Joe and Janet Aleshire Venture Grant Program

Request for Proposals 2014-2015

Table of Contents

I. Background of the ProgramII. Project FocusIII. TimelineIV. Eligibility RequirementsV. Proposal Submission

a.Criteria b.Application c.Organization Description

I. Background of the Joe and Janet Aleshire Venture Grant ProgramA. Team Goal

i. The Joe and Janet Aleshire Venture Grant Program student leadership team wants to make a difference in children’s lives by positively motivating, educating, and leading through programs that will benefit children in low income families. We want to accomplish this by focusing on preparing preschool-aged youth with the skills needed to enter kindergarten.

B. About the Program i. PURPOSE::

1. The purpose of the Joe and Janet Aleshire Venture Grant Program, hereinafter called Program, is to acquaint students at Washburn University with philanthropic opportunities and their future civic responsibilities while providing funding to stimulate the initiative of effective non-profit program development that addresses early childhood development (prenatal care to six years of age).

ii. GOAL:1. The goal of the Program is for students to gain

experience reviewing budgets and program information, set priorities for funding and make allocations recommendations. As a result, students will gain skills preparing them for future careers while becoming knowledgeable about existing services and the difficulties of allocating funds to competing and yet worthwhile causes.

2. Students will gain exposure to community involvement with the expectation that they will carry the value and importance of community contribution into their future careers. Developing Servant Leaders and helping children develop to their potential are the ultimate goals.

II. Project Focus A. Early Childhood Education Statistics

i. Lack of early education can result in:1. 25 percent are more likely to drop out of high school

(www.thinkprogress.org)a. An American kid drops out of high school

every 26 seconds. (www.booksspring.org)b. Each dropout, over his or her lifetime, costs

the nation approximately $260,000. (www.booksspring.org)

2. 40 percent are more likely to become a teenage parent (www.thinkprogress.org)

3. 70 percent are more likely to be arrested for a violent crime. (www.thinkprogress.org)

ii. Supplies1. 80% of preschool and after-school care programs

serving low-income populations have no age-appropriate books for their children. (www.booksspring.org)

2. Creating a steady stream of new, age-appropriate books ahs been shown to nearly triple interest in reading within months. (www.booksspring.org)

3. More than 30 million children are growing up in poverty. In one low-income community, there was only one book fro every 300 children. (www.dosomething.org)

iii. Preparing for Schooling1. 37 percent of children arrive at kindergarten without

the skills necessary for lifetime learning. (www.booksspring.org)

iv. Results of high quality early education (www.ccw.org)1. Better higher-order thinking and attention skills2. Better reading, writing, and mathematical abilities3. Better social skills4. Less grade retention5. Higher graduation rates6. Fewer special education placements7. Fewer behavioral problems8. Less societal disengagement later in life

9. More economic productivity later in life10.Less dependency on welfare later in life11.Higher sense of social stability later in life.

B. Impact Statement i. As shown above there are many aspects that affect

early childhood education and the repercussions of the lack of education. Ultimately, our group wants to better prepare children ages 0-6 for entering elementary school. Education during the early childhood years is a crucial aspect for assuring success in students across the board. Through this project, our group hopes to positively impact the Topeka/Shawnee County community with crucial support from key non-profit partners.

C. Organization Goali. We are seeking organizations that can address the

issues explained above. Within this, we are looking for ways to further educate children with the basic skills and knowledge (how to tie shoes, reciting the alphabet, colors, etc.) needed to be successful prior to starting kindergarten. This can include but is not limited to: workshops educating children and/or parents, supplying materials needed to learn, etc. We encourage you to be as creative as you would like!

III. Timeline A. October 1st: RFP released to organizationsB. November 1st: Applications should be returned by

organizations C. November 3rd: Begin the review of the RFPsD. December 11th: United Way Board Meeting

presentation

IV. Eligibility RequirementsA. Basic Funding Criteria

Organizations/agencies applying for the Program funds must meet the following basic criteria:

i. Be an agency, which is tax exempt under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, or be a bona fide organization affiliated with a local public/private/parochial institution and supervised by their bonded representative

ii. Must address early childhood development (prenatal care to six years of age).

iii. Must deliver programs in Shawnee county that are not currently funded by United Way of Greater Topeka

iv. Have a board of directors/student advisory group, which oversees the management of the organization, and which consists of at least 5 non-family related volunteers who meet at least quarterly.

v. Have a written statement of purpose and bylaws that clearly define the agency’s function, organization and line of authority.

vi. Have a non-discriminatory practice in the hiring of staff, recruitment of members and volunteers, and the delivery of service.

vii. Be able to demonstrate the agency’s effectiveness in program performance and financial accountability.

V. Proposal Submission A. Criteria:

i. There are two (2) components required for all applications. They are listed as items A and B below and will be described in detail on the next few pages. Please collate these documents in the order they appear on the chart.

ii. PLEASE SUBMIT AN ELECTRONIC COPY; e-mail one copy to corinne.hoffhines@washburn.edu by November 1st. Note in the chart below the number of pages for each RFP component.

Components Page Limits

A. Proposal Cover Page 1 pageB. Project Narrative 5 pages

B. Application ORGANIZATION INFORMATION

Organization Name:Phone #:

Street Address: Fax #:

City: State: Zip: Website:LIST CURRENT FUNDING SOURCES FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION Is your organization a

501(c)3 Corporation?Yes No

If “yes” attach certificateCONTACT INFORMATION

Contact: Title: Direct #: E-mail:

Contact: Title: Direct #: E-mail:FUNDING REQUEST SUMMARY

Dollar Amount Requested:

Total Budget for this Project:Project Start Date:

Project End Date:

Briefly describe the project for which you are requesting funding:

FUNDING REQUEST DETAILS

Is the project a collaboration with one ore more other agencies?

What population will be served by proposed request?

How many CHILDREN will this project request directly affect?

What Geographic Area(s) will be served by this request?

Has your organization applied for other funding for this project?Has your organization ever received funding for this project previously? If “yes” then who, when and how much:

PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN FOR APPLICANT ORGANIZATION

Name: Title:

Signature: Date:

A. Organization Description i. Provide background information on your organization:

1. Mission statement2. Organization history3. Current and upcoming projects4. Volunteer and employment statistics5. Strengths and weaknesses of organization

ii. Provide implementation process:1. Achievable goals specific to project2. Strategy for achieving these goals3. Demographics-who will be affected 4. Resources – Utilization tools needed 5. Mention key employees/volunteers that will be

involved and their rolesiii. Detailed timeline of project

1. Starting/ending dates2. Milestones3. Estimated budget and how you will utilize it

iv. Other Factors1. Explain why your organization would benefit from the

Joe and Janet Aleshire Venture Grant2. How would benefit from giving you this grant?3. List any organizations if any, that you will be

collaborating withv. Sustainability

1. Explain the lasting effects of the project