Preservation Assistance Grantsfor Oklahoma Archives, Libraries & Museums

Gina MinksImaging & Preservation Service ManagerAmigos Library ServicesDallas, TX

Agenda• 10 – 10:30am – Overview & Introductions• 10:30 – 12:00 – Grant Basics• 12:00 – 1:00 pm – Lunch• 1:00 – 2:30 pm – Creating the Proposal• 2:30 – 2:45 pm– Break• 2:45 -- 3:45 pm – Important Extras• 3:45 – 4:00 pm – Final Review & Evaluations

Workshop Objectives• Describe the elements of a proposal

• Describe the grant review process

• Differentiate between types of grants and funders

• Identify sources of funding

• Describe information needed for a PAG or grant from OHRAB

• Describe steps to receive DUNS number

• Describe steps to register on Grants.gov

GRANT BASICS

Federal Vs. Private FundingNeeds

EligibilityDirect & Indirect Costs

Basic Questions• Are you eligible for a grant?• How much money do you need?• Do you have the time to manage a grant?• Do you have the people to work on the grant?• Do you have management buy-in?• Do you have authority?

• Can you handle the reporting requirements?• Is there anyone to help with the proposal writing and grant

management?

Federal VS. Private

Federal Funds

• Highly structured• Specific Requirements• Eligibility guidelines• Many processes to

assure equality among applications

Private Funds

Often less restrictiveOften more flexibleMay not accept

unsolicited proposalsInitiatives & focus many

change without formal notification

Important to have the latest information

Federal Funders• Government or tax funds support a particular program• Are subject to legislative oversight• Rules & Regulations• Standard guidelines• Lots of forms

• Are the largest grantors

Foundations• Foundations• General purpose: Ford, Mellon, Rockefeller• Special-purpose: single purpose determined by

establisher• Company-sponsored: within for-profit company• Public charities: local operations• Community: apply only in their city/region• Family: usually admin by family attorney

Limits on Foundation Support• Type of program funded• Geographical area• Minimum/maximum funding• Type of organization that can receive grant (now

usually incorporated non-profit organizations)

Other Funding Sources• Internal grants for universities or other institutions• Professional organizations• Community organizations• Conferences or seminars

Important to Remember

• Money is getting tighter and resources are becoming more limited• More people are applying for funding.• Funders are having to become more critical in the

review and assessments of proposals.

Needs• Can you clearly articulate your need?• 3 minute Elevator Speech

• Have you considered all aspects of your need?• Are you including all staffing, equipment, and time

needed for your project?• Do you have measurable goals?• Is your plan well thought out with achievable

milestones?• What is the outcome of your project?• What will be better, different, or new after you finish

your project?

Eligibility• Are you a federal or state agency?• Are you open to the public?• Do you have full-time staff?• Does your project match the project guidelines?

How much MoneyIs there a “Cost Share”?

Cost sharing is used to describe a non-federal commitment of any size. Even very small commitments (down to 1 percent of project costs) are described as cost sharing.

Do you need “Matching Funds”?Matching is often referred to as a dollar-for-dollar, 2-for-1, or 3-for-1 match of non-federal to sponsor funds.

If you already have some money, is the project eligible for a “Challenge Grant”?A grant awarded only if the grant seeker raises a designated

amount from other sources .

What are your Direct Costs?• Those costs that can be identified

specifically with a particular sponsored project relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.• Must be:

• Allowable - as described by federal cost principles• Reasonable - what a prudent person would

spend.• Allocable - limited to that portion of expenses

directly benefiting the project;.• Consistently treated as direct charges.

What are your Indirect Costs?• Those that are incurred for common or joint objectives

or in other words cannot be specifically allocated to a specific project.• Referred to officially by the federal government as

“Facilities and Administration” (F & A).• Also called “Overhead”

EXERCISE

•Create an Elevator Speech

THE GRANT PROPOSAL

Proposal ProcessElements of a Proposal

Elements of a PAG

The Grant Proposal Process• Develop plan of work & identify partners• Obtain management support• Locate potential funders• Write the proposal• Submit draft to funders; get comments• Submit the proposal

Writing the Proposal• Keep it simple• Elevator speech

• Request letters of support early• Proofread• Follow the application instructions• Use a checklist• A good proposal doesn’t guarantee a grant

