USC
University of Southern California Good Neighbors Campaign External Relations
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Grant Application Grant Application

USC Neighborhood Outreach

USC Neighborhood Outreach is a non-profit organization funded by USC faculty and staff contributions to the Good Neighbors Campaign.

We welcome applications for grants from USC employees, academic units and outreach programs. Proposals are reviewed by a committee representative of staff and faculty from the Health Sciences and the University Park Campuses.

Proposals are selected based on community impact, cost-effectiveness, volunteer involvement and measurable progress toward achieving one or more of the university's community objectives.

Applicants to USC Neighborhood Outreach grants should realize that this is a competitive process and that not all requests will be satisfied. The demand is such that past-funded projects cannot assume that they will continue to be funded.

The number of applications for grants and the total amount of money requested by proposed projects and programs is substantially greater than our capacity. In 2007, we received 45 proposals totaling $1.1 million and we were able to fund 35 projects for a total of $791,682. Grants ranged from $3,500 to $50,042.

What can you do to enhance your chances of success?

  1. Read and follow the instructions for applicants fully: even if you've been successful in the past, be aware that some of the instructions and the forms have changed.
  2. Use the forms for the appropriate fiscal year. Do not use forms from past years as the application forms have changed.
  3. Provide information as requested:
    1. Do not submit lengthy proposals -- 20-page applications are detrimental to a thorough review and detract from the important points
    2. Please respect the limits when indicated and do not send attachments (the only exception is the proof of your partnering, community-based organization's non-profit/tax-exempt status).
    3. Flyers, brochures, newsletters, articles, etc. do not add value.
  4. Provide all the information requested:
    1. Make sure that you answer all questions and provide all of the details we ask for included in your application
    2. Fax your proof of non-profit/tax-exempt status to the Office of External Relations at: (213) 740-7459.
  5. Submit your application on time: Deadline is 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 31, 2008
  6. Preferred method of submission: e-mail your documents to neighbor@usc.edu to facilitate distribution to application reviewers. We will continue to accept hard copies if e-mail distribution causes hardship to the applicant. If submitting hard copies, please deliver 15 COPIES of the complete application to: Office of External Relations, 840 Childs Way, BKS 400, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-2542.

Eligibility
Proposal
Funding
Time Line
Application Form

Eligibility

Any benefits-eligible USC employee, group of employees, unit, department, school or combination of these is eligible if they partner with a community-based, tax-exempt organization that operates and has a home-base within the USC neighborhood outreach boundaries.

Health Sciences Campus boundaries: North: N. Broadway; South: Cesar Chavez Avenue; East: Indiana Street; West: Daly Street/Santa Ana (5) Freeway (please see map: http://www.usc.edu/ext-relations/ccr/private/atlas/Map4.pdf).

University Park Campus boundaries: North: Santa Monica/10 Freeway; South: Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd; East: Harbor/110 Freeway; West: Western Avenue (please see map: http://www.usc.edu/ext-relations/ccr/private/atlas/Map3.pdf.

Any grant proposal that shows clear evidence of a true USC-community partnership and meets one or more of the objectives below will be considered. Beginning with the 2008-2009 fiscal year, USC Neighborhood Outreach, in collaboration with local schools and community members, identified the need to focus on specific areas within the following four objectives:

  • Improves the quality of K-12 education, and the quality of life for children and their families. Special consideration will be given to proposals that include:

    - Science and math education programs that increase collaboration within and among schools and programs and engage students in creative and meaningful activities that promote student learning in science and math. Programs may support or supplement a school’s curriculum.
    - Health education in the area of obesity and diabetes. (e.g. sports programs, exercise and nutrition programs, educational programs on the reduction of obesity and diabetes)

  • Improves community safety through community policing or other initiatives.
    - Community safety through peace building, peace making, dispute resolution, mediation, etc. Focus on any of these areas should be integrated into the program content and/or delivery of any program category such as education, sports, theatre arts, music, and the like.

  • Provides assistance to projects that result in economic development, including entrepreneurial stimulation, neighborhood beautification and employability enhancement for local residents.

  • Provides assistance to organizations that offer opportunities for home ownership to long-term, low-income USC employees who live in our neighborhoods.

