U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympic Division 2012 Olympic Opportunity Fund Request for Applications The U.S. Olympic Committees (USOC) Paralympic Division is pleased to announce the availability of $1,600,000 in grant funds to be competitively awarded through the Olympic Opportunity Fund (OOF) in 2012 to support the U.S. Paralympic Integrated Adaptive Sports Program. The USOC is now seeking applications under the Olympic Opportunity Fund for grant projects to promote lifelong health and to motivate, encourage and sustain participation and competition in adaptive sports from the local level through elite levels among disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces through partnerships with VA clinical personnel as well as national and community-based adaptive sports programs. Funding for this opportunity is from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events (VA), http://www.va.gov/adaptivesports/. Summary The USOC is announcing the availability of funds for the Olympic Opportunity Fund (OOF) Grant Program, application process and application timeframes. This announcement pertains to $1,600,000 in grant funds to be competitively awarded through the OOF. The USOC considers competitive grant applications to provide adaptive sport programs to: 1. Promote lifelong health of disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces through regular participation in physical activity and sports. 2. Enhance recreational activities provided by creating partnerships among organizations specializing in supporting, training, and promoting programs for disabled veterans from the recreationalist to the emerging athlete. 3. Provide training and technical assistance to national and local non-profit organizations to provide Paralympic sports training to disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces in their own communities. 4. Increase participation of disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces in sports. Funding Overview Eligibility Considerations Those eligible to apply for the (OOF) grant include Paralympic Sport Clubs, colleges/ universities, Parks and Recreation Agencies, Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and community-based non-profit organizations. Additionally, these organizations must also: 1. Serve disabled veterans or disabled members of the Armed Forces or both. 2. Provide regular, frequent activity over an extended period of time (weeks or months). One-time events will not be funded unless the event serves as a launching or focal point for ongoing Paralympic or non-Paralympic sport programming. 3. Be designed for long-term sustainability. 4. Have specific objectives and measurable outcomes for participation, community involvement, outreach, skill progress and/or other factors. Note: As specified in 38 U.S.C.A. 521(a), federal agencies are not eligible to receive grant funding from the program. However, federal agencies are encouraged to collaborate with community organizations or VSOs to jointly create community-based programs that serve disabled veterans. Funding Levels Applicants may apply for grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000. Project Period Grants under this announcement will be for up to one year. It is anticipated that the project period will run from October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013. Budget Information All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law. The budget includes several categories of proposed expenditures: Personnel: Costs for salary and fringe benefits for employees and consultants who are directly involved in delivery of sports programs such as coaches. Costs must be reasonable and only the portion of the salary and fringe that are directly allocable to this program may be charged. Travel: Costs for transportation, hotel, per diem, and related travel costs necessary to conduct sports programs. Operations: Costs for intangible expenditures in direct support of sports programs such as sports facility fees and rentals. Equipment: Costs for tangible expenditures in direct support of sports programs where the item has a useful life of more than two years. Supplies/other: Costs for tangible expenditures in direct support of sports programs where the item is consumable or has a useful life of less than two years. Administrative: Costs for support for the program such as costs to manage the grant, report on the grant, or provide logistical support for the program. Administrative expenses cannot exceed 10% of the total amount). Funds from these grants may not be used for construction projects. Proposed costs must be reasonable and appropriate to the program. The USOC reserves the right to determine whether costs are reasonable and appropriate and to negotiate, alter, or reduce budget items and overall costs. Application Deadline The deadline for applying for funding under this announcement is noon, 12:00 pm, Mountain Time, Friday, May 11, 2012. In the interest of fairness to all competing applicants, this deadline is firm as to date and hour, and the USOC will treat as ineligible for consideration any application that is received after the deadline. In the event an applicant is unable to submit an application by the approved deadline because of Sgizmo.com (application submission system) service outage, then the applicant must contact Tim Willis, USOC immediately at (719) 866-4536;
[email protected]. An e-mail will be required along with the time of the service outage, and a description of the service outage message received. Once the USOC has been notified and the problem confirmed by the USOC, the grant award deadline will be extended to the applicant for one additional calendar day, so that the applicant can send the application via direct e-mail. The USOC will verify the service outage date and time with Survey Gizmo. If the service outage cannot be confirmed by Survey Gizmo then it will be the decision of the USOC to decide whether to accept the application and inform the applicant of its status. To receive any updates related to this grant program or additional information about current and future OOF grants, sign up for the U.S. Paralympics e-newsletter at U.S. Paralympic e-newsletter or send an email to