Elements of a Grant Proposal• Cover Letter• Executive Summary• About Your Institution• Statement of Need• Project Description• Budget• Appendices

Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions• National Endowment for the Humanities• Division of Preservation and Access• $6,000 in outright funds• Guidelines usually come out in January/February• Over 3500 PAG applications submitted since 2000• Funding ratio has been 46%• Deadline has been May 1

Parts of the PAG• Project abstract• Narrative• Budget• Appendices• Application Package (downloaded from Grants.gov)

Narrative Questions

A. What activity/activities would the grant support?

B. What are the content and size of the humanities collections that are the focus of the project?

C. How are these humanities collections used?D. What is the nature and mission of your

institution?E. Has your institutions ever had a preservation

or conservation assessment or consultation?

Narrative Questions

F. What is the importance of this project to your institution?

G. What are the names and qualifications of the consultant(s) and staff involved in the project?

H. What is the plan of work for the project?

Project Abstract• One paragraph abstract• Up to 1000 characters

• Describes • nature of collections• Significance to the humanities• Specific goals & activities of project

**This paragraph will be used in the downloaded Grants.gov application.

Activities supported by Grant• Planning and assessments for care of collections (PAG)• Improvement to environmental controls (PAG)• Education and training (PAG)• Increase access and intellectual control, through cataloging,

arrangement, and description• Conservation treatment, reformatting, and re-housing• Digitizing collections• Developing databases, and spatial and linguistic tools• Research and development

Content & Size of Humanities Collections

• Types of materials in your collections• Paper• Photographs• Textiles• Etc.

• Size• Cubic feet• Room size• Number of file cabinets/storage cabinets• Number of items

How are Collections Used?

• Who do you serve?• Community?• University?• K-12?• Researchers?• Regional users?• International users?• Tribal members?

• What do they do with their work?• Genealogy?• Thesis or Dissertation?• Books?

Nature & Mission of Your Institution

• What is your organizations mission and vision statement?• Does your department/group have a mission statement?• How does your project fit into the mission statement?

Previous Preservation or Conservation Assessment?

• If no – answering “no” is fine• If yes • Date done• Who performed• Include if it was a PAG, CAP or MAP if appropriate• Include copy of report in appendices

Importance of this project to your institution?

• Discuss what you want to accomplish• Goal vs. Objective• Goal: Outcome statements that guide the organization’s

programs, administrative, financial & governance functions• Objective: Precise, measurable & time-phased result that

supports the goalStandard form for an Objective

(verb noting direction of change) + (area of change) + (target population) + (degree of change) + (time frame)

Process Objective = “to develop, to implement, to establish”Outcome Objective = “to increase, to decrease, to improve”

Name & Qualifications of Staff & Consultants Involved

• Who is your consultant?• Are they qualified?• Do they match your collections?

• Staff involved• Project director• Support staff• Others

**For your appendices**Letter of commitment that includes pricing!

Plan of Work for the Project?• What is the timeframe of the grant award?• Plan for the unexpected• No Gold Star for finishing early

• Make sure you include all your activities

Budget• Requested info usually includes:• Expense information• Income information• Budget narrative – the rationale for the numbers

• The budget is often read first

Appendices• What materials best support your case?• What materials are requested by the funder?• Organizational chart• Financial information• Resumes/CVs• List of Board members

Oklahoma Collection Assessment Plans Program (OCAP)• Through the Oklahoma Historical Records Advisory Board

(OHRAB)• Deadline is Friday, January 31, 2014• Pays for conservator to help develop a preservation plan

Preservation Assistance for Archival Collections Grant• Deadline is Friday, January 31, 2014• $6,000• Must have a preservation plan in place• Support for a recommendation from preservation plan

Information RequiredOCAP• Description of Organization• Description of Archival Collections• Staff and Volunteers• Public Use• Describe your first PriorityArchival Collection Grant• Recommended activity from preservation plan to be funded• Size and content of collection• How collections are used• Plan of work• Budget

EXERCISE

• Review example of a successful PAG application•What is a Preservation Plan

AFTER THE SUBMISSION

Criteria for evaluating the proposalAfter you get the grant

What to do if you don’t get the grant

The Grant Review Process• Submission to Grants.gov is delivered to NEH• NEH reviews grant proposals• NEH identifies people qualified to review the PAG

application• PAG proposals sent to peer reviewers• Peer reviews returned to NEH• Program Officers make recommendations to fund• NEH Chairman and National Humanities Council approve

awards• Organization is contacted regarding award

Standard Criteria for Evaluating the Proposal• Clarity• logical and easy to follow

