FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Q. Can an organization submit more than one proposal?

A. Yes. Organizations may submit as many proposals as they choose. Please note however, that the number of proposals submitted, does not neccesarily increase or decrease the odds of a project being accepted. Applying organizations are encouraged to submit proposals that are thorough and are able to display evidence of a need for their program. (Also note that multiple activities may be combined to form one proposal, reducing the need to submit multiple proposals.)

Q. How will the Council select people to serve on the committees to evaluate the applications and make recommendations to the Council?

A.The Council will enlist review panelists for the different grant categories. Those selected as panelists will include leaders in the fields of economics and education, members of the state and local business, banking and finance communities, and individuals from other relevant agencies.

Q. What are the guidelines for allocating funds in the current round of Excellence in Economic Education grants by sub-grant category?

A.The Council reserves the right to allocate funding among sub-grant categories based upon the quality of proposals recieved. Based upon avaible funding, the following are the expectations for distribution of awards:

Q. I would like to propose a project that will require significantly more funding than the typical project in 2009 as indicated above. What is the likelihood of such a project being approved?

A. Applications indicating a larger funding requirement than the typical amount for a particular project category will be evaluated upon an individual basis. Possible justifications for large projects include organiztions that serve a large area, or a large number of students, such as a large urban school district.

Q. How much of my EEE sub-grant may be used for administrative costs?

A. The grant guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education for the EEE Program limit administrative costs to not more than 5% of the sub-grant award. This 5% cap applies to a combination of both direct administrative costs and indirect costs. Direct administrative costs are project expenditures not specifically related to carrying out the project activity itself. Indirect costs are general organization costs that can not be readily identifiable with any one specific project or activity of the organization (these are sometimes referred to as "overhead.")

With regard to direct administrative costs, the general rule of thumb is that expenditures not specifically related to carrying out direct project activities are most likely to be considered administrative. The key issue is determining what activities constitute a direct project activity. For example, in some cases, preparing a report might be considered administrative. In other instances, a reporting requirement might be considered very substantive in nature. Under the latter circumstances, the costs related to such report preparation might not be considered administrative.

Although these distinctions may, in some cases be difficult, the bottom line is that your total direct administrative costs and indirect costs may not exceed 5%.

Q. Can I apply for grants in more than one category?

A. Yes, you may apply for grants in more than one category, but you must submit a different application for each category.

Q. Can a local education agency partner with its state education agency?

A. Yes. In fact, a state education agency could partner with more than one local education agency.

Q. Can a Council affiliated center or council partner with its university?

A. Yes.

Q. Can a local education agency or state education agency partner with a university?

A. Yes.

Q. Does the Council for Economic Education qualify as an eligible partner?

A. No, the Council does not qualify as an eligible partner.

Q. May I partner with a branch of the Federal Reserve Bank?

A. Yes. Any of the Federal Reserve Bank branches qualify as eligible partners as “an organization promoting economic development.”

Q. Can a Council for Economic Education state council partner with a university center?

A. Yes. As with any partnership, however, the roles and responsibilities of each need to be clearly defined.

Q. Can two state education agencies partner with each other?

A. Yes.

Q. If a state or local education agency partners with a local school or school district, thereby requiring the school district to release the teachers for a workshop and pay for a substitute teacher, can the amount paid for the substitutes count toward matching funds?

A. Yes

Q. If a sub-grantee partners with two eligible partners, for example a private-sector entity and a local educational agency, do both eligible partners have to contribute equally to the matching funds or can one contribute more than the other?

A. No. The total amounts contributed by multiple eligible partners do not have to be equal, as long as the total match equals the amount requested in your proposal.

Q. For purposes of the EEE grant, what is meant by the term "local educational agency" or "LEA"?

A. Local educational agency means:    

1. A public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a state for either administrative control of or direction of, or to perform service functions for, public elementary or secondary schools in:
   1. A city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a state; or
   2. Such combination of school districts or counties a state recognizes as an administrative agency for its public elementary or secondary schools; or
2. Any other public institution or agency that has administrative control and direction of a public elementary or secondary school.
3. The term also includes any other public institution or agency that has administrative control and direction of a vocational education program.