    Applicants are encouraged to integrate the new focus into their existing program content and/or delivery.

    Proposal

    The USC partner must attend a mandatory grant writing workshop (see timeline below for dates), prepare, and submit the funding proposal. Funded proposals are announced in May, and checks made out to the community partners are distributed through the USC partners in July. The grants committee may interview USC partners whose proposals have advanced to the final round of the evaluation process.

    Each proposal must represent a partnership between one or more community-based organizations and one or more USC individual/unit. The partnership should use USC Neighborhood Outreach dollars to leverage other funding.

    The successful proposal will contain:

    • Objectives and Goals
    • Evidence of a genuine partnership between USC and the community
    • Evidence of community input into organizations planning process
    • Impact and visibility, including target population and number affected
    • An implementation plan
    • An assessment of impact and evaluation of results
    • A future plan, including how the project will continue without USC Neighborhood Outreach funding
    • Proof that the community-based partner is a corporation in good standing with tax-exempt status

    Funding

    The demand for funding by USC Neighborhood Outreach grants is far greater than we can satisfy. There are many deserving projects/programs applying for funding that will be disappointed. No project/program, regardless of past funding, is entitled to continued funding. A limited number of signature programs, which receive on-going funding commitments, must nevertheless prepare interim and final reports to comply with the UNO due diligence process.

    The grant period is one year. Grants will be disbursed in two payments during the grant period (see disclosure statement in Section I of the grant application). USC Neighborhood Outreach (UNO) Grant funds may not be used to cover stipends/wages for USC faculty or staff. Funds may be used to pay stipends/wages for USC students. Grant money may also be used to pay stipends/wages or consulting fees for community partners not to exceed 50% of the total project budget. Beginning with the 2008-2009 fiscal year the general range for hourly wages is $8 to $24 per hour with justification of the amount. Any proposals containing rates in excess of this range must provide the rationale for such rates and are subject to approval. Checks will be made payable to the community partner. Projects are eligible for renewal on a competitive basis.

    The criteria used in selecting grant recipients and in determining awards is at the discretion of the grants committee with approval from the USC Neighborhood Outreach Board of Directors. Such determinations are not subject to review by any other party.

    UNO Grant Writing Workshops

    Attendance at one of the grant writing workshops by the "USC Partner" is required to apply for a grant. RSVP required to: neighbor@usc.edu

    • 2008 Time Line

    • January 16th: Request for proposals (RFP) available
    • January 31st: Interim report due (first of two reports)
    • February: 2nd check issued following review of satisfactory interim report
    • February 20th: Grant writing workshop, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. at the USC Community Computing Center, University Village
    • February 26th: Grant writing workshop, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. at the USC Leavey Library Auditorium at UPC
    • March 4th: Grant writing workshop, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. at the USC Keck School of Medicine, KAM 505, on the Health Sciences campus;
    • March 28th: Grant writing workshop, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at the USC Leavey Library Auditorium at UPC
    • March 31st: Proposals due by 5:00 p.m. via e-mail attachment to neighbor@usc.edu
    • April-May: Grants committee reviews proposals and selects grant recipients
    • June 10th: Grants announced at a special ceremony at the Health Sciences Campus
    • June 12th: Grants announced at a special ceremony at the University Park Campus
    • June 30th: Final report due
    • July: First check issued to community partner (continuing programs must submit current year's final report before new project funding is advanced)

    Application Form
    2008-2009 USC Neighborhood Outreach Grant Application Form (Word Doc)

    Please follow these instructions when creating and submitting forms:

    • Save the application form to your computer (must click on "save as").
    • Fill it out electronically and write any additional materials in a separate Word document.
    • Attach the form to an e-mail and send it to neighbor@usc.edu.

    UNO Grant On-line Reporting

    We are proud to announce the launching of the newly developed USC Neighborhood Outreach WebTool. The new online application is intended to facilitate your grant reporting responsibilities by providing data to us directly online as well as to assist us in effectively collecting program data.

    Access the UNO WebTool at: http://unoapp.uscgroups.com

    If you encounter any difficulties with the online application, please send them via email to neighbor@usc.edu or call (213) 740-6880.

    Updated April 2008