The School Foundation 2008-2009 Grant Guidelines
General Information for All Applicants
The School Foundation will accept applications for the 2008-2009 school year from Florence School District 1 staff no later than April 11, 2008.
Grant Categories
There are two funding categories for the 2008-2009 grant cycle.
Major Grants should seek to have a broad impact across the entire school district and help prepare our students for success in a worldwide economy. The minimum Major Grant funding amount is $10,000.
Mini-Grants should seek to bring innovative learning opportunities into individual classrooms. Mini-Grants will be awarded at a range of between $200 - $500 each.
All grant requests should be for a project period to begin no earlier than August 2008 and end no later than June 2009.
Review Process
The School Foundation will acknowledge each complete grant application it receives.
The Foundation Grants Committee will review each complete grant application it receives according to the published review criteria.
Depending upon the number of grant requests and the complexity of the applications, the review process may take up to 30 days.
The Grants Committee may request additional information from the applicant, school administrators or curriculum coordinators.
Applications recommended for funding by the Grants Committee are then reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors.
Grant award notifications and grant declinations will occur via letter to the applicant. Once grant materials have been received, they remain the property of the school that was the recipient of the grant unless otherwise approved by The School Foundation.
Review Criteria
The Grants Committee uses a combination of objective and subjective criteria when evaluating grant requests. Requests which clearly meet more criteria will generally be viewed more favorably during evaluation. The Foundation will not be able to fund all requests due to budgetary constraints. This does not mean that a rejected request is inappropriate or unsatisfactory.
The School Foundation Grants Committee will evaluate the applications according to a weighted scoring process and make recommendations for awards to the Board of Directors of The School Foundation.
In general, high value criteria include innovation, creativity, educational value, student involvement and project director commitment. Additionally, those applications that clearly and concisely describe the project and anticipate positive benefits for students will be favored during the evaluation process.
It is anticipated that notification of grant funding will be made by letter from The School Foundation in late April, however that schedule is dependent upon the number and complexity of applications received. All applicants may request and receive feedback from the scorers so that everyone will know the strengths and weaknesses of their applications.
Application Information
Application instructions and forms are available for download below. The application should be the same format as this document. Use a Times New Roman 12-point font.
Application Deadline and Delivery
Completed applications for the MAJOR GRANTS category should be received in the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction’s Office at 319 S. Dargan Street in Florence, SC on or before 4:30 p.m. on April 11, 2008.
Completed applications for the MINI-GRANTS category should be received in The School Foundation’s Office at 320 W. Cheves Street, Suite 175, in Florence, SC on or before 4:30 p.m. on April 11, 2008.
Due to the compressed review process, requests for extensions will not be honored.
If you have questions or suggestions for improving this grant application process, you may email or phone Debbie Hyler, the Executive Director of The School Foundation at dhyler@theschoolfoundation.org (843-662-9996).
