Maine Youth Act Mini-grants For Middle School, Junior/Senior High Classrooms, and

Community Youth Groups

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

ISSUED BY THE MAINE COMMISSION FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE 105 State House Station, 19 Elkins Lane Room 105

Augusta, ME. 04333WWW.MAINESERVICECOMMISSION.GOV

Applications due: October 1, 2019 by 4pm EST.IntroductionThe Maine Youth Act Mini-grant Program challenges middle and high school aged students to understand Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the “Beloved Community” and then take action in their community on an issue by planning a volunteer service project for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 2020.

This program is co-sponsored by the Maine Commission for Community Service and the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation.

The mission of the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation is to support various programs throughout the State of Maine, and beyond when

appropriate, which will enhance the lives of individuals and communities with Masonic ties. There are over 180 Masonic Lodges across Maine. Free-

masonry is a worldwide fraternity of men who are looking to improve themselves and their communities.

The Maine Commission for Community Service’s mission is to foster and inspire community service and volunteerism to address critical needs in the State of Maine. Known as Volunteer Maine, the Commission builds capacity and sustainability in Maine's volunteer and service communities by funding programs, developing managers of volunteers, raising awareness of sector issues, and promoting service as a strategy to resolve community issues.

Both believe that service to the community is a fundamental building block of a civil society; cultivates a sense of personal and civic responsibility; is a strategy for solving a range of community problems; and is a lifelong habit that can be most easily acquired early in life.

The Maine Youth Act Selection Committee will choose nine proposals to receive awards of $600 to support planning and carrying out a student/youth-driven service project. Proposals will be selected using criteria outlined in this “Request for Applications.”

Award recipients are strongly urged to invite the local Masonic Lodge to be a partner or participate in the January 20 event. To identify the leadership in your area, contact the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation Executive Director, Susan Scacchi at director@masoniccharitablefoundation.org or the foundation secretary, Daniel Bartlett, grandsecretary@mainemason.org.

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January 20, 2020. A Day On. Not A Day OffIn 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday, the third Monday in January, as a national day of service.

The King Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service – a “day on, not a day off.” The King Day of Service aims to empower individuals, strengthen communities, overcome barriers, address social problems, and move us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community.”

While Maine Youth Act projects are expected to occur on January 20 of 2020, we do recognize that weather and other winter factors play a role in selecting the local date. Therefore, projects receiving awards may take place between January 17 and 24, 2020.

Connection to “Building the Beloved Community”“The Beloved Community” is a term that was first coined in the early days of the 20th Century by the philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce. However, it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who popularized the term and invested it with a deeper meaning which has captured the imagination of people all over the world.

For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not an altruistic goal but rather a realistic, achievable goal. It could be attained by people working together to end poverty, hunger, homelessness, racism, prejudice, violence, bullying, and other conditions that divide or weaken community. Dr. King’s Beloved Community was not devoid of interpersonal, group or international conflict. Instead he recognized that conflict was an inevitable part of human experience. But he believed that conflicts could be resolved peacefully and adversaries could be reconciled through a mutual, determined commitment to nonviolence that led them to cooperate in a spirit of kindness and compassion.

Six Steps in a Maine Youth Act ProjectA Maine Youth Act grant recipient begins in the fall term with an introduction to Dr. King’s concept of “The Beloved Community” and age-appropriate discussion of what social justice issues are getting in the way of their own community being a resilient, thriving, and inclusive, safe place.

Second, the students identify an issue they want to impact and research all sides of the issue in the community so they understand what sustains it, what could change it, and what can be done in the short term to mitigate the impact.

Third, students review what they’ve learned about the issue and select an action strategy to begin mitigating the impact of the issue. This launches the project planning for an event on MLK Day 2020 that engages the community both within and outside the school. At this point, students decide what blend of community advocacy/education and direct action through volunteer service their project will have.

Fourth, students determine what community partners might support their effort. Are there other organizations working on the same issue? Are there community members – individuals, businesses, nonprofits, municipal offices – who share their concern? Would they join forces or lend expertise to the student goals? They reach out to these potential partners and supporters with the purpose of engaging them in carrying out the project.

Fifth, students prepare to execute the project by identifying tasks to be accomplished not only on the day of the event but in this preparation phase, listing resources needed to carry out the tasks (location, people, materials, supplies, transportation,

safety training or equipment, technology to document event, etc.), assigning preparation tasks to peers and community partners who are helping,

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describing opportunities for community volunteers to help on the day and communicating those through local media,

developing a “Plan B” in case the January weather does not cooperate.

Sixth, students and their partners along with community volunteers implement their service plan, document the event and the results, report the results to their partners and the volunteers, show appreciation to supporters, and reflect on what they learned in the experience.

