Non-Profit Third-Party/Charter Support Organization Grants (Charter Schools Program Dissemination Grant)

Grants to Washington, DC nonprofit organizations to support the development of public charter schools. Applicants must submit an intent to apply by May 25. Mandatory webinars will be held on May 22 and May 25. Funding will be provided for both direct and indirect assistance.

Overview of the SOAR Act:

As a part of a three-sector federal funding approach, the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act, Pub. L. 112-10, 125 Stat. 199, is a federal law that authorizes funding for District of Columbia (DC) public charter schools “to improve and expand quality public charter schools in the District of Columbia.” §3004(b)(2). SOAR Act funds for District of Columbia (DC) charter schools are provided to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) through the US Department of Education (USED) as a grant. The SOAR Act also provides funding for District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) for DC students to attend private schools.

In April 2012, DC and USED signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding the administration of the SOAR Act funds. The MOU requires OSSE to submit to USED an annual proposal for the use of funds, including funding priorities. Each year, OSSE’s Office of Public Charter School Financing and Support (OPCSFS) conducts stakeholder engagement prior to submitting the application. OPCFS sought stakeholder feedback during the summer of 2017 prior to submitting the FFY 2017 application. USED approved the application and issued a Grant Award Notice (GAN) to OSSE on Dec. 15, 2017.

Purpose of Funds:

Through this RFA, OPCSFS is soliciting proposals from eligible applicants for the following grant program:

Grants to Nonprofit Third-Party Charter Support Organizations:

-The purpose of this funding program is to provide support to nonprofit organizations with a demonstrated history of success working with DC charter schools on projects that are designed to: 1) have a direct and rapid (within two years) impact on the academic achievement and outcomes for public charter school students across multiple school LEAs; or 2) designed to impact student outcomes at multiple charter LEAs indirectly by enhancing the organizational capacity of charter LEAs to operate as fiscally and operationally sound nonprofit organizations and schools.

-The theory of action for each project must be supported by data and research.

-Funding is available for two types of assistance to charter schools, direct assistance projects and indirect assistance projects. Applicants will be asked to identify which category of funding they seek but the final determination of the category under which an application will be considered will be made by the grant review panel.

Direct Assistance Projects:
-Successful “direct assistance” projects must be research-based and designed to have a direct and rapid (within two years) impact on the academic achievement and outcomes for public charter school students.
-Projects must be designed to improve student outcomes across multiple charter LEAs through direct service to students or direct professional development and support for teachers and instructional leaders.
-Projects must be tailored to meet the specific needs of each partner charter LEA and the proposed theory of action must be supported by LEA-specific data.
-Reviewers will independently assess and answer whether a proposed project addresses the following: Priority area #1: Improve achievement and graduation rates for English language learners, economically-disadvantaged students,
and/or students with disabilities; and Priority area #2: Reduce achievement and equity gaps between subgroups of students.
-Project proposals that have met the initial cutoff score will receive one additional priority point per priority area addressed. The priority area(s) to SOAR Non-Profit Third-Party/Charter Support Organization Grants be addressed by a proposed project should be clearly evident from the content of the submitted application and supported by data and research.

Indirect Assistance Projects:
-“Indirect assistance” projects include projects that are designed to impact student outcomes at multiple charter LEAs indirectly by enhancing the organizational capacity of charter LEAs to operate as fiscally and operationally sound nonprofit organizations and schools.
-“Indirect assistance ”projects may include projects that provide professional development for charter LEA leaders or board members in order to improve the charter school’s infrastructure or capacity related to the administration and use of student data, fiscal management, board governance, and overall school administration.

Permissible Use of Funds:

The funds associated with this RFA are available strictly on a reimbursement basis and may only be used for allowable grant project expenditures during the grant period as follows:

All costs must:
-Meet requirements of permissible use of federal funds within EDGAR 34 CFR Part 75, 2 CFR Part 200 as adopted in 2 CFR Part 3474, 2 CFR Part 180 as adopted in 2 CFR 3485;
-Align with and support the project(s) described in the organization’s application; and
-Meet the specific needs of each partner charter LEA as identified within the need(s) identified within the needs assessment(s) conducted.

All grant project budgets will be reviewed by a review panel, as well as OPCSFS staff, to ensure that planned expenditures are allowable and are appropriate, reasonable, and necessary to support the grant objectives.