Please use these guidelines when completing the application form.

1. Cover Sheet
2. Teacher & school information
3. Site information
4. Description
5. Budget with suggestions for making budget calculations.

Cover Sheet

1. Please give your project an evocative title and summarize it in 150 words or less. Since THV’s reviewers often refer to summaries, one clear concise paragraph can strengthen your application. Tell us especially what students will do and learn and why that is important.
2. Participants. Put only school, district, and site names with counties here; there is room for addresses and contact information in parts b and c. In most cases, both the site and school will use grant funds, however one institution must sign any award agreement and receive and administer grant funds. Please answer questions about students to the best of your ability; we realize you don’t know exactly how many students you will have next year.
3. Who planned and wrote the proposal? Applications should be joint efforts between school(s) and site(s). If you are submitting the proposal, but will NOT coordinate the project, please give your job title/position, phone number, and e-mail address here. In addition, make sure both coordinators are familiar with and enthusiastic about the application as submitted.
4. Do you expect to complete your project in one year or two? Some applicants will develop, test, and write up their lessons in one school year. Others will spread these steps over two years. Please be sure all participants agree on the answer to this question. If you choose one year, lesson plans will be due September 1, 2009. If two years, September 1, 2010.
5. Authorized signers. Administrators from each institution must review the proposal and sign the cover sheet. Signers must have authority to approve grants and/or accept funds. Applicants should agree in advance which party will be the grantee of record in case of an award. If a school district will accept the grant, the signer should be from the school, division, or office that will receive and manage the funds. Similarly, if a site will manage the grant, the signer should be from the friends group, division, or other entity that receives funds.

Teacher & school information

Please complete this sheet for each school participating in the project.

Give all requested information about coordinator(s) and school(s). Each school needs one or two coordinators to manage the project, communicate with THV and partner site(s), and take responsibility for lessons submitted at the end of the grant. We strongly prefer coordinators who are involved in the project day-to-day, e.g., classroom teachers or media specialists. Coordinators must have regular access to e-mail and expect to be at the school throughout the grant.

Please list other school staff members or volunteers who will participate in this project. Give requested information for teachers, assistants, parents, or others who will work with you. Staff participation in THV projects should be voluntary.

Optional information. You may share other details about your school, staff, or students. For instance, relevant courses or experience of staff or volunteers, the school’s field trip budget, skills you will use or hope to develop, special needs or circumstances, etc. THV uses NY State Education Department data to determine public school demographics. Private schools may use this space to provide similar information.

Site information

Please complete this sheet for each site with substantive involvement in the project.

Give all requested information about coordinator(s) and site. Sites must have one or two coordinators to manage the project, communicate with THV and school(s), and be responsible for lessons submitted at the end of the grant. THV strongly prefers coordinators who are involved in day-to-day implementation of the project, e.g., educators or outreach staff. Coordinators must have regular access to e-mail and expect to be at the site throughout the grant.

Mission and education program. Summarize your site’s purpose. If you have an education program, please outline your activities, materials, program, and staff.

Please list other site staff or volunteers who will participate in this project. Provide details requested for anyone who will work with you. Staff participation in THV projects should be voluntary.

Optional information. You may share details about your site, staff, or volunteers. For instance, previous experience working with students and/or teachers, relevant courses taken by staff or volunteers, skills you will use or hope to develop, the site’s special circumstances or needs, etc.

Description

Please write a description of your project. It should be no more than five pages long. While every description will be different, the application form lists topics all applicants should cover and gives sample questions to answer. If you need further information, contact THV.

Budget

Please use the categories on the budget form and be sure to read the footnotes. THV prefers to fund costs directly related to student and teacher site visits, time for school and site personnel to collaborate, and project-related supplies. We do not fund after-school programs or those focused on teacher development. If your project requires expenses not listed on the budget form, contact THV before proceeding. Each expense category and line item has four columns, as follows.

• Total costs: the value of each line item – that is, funds requested plus other support.
• Funds requested: monies you hope to receive from THV.
• Other support: the value of contributions from the school(s), site(s), or others.
• Source/ type of other support: show whether “other support” is cash or in-kind and where it will come from. For example, school or site budget, PTA, an individual, another grant, or a community group.

Other support may be cash, in-kind, or a mix. In-kind support includes donated supplies and services as well as regular salaries and wages and unpaid staff or volunteer time. Cash support includes costs the school, site, or others will pay, e.g., overtime, substitute teachers, or bus service. You do not need a match for every category or line item, but your overall request from THV must match your total other support. That is, at least half the total expense column must come from other sources.

SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING BUDGET CALCULATIONS.

Site and school personnel. Estimate how much time each person involved expects to spend on this project. Include planning and development, prep time for those delivering lessons, time with students, meeting and other collaboration time, three days at the THV summer institute for coordinators and others who will attend, and time to format lesson plans using THV’s templates. In addition, you may want to include time for clerical staff, administrators, bookkeepers, or others working on the project.

Multiply each person’s hours by an hourly rate including any benefits. To simplify budgeting, THV suggests counting the time of teachers, site educators, and other professionals at $40/hour and volunteers at $15/hour. Divide each person's time into regular working hours and overtime.

Regular work hours spent on the project, e.g., class time, may be included as “other support,” that is, part of a match, but may not be part of a request for funds. Time worked beyond one’s regular schedule can be part of a match or funds requested. If a school or site will pay for this extra time or someone plans to donate time, include it as part of a match. If you hope THV will pay for extra time, include it in the request column.

For each person whose time you include – whether part of the request or as a match – please provide job title or position, number of hours on project, and pay rate. If necessary, put this information on the worksheet included with the application.

Here's a staff time example: 2 teachers will each work about 40 hours of overtime on the project. Using THV’s recommended reimbursement rate, $40/hour, 80 hours = $3,200. The school will pay each teacher for 8 hours of the time, 16 hours x $40 = $640. In addition, each teacher will donate 8 hours, for another $640. The calculation works the same way for site personnel, and the line item might look like this.

Personnel	Total cost	Funds requested	Other support	Type of other support
Teacher overtime	2 teachers, 40 hrs ea; $80x40 = $3,200	$1,920	$1,280	$640 cash from school, $640 in-kind from teachers

Here’s an example involving volunteers. A site plans to use 3 volunteers to help educators with groups. Using THV’s recommended rate, their time would be valued at $15 per hour. They will spend about 2 hours with students on 2 occasions for a total of 4 hours per person: 3 people x 4 hours = 12 hours. The site does not expect volunteers to prepare so no added time is involved. The line item might look like this.

Personnel	Total cost	Funds requested	Other support	Type of other support
Volunteers	3 guides, 4 hrs ea. 12 x $15 = $180	$0	$180	Volunteer time, in-kind

Site visits. For admissions, show number of visitors and the fee. If the fee is different for adults than students, be sure to show that. For an accurate estimate of transportation costs, check with the bus service you plan to use or the school office coordinating field trips. Let’s say admissions for a site visit will be $750 -- 75 people @ $10 for each student and adult. The school will contribute $100 and the site gives a 10% discount, $75. Here’s how the line item might look.

Site visits	Total cost	Funds requested	Other support	Type of other support
Admissions	75 x $10, $750	$575	$175	$100 from school, $75 in-kind discount from site

Supplies. If you request or show support for more than $500 on any line in this section, you must provide details, i.e., identify the item, number needed, and per item cost. For example, 30 copies @ $20 each of River ABCs, by Valerie Hudson, or 40 hardcover journals @ $12.75. You must specify book and video titles, kinds of paper, type of paint, etc., if over $500.

Staff/volunteer travel. Train, bus, and cab fares as well as mileage go here. Use the school or site’s reimbursement rate to calculate mileage. Please carpool if possible. If you must drive more than 75 miles to Hyde Park, you may budget two hotel nights for the institute. Here’s a mileage example: 3 grantees live 50 miles from Hyde Park and plan to carpool all three days of the institute. Their reimbursement rate is 45 cents/mile. They plan to share the costs themselves.

Staff travel	Total cost	Funds requested	Other support	Type of other support
THV institute, 7/29-7/31, Hyde Park	3 roundtrips @ 100 miles each, 300 x .45, $135	$0	$135	Staff donation, in-kind

Artists, consultants, and outside services. THV prefers not to fund outside consultants or contracted services other than transportation. If such support is critical to the project, try to get other help and place the cost in the “other support” column rather than in “funds requested.” If you must include it in the request, be sure to explain its importance, describe other funding options you pursued, and include short biographies or resumes for each person. See also FAQ 5.

Equipment and technology. If a project requires equipment that will have a useful life beyond this project, please try to find other ways to fund it so you can use it as part of a match rather than placing it in the “funds requested” column. If this is not possible, request only prorated costs, i.e., what it would cost to rent the item(s) for the time needed. See also FAQ 5.

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