Illinois State Library

Penny Severns Summer Family Literacy

Grant Offering Instructions

Eligible Applicants

• Adult literacy agencies.
• Public libraries and their branches. The public library and up to two branches may apply.
• No more than three applications will be accepted from one agency.
• The range of funding is from $2,000 to $4,800 per application. The amount requested should be relative to the services provided.

Program Overview

The Penny Severns Summer Family Literacy grant offering is designed to:

1. Recruit low-literate and limited English proficient families to the program;
2. Develop reading related programs, events or activities based on the needs of low-literate and/or limited English proficient families including the following services:
• Reading enrichment for low literate or limited English proficient adults,
• Reading enrichment for the children of those adults,
• Interactive, literacy-based, activities in which the parents and children learn together, and
• Related library activities for the target families' participation.
3. Purchase materials to support family literacy activities; and
4. Develop or strengthen relationships between adult literacy agencies and libraries.

This opportunity provides grant awards from $2,000 to $4,800 for the development and implementation of family literacy activities. This grant is intended to encourage and promote reading through programming, and address the reading needs of the target audience who are low literate and/or limited English speaking families.

The Penny Severns Summer Family Literacy grant offering offers eligible applicants the opportunity to:

• Sponsor activities and promote the role of parents and caregivers in the emergent literacy of their children emphasizing the value of intergenerational and family-based programs to develop and enhance reading and literacy skills regardless of literacy skill levels or language proficiency, geographic, cultural or socioeconomic background.
• Form public and private partnerships that create opportunities to engage adults and children in reading and that support reading readiness, reading development and language proficiency.
• Develop reading-based services and discussions crafted to the diverse needs of adults with consideration of language and literacy levels.
• Develop a reading community by expanding services for learning, activities, and discussion to support reading for low literate and/or limited English proficient families.

A variety of appropriate materials such as books may be budgeted, but the materials must be justified by the target audience’s need and directly related to the activities proposed. The reading activities proposed must be educational or developmental, aimed at the target audience and may not be entertainment.

Appropriate Reading Activities May Include:

The programs and activities proposed must be in addition to current programming being offered.

• Activities encouraging and inspiring low level readers to read.
• Adult learner book discussion programs.
• Story times, book clubs or reading activities featuring one or more titles.
• Reading readiness or reading development programs including the whole family.
• Activities that introduce foreign language or bilingual materials to the target population.
• Educational programs using materials to develop and promote cultural awareness.
• Interactive and reciprocal parent/child reading activities or intergenerational reading programs.

Eligible for Purchase Under the Penny Severns Summer Family Literacy Grant Offering

• Program related materials that support reading for low literate and/or limited English speaking families:
• Books (fiction and/or non-fiction for adults and/or children)
• Graphic Novels
• Foreign Language or bilingual materials
• Non-subscription educational software or other media
• Program related educational supplies that support reading for low literate and/or limited English speaking families:
• Educational supplies for families that support programmatic activities such as educational board games and books to give away to families as incentives
• Consumable supplies such as items to be used for craft activities, disposable cameras, or photo albums.

Ineligible for Purchase Under the Penny Severns Summer Family Literacy Grant Offering

• Entertainment programs including water and amusement parks.
• Prizes or gifts that could be considered entertainment such as tickets to shows or sports events, meals, video rental coupons or other amusement related activities.
• Promotional items such as mugs, magnets, pens, etc.
• Equipment including computers and whiteboards.
• Ineligible subscriptions include but are not limited to:
• Serials
• Databases or subscription electronic resources available through the Web (E-Resources)
• Costs to subscribe to a shared catalog such as OCLC
• Ineligible supplies include but are not limited to:
• Digital Camera and peripherals;
• Cells phones, i-phones or blackberries
• Computer games or gaming systems such as the Wii
• Food and refreshments
• Consumables such as backpacks, book bags, t-shirts, infant supplies i.e. diapers, cleaning supplies, etc.

All purchased items must support programming.

Fiscal Information

Applicants must be prepared to provide grant services before receiving payment. These funds will be subject to delays due to the State’s fiscal condition.

• Applications for the Penny Severns Summer Family Literacy grant offering will be funded between $2,000 and $4,800. Requests outside this range of funding will automatically be disqualified.
• Grant funds must be obligated (encumbered) between May 1 and June 30. 100% of the funds must be expended by August 31. Costs incurred prior to the official contract start date are not eligible for reimbursement.
• In-kind contributions should not be described in the budget. The budget should reflect use of awarded funds only. In-kind contributions are not a factor in the evaluation process.
• All items included in the budget must be essential to the proposed activities or services. Write clear explanations within the Project Description and on the Budget Explanation that justify why the items are necessary to the success of the project. Also show formulas for calculating costs.
• Research and use actual costs. Round up to the nearest dollar.
• Awarding of grant funds does not obligate the Illinois State Library to provide any additional or future funding for extensions or continuation of the project.

