Life Skills for the 21st Century Focus Grant Application

Proposals due February 13, 2009

This year the Focus Grant Competition is directed to Life Skills for the 21st Century. NEF will make a substantial investment across the elementary, middle and high school levels in projects that supplement or enrich curriculum which teaches such skills.

• Download application (pdf format)
• Download application (.doc format)

To APPLY ONLINE, complete the application and email with any attachments to info@natickedfoundation.org.
Next, send ten (10) copies of the application, with signatures, to: NEF, PO Box 2221, Natick, MA 01760, Attn: Grants.

Questions about the grants process? Email NEF

A Grant Screening Committee reviews applications. Applicants may be contacted for further information about their grants, and may be asked to meet in person with the grant screening committee.

In May 2009, the Grant Screening Committee makes recommendations to the Natick Education Foundation Board of Directors. The Board makes final funding decisions.

Recipients and non-recipients are notified in May of 2009.

Funds are awarded in a lump sum payment. Checks are mailed by the end of May 2009 and must be used during the 2009-2010 school year. Funds not used by end of school, 2010, must be returned to NEF.

Winners are requested to cooperate with publicity requests.

Winners will be asked to complete a brief grant results form that evaluates the success of the project for NEF internal use and either prepare a simple poster board presentation on the grant for display at NEF events, or give NEF enough visual or written documentation so we can prepare a poster for display. Deadline for documentation is September 30, 2010.

Qualifying Standards

Only applications that comply with the following qualifying standards will be considered for the NEF 2009 Life Skills for the 21st Century Initiative Grants Competition:

• The proposed project or purchase must be supplemental or enrichment. This competition is not intended for funding basic education already, or reasonably covered by the school budget. It is to fund newer, more experimental, more enriching, or more effective approaches or projects than have been done in the past, or could reasonably be expected to be supported by the school budget.
  
  
• Applications must enhance the quality of education in the Natick Public Schools. Life Skills for the 21st Century educational projects or purchases which may include, but are not limited to, projects involving the arts which spark creativity, especially across curriculum areas and may involve performance and visual projects.
  
  
• The application must be for a supplemental or enrichment classroom project, program, or curricular unit and the material necessary to implement it or for the purchase of material or technology for general enrichment purposes. Related professional development may be supported on a limited basis. NEF seeks applications that demonstrate originality, innovativeness, and/or creativity.
  
  
• Proposed projects/purchases must be consistent with and supplement or enhance the curriculum framework of the Natick Public Schools.
  
  
• The proposed project or purchase will have a significant impact on Natick students, in both the short- and long- term.
  
  
• Successful applications will have clearly defined goal(s), will articulate the methods to be used to meet these goal(s), will identify all participants, will identify the number of students impacted, will have a justified and realistic budget, and will describe how the impact of the project or purchase will be measured.
  
  
• A proposed project must be academic or art-oriented. NEF will not support inter- or extra-mural athletics, social, counseling, or outreach programs, as valuable to education as they are. Nor will the NEF support field trips, food, or more than incidental consumable supplies.
  
  
• A proposed purchase must be necessary for achieving at least one specific enrichment goal and the plan for the use of the purchase must be included in the application. The more enrichment goals that can be met by the proposed purchase, the better.
  
  
• NEF greatly respects the value of consultants, visiting artists, artists in residence, and performers, but this competition is not primarily intended for funding them. There may be rare cases in which consultants’ impact would be so great in relation to his or her compensation that an exception can be made.
  
  
• Educator(s) assigned to implement the project can be teacher, staff or administrator of the Natick Public Schools, or a parent, student, or member of the community working without financial compensation under the supervision of a primary applicant who is a teacher, staff member, or administrator.
  
  
• If Applicant is not seeking full funding for project, additional sources of funding must be secured and noted.