TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1: Large Grant Conceptual Application Overview
PURPOSE OF THIS TOOLKIT
The purpose of this toolkit is to help guide you through the grant application process.
SECTION 1 includes an overview of the application process with information about the Sustainable Action Fund Grant Program, how to submit a successful proposal, and important dates and deadlines.
SECTION 2 is the ‘how to’ part of the toolkit. In this section you will find instructions on how to answer the application questions.
SECTION 3 includes the nitty-gritty details of the application process. This section explains exactly how the Sustainable Action Fund Grant Application process works.
Lastly there’s an APPENDIX, where you can find a list of helpful resources. The goal of this toolkit is to give you the information you need to write a good grant proposal. Good luck with your application and we hope to learn all about your proposal soon.
WHERE TO BEGIN
IMPORTANT DATES FOR LARGE GRANT APPLICANTS
October 12th, 18th, 26thNovember 1st, 16th, 29th / SAF Idea Lab Workshops
Time: 4-5pm
Location: Miller Hall 113
INTRODUCTION TO THE SUSTAINABLE ACTION FUND GRANT PROGRAM
The Sustainable Action Fund (SAF) Grant Program is a grant-making fund that is available to all students, staff and faculty at Western Washington University interested in implementing projects that aim to reduce the campus' environmental impact and to engage the campus community in environmental awareness. The program’s funding is provided by a mandatory, student-initiated fee that is charged on a quarterly basis. Large grant project proposals are reviewed for selection by the SAF Committee, which is comprised of students, staff and faculty with students having the majority vote.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Sustainable Action Fund (SAF) Program exists to promote experiential learning opportunities and sustainable practices at Western Washington University. This is done through the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits to offset 100% of the electrical consumption of the university, as well as funding innovative student-driven campus sustainability projects. Projects funded through the Sustainable Action Fund Program are evaluated based on their ability to:
• Increase Student Involvement and Education
• Reduce the University’s Environmental Impact
• Create an Aware & Engaged Campus Community
PROPOSAL PROCESS OVERVIEW
Applicant teams may request between $5,000-$300,000 for Large Grants. Any Western student, staff, or faculty member may submit a proposal for consideration.
There are two parts to the development of the Large Grant proposals: the Conceptual Application and the Final Application. The Conceptual Application will be used for you to focus on developing the basic concept of your project. Details such as cost, timeline, approvals, etc. will be determined during the Final Application process, so use this opportunity to develop a strong, basic concept that supports the SAF Grant Program’s mission as much as possible.
The SAF Committee must select your Conceptual Application proposal in order for you to continue developing it in the Final Application. The SAF Committee will base their decisions upon the answers you provide in the Conceptual Application. While assembling your Final Application, you will likely work with an assigned, departmental expert in order to create the full design and implementation plan for your project. Considering there may be technical considerations that become apparent later in the proposal development process, be prepared to be flexible, nimble and open to changes to your project.
Here is a quick step-by-step explanation of what to expect during the Conceptual Application Stage of your proposals:
SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
Large Grant proposals will be reviewed by a student-majority committee that will select projects based on the following guiding principles:
· Preference will be given to proposals that increase student involvement and education, reduce the University’s environmental impact, and create an aware and engaged campus community.
· Projects shall have clear and measurable outcomes. You should be able to collect quantitative and/or qualitative sustainability metrics to measure the success of your project.
· If your project team is partnering with other organizations, or departments, or needs permission to undertake a specific project, each stakeholder will need to sign a Project Stakeholder Form* to be submitted with the Final Application.
· If your project team is proposing a temporary or permanent facility or property modification, then a Project Owner Form* must be submitted with the Final Application. Project Owner Forms are also strongly encouraged to show long-term financial support of projects after pilot funding expires.
· The SAF Grant Program is limited in its funds and is more likely to support projects which have secured additional funding through matching sources such as utility rebates, state or federal funds, university departments, etc.
