Procedures and Rubric

The Perkiomen Valley School District Foundation (“Foundation”), in its discretion, annually solicits and awards grants to teachers and other personnel of the Perkiomen Valley School District (“PVSD”). The Foundation adopts this procedure to guide its efforts in the grant solicitation and award process and to provide information to prospective grant applicants. The Foundation will endeavor to award grants in the Fall and the Spring of each school year. However, the determination whether to solicit grants and/or to award grants in each of these time periods will be in the sole discretion of the Foundation, and that determination will be guided by the funds then-available to the Foundation and the consideration of other expenditures, endeavors and factors.

With respect to the solicitation, processing and award of grants to PVSD teachers and staff, the Foundation adopts the following protocols and rubric:

The Fall grant round is expected to open in September and close in October, on dates established by the Foundation.

Applicants may be asked to attend a Foundation Board meeting to make a short presentation of the application and answer questions that Board members may have about the applications. Consideration of Fall applications will likely take place before the end of the first semester.

The Spring grant round is expected to open in February and close in March, on dates established by the Foundation.

Applicants may be asked to attend a Foundation Board meeting to make a short presentation of the application and answer questions that Board members may have about the applications. Consideration of Spring applications will likely take place before the end of the school year.

Applicants are expected to submit applications by the dates established by the Foundation.

If applications are submitted late, the Foundation may choose to consider the application, may choose to delay consideration of the application to the subsequent grant round or may return the application to the applicant without consideration, in the Foundation’s sole discretion.

The Foundation will solicit for grant applicants via the Foundation’s website, the Perk E Mail, the Perkolator, through social media or other avenues.

In addition, the Foundation will ask the PVSD Superintendent, or his/her designee, to notify principals, teachers and staff about Foundation grant opportunities and deadlines for grant applications via interdistrict communications, faculty meetings, email or other appropriate means, in an effort to maximize staff knowledge about such opportunities.

The Foundation shall determine the means through which applications should be submitted, and applicants are expected to provide applications in the requested format and method. The method may be electronically, through hard copy or both.

Applications should clearly articulate what is being requested; the timeline for implementation; the goals that will be achieved through the project and/or purchase; how those goals support a PVSD, school or department goal; and how the project and/or purchase will enrich the educational experience for PVSD students.

For those applications that propose the purchase of technology or equipment, the applicant should also address what facility or infrastructure changes are needed to accommodate the program/purchase, and whether there are any costs associated with the facility or infrastructure changes. Applicants are expected to consult with administration, the facilities department, the technology department and/or the business office prior to submission to determine what the facility or infrastructure changes and costs would be, and whether the grant application needs to reflect any additional costs. The Grant Evaluation Rubric included as Attachment “A” will be utilized as a tool to assist in the evaluation of grant applications. The following additional guidance is provided to applicants:

1. Applications may relate, but are not required to relate, to STEM offerings.
2. Applications may seek an award to cover costs for software, hardware, equipment, materials, supplies, speakers, registration fees and/or competition fees, for example.
3. Typically, costs for travel or lodging for staff or students will not be granted.
4. For the Spring Grant Round, the Foundation welcomes applications that would increase equity in programs or opportunities among buildings within PVSD. Such applications could include, but are not limited to: extending a successful curricular program in use in one building to another; increasing the number of technology offerings in a building that may not be as equitably served as other buildings; or bringing in a speaker or event that was successful in another building. Such applications may come from a central office administrator, a building principal, a teacher or other staff member and/or a group of staff members.
5. Finances permitting, the Foundation will also accept and approve grant applications in the Spring that are not equitable in nature. However, the priority for the Spring grant round will be for “equity” proposals.

The Foundation will seek the input and evaluation of the Superintendent and/or his/her designee regarding each application to assist the Foundation in determining how individual grant requests fit within the goals, needs and priorities of PVSD, and what impact such requests might have on a particular building or the district as a whole.

Such information should include, as appropriate, how the request fits into PVSD technology or curricular needs and capabilities; impact on and compatibility with existing programs, systems or equipment; and whether there would be a backlog or delay in the installation or use of any technology or equipment due to staffing, capacity or other limitations. The Foundation expects that grant funds would be utilized and the initiatives in the proposals undertaken as soon as possible following the award.

The Superintendent and/or his/her designee shall meet with the President, the Executive Committee of the Foundation and/or their designees to discuss the grant applications and also to provide responses to questions about the grant applications or other factors that the Foundation might have.

Applicants are expected to promptly respond to questions or inquiries from the Foundation and/or the PVSD administration regarding their proposals, so that proposals can be timely considered by the Foundation Board. The Foundation, however, is not obligated to solicit additional information from an applicant.

The President of the Foundation, the Executive Committee of the Foundation and/or their designees shall review the grant applications and information provided by PVSD and present that information to the Foundation Board for consideration prior to the Foundation Board’s vote.

The Foundation Board shall have sole and complete authority to award grants to PVSD teachers and staff and to determine the amount of each award.

Amounts awarded may not be in the exact amount requested by the applicant, and may include limitations or requirements governing the use of any awarded funds.

Upon award and after all necessary approvals of donations are obtained from PVSD, information will be provided to the PVSD Business Office so that ASN numbers can be assigned.

The applicant will then receive a letter from the Foundation President or his/her designee notifying the applicant of the award, the amount awarded and any requirements or limitations for the use of the grant. The PVSD Business Office will prepare and provide the necessary and appropriate documentation for each awarded applicant to access the grant money. Applicants must comply with the Business Office procedures and requirements or the grant award may be forfeited.

The PVSD Business Office will periodically reconcile accounts to determine the amount of grant funds utilized in comparison to the actual awards.

Absent extenuating circumstances, any grant funds that are not used by the grantees within one calendar year following the award will be returned to the accounts of the Foundation for other use.