GRANT APPLICATION SAMPLE This is an example of how to fill out this Part 8 of the Grow to Learn Registration Form the Mini-Grant Application section. While the exact answers will differ greatly from garden to garden, this sample form should help guide you as you fill out your application. Narrative (a maximum of 300 words for each short answer) Project Description 1) Please describe the project for which you are seeking a grant. Specify whether you are starting a new school garden or expanding your existing school garden program, and also if the grant will be used for garden construction, garden maintenance, and/or garden programming. During the previous four months, P.S. XX has achieved broad support from administrators, teachers, parents and neighborhood volunteers who want to undertake a school garden project. We have established a Garden Committee and defined a vision and goals for our first school garden. We have a 20 x30 asphalt covered schoolyard where we would like to build four 4 x4 raised garden beds to grow lettuce, zucchini, beans and basil. The minigrant funding will be used to purchase materials, including recycled lumber, basic maintenance tools, soil, and seeds, to construct the garden. In addition, a portion of the funding will be used to hire Ms. Smith from Organization X to conduct three classes in food and nutrition education for our fifth graders. 2) Does/will your school garden program have any special emphasis (for example: nutrition, science and environment, serving a special needs population, art, vocational training, etc.)? We are a Title I elementary school located in a community experiencing obesity rates as high as 40%. For this reason, we will use our school garden as a hands-on tool for food and nutrition education to teach children the importance of healthy eating. 3) What is your Garden Committee s vision and goals for the school garden during this year? Our first goal is to have the school garden built by March 2011. Our first and fifth grade classes will share garden responsibilities, and make weekly visits to the garden to water, weed and touch, taste and learn about the food they are growing. In addition, we are currently evaluating available nutrition curriculum that we will implement in our first grade and fifth grade classes starting in fall 2011. By growing vegetables our children will better understand where their food comes, gain more positive food attitudes and participate in the school garden to build leadership, team work, and self-confidence through ownership of a project and collaboration with other students. 4) How many students will participate directly in your school garden program as a result of this grant, and how will they be engaged in the garden?
We anticipate that a total of about 120 students two classes of fifth graders and two classes of first graders will make weekly garden visits with their teachers during year one. We plan to evaluate the program in June and hope to expand involvement to two more classes, for a total of 180 students during the 2011-2012 school year. 5) In your own words, how does/will the garden benefit your school community? Our hope is that students will acquire some basic gardening and horticultural knowledge and skills, learn about and appreciate where food comes from, work cooperatively in groups to produce results, and ideally make smarter, healthier food choices outside of school and throughout their lives. In addition, we envision that the school garden will become a place where kids and parents can get involved together to help extend positive food attitudes and choices into the home. 6) If your school is not awarded a Mini-Grant what will happen to the project? If we are not awarded a mini-grant we will search for local businesses and community members who might support our project, as well as seek additional grant opportunities. However, we do not expect to rely entirely on these sources, which is why we hope our school garden project is granted this funding. Work Plan & Budget 1) How will the project be carried out? List any specific steps you will take. The fifth grade teachers are holding a design competition in their classes from which a few design elements will be selected and incorporated into the final garden design. We have recruited five parent volunteers to help build the four raised garden beds on a Saturday. In March we will have a planting day and school-wide dedication ceremony that serves as the official ribbon-cutting event of our school garden. 2) What is your project timeline? October: Find partners and supporters, identify potential curriculum November: Select and finalize garden design December: Continue to evaluate curriculum January: Select curriculum February: Conduct first in-class nutrition lesson March: Hold dedication ceremony and ribbon-cutting event April: Have a community volunteer event on Earth Day May June: Create project plan for 2011-2012 school year; recruit summer maintenance volunteers July August: Neighborhood volunteers will maintain the garden 3) Please tell us about any school or community volunteers and/or partner organizations who are/will participate in your school garden project: In addition to our Garden Committee members, we have recruited five parent volunteers to help build the garden. We have talked with a community gardener from a nearby garden who is volunteering to hold a garden maintenance class in our garden for interested parents and teachers. Two of our teachers have registered for a professional development class in the spring with Organization Y
about teaching math and science using the garden. In addition, we would like to work with Ms. Smith from Organization X who will conduct three nutrition education classes for our fifth graders. Finally, several neighborhood volunteers who live adjacent to our school have expressed interest in gardening during the summer. 4) How will you sustain your garden financially in the future? Once the garden is built and we have acquired tools we expect that garden costs in year two will be significantly less. Our continuing expenses will include seeds, and disposable items, like garbage bags and gloves. Our PTA has told us that if we are able to get the garden started, they will help sustain it through school fundraising efforts, including a plant sale and a summer garden party and fundraiser. 5) Are there any other actual or potential sources of funding for the project? We have submitted a grant proposal to the Gardening Association for $500, for which we will receive notification in February. 6) List the items your group will need to implement the project. Add the costs of each item for the total amount of funding you are requesting. Expenditure Purpose Cost 4 Garden boxes raised planting beds $400 60 Gloves (small and large) For adults and children $300 2 Spades For digging smaller areas $30 Organic seeds & plants For various plants in our vegetable garden $100 Shovel For planting $50 80 bags of soil for raised beds $200 Mrs. Smith s fee 3 Food and nutrition classes $750 TOTAL FUNDING REQUEST $1,830 Evaluati on 1) How will you measure the project s success (for example: before and after surveys or photos)? As part of the nutrition curriculum we will conduct a simple before and after survey of students attitudes and knowledge about food to evaluate whether or not they exhibit a positive change. We will also conduct a brief survey of teachers to understand their feelings and interests in the school garden. We will take before and after pictures in the garden, including photos on a monthly basis to track plant growth.
