal funding agencies are offering in this very competitive grant opportunity.
ABSTRACT
The Rosemont School District South, a high-need, culturally and ethnically diverse district (75 percent of the students are non-English speakers whose family incomes fall below the poverty level) on the south side of Rosemont, in collaboration with three city government agencies (the police, health, and youth departments), the Third Street YMCA, the Rosemont South Teen Center, the Community Day Care Collective, the Southside Methodist Church, the Rosemont South Hospital, Rosemont Junior College, the William T. Rosemont Family Foundation, and many other individuals and groups, has designed ROSEMONT ROCKS FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH!
This initiative will build on existing resources and coordinate new partnerships and linkages to create safe and drug-free schools and promote healthy child development for all of the 9,234 students (and their families and caregivers) in the target school district in the city of Rosemont.
To achieve its overall goal of safe and healthy students and ensure system-wide change in the target school district, ROSEMONT ROCKS FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH! will conduct the following activities that are designed to meet the program’s objectives:
• Form a cross-disciplinary advisory board to publicize and support the initiative as well as to take the lead in raising additional funds to supplement and sustain project activities.
• Hire five police officers to patrol the streets near the schools in the target district before, during, and after school hours.
• Provide weekly professional development seminars for all school personnel, conducted by police officers, parole officers, mental health counselors, physicians, and others with expertise in the field of health and safety for children.
• Provide training for parents of school children, conducted by school staff and outside experts.
• Develop a referral protocol (a memorandum of understanding has been drawn up and signed) among the schools, not-for-profit organizations, hospital, and health care providers to address mental and other health problems affecting students in the target district.
• Expand the school day to include before- and after-school counseling, recreation, and academic programs, both in school buildings and at collaborating not-for-profit organizations for at-risk students.
• Provide intensive preschool counseling and instruction to very young children in the community.
Because the literature (e.g., Smith’s 2010 landmark study on school violence) suggests that students in grades 6 and 7 are at the highest risk for violent activities, middle schools will serve as the hub for all project activities—with services radiating out to early childhood programs, elementary schools, high schools, and the community. It is expected that the $2,176,987 program will begin in September 2014.
Note: This Common Grant Application form is developed and produced by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, a membership association of foundations and corporate giving programs that give in the Washington, D.C., region.
