SUMMARY
Volunteer Generation Fund American Rescue Plan (VGF ARP) grant funds support planning and starting new mentoring programs in any school serving students in any grades ranging from K-12 to help students succeed academically and support their mental health and overall wellbeing. Funding is provided for school staff time to develop a youth mentoring program in accordance with the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ with consulting provided. Schools funded under this RFA will be required to 1) Create policies and procedures for a youth mentoring program; 2) Begin operation of a mentoring program with active mentoring matches; and 3) Create a sustainability plan for a mentoring program beyond the grant funding.
Potential applicants are required to apply to Volunteer Iowa through our grant management system, IowaGrants. Applications for funding are due on May 1, 2023, 3 pm CST.
ABOUT VOLUNTEER IOWA
Volunteer Iowa’s mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. Iowa MENTOR is a Volunteer Iowa program with the mission to promote, support, and build quality mentoring relationships by elevating the capacity of programs, systems, and policies that foster proven results for Iowa.
OVERVIEW
The Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service (Volunteer Iowa) is pleased to announce a funding opportunity for Iowa schools through the Volunteer Generation Fund American Rescue Plan. This funding will leverage the skills and experience of volunteers in Iowa to mentor students in grades K-12 in support of the National Partnership for Student Success .
Mentoring relationships have the potential to positively influence a range of factors for academic success, including school connectedness, school engagement, educational self -confidence, and attitudes toward school. Mentoring services can be provided in a variety of programmatic formats, including but not limited to one-to-one, group, peer, school-based, and community-based. Iowa MENTOR provides resources and guidance to develop a successful and sustainable mentoring program.
The 2023 funding opportunity represents year one of a three-year federal appropriation. A continuation application will be released for subsequent years funding.
PURPOSE OF SUB-GRANTS
Volunteer Iowa will provide grant funding to up to four schools interested in providing additional supportive relationships, mentoring, for students to support a wide range of positive academic and non-academic outcomes.
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
Any school in the state of Iowa serving students in any grades ranging from K-12 that have the capacity and passion to support planning and starting a new youth mentoring program to be sustained beyond grant period are eligible to apply .
REQUIRED ACTIVITIES FOR YEAR ONE
Create a policy and procedure manual based on Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™. Recruit a minimum of ten mentors Participate in a minimum of twelve consultation calls for program development and operation guidance Commit to create a sustainability plan for the program
YEAR TWO and THREE REQUIRED ACTIVITIES:
FUNDS
Selected applicants will receive a total of $20,000, and up to four contracts will be awarded. Sub-grantees will receive funds for staff time for planning and implementation. After the first year, sub-grantees will have the opportunity to renew the grant for two subsequent years, for a total of three project years, provided they meet the criteria demonstrating they have followed grant requirements and met program outcomes.
Awards under this RFA are subject to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), in 2 CFR Parts 200 and 2205. The source of funds for the VGF ARP competition is a federal award from AmeriCorps CFDA Number 94.021.
OVERVIEW WEBINAR:
Volunteer Iowa will host a grant overview webinar on March 30, 2023. Advance registration for the webinar is required. If there are no attendees, the webinar will not be held. During the webinar, we will review the Request for Applications document and the IowaGrants application site. If time allows, we will address questions. The webinar will be recorded and made available on the IowaGrants website.
Date: March 30, 2023
Time: 9:30 am-10:30 am
Registration Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/registration/Rjl9DshYxEC1ygSrZ96RRQ,1CpRSenbpk2eGj5rbvbuhA,bMtGw8FACUKQ8rBMbx6thQ,58QvHdyF3kqOzf9qxxfEyQ,sKrPbsHJgk6uN-jz152Tng,uxNuiv2yHEqBhlLWTThv-A?mode=read&tenantId=0e7d3946-58c8-40c4-b5ca-04ab67de9145
*Note: Advance registration is required.
Clarification and Questions: To ensure equitable treatment for all applicants, any questions must be submitted through the Ask a Question feature in IowaGrants. This feature is viewable once you have logged into IowaGrants. Responses to questions will be posted on the Funding Opportunities Details page for the opportunity in IowaGrants. The final date for submitting questions is April 14,2023 at 3 p.m. Questions submitted after this time are not guaranteed to be answered.
APPLICATION DEADLINES AND TIMELINE
Application Open in Iowa Grants March 15, 2023
Overview Webinar March 30, 2023
Clarification Questions due to Volunteer Iowa: April 14, 2023, 3 pm
Responses to Clarification Questions posted April 19, 2023
Application Proposals due to Volunteer Iowa: May 1, 2023, 3 PM
Selection of Awardees Announced June 1, 2023
Start Date: July 1, 2023
Applicants must submit their completed grant applications with attachments in IowaGrants by 3:00 pm CST on May 1, 2023.
