Guidelines
for Submitting Proposals
The
total annual funding is anticipated to range between $30,000 and $50,000. An individual grant is not expected to exceed
$15,000 - $20,000 per year. Matching
funds are encouraged. Funding decisions
will be made by the SLRREF Board, which consists of representatives from the
New York Power Authority, New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Save the
River, St. Lawrence – Lewis Board of Cooperative Education Services, St.
Lawrence County Planning Office, St. Lawrence Adirondack Audubon Society, and a
representative from a local municipality within the Project boundary on a rotating
basis.
Who may apply*
* The fund is not
intended to support individual classroom projects unless they are part of a
development program for a school district.
When to apply
There will be two deadlines for the
submittal of proposals. The first
deadline will be January 1 and the second deadline will be July 1. The Board anticipates that funding decisions
for proposals submitted by January 1 will be made on or about the end of
March. If all the funds for the year are
disbursed during the first deadline period then proposals submitted for the
July deadline could be automatically carried over to the following year, if
requested by the applicant. If funds
remain after the Board has approved projects from the first deadline period,
the Board anticipates that funding decisions for proposals submitted by July 1 will
be made on or about the end of August.
The Board is seeking simple proposals,
generally 1 to 2 pages, using the attached proposal form. Proposal forms should be filled out following
these guidelines and should include the following information:
Instructions to fill out specific sections
of the form are provided below.
Applicant Information
Date:
submittal date
1.
Applicant’s Information
a) Primary contact: this should be the person
responsible for the project
b) Organization/Agency: name of agency/organization
that the primary contact represents
c) Address: address of primary contact
d) Phone: phone number of primary contact
e) E-mail: e-mail of primary contact
If
there are other supporting organizations, these entities shall be identified
along with the above information.
2. Type of Project (check one): Self-explanatory
3. Project Name and Description
Provide
a descriptive name for the project and its goals and objectives. Summarize the project and project location, including
how it will a) increase the knowledge or awareness of the natural environment;
b) further the state of knowledge of one or more aspects of the St. Lawrence
River ecosystem; c) provide environmental education or outreach benefits of
either a) or b) above. Provide your
schedule for achieving the objectives within the proposed project
timeframe. Explain how the benefits of
the project would be measured and evaluated.
In
addition to these elements, environmental research proposals should include a
description of the scientific basis of the research project, including
objectives and target species/natural community and appropriate technical
expertise of the researcher.
Environmental education proposals should include a delivery mechanism
(i.e., workshop, conference, etc.), and the audience it intends to reach.
Attach letters
of support from a sponsoring body, tribal council or municipality in which this
project will be implemented. If the project
involves private property, include property ownership information and
permission regarding the property upon which the proposal will be implemented.
4. Budget **
List the types of and costs per activities/work
element on which you will spend the SLRREF funds. Include information on available matching
funds, total project cost and requested funding amount.
Under “Salaries”, provide details on
the number of hours and hourly rate of personnel involved in the implementation
of the project.
Under “Labor/Contractors”, specify the
nature and cost of such services and how these costs were determined.
List under “Equipment/Materials” any
information on equipment to be leased plus categories of supplies and their
prices. The fund is intended to provide
the materials necessary to conduct the research or develop a program. This is a limited fund and it is not intended
to provide the means to purchase large or expensive pieces of equipment (e.g.,
boat, computers, microscope, etc.) needed to conduct the project. Justification for the purchasing of a large
or expensive piece of equipment should be included in the proposal.
Use “Other” to include other expenses
that do not fall under the above categories.
Applicants
are encouraged to submit a tight budget.
However, to cover price increases of hard items after a proposal is
submitted, such as equipment and material which prices could increase over
time, the SLRREF Board will consider approving a contingency not to exceed 10%
of the Equipment/Material and Other budget line items. The Applicant may include a contingency of up
to 10% of the sum of Equipment/Material and Other. Disbursement of the contingency will only be
made after a formal request is submitted by the applicant in writing (hard copy
or via e-mail) to the Chair and should include information to substantiate the
request such as:
** The fund is not intended to pay for
personal expenses (such as meals,
memberships). Overhead expenses
will usually not be considered as part of this fund unless covered by matching
funds.
5 .
Payment Arrangements
Award
payments may be withheld and the award may be cancelled if conditions or
requirements associated with the award are not achieved.
6. Schedule
Include
a project schedule, indicate start and completion dates, and at what point over
the months a significant action, event or milestone will occur.
Once
funding is approved the agency/organization must submit periodic progress
reports after completion of major milestones.
Disbursements will be made after review of progress reports. Final payment will be released upon receiving
and approving the final progress report and work products, as appropriate.
Progress
reports should be submitted to the Board sponsor and the Board Chair. Submittal of progress reports shall be directly
tied to the project schedule. The
reports should specify technical and other reporting requirements to measure
the recipient’s progress. Problems or
unexpected events, if any, should be described.
Photographs of project progress are suggested. Materials developed should be construed as non-proprietary.
Final reports/results will be posted at
the New York Power Authority’s webpage.
Payment
of funds will be tied to progress reports and milestone achievements.
Progress
reports should include the following sections:
1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results (if applicable)
4. Conclusions (if applicable)
5. Budget
In
the event that a project cannot be completed by the original project completion
deadline, applicant shall request in writing the extension of project
completion deadline with reasons for such request. Requests shall be provided as soon as
pertinent but at least thirty (30) days before the original project completion
deadline. Applicant shall demonstrate
extension of project completion deadline is required due to circumstances
beyond his/her control and ascertain that all other conditions of original
grant agreement remain the same.
Applicants
shall submit one copy of the proposal, type written and in the English
language. Electronic copies will be also
accepted. Proposals shall be mailed to:
Maria L. Garcia
Toirac
(914) 287-3445
(Voice)
(914) 681-6613 (Fax)
maria.toirac@nypa,gov (email)