Michigan 4-H Youth Participation Fee Grants

Request for Proposals 4-H Participation Fee Fund Competitive Grant Program

Revised: November 2009

Proposals are now being accepted for the 4-H Participation Fee Fund Grant Program. Grant deadlines are June 15 and December 15 of the current year. Proposals are reviewed twice a year in January and July.

The purpose of the 4-H Participation Fee Competitive Grant funds is to provide support for 4-H programming at the county, regional and state levels. These funds can be used to support new programming efforts or assist with updating and enhancing existing programs. Competitive grants of up to $25,000 each will be awarded. The 12- to 24-month grants can be used to support new curriculum development, existing curriculum revisions, new or enhanced training for youth and adult volunteers, local workshops, event scholarships and other 4-H programming designed to address educational needs that are not being met by existing 4-H programs or formats. All completed proposals that meet the funding criteria – whether for $50 or $24,999 – will be carefully considered.

Eligibility and Criteria for Funding

All proposals must meet the following guidelines. Proposals that fail to do so will not be considered.

• The lead person for each proposal must be an MSU Extension employee.
• All proposals must demonstrate the promise of program self-sufficiency and sustainability. Sustainability and self-sufficiency plans should be clearly described in the proposal narrative.
• The intent of these funds is not to support MSU Extension staff salaries. An exception may be granted in a few specific circumstances, such as hiring a temporary worker who will only work on a funded program for no longer than 2 years, doing specific tasks related to the funded project .
• Proposal to support significant curriculum updates and development of online curricula are acceptable.
• Proposals for enhancement of existing programs must clearly show how the grant dollars will be used to provide new or improved educational opportunities for the participants.
• Proposals for revisions of existing curricula must clearly document the need for revisions of the identified curriculum and the content areas that will be revised.
• Proposals to support committee retreats or strategic planning activities must clearly document the need for the retreat or strategic plan, and the products that will result from this type of activity.
• Proposals to provide scholarship support to participants in identified programs must clearly document efforts to identify or match scholarship funds from other sources.
• Proposals for planning a large curriculum development project that would seek outside funds are acceptable. (Include details in your proposal about the external funding source being pursued, such as the RFP and deadlines.)
• All proposals must have a strong evaluation component plan designed to document the intended outcomes and impacts for this project.
• Proposals will be funded for 12 to 24 months and projects must be completed within this time frame. Projects funded in Round 1 begin in February, and those funded in Round 2 will begin in August.
• There will be an interim report required 60 days after the completion of the initial project efforts. In addition, a final report will be due one year after the project is completed. The report forms are available on the Web site.

How to Apply

1. To apply for a 4-H Participant Fee Fund Grant, fill out the electronic application form (Microsoft Word format). Follow the proposal-formatting directions that appear in the “Proposal Formatting and Language” section and complete all sections of the form. Proposals that do not follow the formatting guidelines or that are missing information will not be considered.
2. Ask your county Extension director (for county-based projects), regional director (for region-based projects), or the appropriate 4-H program leader (for statewide projects) to review the proposal.
3. Email a completed electronic application form (in either Word or pdf format) to Julie Chapin at chapin@msu.edu by December 15 or June 15. Proposals are reviewed and awarded in January and July each year.)

Proposal Contents

Your proposal must include:

1. A proposal narrative containing:
   1. The project’s goals, approach, milestone activities, timeline and products (outcomes).
   2. Your plan for the project’s self-sufficiency and sustainability and for seeking future external funding, if needed.
   3. A clearly outlined evaluation plan that includes anticipated outcomes and impacts, documentation of outputs and methods or plans for determining long-term impacts of the project, one year after completion.
   4. A project budget and budget justification that reflects both grant funds and other resources that will be used to carry out the proposed project.
2. No more than two letters of support, one of which must be from the county MSU Extension director (for county-based projects), regional director (for region-based projects) or the appropriate 4-H program leader (for statewide projects). The letter writers should email their letters of support to Julie Chapin at chapin@msu.edu by the application deadline.

