How to Write a Winning PEP Grant
By Artie Kamiya Background: Since 2001, dramatic changes have taken place in schools across the United States due to a recent initiative designed to radically transform and reward school districts and communities wanting to change. These changes in programming, curriculum and equipment are a part of the nation's response to the dramatic increase in Type II diabetes currently found in our children and youth. According to Dr. Cynthia Ogden, clinical researcher with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 31% of adults are obese and 15% of children and teenagers age 6-19 are overweight. While Dr. Ogden noted that overweight and obesity is a concern for all individuals in the country, it is a major factor for increased heart attacks, stoke, hypertension, and certain types of cancer. So what are PEP Grants? The Carol M. White Physical Education Program provides grants to schools and other youth-serving organizations "to initiate, expand, or enhance physical education programs, including after-school programs, for students in kindergarten through 12th grade." Up to $1.5 million can be awarded through the PEP Grant Program. Additionally, grant recipients must implement programs that help students make progress toward meeting any required state physical education standards. For example, Shadyside Local Schools is now in its second year of implementing a PEP grant. According to the Alliance for A Healthier Generation, a national 501 (c)(3) non-profit, funding from the PEP Grant program has made significant changes to the children, youth, and families within this community. Grant funds have provided PE teachers with additional training in the latest obesity-prevention instructional strategies, helped to change the students' perceptions of the value of physical activity and sound nutrition, and have added more value to the importance of health and fitness as a whole. The Alliance states the grant has create a culture of fitness within the community by creating " a newly equipped cardio room, new free weights and weight machines" and "incorporating health and nutrition messages and physical activity into core subjects. In addition to the new equipment, the district has purchased the Spark PE curriculum and is shifting its focus from competitive sports to lifelong skills such as weightlifting, walking, golf and bowling." I recently had the opportunity to visit this school district and to talk with Holly Ging, the physical education teacher who was behind the grant writing effort. She offers these five tips for schools interested in learning how to successfully write a PEP Grant. #1: Provide Key Baseline Data and Student Buy-In - For example, numerous meetings were held to explain the purpose and scope of the grant with all interested parties constantly involved. This created additional data for the need of the project and a constant "churning of ideas" to involve like-minded agencies, organizations, and people in the project. As a result, high school students such as Kelsey Holloway demonstrated the type of "readiness" the grant reviewers needed to see in Shadyside's application. "The PEP grant has given us an opportunity to do more activities in gym class," Kelsy states. It also "gives people an opportunity to come in after school and get fit." #2: Don't get Discouraged - Applying for the Carol M. White Physical Education for Progress (PEP) grant was a rather "long road" says Ging. She advises other potential PEP grant applicants to persevere, to reapply for the grant, and seek the help of a professional grant writer, if possible. "We didn't get a grant the first time," she said. "We were able to find a person with grant writing experience and with his help, we were finally able to win over $800,000 for our students!" #3: Search the Web - There are a large variety of great grant resources on the web, especially for the PEP Grant. Just doing a web search on "2010 PEP Grants" or "Carol M White PEP Grants" will provide you with samples of funded grant activities, companies that offer free grant writing services, and actual copies of winning PEP Grants. #4: Start Early - The first thing you should do is to visit the Office of Safe & Drug-Free Schools' website (http://www.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/index.html) to see when the "requests for proposals" (RFP) will be announced and the deadline for the grant application. Unfortunately, this grant has historically only provided six weeks between the announcement and the deadline. For this reason, most winning grant applications come from those school districts who have submitted in the past and have used the grant reviewers' comments to strengthen their application. Good luck! Artie Kamiya is President and Founder of the Great Activities Publishing Company, a national K-12 physical education curriculum and assessment provider since 1982. Artie Kamiya has been called the "nation's leading expert for K-12 physical education." Always in demand for his exciting presentations, Artie has conducted about 500 workshops in over 40 different states. He is the co-owner of a well-known publishing/consulting firm and has successfully written over $12 million in grants for schools. His work has appeared on numerous ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox TV affiliates, as well as on National Public Radio and in USA Today. A former National Physical Education Administrator of the Year, he was recently recognized by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education as the 2007 "Joy of Effort" Award winner. Distinguished as one of the most enthusiastic and compelling physical education professionals, he has a "standing offer" to present at numerous state and national conferences throughout the year. He and his family live in Durham, North Carolina. Return from "How to Write a Winning PEP Grant" to HOW TO WRITE ANYTHING home page Have a Great Tip, Photo or Comment About This Topic?Do you have a great tip or photo about this? Something that you believe we should read or see? Contribute and share it today! |