Hiring Staff, Individuals, or Agencies on Contract

If appropriate and necessary for the success of the project, personnel and professional contracts may be paid with either grant funds or as a local contribution with agency funds.

• If individuals or contracts are paid with grant funds, it must be for actual time spent working on the project.
• Personnel: Salary and grant funds may not be earned at the same time. In other words, no double dipping or overlap of payment is allowed. An individual, including full time staff, may be paid with grant funds for actual time spent working on grant activities, as long as they are not earning salary concurrently. A library or literacy agency may pay project staff and recover staff salaries (and benefits) for the actual time that individual works on the grant project.
• A part time employee may have hours added for work on the grant project, and those hours spent working on the project can be paid with funds.
• Grant funds may not be used for purposes other than the approved grant activities. Personnel or contractual arrangements to assume non-grant related duties of or to substitute for a staff person working on the grant activities are not allowed as grant expenses.
• As an example: a librarian (project director) working on a grant project may not hire a sub, with grant funds, to work in the library while the project director is out of the building working on grant activities. (Because the sub is not working on the grant project.) But, the library administration can hire a sub with local funds and pay the librarian (project director) with grant funds for time spent working on the grant project.

Attachments to the Grant Application Are Not Required

• Attachments are not required due to the online method of application.
• Do not submit letters of support from legislators or letters expressing general endorsement of the proposal.
• Do not submit resumes of staff.

Review Process

• The review process is competitive. Each application must stand on its own merit and is evaluated based on the information provided in the application.
• The staff of the Illinois State Library will evaluate all applications. Final recommendations for funding are made by the Illinois State Library with the grant awards subject to approval by the Secretary of State and State Librarian.
• Only the awarded grant applications shall be considered public information. Working papers, individual reviewer’s comments, notes, and scores are not public information. A summary of the review comments may be shared with the applicant upon request.

Final Selection Process

Obligations of the Illinois State Library to fund this grant program will cease immediately without penalty or further payment being required if the State fails to appropriate or otherwise make available sufficient funds.

Selection factors that will be taken into account include:

• Availability of grant funds.
• Submission of a complete application meeting the deadline.
• Extent to which the proposed grant activities represent a reasonable use of the funds.
• Extent to which the proposed grant program indicates coordination between libraries and local adult and family literacy agencies.
• Reviewers’ scores and comments.
• Geographic distribution of the proposed grant awards.
• Applicant’s past grant performance.
• Possible duplication with other state funded initiatives.
• All qualified applications being equal, grants will be awarded based on earliest date and time of arrival.
• Pre-contract negotiations between the Illinois State Library and the grant applicant will clarify any issues raised during the review process. Not all applicants contacted during the pre-contract negotiations will receive an award. ISL reserves the right to change the grant amount as appropriate.

Grant Time Frame

Accountability

• Grant recipients are expected to adhere to the activities in the approved application.
• Grant recipients are expected to expend grant funds as approved in the grant application.
• Grant recipients agree to obligate monies by June 30 and fully expend by August 31.
• Grant recipients must file accurate reports in a timely manner. Failure to comply may result in:
• The applicant agency will be required to return the grant monies.
• The applicant agency will be ineligible for competitive grants for one year.
• Any publicity concerning this grant must include the wording, "Funding for this grant was awarded by the Illinois State Library (ISL), a Department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds designated for literacy."
• Proposed grant activity should be developed in accordance with the Administrative Code which appears below.
• Please read and be familiar with the Administrative Code governing this program:

• 23 Ill. Adm. Code 3035.280

To Apply

Application Deadline: 4:00 p.m. on February 1

Applications must be completed and submitted online.

• No applications will be accepted after the deadline.
• No facsimile applications or paper applications will be accepted.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered for funding.

Technical Instructions

• Develop the proposal offline using a word processing program. The on-line application does not have spell or grammar check capabilities. Compose, check and save the document prior to copying your wording into the on-line application.
• Each section of the application has character (not word) limits. To count the characters in your document, use the free All World Phone Character Count Calculator to assist in meeting the character limit requirements.
• To make a change within a text box, use your backspace key.
• A timer within the on-line application will expire after 30 minutes of no activity. Typing within one section or screen does not activate this activity monitor. After 30 minutes, any information on the screen will be lost. Clicking the "Save" button periodically will prevent that data loss. When you click "Save" or "Next," your data is also saved.
• A shaded progress bar at the top of every page will show your advancement through the application.
• Navigational directions, "Previous" and "Next", appear at the bottom of every page. Use those buttons rather than the back and forward arrows in your browser.
• You may "Logout" before finishing or submitting your application. When you re-enter the application, you will be directed to the last place that you entered data.

Questions?

Contact the Illinois State Library at 1-800-665-5576. When prompted, select extension 3 for the Literacy Office. Send questions by e-mail to: bpaoli@ilsos.net.