National CASA 2014 Local and State Grant Application Training Presented by: Coral Edward, Grants Program Manager 1

Objectives  Identify the requirements and tools necessary to apply for a National CASA grant  Ensure that your application is successfully completed and submitted  Improve the chances for your application to be competitive 2

Answers to Survey Results We value your input and because of it we have made the following changes: Need an extra text box to explain statistical information Question on Page 7 of the grant application allows applicant to provide any details that is to be considered from information provided in the statistical pages 3-6 No confirmation or message after upload was completed No confirmation will be sent out as our systems are unable to provide that function. However, once the file is uploaded you will see a message “Your file has been successfully uploaded to our server” and in the box it will state “1. Grant Application – Submitted”. You will also be able to view, delete and upload a new file if corrections are to be made. 3

General Instructions  Downloading and Uploading Grant Applications  Start Early  This is the last grant cycle for

General instructions There are four grant categories Three open to state organizations, state agencies and informal state networks only  Capacity Building Grant Grant Amount: $10,000 - $40,000  State Grant Grant Amount: $10,000 - $40,000  State Mini Grant Grant Amount: $2,000 - $5,000 One open to all member programs that do direct services  Local Grant Award Amount: $10,000 - $40,000 5

General instructions  Grant period runs from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015  No restrictions regarding previous National CASA grants  The application is on our website: click on and go to the National CASA Grants Page  You will need a User Name and Password 6

General instructions  All grants must be submitted on-line  Grant submission deadline: Friday, June 13 at 5:00 PM Pacific Time  Once you upload your file the system will have a message “You file has been successfully uploaded to our server” 7

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For Your Grant to be Reviewed…  Application must be complete and submitted on time  Program must be a member in good standing of National CASA  Beginning January 1, 2014, any state organization or local program wishing to apply for a grant from National CASA must be current with the annual survey and program six-month report. Before completing a grant application, please review this list to see if your program is eligible to apply for a National CASA grant.Before completing a grant application, please review this list to see if your program is eligible to apply for a National CASA grant.  Project must meet eligibility criteria 9

Project Eligibility Criteria Local and State Grant Your grant proposal must address at least one of these criteria:  Increase the number of children served and volunteers recruited, trained, assigned and retained beyond prior year’s level  Expand CASA services into another court, county or jurisdiction  Build capacity of your current program  Seek to strengthen/enhance effective outreach activities in diverse communities  Support innovative approaches to increase effectiveness of outreach and recruitment efforts 10

Primary Goal of the State Grant Support the work of state organizations/networks in the state through the following core services  support and technical assistance for local programs  development of new CASA programs  expanding awareness of CASA work to  policy-makers  targeted groups  public With a goal of recruiting, training, assigning and retaining additional volunteers 11

Primary Goal of the State Mini Grant To provide state organizations/networks base funding to support work with local programs 12

Grant Writing Tips  Read instructions thoroughly  Applications are provided in PDF You must have the latest version of Adobe Reader  Answer all questions  Provide succinct and direct answers  Make a compelling case 13

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15 Grant Application Format NCASA grant application has five distinct sections:  Summary sheet  Program information and narrative  Program self reporting on past National CASA grants  Grant budget narrative and summary  Project narrative

16 Attachments  Organizational Chart (required for all categories)  MOU for Informal State Networks only

17 Grant Application Page 1  Amount Requested  Summary of Request  Authorized Representative  Organizational Chart

18 Program Information Page 2-7  Program name, number & location  Additional Information  Current CASA Staff List  Financial History and Program Statistics  Demographic Matrix  Current Budget  Program Information Narrative

Program Information Page 2  Applicant Information: Complete all required information If you are a local program applying on behalf of an Informal State Network for the State Grant and/or State Mini Grant please contact Coral Edward, for further information.  Additional Information: Check for your program structure/tax-exempt status Complete the box if checked “Yes” to either question 19

Current Staff Positions Page 3  List all current staff positions within your CASA/GAL program  Do not give names 20

Financials & Statistics Page 4  Organization’s financial history A snapshot of three calendar years If your program uses a fiscal year, prorate figures to obtain a calendar year equivalent  Program statistics Calendar year count  Court/Judicial statistics  Explanation of endowment/reserves 21

Demographic Matrix Page 5 22 Sources to gather community data:  Census Bureau  CLIKS: Community Level Information on Kids  Local Department of Social Services

Demographic Matrix Page 5  Complete each of the three sub-matrices: ◦ Race ◦ Ethnicity ◦ Gender  Each sub-matrix accounts to 100% of the population 23

Organization Budget Page 6  Budget Period  Categories  Four columns and column totals calculate automatically  Column C 24

Program Information Narrative Page 7 This page is provided for programs that would like to provide further explanation to the reviewers regarding the statistics provided on Page 3-6. This is optional, please indicate N/A if you do not have any further explanation. 25

26 Program Reporting Page 8-9  National CASA grants awarded in the past 3 years  Required reports submitted on time  Grant goals accomplished on time  Sustaining the project after the grant  Audit Findings or Monitoring Corrective Actions

Grant Budget Narrative Page Personnel/salaries 2.Taxes/benefits 3.Travel 4.Printing/Copying 5.Supplies 6.Equipment 7.Rent/Utilities 8.Other (see next slide) 27

Grant Budget Narrative  “Other” – Allowable Expenses ◦ Marketing/Recruitment ◦ Contractual fees ◦ Registration fees ◦ Membership fees ◦ Insurance/audit (proportionate to the grant) ◦ Documented federal indirect rate (15% cap) 28

Grant Budget Summary Page 14  Totals from Grant Budget Narrative will transfer automatically to this page  Ensure the total matches the grant request amount on 1 st page 29

Project Narrative Organization Information Governance Purpose of Grant Grant Planning and Implementation (State and Local Grants only) Sustainability (State and Local Grants only) Evaluation 30

31 Organizational Information History and Growth of Program Population and Area Served

Governance 32 Key Staff at Program Governing Body (Local and State Grants only) Strategic Plan (Local and State Grants only)

Governance – Extra question on State Grant for Informal State Networks 33 How will project be monitored and reviewed by the network?

Purpose of Grant for Local and State Grants 34 Unmet Need How was the unmet need determined

Purpose of Grant for State Mini Grant 35 Describe the need for grant funds How will the grant support local programs in your state

State Grant only Grant Planning and Implementation 36 Involvement of local programs Collaboration with local programs

Local and State Grants only Grant Planning and Implementation 37 Staff roles and profiles Hiring of Consultant

Grant Planning and Implementation Extra Question in State Grant only requiring a 50% match. 38 How will the match be met and documented

Local and State Grants only Is your goal 39 Specific Measurable AchievableRelevantTime-bound

Local and State Grants only Sustainability 40 How will the project be sustained after the grant ends For Local and State grants only

Evaluation 41 Success measurements of the grant project Dissemination and use of evaluation results

Whom to contact for: grants-related assistance 42 Coral Edward Grants Program Manager (800) , ext. 217

Whom to contact for: program-related assistance Regional Program Officers 43 Southern Region Dodd White (800) , ext. 243 Midwest Region Janet Ward (800) , ext. 244 North Central Region Susan Grant (800) , ext. 272 West Central Region Paige Beard (800) , ext. 241 Western Region Michael Heaton (800) , ext. 248

Q & A Go to the FAQ section on our website your grants program manager or regional program officer 44