Grant Program: Top 10 Questions Answered

1. When is the deadline?
Proposals submitted must be postmarked or hand delivered to the WEEB office by February 15, 2008

Submit to:  Wisconsin Environmental Education Board
110B College of Natural Resources
UW-Stevens Point
800 Reserve Street
Stevens Point, WI 54481.

Proposals may not be submitted by fax, email or other electronic means.

2. Who is eligible?
Corporations (nonstock, nonprofit corporations registered under chapter 181 of state statutes) public agencies; tribal governments, private nonprofit colleges and universities are eligible if the school is not pervasively sectarian, including the absence of sectarian entrance and graduation requirements; and private preschools, elementary and high schools are eligible provided that a corporation or public agency applies for funds on their behalf and they meet certain criteria. (For more specific information about eligibility for the various WEEB grant programs jump to Program Overview: Eligibility.)

Previous grant recipients must have submitted all previously required reports to be awarded funds from the 2007-2008 grant cycle. Contact the WEEB office if uncertain whether this criterion has been met.

3. How much money is available this year?
The grants program is financed by state-appropriated funds and private donations. The WEEB anticipates $510,000 will available for the July 2008 - December 2009 grant cycle. Sources for these funds are: the Forestry Account of the Conservation Fund ($390,000), assessments on environmental fines (estimated at $45,000), Focus on Energy ($85,000) and donations.

4. How much money may I apply for?

An institution (and even an individual project director/principle grant writer) may submit more than one proposal within the same or differing grant categories.

5. What can I use the money for?

Eligible expenditure categories include:

• Salaries and honoraria,

• Fringe benefits,

• In-state travel, meals, and lodging (not associated with the cost of attending, presenting, or exhibiting at conferences),

• Materials and supplies.

Ineligible expenditure categories include: Expenses or funds encumbered prior to July 1, 2008 or after December 31, 2009, Religious activity or instruction, Salaries and honoraria which spay a private school instructor's base salary, Costs of attending, presenting or exhibiting at conferences, Out-of-state travel, meals and lodging (including costs to bring out-of-state people into Wisconsin), Endowment contributions, Indirect costs or overhead costs, Accreditation fees, Office equipment or furniture, Real estate acquisitions, Projects which are essentially field trips,  Ongoing operations funds, Grant funds used to supplant existing funding.

There are restrictions on capital and site enhancement expenditures see individual category descriptions for more information.

6. When can I get the money and when will I have to use it by?
Grants are made for the period of July 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009.   Generally the WEEB grant program operates on a reimbursement system. Funds are distributed upon submission of an approved final report.

Alternative distribution methods may be negotiated on a case by case basis. The WEEB will not distribute the full award amount until the final report has been submitted.

All project funds must be expended or encumbered no later than December 31, 2009.

7. Do I have to have matching funds? How much? What is eligible to be matching funds?
A minimum 25 percent matching contribution is required. Amount of match over minimum is not evaluated as a criterion of funding. Matching contributions consist of money, supplies, and services. All matches must be guaranteed at the time proposal is submitted. State agency applicants should contact the local budget specialist regarding agency grant application procedures and in-kind contributions.

 
• Monetary contributions involve the donation of money or collection of participant fees to facilitate implementation of the project.
• Supply contributions involve the purchase or donation of materials specifically for use in the project. This does not include the value of supplies (e.g., land, office space, or equipment) that already are available for use for this and other projects.
• Service contributions involve the donation of time to implement the project. The value of the time for people who would normally be paid for the role they will play in the project may be included. The value of volunteer time may also be included. Base the value on what you would have to pay to have the same work done.

8. What types of projects does the Board typically fund?
Projects must serve Wisconsin residents, but the target audience need not be school children. Projects with a strong evaluation component are generally more successful.

Copies of previously funded proposals can be obtained from local libraries through the Wisconsin Interlibrary Loan System. Each volume contains photocopies of the complete proposal for funded grants in a given year (other than school forest education plan grants), beginning in 1990. Request each volume by its call number: ED.1/2:E 58/ 2/ XXXX (whereXXXX = year). The most recent year is 2008.

Summaries of the funded grant applications for 1990-2007 are available within the Recipient Database section of this website. The WEEB has also provided several samples.

9. Is there someone I can talk to?
Yes, please contact Ginny Carlton, Administrative Specialist, at (715) 346-3805 or weeb@uwsp.edu

10. How do I apply?
Submit 5 copies and an original (6 sets total) of: application cover page, consortium verification (if required), project narrative, and budget summary. Materials must be postmarked or hand-delivered no later than February 15, 2008. Faxed and/or e-mailed proposals will not be accepted.

Send to: Wisconsin Environmental Education Board, 110B College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 800 Reserve Street,  Stevens Point, WI 54481-3897