statement. Any corporation with a Web site link for “Community Involvement” or “Social Responsibility” is one that plans to give back monies to the areas where they do business and where their employees live.
You can retrieve more detailed information on corporations in your area or state by searching one of the several online subscription services—for example, Hoovers Online (www.hooversonline.com/free/). Also, remember to check with your public library for print directories, such as the Thomas Register™ or Harris InfoSource®.
SEEK OUT FOUNDATIONS
By nature, foundations are established to carry out the charitable missions of their donors. Many foundations are especially receptive to supporting all levels of education, from early childhood education through graduate study.
The Foundation Center
According to Foundation Giving Trends, published by the Foundation Center in 2003, education ranked first by share of foundation grant dollars. Foundations award billions of dollars annually for education programs—this includes K–12 schools! The Foundation Center is the premier source of nonprofit funding information. It collects data from corporate and foundation funders around the world and publishes profiles on them in books (The Foundation Directory and other specialized directories) and on the Internet (www.fdncenter.org). Some states have their own foundation directory, so check with your local public library to see if your state has one. Most states have at least one Foundation Center Cooperating Collection, which will be at a state university, community foundation, nonprofit resource center, or large public library. At these sites, you can use the Foundation Center publications, online subscription-based directory, and FCSearch CD-ROMs at no charge. Together, these information access tools contain more than 600,000 entries related to finding foundation grants.
STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING AGENCIES FOR SCHOOLS
Grant announcements from federal agencies are published daily in the Federal Register. This document can be viewed at local libraries designated as Federal Depositories or can be found online at the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) Access Website (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html). The Federal Register lists all government business transactions, including grant funding or grant availability announcements.
FEDERAL FUNDING PROGRAMS
Can your school apply directly for federal grant monies? Yes, provided you use your school district as the grant applicant. Is this money different than the pass-through monies available through your state education agency? Yes, federal grant awards are viewed as a direct agreement between your school district and the federal agency doling out the grant money—usually the U.S. Department of Education. Recipients of “pass-through” grants are the state departments of education, even though the grant monies are subsequently distributed to local school districts in the form of formula allocations and competitive grant awards. The department provides more than $30 billion annually through formula-based grant programs and through direct competitive grant programs to improve elementary and secondary schools. The home Web page for this federal agency is www.ed.gov. When you view the site, remember to click on the “Grants & Contracts” link.
The Department of Education makes grant opportunities available to public and charter schools in academic and other areas, including:
• Carol M. White Physical Education Program
• Early Reading First Program
• Emergency response plans for school safety initiative
• Gifted and Talented Students Education Program
• Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program
• Migrant Education Even Start Program
• Parental information resource centers
• School improvement foreign language assistance
• Teaching American history
The Department of Education also earmarks numerous grants for native Alaskans and Hawaiians and for federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Check your state’s department of education Web site frequently for competitive federal and state grant announcements (see page 6 for further details). The sooner you are aware of a grant funding opportunity, the sooner you or your school’s grant writing team can start work on the grant application.
WINNING GOVERNMENT GRANTS
What are some of the things that give your school the edge for achieving government grants? If your school or school district is located in a specially designated federal zone, then your application will score more peer review points and knock out some of your competitors who lack the designation. When you submit your grant application package to a state or federal funding agency, federal legislation requires that your peers (other educators) participate in the decision-making process to fund or deny funding your grant request. Peer reviewers are oriented to the agency’s grantmaking guidelines and give a copy of forms, titled Peer Review Forms. Each section in the narrative of your grant application as well as the budget section is assigned points. Most applications are assigned 100 points; some will have more points. Often you will see these points next to each section of the narrative in the grant application guidelines. For example, the need statement may be worth 20 points; the program design, 30 points. Peer reviewers are trained to look for specific guideline criteria in each section. If your application narrative adheres strictly to the guidelines, from formatting to competitive responses, then your application will score higher review points than other applications. Only applications with the highest review points are recommended for state or federal funding (this is covered in more detail on pages 26 and 27).
Empowerment Zone (EZ) and Enterprise Communities (EC). The Community Empowerment Program was enacted into law in August 1993. To be eligible, communities had to have high rates of poverty and submit an extensive application to the federal government. Urban and rural areas across the United States were selected to be federally designated Empowerment and Enterprise Zones. Each designation gives local communities special tax advantages to fuel economic development. In addition, every federal agency that bestows grants also gives extra technical review points to grant applicants located in an Empowerment or Enterprise Zone. If you are unsure of your community’s status, call the local economic development agency and inquire—it is to your advantage to find out and use this “label” to attract government grant monies. You can also find a list of zone designations at this Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/fixschools/zones.html. The site lists states, counties, and cities that qualify for special grant funding consideration.
Federal Colonias Zones. Colonias encompass communities of all types and sizes—both incorporated and unincorporated—that meet the federal definition of lacking sewer, wastewater, or decent housing. A “Colonia,” Spanish for neighborhood or community, is a geographic area located within 150 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border that has a majority population composed of individuals and families of low and very low income. If your school is located near the U.S.-Mexico border, call your local U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Renewal (HUD) office to check your Colonias Zone status. Many government agencies add additional technical review points to your total grant application score if your school is located in one of these impoverished areas. This Web site provides links to regional U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offices: http://www.hud.gov/directory/ascdir3.cfm.