Donor Reference Has your school previously received a grant? Yes No (The grant does not have to be for school gardens. If yes please fill out the information below) A. What was the purpose of the grant? Painting a mural in the school courtyard B. Donor Name X Paint Store C. Amount of Grant $400.00 D. Year of Grant 2009 E. Donor Contact Name Mr. Moore Email MrPaint@email.com Phone (555) 555-5555 B) For an existing garden Narrative (a maximum of 300 words for each short answer) Project Description 1) Please describe the project for which you are seeking a grant. Specify whether you are starting a new school garden or expanding your existing school garden program, and also if the grant will be used for garden construction, garden maintenance, or garden programming. The garden at MS ABC has been operating and used since 2007. We currently care for eight 4 x8 raised garden beds. We are applying for a mini-grant to create a learning center in the garden that will allow teachers and instructors to more easily set-up materials for lessons in the garden. The learning center will include a small storage shed, a whiteboard, four tables, and a set of benches for students. In addition, we would like to purchase a grow lab so that we can continue garden lessons and extend the growing season into the winter and early spring. 2) Does your school garden program have any special emphasis (for example: nutrition, environment, special needs population, vocational training, etc.)? Our garden serves various groups of students, but our two primary programs focus on after-school cooking workshops, and a program for students with behavioral disorders, such as ODD, CD, and ADHD, which affect their performance in the classroom. Ten classrooms serving about 300 students have successfully integrated the garden into their regular academic curriculum. In addition, a group of 30 students belong to the Garden Club, which is responsible for organizing summer garden maintenance. 3) What are the project goals? With an outdoor learning center, we will create more classroom hours outside in the garden and create a vital link between learning as once confined to four walls, and a community space. A grow lab will enable us to start seedlings both for indoor winter science lessons and to get a jump on the gardening season in early spring. In addition, these plants grown from seedlings will enable us to host a Garden to Café event in the spring. 4) How many students will participate directly in your school garden program as a result of this grant, and how will they be engaged in the garden? Currently, about 300 students have some interaction with the garden through in-class projects that incorporate a visit to the garden for a hands-on lesson component. We have about 30 students in our after-school cooking program and about 30 students with
behavioral disorders participating in after-school garden activities, including watering and weeding in teams of three. As a result of this Mini-Grant, these 300 plus students will have the opportunity to learn in an outdoor classroom, and we expect that another two classrooms about 60 students will manage the grow lab in the winter months. 5) How will students benefit from this project? The students will receive instruction on subjects like gardening skills, nutrition, entomology, mathematics, and art in the outdoor learning center. The curriculum will be specifically designed to allow the students to learn through hands-on interaction with the garden. We believe that having students spend more time learning outside will help them become more engaged in learning and their environment. 6) If your school is not awarded a GrowNYC School Garden Grant what will happen to the project? Without a mini-grant we would be unable to build a learning center at this time, as we received large budget cuts last year and do not have enough funding to undertake a project of this size. Work Plan & Budget 1) How will the project be carried out? List any specific steps you will take. Once given the grant we will move quickly to set-up the learning center, aiming to complete it within a month of receiving the grant so we can be ready to open when it becomes warmer outside for a three-month trial season in the spring. 2) What is your project timeline? October- Design the learning center with input from three six-grade classrooms March - Enter the construction phase April- Hold first lessons in the center May- Continue garden programming 3) How will you sustain your garden financially in the future? We are currently funding the garden through three $500 grants, and seed donations from a local organization. Once the learning center is completed, there will not be much maintenance involved besides replacing damaged benches and lost materials. Who will be involved in the project? Please include partner organizations and volunteers. Volunteers from the Borough Botanic Garden will help us build a storage shed. Are there any other actual or potential sources of funding for the project? The MS ABC PTA has established a fund for maintenance of the garden. Next month the committee will vote on whether to apportion some of the money specifically for the creation of the garden learning center. List the items your group will need to implement the project. Add the costs of each item for the total amount of funding you are requesting. Expenditure Purpose Cost Table To set up materials and displays 50.00
White board For writing classroom lessons 150.00 Concrete pavers To cover perimeter of learning area 20.00 Benches For outdoor classroom 160.00 Lumber To build tool shed 220.00 TOTAL FUNDING REQUEST 600.00 Evaluation 1) How will you measure the project s success (for example: before and after surveys or photos)? We will compare test scores in subjects like mathematics, natural science, and social studies between students who spend more hours in the outdoor classroom and those who do not use the learning center. Our hypothesis is that we will see higher test scores and learning when students spend more time in the garden. Donor Reference Has your school previously received a grant? Yes No (The grant does not have to be for school gardens. If yes please fill out the information below) A. What was the purpose of the grant? To purchase digital cameras for the Yearbook Committee B. Donor Name Photo Company C. Amount of Grant $1,000 D. Year of Grant 2006 E. Donor Contact Name Mr. Photo Email photo@email.com Phone (555) 555-5555