The Nellie Mae Education
Foundation will be making new
grants in 2010. If you would
like to be notified when funding
becomes available,
please register here.
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District Level Systems
Change |
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A Three-Pronged
Approach to Achieving Student
Centered Education
In 2010, this initiative will
provide long-term support to a
small number of select
communities that are ready to
undertake a complex student
centered strategy that will
change the education system
through the interplay of models
of schooling, policy and
community demand. By the end of
2010, districts will be selected
to receive 12-15 month DLSC
planning grants of up to
$200,000. The Foundation
anticipates that eventually,
four to six communities will
ultimately be selected for
long-term implementation
investments (six or more years)
of $800,000 - $1,500,000 per
year, as indicated. |
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The remaining timeline for the
planning grant selection process
is as follows: |
- Mid-June – Follow-up Request for Proposals (RFP)sent to applicants selected to continue in process
- Mid-August – Proposals due
- September/October – Site visits
- November – Planning Grant recipients selected
(As with all projected funding opportunities, the timeline and details are subject to change.)
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Opportunity Fund |
Given the limited reach of the
long-term, three-pronged DLSC
Initiative, an Opportunity Fund
will give additional
stakeholders a chance to access
resources to support their
student-centered learning
efforts and inform the
Foundation’s system change
efforts. Organizations and
schools from across the New
England region will have the
opportunity to request support
for work that tests or expands
any one of the DLSC components
(models, policy, and community
demand). These strategies do not
necessarily need to be dependent
on a single community’s
consensus or vision. We
anticipate that these will be
short-term (one to three year)
grants of up to $75,000 per
year. The Foundation was open to
receiving proposals until June
8, 2010. Decisions are
anticipated in late July.
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Projected 2010 Funding
Opportunities |
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State Level Systems Change
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In 2010, we will seek to partner
with like-minded governments,
funders, and non-profit
organizations through financial
investments, sharing of policy
ideas, and support of policy
recommendations that support
student-centered learning at
scale across our New England
region. Our investments will
support policy work at the
state, regional, and federal
levels that support
student-centered learning
opportunities inside of our DLSC
initiative and across the
region. We see assessments and
standards, high school
graduation requirements,
accountability, human capital,
and funding as high-leverage
policy levers. We will support
convening's of experts, policy
makers and practitioners, policy
research and development. For
more information on possible
opportunities within this
initiative, please email our
Director of Policy, Charlie
Toulmin, at
ctoulmin@nmefdn.org |
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Public Understanding
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The application process for the
Foundation’s Learning for the
21st Century Video Challenge
closed on May 14th, 2010.
Selected videos will be posted
on NMEF’s
YouTube channel
and will be promoted through a
NMEF-issued press release. A
public announcement of the
winning schools/organizations is
anticipated by the end of July.
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Eligibility
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Pursuant to its Articles of
Organization, the Foundation
operates exclusively for the
benefit of, and to promote the
charitable and educational
purposes of, educational
organizations, including
universities, colleges,
secondary schools, elementary
schools, and other educational
organizations that are described
in IRC Section 501(c) (3) and
that are not private foundations
because they are described in
IRC Section 509(a)(1) or (2).
The Foundation's activities
include making grants to the
public charities it supports and
providing services to those
organizations. The Foundation
supports only those
programs/organizations that
serve students in New England or
research pertaining to education
issues in New England. |
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The Foundation does not
fund capital campaigns,
endowments, scholarships or
fellowships, debt reduction or
cash reserves, building
construction or renovation, and
certain indirect costs. |
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Funding determination may be
made in one of three ways:
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A specific
organization may
be invited to
apply for a
grant within an
agreed upon
timeframe and
the proposal is
reviewed in a
noncompetitive
process.
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A limited number
of organizations
may be invited
to apply via a
Request for
Proposals (RFP)
or Request for
Applications
(RFA) before a
set deadline.
The submitted
proposals/applications
would then be
reviewed in a
competitive
process. All or
a selection of
the group would
be funded.
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Funding
guidelines that
outline the
Foundation’s
requirements,
goals, and
funding strategy
and an open RFP
or RFA are
distributed by
the Foundation
or by an
intermediary
hired to manage
a cluster of
grants and to
post on
appropriate
websites.
Organizations
determine their
potential
eligibility and
whether they
should submit a
proposal or
application
before a set
deadline. All
submitted
proposals/applications
are reviewed in
a competitive
process. All or
a selection of
the group are
funded based on
the
predetermined
criteria.
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