*Project Stakeholder Form and Project Owner Form can be found on the SAF website: sustain.wwu.edu/saf/apply/
REQUIREMENTS OF TEAMS THAT MOVE BEYOND THE CONCEPTUAL APPLICATION STAGE
· Attend weekly workshops with the project team while writing the SAF Final Application. The whole team is expected to attend these workshops. At these workshops you will be also meeting with the SAF Grant Program Coordinator to discuss your project’s status. These meetings will ensure that project applications are on-track and will provide an avenue for problem-solving.
· Submit a Project Poster*, team photo, team member biographies, and a short project description for SAF website.
· Submit a Final Report* to the SAF Grant Program Coordinator if the project is funded and implemented.
*Project Poster Guidelines and Final Report Guidelines can be found on the SAF website:
sustain.wwu.edu/saf/apply/
SECTION 2: Large Grant Conceptual Application Instructions
The following is a step by step guide that will walk you through the Large Grant Conceptual Application. Use the following guidelines and instructions to complete the application. The numbers and letters delineated below correspond to the same number/letter in the application.
1. PROJECT TITLE
These projects will be widely discussed across campus through publicity and educational outreach, so make your project stand out with a brief, descriptive, and memorable title.
2. TEAM INFORMATION
Students, staff, or faculty of Western Washington University may submit proposals in teams of two to four. Individuals or organizations outside of Western Washington University may not submit proposals.
The proposal submitter is the overall project leader, and is therefore the primary point of contact for the project. S/he will act on behalf of the other team members when necessary, and is responsible for ensuring the submission of a final report to the SAF Committee after the proposal is implemented. If the proposal submitter is due to graduate before implementation, s/he must designate a successor who commits to taking over these responsibilities. The successor must be identified in the Team section (#5a) of the application.
Project Advisor Information
Student proposals must include a staff or faculty advisor. The role of the advisor is to provide assistance and guidance to the proposal submitter during the development, implementation and post-implementation stages of the proposal process. In order to clearly define the relationship between the project team and the project advisor, everyone must review and sign the Applicant Team/Advisor Partnership Agreement. You must submit the signed Agreement when you submit the final draft of the Conceptual Stage Project Application.
3. PROJECT DETAILS
During the Conceptual Application Stage of the proposal development process, the SAF Committee is focused on understanding the basic concept of your proposal. Aim to develop a concept that supports the SAF Program’s mission as much as possible.
Please adhere to the following general requirements:
· Proposals must address an issue concerning Western Washington University’s environmental impact, either on or off campus.
· Proposals must have a visible educational benefit to Western’s student community.
· Proposals must include student participation and involvement.
· Although final cost is not something that will be determined during the Conceptual Application Stage, be aware that the SAF shall not fund operational, maintenance, or ongoing costs beyond one year of the project implementation date. If you want your project to continue beyond one year, you will need to find a Project Owner willing to pay for the ongoing costs. You will describe your strategy for covering these costs in your Final Application. Please note that projects may not be approved by the SAF Committee if there is no strategy for covering ongoing costs past one year.
The SAF Committee shall give preference to proposals that meet the following criteria, although they are not required for SAF funding. Preference shall be given to proposals that:
· Include grants or matching funding from multiple sources (for instance, utility rebates, state or federal funds, university departments, etc.).
· Show potential to leverage future funds (for instance, scalable demonstrations projects).
Section A: Proposal Description
Provide a brief description of your proposal. Aim to distill this statement down to one-sentence, but be sure to address both the technological and educational components of your proposal. “We propose to…”
Section B: Purpose of Proposal
What is the ‘why’ behind this project? What need does this project fill? Who has expressed this need? Answer should remain under 250 words.
Section C: Provide a Rough Budget Estimate
About how many thousands of dollars do you expect this project will cost? You can give a range as large as you need. Take a look online to see how much this project has cost other institutions or maybe the cost can be found easily on a website. Do not use Facilities Management to get a preliminary estimate for this part of the application.