To help adult advisors and students organize steps two through six, download the project manual “Youth Changing the Works” by Youth Service America. The manual is free but users are asked to provide their name and email to YSA. The internet address is http://ysa.org/resources/#1531255350122-580ea233-1dc7.

Eligible Applicants Eligible applicants include local school districts (on behalf of individual classes/grades), nonprofit organizations, civic groups with a nonprofit status, state and local government agencies, faith-based organizations and congregations. We are unable to make awards to individuals, for-profit entities, or organizations that are not-for-profit.

Types of Assistance  Cash Awards. MLK Day of Service Awards valued at $600 are available. These cash awards are intended to

assist in planning and implementing the Maine Youth Act projects for MLK Day of Service. Funds awarded must be matched $1-to-$0.50 with cash and/or in-kind support (space, materials, hours of staff effort or donated professional service, advertising to the community, supplies, etc.). This means an award of $600 would be matched with $300 cash/in-kind while an award of $500 would need a $250 match cash/in-kind. All match needs to be documented by receipts or statements of value from donors/providers.

o Unallowable Expenses: The award funds may not be used to fund religious instruction/worship/proselytization; speakers’ honoraria or fees; celebrations or banquets; or other activity not connected with actual student planning or community volunteer service. Although celebrations, parades, and recognition ceremonies may be a part of the activities that you plan, those activities will have to be underwritten by other community donations.

o Payment Schedule for Awards: Funds will be paid in two amounts. The first $500 will be paid upon completion of the third step (review of learning and selection of action strategy) and submission of both a brief description of youth progress-to-date and invoice for planning work. The report of progress may be written by students as part of the experience. The final $100 will be paid upon submission of the final project report on or before Friday, January 31, 2020.

State and National Promotion of Local Projects: The Commission will use information provided by grant recipients to promote Maine’s MLK Day of Service participation to state and national media. The Commission will coordinate local media promotion with the award recipient and assist if requested.

Project planning resource materials: “Youth Changing the Works” by Youth Service America. The manual is free but users are asked to provide their name and email to YSA. The internet address is http://ysa.org/resources/#1531255350122-580ea233-1dc7.

Award Criteria Applications will be assessed using the following selection criteria:

1. Plan and timeline for student/youth project planning, preparation, and implementation (65%)

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a. Brief description of the youth/students who will participate in the Maine Youth Act project. Include how many, age range, and the common tie (in the same class, belong to same youth group, etc.) that ensures they will be able to work together.

b. Brief description of the specific adults (names, relationship to students) who will guide the students through the planning and implementation of the Maine Youth Act project.

c. Description of how and when students/youth will be introduced to Dr. King’s “Building the Beloved Community”. Include the plan for giving students time to reflect on how this concept connects to their lives and community.

d. Outline completion dates for the six steps and describe the indicators of completion. e. Identification of planning guide adults will provide students to structure their progress through the

steps. While the Youth Service America manual is referenced in this application, grant recipients are not required to use it. The committee recognizes that Scouts, Extension, and other groups have guides that are equally as useful.

f. Description of when and how as well as who will be responsible for leading a structured reflection for youth/students after completion of the project on January 20. This activity is essential to deepening their learning and ability to take on future community project leadership roles.

g. Commitment to complete the community event on January 20. 2. Applicant Organization’s Capacity (10%)

a. Evidence the applicant organization is an eligible entity as described in the instructionsb. Ability to manage implementation of the project, document match, and complete of reports.

3. Budget Adequacy and Cost (25%) a. Project budget is realistic and represents allowable costs necessary for the project success. b. Project includes local in-kind or cash match ($1:$1).

Reflection Activity Tips Over and over, research has shown that reflection is the step that helps people tie a service experience to personal learning and awareness. Reflection increases the impact on the person who serves. It’s the added “gift” you can give students/youth, partners, and volunteers.

Reflection is usually scheduled for the end of the project event. It can be small group discussion over snacks but it can also take the form of interviews by teams of “reporters” who record individuals’ thoughts electronically. (Great material for a video final report!) A creative or craft person might devise a way for participants to reflect their insights artistically. Whatever form you give to your volunteers’ reflection activity, be sure to pose some thoughtful questions and give them time to mull over the answers.

Here are some questions that you can use to help people focus and reflect. Feel free to pick and choose.- What did you expect the experience would be like? What was different from your expectations? - What did you know about this issue before working on this project? What did you learn that made the biggest impression on you?- Does this issue impact your community in a way that calls for more action? Why or why not?- How does this issue impact Maine? Do volunteers have a role in addressing it? - During the service, what did you see or hear or notice that will remain with you as a memory of the time?