Helpful Hints

The logic model found online at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/pdf/LMfront.pdf may help you plan your project and write your proposal. (If the direct link doesn’t work, go to http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html then scroll down to “Logic Model Placemat” and click on “Side A Front.”)

We strongly recommend that you have someone else (such as your county MSU Extension director, regional director or another colleague) review and critique your proposal before submitting it for consideration.

Formatting and Language

Please read and follow these formatting guidelines carefully to avoid having your proposal rejected without review. Proposals must:

• Be formatted to print on 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper with at least 1-inch margins (left, right, top, bottom) for all pages.
• Use 12-point type.
• Be no more than 3 pages of single-sided, double-spaced text. (The budget section is not included in this limit.)

Budget

Proposals will be funded for 12 to 24 months and projects must be completed within this time frame. Projects funded in Round 1 will begin in February, and those funded in Round 2 will begin in August. All completed proposals that meet the funding criteria – whether for $50 or $24,999 – will be carefully considered. Budgets must reflect participation-fee grant dollars and include other resources that will be used to support the proposed project (if any) including fees paid by participants, in-kind value of facilities from partners, travel costs covered by other sources, etc. The budget form must clearly document the anticipated cost of the total project and the amount being requested in grant funds.

Restrictions

There are limits on what can and cannot be funded by these grants.

Examples of how the money can be used include:

• Purchasing or developing materials to support new or expanded educational programs in the county, region or state.
• Updating existing program materials to reflect the latest research and knowledge in a project area, such as new animal-science practices, new nutrition information or fitness information or new plant-growth techniques.
• Improving or expanding programs that build life skills in communications, citizenship, leadership and decision-making skills in youth.
• Support for development of new trainings or enhancements and expansion of existing county, regional or state volunteer trainings.
• Scholarships for youth or volunteers to attend educational programs at regional, state or national level. Note: Scholarships dollars cannot be used to support continued participation in existing programs but can be used to bring new audiences or individuals to programs such as Exploration Days, Capital Experience, regional Leadermetes, camps or teen overnights.
• Partial support for retreats or strategic planning meetings to assist in the development, enhancement or expansion of key program initiatives.

Examples of things that the funds cannot be used for include:

• MSU Extension staff salaries. An exception may be granted in a few specific circumstances, such as hiring a temporary worker who will only work on an allowable program for no longer than 2 years doing specific project related tasks.
• Producing, printing or mailing newsletters, unless this is the first time your county has used newsletters as a source of providing information or the newsletter is being significantly expanded, revamped or offered in a different format (such as on the Web for the first time or in print for the first time).
• Paying an insurance fee for 4-H participants.
• Covering the cost of youth show expenses, including ribbons, judges’ fees, premiums, etc.
• Giving individual clubs the $5 a member county share of the 4-H participation fee.

Review Process

Proposals will be reviewed by a team composed of county-based MSU Extension staff members representing each of the MSUE regions, and campus-based 4-H staff members. Ideally, staff members will not serve on the review term during a funding cycle in which they have submitted proposals or they have been named as participants in projects seeking funding. However, if that does happen, review team members will not be permitted to review proposals in which they are involved.

Reporting Requirements for Funded Projects

Successful proposals will be required to submit two reports. The first, on the outputs of the project, will be due within 60 days of the project’s completion. You will find this on the Web at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/4h/downloads/documents/4-HFee/Initial_Report.doc. The second, on the impacts and outcomes of the new program (found online at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/4h/downloads/documents/4-HFee/Final_Report.doc ) will be due 1 year after the project has ended. Reminders will be sent to the contact person one month prior to the report due dates to help facilitate timely reporting of outputs and impacts.

For More Information

For more information about the 4-H Participation Fee Fund Grant Program, contact:

Julie Chapin, Ph.D., Senior Program Leader
4-H Youth Development
Michigan State University Extension
160 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1039
Phone: 517-432-7608
Fax: 517-353-4846
E-mail: chapin@msu.edu

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Last Updated: November 16, 2009
Last Reviewed: May 28, 2008