Section D: Alignment with SAF Mission
The SAF Committee is looking for proposals that synergize with the goals defined in the SAF Program Mission Statement. Please outline the goals and desired outcomes of your proposed project and explain how they are aligned with the goals of the SAF Program.
Section E: Relationship with the Larger Context
While the SAF is not intended to fund any proposals which are required by state or federal law, university policy, or contractual agreement, how does your proposal fit within the larger context of Western as an institution? In other words, does your proposal support existing campus sustainability goals or commitments such as the Climate Action Plan, Zero Waste Western, the 10x12 Program, etc.? Visit Western’s Sustainability website for more information: sustain.wwu.edu. Alternatively, does your proposal create opportunities for new sustainability goals for Western? Answer should remain under 150 words.
4. CASE STUDIES
Are you aware of similar projects that were successful on other campuses or elsewhere? Find at least one example of the type of project you are working on at another institution, and describe what made them successful. Additional case studies will strengthen your proposal.
Items to find:
· Project home institution, title, and start date
· Purpose of the project?
· Size/scope of the project?
· Players/stakeholders involved?
· How is the project progressing now?
· Results?
Providing successful examples will also lend credibility to the project proposal, and will give the SAF Committee good benchmarks to use in determining whether to select your proposal for continuing on to the Design and Estimate Stage. Check out these great resources to begin researching:
· Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE): An organization that works to advance sustainability in all sectors of higher education and support campuses in meeting their sustainability goals. In order to access some of the information on this site, you will need to set up a new user account. When doing this, be sure to use your Western email so that you can get an account for free.
Two particularly good resources are the AASHE Bulletin Database and the Campus Operations Resources, which can be found at http://www.aashe.org/resources
· Subscribe to the Green School Listserv, a listserv that focuses on sustainable campus operations. To access this site, you will need to set up a new user account. When searching for information, be sure to search the archives first. If you cannot find what you are looking for, you can post a question to the listserv that will be sent to all active users. If they have information for you that they wish to share, they will respond to your post, which you will receive via email. If you wish to get the listserv emails sent to you in a daily digest (versus getting each individual email sent to your inbox), make sure to change your personal settings to indicate this. http://listserv.brown.edu/archives/cgi-bin/wa?A0=GRNSCH-L
5. PROJECT TEAM, PARTNERS, AND STAKEHOLDERS
Section A: Project Team
All members on the team – including the applicant – must provide a description of their relevant skill sets and/or knowledge, and an explanation of how they will ensure they have enough time to work on the project.
Each team can have between 2-4 members. Be aware that the project lead is the primary point of contact, and is responsible for ensuring full communication within his/her team and with the SAF Grant Program Coordinator and the SAF Committee. If the project duration is longer than the primary point of contact is attending Western Washington University, a plan of succession must be made. Indicate who the successor is in this section.
Section B: Project Partners and Stakeholders
Who are the stakeholders for this proposal? i.e. Who will be impacted (both positively and negatively) if this proposal comes to fruition? Who has say-so over whether your project can be implemented? Please list each stakeholder separately, and indicate how they will be impacted and whether their approval is required for the project to be implemented.
Example: A team applied to install a solar thermal system on the Wade King Recreation Center. The major stakeholder for this project was the Director of Campus Recreation Services.
It is important to identify those who will be impacted – both positively and negatively – by your project, and to determine how their needs and/or concerns will affect your project. As part of the review process of your Conceptual Application, the SAF Grant Program Coordinator may contact any or all of these stakeholders to obtain their input on your project in order to share it with the SAF Committee. Furthermore, during the review process, additional stakeholders may be identified beyond those listed in this section of your application as more technical feedback is gathered from the identified stakeholders. These additional stakeholders may be contacted for feedback as well. Feedback provided by stakeholders will be considered by the SAF Committee when they make their decisions.