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Timeline

October 1, 2019 Applications due by 4pm local time. October 15, 2019 Announcement of awards made at Maine Volunteer Leadership

Conference, UMaine, Orono.October 28-31, 2019 Process the award paperwork. (Recipients must be available during this

period to sign documents and return them promptly!) December 9 – 20, 2019 Reports on student/youth progress and invoice for payment due.

Address for submission will be in award paperwork.No later than December 27, 2019 Payments made to award recipients. Note that reports and invoices

will be processed as they are received so earlier submissions may receive payment for the school holiday break.

January 20, 2020 Maine Youth Act projects carried out.January 31, 2020 Project reports due so that Maine activities can be included in national

press and reporting.

Application Content and Instructions Applications for the service project award must be submitted online. The link for the online form is located at MaineServiceCommissin.gov or at this internet address: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mya-minigrant. A template showing the fields and questions in the online form is attached as Appendix A.

Deadline for submitting is October 1, 2019 by 4pm EST

Budgets must show formula calculations for items. Two examples are here: 8 hours hall rental @ $10/hour = $80 100 copies X $0.05 = $5.00

There is an excellent, simple online guide, “In-kind Donations: Hidden Assets for Your Organization.” It can be found at this location: http://www.strengtheningnonprofits.org/resources/e-learning/online/inkinddonations/Print.aspx

Project Selections and Award Decisions All applications for funds will be assessed by a panel of reviewers many with expertise in volunteer service projects. They will read and rate each proposal using the criteria and traits described above. The maximum possible score is 100. Awards will be made to the highest-ranking proposals.

The decision of the award selection panel regarding the award is a final decision of the Maine Commission for Community Service.

Reporting Requirements All award recipients will be required to submit a project report. The data will be submitted via an online form and is due by 1/31/20. The report will request a description of what was done, where, how many people volunteered, how much was accomplished, and what impact the project had on the community (e.g., number of people receiving health information or number of families receiving energy saving window inserts).

If students compile a video or slide show report, that may take the place of narrative sections. Lastly a list of actual expenditures to document expenses and in-kind match will be required. An in-kind invoice template will be provided for your use.

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Appendix A: Questions in online application form Applicants may want to prepare the answers in a word processing document and just cut/paste them into the form. This would avoid any loss of information if your internet service is disrupted.

1. Applicant contact information Name, Title, Sponsoring Organization/Agency, Address, City, State, Zip Code, County, Email, Phone

2. Second project contact information, if applicable (same as above)

3. Applying organization’s EIN

4. Briefly describe the youth/students who will participate in the Maine Youth Act project. Include how many, age range, and the common tie (in the same class, belong to same youth group, etc.) that ensures they will be able to work together

5. Identify and describe the specific adults (names, relationship to students, experience with advising on projects) who will guide the students through the planning and implementation of the Maine Youth Act project.

6. Describe how and when students/youth will be introduced to Dr. King’s “Building the Beloved Community”. Include the plan for giving students time to reflect on how this concept connects to their lives and community.

7. Outline completion dates for the six steps and describe the indicators of completion.

8. Name the planning guide adults will provide students to structure their progress through the steps. While the Youth Service America manual is referenced in this application, grant recipients are not required to use it. The committee recognizes that Scouts, Extension, and other groups have guides that are equally as useful.

9. Describe when and how as well as who will be responsible for leading a structured reflection for youth/students and community participants after completion of the project on January 20.

10. Provide the anticipated date for the community event.

11. Provide evidence the applicant organization is an eligible entity as described in the instructions. Describe the applicants experience in managing small grant projects and service by students. Provide a description of how the school/organization financial office will document match.

12. Please prepare your budget using the table on the next page. Save the page as its own document in either DOC, DOCX, or PDF format so you can upload it into the application. (I.e., the file should be 1 page with only your budget table.) To ensure file handling is smooth, use your LAST NAME_FIRST INITIAL as the file name.

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Maine Youth Act Mini-grant Budget

Name of Applicant Organization:

Name of Primary Contact on the Application:

In this table, document your anticipated expenses in the budget form. Remember the award is for $600 and requires a $0.50 match of in-kind or cash for each award dollar. At this stage, you only need to indicate the materials or service you anticipate will comprise the match (e.g., faculty time, space for students to meet and work on project).

Budget Item Description and CalculationCharge toAwarded Funds

Charge toMatch Funds

ItemTotal

Grand Totals % distribution of Award and Match 100%

Save only this page as its own document in either DOC, DOCX, or PDF format so you can upload it into the application. (I.e., the file should be 1 page with only your budget table.) To ensure file handling is smooth, use your LAST NAME_FIRST INITIAL as the file name.

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