preparing successful administrative reviews & training ... · -tips for writing successful...

Preparing Successful Administrative Reviews & Training Grants and Team

Nutrition Grants

Donna Parsons, MS, RD

Washington State Director

Objectives:

The objectives today are to gain knowledge of:

-The process of applying for federal grants

-Tips for writing successful grants

-The essential items to include in your grant

-Examples for the use of grant funds

-The importance of Project Management

Types of Grants Available

• Administrative Reviews and Training (ART) Grants

–ART Grant Method I - Additional Administrative Reviews

–ART Grant Method II – Training and Oversight Activities

• Team Nutrition (TN) Grants

Other Types of Grants Available

• Direct Certification Grants

–Planning Grants

–Implementation Grants

• Farm to School Grants

• Other Opportunities – Pilots

• Information on federal grants

http://www.grants.gov

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/grants.htm

http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/

• Other sources for tips on writing grants https://www.cfda.gov

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/grant_tips.htm

Website Resources - Where to go

• Grants must be submitted electronically

through Grants.gov

• In order to apply for a grant, you must complete the Grants.gov registration process. The registration process can take three to five business days or as long as four weeks if all steps are not completed in a timely manner

Applying for Grants – Grants.gov

• Grants.gov does experience technical

difficulties. Do NOT wait until the last day to submit

• Plan well in advance. Expect delays. Start Early – even a full month will go by too fast

• Even if you write the grant yourself, be sure to have someone else proof/edit it

Grants.gov, continued

• Grant Announcements

• Forms

• Summaries of previous grants awarded

• A great place for gathering ideas and looking at funding amounts

USDA Food & Nutrition Service Grants

• Grant announcements

• A wealth of information

– Focus of TN Grants

– Summaries of previously awarded grants

– Webinars – Grant Writing 101, etc.

• State developed materials. Yes, use them.

Team Nutrition Grants

• Start early. Start early. Start early!

• Read grant application thoroughly before starting. And then read it again

• Follow grant instructions carefully

• Use verbiage from the grant announcement to frame the purpose of your grant

Tips for Writing Successful Grants

• Make sure your agency leadership is onboard and supportive

• Know your agency’s procedure for applying for grants

• Partner with IT, if applying for technology funds

Tips for Grant Writing, continued

• Prepare a realistic budget – include the staff you will need, indirect costs, phone, equipment, printing, postage, salary AND benefits. Consider hiring a Project Manager

• Don’t assume grant readers will know the subject matter. Explain in detail your needs

• Edit your application for spelling, content, and grammatical errors

Tips for Grant Writing, continued

• Be sure to double check your work

–The budget breakdown matches the narrative

–The amounts requested are the same throughout the grant write up

–You have included all the necessary forms – summary, proposal, budget narrative, etc.

–Additional forms are completed – Certification of lobbying, resumes, job descriptions, etc.

Tips for Grant Writing, continued

• Direct Certification – mid-December

– To improve the direct certification process

• ART Grant Method I – early January

– Funding for additional administrative reviews

• ART Grant Method II - late January

– Funding for identifying, reviewing, monitoring, and training LEAs that have demonstrated a high

– level of, or a high risk for, administrative error

Next Round of Grant Awards

• Replace outdated child nutrition system ‒ Simplify data entry and centralize applications ‒ Increase accuracy of claims using site-based claims ‒ Improve reporting accuracy and enhance reporting

capabilities

• Interface with other OSPI data systems ‒ Connect with OPSI’s Comprehensive Education Data and

Research System & Education Data System for data ‒ Provide reporting capabilities combining child nutrition

program data with other school data

Washington’s ART grant

• Improve program integrity and administrative accuracy ‒ CRE data module ‒ Incorporate meal analysis; track and analyze data ‒ Identify SFAs with high level of error ‒ Identify training needs ‒ Track corrective actions ‒ Increased accuracy in filing USDA reports ‒ Ad-Hoc reporting tool

Washington’s ART grant

Team Nutrition Grants

2010 Team Nutrition Grant

• Workshop for Food Service Directors on dietary guidelines and the Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC)

6 Workshops/144 Food Service Directors

• HUSSC promotion and development of HUSSC resources

• Technical assistance to LEA’s applying for HUSSC

2010 Team Nutrition Grant

Washington State HUSSC Winners! (as of 10/17/12)

2011 Team Nutrition Grant

• Workshops for Lead Cooks on scratch cooking, with focus on whole grains, vegetables and decreasing sodium

• Development of a Scratch Cooking Recipe Booklet

• Development of a Wellness Policy Toolkit

WA STATE – 2012 TN GRANT • Provide training to improve the nutritional quality

of the meals served in CACFP centers and homes by increasing the variety of fruits and vegetables served and increasing the proportion of whole grains offered.

• Supplement the training with nutrition education activities for the children with the goal of increasing acceptance of these foods when they are offered as part of a meal or snack.

2012 Team Nutrition Grants

2012 Team Nutrition Grants

• Noncompetitive –

Update HUSSC resources and provide technical assistance to LEA’s applying for HUSSC awards

Direct Certification Grant

• Purpose: Improve the State direct cert match rate

• Expected Outcome: Improved match rate (automatically qualify more students)

• 2010 Planning Grant

• 2011 Implementation Grant

Project Management

• What is Project Management?

‒ Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, managing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals

‒ A Project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end, undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value

Project Management, continued

‒ The primary concerns of project management are:

• Scope • Schedule • Budget

• And some add “Quality”

Project Management Project Charter

Project Management Plan

Action Item Management Plan

Issue Management Plan

Risk Management Plan

Communication Management Plan

Requirements Management Plan

Procurement Proposal Evaluation Plan

Procurement Q & A Management Plan

Rita’s Process Chart

QUESTIONS?

SHARING …

donna.parsons@k12.wa.us