SPICE Grants - Frequently Asked Questions - 2007-2008 S.P.I.C.E Grant Recipients

2008-2009 S.P.I.C.E GRANT LETTER & APPLICATION

2008-2009 Tips and Reminders 

In an effort to strengthen the quality of public education for all our students, the Guilford County Council of PTAs and the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro offers grants to individual PTA units to build vital partnerships between GuilfordCountySchools, parents, families and community organizations. A maximum award of $1,000 per local PTA unit. The goal of the SPICE grants is to improve student academic success by helping local PTA units of Guilford County Schools meet the national standards for parent/family involvement.

Any GuilfordCountyPTA can apply for a mini-grant of up to $1,000 for a wide range of projects that:

• Improve communications between home and school
• Support home centered learning
• Promote good parenting skills
• Overcome barriers to parental involvement (transportation, child care, language & cultural barriers, etc)
• Address diverse cultural needs at the school

"The SPICE grants will be very specific to the schools they serve,” said Uma Avva, Family Education Chair 2002-2003, Guilford County Council of PTAs. “We encourage local PTAs to be creative and design ways to address the academic needs of children while encouraging parents to get connected to their children’s schools. One school might focus on a regular newsletter or survey to communicate with parents; another may host a family science night or even a parent workshop,” she added. “Each PTA should determine the primary needs at that school.”


Back to Top

3. Who is eligible?

Any GuilfordCountyPTA in good standing. To be in good standing, a school PTA must have 1) paid dues to the Guilford County Council of PTAs for the current school year 2) paid dues to the State PTA for the current year and 3) unit by-laws be current and approved by the State PTA (check with them if in doubt)

4. If our PTA received a SPICE grant last year, are we eligible for a grant this year?

Yes, however you must submit your final or interim report form no later than December 15th for your application to be considered. If you have already complete your project from last year, you should have already submitted your final report.

5. What types of programs do you fund?

We have funded a resource center, parenting and computer workshops, reading programs & cultural programs. For a complete listing of grants recipients, check out our web site, www.guilfordcountypta.org.

6. Are there any budgetary line items that cannot be funded?

According to PTA financial guidelines (see Dollars and Sense for Treasurers provided by the State PTA), PTAs cannot fund salaries. Last year, capital expenditures (i.e. playground equipment, tables, building materials, etc.) were also not funded. Remember that the goal of the SPICE grant is to build parent and community involvement, not to fund acquisitions.

7. Does the Council offer assistance in writing grants?

The Council will offer at least 2 grant writing workshops. One will be at Fall Training in August (location and time to be announced). If you have specific questions regarding the grant or program planning, please feel free to contact Toni Jones at 370-4501 or Uma Avva at 288-9182.

8. Do we have to complete the entire RFP form?

Yes, it is critical that you complete the entire form including the three questions asking you to summarize your proposal at the bottom of the first page. It may be tempting to refer to an attached page, but it is important that these summaries be filled out on the application page so that they be fairly categorized prior to judging. All the information will be used in our database and will be valid if the responses are in your words instead of our interpretation.

9. What happens to any unused SPICE grant monies awarded to our PTA?

According to an agreement signed by the PTA president and school Principal on the last page of the RFP, unused monies along with an annotated budget need to be returned to the Guilford County Council of PTAs.

10. If our PTA receives a grant, are there any other obligations?

You must complete a project evaluation form by January 31 of the year following your grant award. You may also be asked to write an article for publication describing your project or participate in a workshop.

11. How long do we have to complete our parent involvement programs?

Projects must be completed between January 1st and December 15th. The Council may also be able to assist your school with Public Relations if dates are given to us in far enough in advance.

12. Why must we file a report about our project?

Other schools are always looking for ways to increase parent involvement. One of the goals of the SPICE grant is to catalog programs that work and publish those so that others may benefit from your success. Not only does this draw attention to your school and the successes that you may have, but it also may enable other schools to duplicate your successes both here in GuilfordCounty as well as other schools across the Nation.

13. What happens if we decide not to follow through with the project that we were awarded the grant for?

As with any unused money from the SPICE grant, you should return the entire amount. If however, the scope of your project changed, it may still be possible to keep the money and use it for the new or modified project. If you have questions regarding the project, please feel free to contact Toni Jones at 327-4778 or Cheri Brinkley at 286-1193.

Back to Top