Proposal for Funding

The proposal should be structured as follows and include the specified information.

I. Introduction

This section highlights the organization requesting an Advancing Student Achievement grant. Include data on the demographics of the population/community to be served and significant information that will show The Actuarial Foundation that the proposed grant work can be carried out.

II. Needs Assessment

What areas of mathematics are you addressing with this grant proposal? Your needs should be clearly defined and documented with evidence/data. Do research. Make the case for support in terms of the students and their specific areas of need.

III. Program Description

Describe your overall Advancing Student Achievement mentoring program plan encompassing the following elements:

Describe planned activities that will take place during the mentoring program. If the mentoring program includes several separate components, (after school math club, family math night, or classroom project) you MUST include the program description elements for each component.
Describe the NEED for outside volunteers (mentors) as a necessary component for this program.
Students this program will affect; grade level(s), number of students, ratio of students to mentor, etc.
Time, days, hours estimated for planned activities and volunteer commitments needed for the program. Indicate if the program will run by weeks, months, semesters, etc.

Note: Advancing Student Achievement is a two-year program grant; therefore, the proposal should reflect a two-year plan.

IV. Objectives

Objectives are the outcomes that the program is expected to produce. These outcomes must correlate with the needs you are intending to address within each component of your program. Objectives may include state math standards, student behaviors, student attendance and any other objectives you consider important to your particular program.

V. Mentoring Activities

Mentors help bridge the gap between classroom and workplace mathematics. They are not tutors but work on specific program projects or math enhancements. It is important to clearly define the role of the mentor in the program design and give the name of the school personnel responsible for communicating with the lead actuary volunteer mentor.

State explicitly:

the mentors participation in each activity described in your program proposal
the number of mentors required for each activity and the number of hours, days, times, etc. in order to maintain the program
how the mentors will be oriented to the program and to your school’s particular volunteer requirements.

VI. Evaluation

Describe how you will measure the success of the program in addressing the needs described in Section II, Needs Assessment. Evaluations are to be included in the required year-end report to the Foundation. There are two types of evaluations to consider:

product evaluation which evaluates the program’s results and the outcomes achieved as stated in Section IV; and
process evaluation that assesses the way the program was conducted. Input from those directly involved, i.e., parents, students, mentors, teachers, would work here.

VII. Future Funding

Describe how the educational value of your project will be continued beyond the completion of the grant. Will future funding be necessary and, if so, are there fundraising plans in place? The Actuarial Foundation's funding is for two years. The more specific the proposal is regarding future funding and program sustainability, the more confidence The Actuarial Foundation will have in providing funding. Subject to project evaluation, an additional third year of funding to obtain resources necessary for project sustainability may be possible.

VIII. Budget

Advancing Student Achievement grants are for a two-year budget period. Please submit the itemized budget showing a budget for both year one and year two. All budget items MUST relate to the mentoring activities described in the proposal. It is recommended that you contact the Foundation office to discuss this area of the Proposal for Funding for clarification of the desired format.

This is an ESTIMATE of the cost of the program. A degree of latitude is allowed in the actual spending as long as you do not exceed the total amount of the grant. Do not list vague categories like "miscellaneous" without an explanation. Make sure to include any in-kind funding, shared expenses, other partners and their involvement as this may strengthen the case for funding.

No license fees will be covered unless they are minimal. The proposal must be a new and unique program of that school or demonstrate needed expansion of an existing program. Only technology that is in the hands of the students and linked directly to the math mentoring program will be funded. No facility costs will be funded. Including and not limited to smart boards, servers, internet wiring, computer maintenance software, etc.

Programs