Q. For purposes of the EEE grant, what is meant by the term "state educational agency" or "SEA"?

A. This term refers to the state board of education or other agency or officer primarily responsible for the supervision of public elementary and secondary schools in a state. In the absence of this officer or agency, it is an officer or agency designated by the Governor or State Law.

Q.When are proposals due?

A. Proposals for all prospective projects must be completed online (or received at the Council) by June 2, 2009, 9:00 pm Eastern Time.

Q. I am not able to complete the online application. How do I submit a paper version of my proposal?

A. In order for a paper version of a proposal to be considered, you must first write to the Council at:

Council for Economic Education
ATTN: Excellence in Economic Education
122 East 42nd St.
Suite 2600
New York, NY 10168

Please explain why you are unable to complete the online application. If the explanation is reasonable, the Council will then mail a proposal form to your organization. Only proposals that comply with the form will be considered, and must be received by the Council before the regular deadline. The Council will input the information from your form into the official online RFP system for you.

Paper proposals will not be considered for review if they do not meet the conditions explained above:

1. A request was made in writing to the Council, AND approved by the Council.
2. The proposal strictly follows the format of the forms mailed by the Council to your organization.
3. The proposal is RECEIVED by the Council by the deadline.

Q. Do the letters from the partners have to be submitted online?

A. Yes. Letters from collaborating partners must be submitted online. Letters will be accepted in either MS Word or PDF format. It is expected that applicants will be able to either submit an MS Word document with an electronic signature or scan a document to a PDF file.

Q. What is the name and address for where the letters [of collaboration] need to go?

A. All letters must be uploaded as indicated above.

Q. Is a statewide proposal viewed more favorably than individual proposals from an organization's affiliated centers?

A. While proposals will be evaluated based on several criteria, including impact, no specific preference will be given to statewide proposals vis a vis local proposals.

Q. My organization is categorized as a non-profit but it has not obtained 501(c)(3) status, is my organization still eligible to apply?

A. An organization that is not a state or local educational agency is considered to be eligible if it can establish that it promotes economic, personal fianance or entrepreneurial education.

Q. What are the odds of my application being accepted?

A. All proposals are evaluated on their own merits. Those proposals that are deemed to best meet the criteria outlined in the RFP will have the greatest probability of being funded, assuming sufficient funds are available.

Q. Is it possible for me to view accepted proposals from previous years?

A. No.

Q. Is priority given to those that are able to serve a large population?

A. Each proposal is evaluated on an individual basis. While impact is one criteria in rating proposals, impact will not be judged strictly based on the size of the population served.

Q. Are institutions outside the U.S. eligible?

A. No. Only proposals from qualifying organizations within the United States and its territories are eligible to apply.

Q. I work for a private university/high school. Is my institution eligible to apply?

A. An organization that is not a state or local educational agency is considered to be eligible if it can establish that it promotes economic, personal fianance or entrepreneurial education.

Q. How do I determine which sub-grant category is the right fit for my project?

A. Your organization will need to make an assessment based on the type of project you would like to implement and the descriptions provided for each sub-grant category.

Q. Will priority be given to proposals targeting a specific student age group?

A. All projects targeting students within the kindergarten through 12th grade bands will be considered equally.

Q. May I propose a project serving a population that does not fall within the kindergarten through 12th grade band?

A. No. Proposals seeking to serve populations falling outside of the kindergarten through 12th grade bands will not be considered.

Q. Can individuals apply?

A. No. Individuals are not eligible to apply.

Q. The text box doesn't preserve formatting when I cut and paste from a MS Word document. What do I do?

A. The online application system will not accept formatting when cutting and pasting from another document. To format your proposal, please use the formatting palatte located above each text box, these are the only formatting options available.

Q. Who do I list as the primary contact?

A. Please only list the grant designee in this field. This is the person that is in charge of carrying out the project as proposed. This persons name will appear on the letter agreement and will be responsible for all project related activities.