Institute for Heritage Education
Professional Development Support Grants for Organizations and Individuals
Request for Proposals – Maximum Award $1,200
November 2022
Statement of Purpose: The Institute for Heritage Education’s (IHE) broad purpose is to provide and support education that helps people understand and appreciate their own cultural heritage and the cultural heritage of others. Specific purposes are as follows:
1. Supporting existing national heritage education programs such as Project Archaeology or similar state and local programs as a nonprofit partner, providing funding, training, curriculum development, and continuity of leadership as necessary to make the program sustainable and optimally effective.
2. Providing materials and professional development for cultural heritage educators including classroom teachers, museum educators, cultural resource interpretation specialists, and youth group leaders.
3. Contributing to the professionalization of cultural heritage education.
Rationale: The Institute for Heritage Education (IHE) supports professional development for cultural heritage educators. IHE recognizes that basic funding for hosting workshops and other professional development events such as job-embedded mentoring or distance learning, may be difficult to obtain, especially when beginning a new program. This grant program is designed to assist new programs with hosting their first few professional development events, until sufficient revenue can be generated to sustain various types of professional development events on an annual basis. More mature education programs will also be considered for funding with appropriate justifications and needs.
Eligible recipients:
· Private non-profit organizations.
· Universities.
· State and local agencies.
· Professional organizations.
· Individuals who organize and host professional development events without institutional support or affiliation.
Grant funds (up to $1,200) may be used for a variety of costs involved with providing professional development. All costs must be justified and explained in the appropriate narratives and budgets. Examples of allowable costs are below.
· Stipends for instructors.
· Purchase of books and other educational materials.
· Travel costs for instructor(s) and for participants in certain circumstances.
· Stipends ($25-$100) for professional development event participants.
· Venue costs such as rental of meeting space and/or AV equipment.
· Honoraria for expert speakers such as descendant community members, archaeologists, historians, or other heritage specialists.
· Pre-event recruiting and post-event follow-up with participants.
· Food or snacks for in-person professional development event participants; not to exceed 20% of the budget.
· Purchasing licenses, software, and associated technology for remote learning opportunities.
· Costs of administering the grant including accounting and reporting.
Grant funds may not be used for:
· Indirect or overhead costs including facilities and administration.
· Merchandise such as t-shirts, tote bags, or other similar items.
Requirements:
· Professional development events must provide high-quality, professionally written educational materials for formal (classroom) or informal educators (museum docents, interpreters, youth group leaders, etc.). Professional development may be delivered through in-person or online workshops, online courses, or other means.
· The proposed professional development event must be of high quality and provide useful information for educators in their typical teaching environment. The project and proposal must consider both the affordances and constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic and the budget should reflect technological and hygienic requirements.
· The proposed professional development event must be held within two years of grant receipt. In unusual circumstances, the two-year window may be extended. Unused funds must be reimbursed to IHE.
· A final report detailing the professional development event and all expenditures must be submitted to IHE no later than three months after the end of the professional development event (1 – 2 pages). Include the number of participants, an assessment of the quality of the event, and successes and challenges encountered.
Application: A narrative description (2-5 single-spaced pages) covering items 1-4 below.
1. Name of recipient (individual or organization) and a brief description of ability to plan and conduct high-quality professional development in cultural heritage education.
2. Description of the professional development event including goals and complete agenda or course syllabus, proposed venue, marketing plan, instructors and their qualifications, speakers and their qualifications, instructional materials to be used, and proposed date of the event. Provide a list of materials to be used and where they can be obtained for review.
3. Detailed budget of proposed expenditures with a brief budget justification. Costs for managing the grant (such as accounting, bookkeeping, grant oversight, and reporting) should be included as line items in the budget.
4. Alternative plan of action, if the proposed professional development event does not fill.
5. Resumes of all instructors and speakers and other supporting documents may be included. Optional: Brief description of plan for following up with participants (see attached example). Combine all documents into a single PDF for submission.
Application due date: Applications must be submitted to IHE by Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at jmoe@heritageeducation.org. For questions and further information contact Jeanne M. Moe at the same address. For a list of previous awards see www.heritageeducation.org/recipients.
Review Process and Review Criteria: Each applicant will be notified of the decision within 30 days of the application due date (see above). Incomplete applications will not be considered. Review criteria are as follows:
· Alignment with the goals of the grant program.
· Quality of proposed instructional materials, agenda or syllabus, marketing plan, and adjustments required for protecting participants from Covid-19 and other health risks.
· Qualifications of instructors and guest speakers.
· Budget and justification of budget.
· Alternative plan of action should the proposed professional development not be feasible.