• Complete• includes all required items

• Internal consistency• parts consistent with each other

• External consistency• recognize accepted ideas of the field

• Understanding of the problem and service methods

Standard Criteria for Evaluating the Proposal

• Capability to carry out promised activities• Qualifications

• Responsiveness to requirements, purposes, needs• Efficiency and accountability• timetable

• Realism• in scope and budget

• Need shown• Ability to continue project• self-sustaining

5 Categories of Federal RatingExcellent

Highest priority of supportVery Good

High priority of fundingGood

Project can go forward as presented but it is a low priorityMerit

Proposal may not be ready for support but project itself may be potentially important

RejectThe proposal is a poor one and applicant has failed to make the

case for the project’s significance.

Ratings• Recommend “with conditions”• Used in cases where the project can be implemented as

described except for one or two minor aspects of the plan of work

• Funding a portion of a project defined in proposal• May be appropriate in the case of a proposal requesting support

for several components that are not equally compelling• Recommendation may be made to support only that part of a

project deemed more important or better developed

After You Get the Grant• Thank you letter• Review the budget• Report at least annually even if it isn’t required• Publicity• Seek a renewal

What to do if you don’t get the grant…

• Don’t take it personally• Request the review comments• Find out if you can resubmit later

Program Officers – A Hidden Resource• Can help identify appropriate grants• Offer advice about preparing a proposal• Supply examples of projects• Review preliminary drafts• Want to help you!

Managing Your Project

• Meet all requirements for reporting• Time recording• Monitor accomplishments• Mention funder in publicity and publications• Report staff changes and budget changes

Reporting Requirements• Obtain guidelines from the funder• Foundation requirements• Short report and revised budget with actual expenditures

• Federal requirements• Annual financial reports• Interim and final financial and narrative reports• Copies of documents generated through grant funding

If You Don’t Report…• Funds put on hold• Audit (can happen even if you DO report!)• Decreased chances of future grants

The Brighter Side of Reporting• Activity reports for management and boards• Statistics for annual and other reports• Opportunities for publicity

Seeking Continued Funding• Will current funder support? (or one-time

only?)• Start planning the day you get first grant• Start writing 6-12 months before deadline• Evaluations? Surveys? How did you do?• Spin-off projects• Pre-review subsequent grant

IMPORTANT EXTRAS

Dun & Bradstreet NumberGrants.gov

What is a Dun & Bradstreet Number?• Needed to bid on government proposals• A unique 9-digit identification number for each physical

location of a business• Free • Required to register with federal government for

contracts or grants• Also called D-U-N-S Number• http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

Info Needed for D-U-N-S Number• Legal name• Headquarters name and address for your business• Doing Business As (DBA) or other name by which your

business is commonly recognized• Physical address, city, state and ZIP Code• Mailing address (if separate from headquarters and/or

physical address)• Telephone number• Contact name and title• Number of employees at your physical location• Whether you are a Home-Based Business

Grants.gov• Required by all federal funding agencies• Institutions must register• Individuals must register• Strict guidelines for submission

Institutions must register• Need a DUNs number• Register with the Central Contractor Registry• Create a User name & password with ORC, the Grants.gov

credential service provider• Register with Grants.gov using the ORC name & password

Individuals must register• Grants.gov will send an email to your designated POC (Point of

Contact)• POC responds to email to designate individual to be Authorized

Organization Representative (AOR)• AOR receives notification of AOR status and can begin grant

submission.

Grants.gov Registration Checklist

• Have organization’s DUNS Number.• Are registered with SAM.• I know my E-Business POC.• I have registered with ORC, the Grants.gov

Credential Service Provider (CSP).• I have used my Username and Password to

register with Grants.gov.• I have obtained authorization from my

organization’s E-Business POC.• I have secure access to Grants.gov and I’m ready

to begin.

Application ProcessRegister on Grants.govResearch grants appropriate for your projectRead grant guidelinesClarify questions with Program OfficersDownload grant application packageWrite narrative Send narrative to agency or to Amigos for reviewCreate budgetReview entire grant applicationSubmit grant on Grants.govSit back and wait for news!!

Thank You!!!Gina Minksminks@amigos.org