[email protected]. Application Submission Applications must be submitted through http://bit.ly/HaSiJ0 Detailed instructions for completion of the application are provided within the system. Additional instructions regarding components of the application are described below. Application Contents A completed application includes a program narrative, IRS Letter of Tax-exempt Status, Letters of Collaboration and a completed and submitted online 2012 Olympic Opportunity Fund Grant Application. Section One: Program Narrative The program narrative must not exceed five pages and must be submitted in the following order. Submit the program narrative as a Word document, either .doc or .docx file format Organization Overview Organization Background: The organizational mission statement, strategic goals, and a summary of programs and services provided over the preceding five years will provide context for the proposal, as will short reports on previous programs with disabled veterans/service members and on recent organizational and programmatic success. Geographic and demographic breakdown of those served, and basic history of organization including year(s) incorporated and occasions of major transition are needed. Program Details and Specifics Program Details: The program details and specifics should comprise the majority of the narrative. It consists of: A descriptive title of the program and brief description, including which Paralympic/adaptive sports will be included. The need being addressed by the program including a list of goals and specific measureable objectives/outcomes that will be used to assess the programs success. The demographics of target market of participants, including a realistic estimated number of disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces to be served. A plan for the program activities, including locations, timeline(s), and milestones to include program planning, development, and implementation, and specific activities. Staff qualifications and infrastructure to plan, develop and implement the program - list of key personnel, and a brief summary of key individuals roles, experiences, and credentials. List of collaborating partners involved in the program including community partners, VAMCs, VSOs, WTUs and/or other entities servicing disabled veterans, and disabled members of the Armed Forces. Plans to Build Awareness and Participation: Describe plans for building participation in, and community awareness and support for, the program including any specific outreach activities, as well as promotional and media opportunities. Program Sustainability: Actions to be taken that will ensure the continuation of this program after the end of the OOF Grant should be described. Section Two: Budget Description and Narrative Within the online application system, applicants will complete a budget table that includes the following information by the funding categories explained in the Budget Information section above. Categories required to be described in detail are: Personnel Operations Equipment Travel Supplies/other Administrative (Note, administrative expenses cannot exceed 10% of the total amount) Total (Note, total cannot exceed $25,000) To support the contents of the online budget table, applicants must include in their program narrative a description of their budget that clearly describes every category of expense listed in the budget table. The narrative must be mathematically sound and correspond to the information and figures provided in the online budget table. The narrative should explain how all costs were estimated and calculated and how they are relevant to the completion of the proposed project. IRS Letter of Tax-exempt Status An IRS letter confirming tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) or proof of tax-exempt status under other applicable Sections of the IRS Code. Letters of Collaboration Letters of Collaboration are required when collaborating organizations named in a Proposal (e.g., a National Governing Body (NGB), military organization, VA facilities, Veteran Service Organization (VSO), or other community partner) are required when the proposed project is contingent on the Collaborators. If the application does not include such collaboration, the application may omit this letter. Review Process The USOC is committed to ensuring a fair and open process for awarding grants. Following is a description of the criteria and considerations used by USOC in making final funding decisions. Responsiveness Review To be considered for funding and to move forward to the competitive review process, applicants must submit responsive applications. USOC will conduct a preliminary responsiveness review of all applications to ensure that they were submitted on time, are eligible organizations, and include all required components. Competitive Review A panel of at least three reviewers will evaluate and score each responsive application using standard scoring criteria. USOC will use qualified internal or external subject matter experts as reviewers for the applications under this solicitation. Reviewers will rate each the following criteria. 1. Does the application illustrate that this program will reach disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces? 2. How strong is the applicants relationship with collaborating partners? 3. Are the goals and objectives achievable and measurable and do they support the goals and objectives of the 2012 OOF grant program? 4. Does the applicant demonstrate that their staff, resources and infrastructure are capable of providing quality programming for disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces? 5. What is the likelihood of the program continuing beyond the grant? 6. Are the monetary amounts reasonable compared to program deliverables? Extra Points for Paralympic Sports: Two additional points will be awarded to applications that include at least two Paralympic sports as a component of the application. Extra Points for Collaboration: One additional point will be awarded to applications that include proof of collaboration with VA Medical Center or Veteran Service Organization. Letters of proof of collaboration will be required. Award Decisions In addition to reviewer ratings, considerations for award recommendations and decisions may include, but are not limited to, past performance and available funding. USOC may contact the applicant for additional information or clarification. Regardless of the score an application receives, if the USOC determines that the project is technically or financially infeasible, the USOC will notify the applicant, in writing, and the application will be returned and will not be funded. In the event of a tie, priority will be given first to applicants that are Paralympic Sport Clubs and second to those that are actively pursuing Paralympic Sport Club status. Post-Award Requirements Payments Grant recipients must have a Data Universal Numbering System Number (DUNS) prior to receiving grant payments. Grant recipients receiving $25,000 must apply for and maintain an active Central Contractor Registration (CCR) within the first 90 days of receiving grant payments. Initial grantee payments will flow electronically to the USOC and to the OOF Grantees through the USOC system. Reports Quarterly and annual financial and performance reports are required. Additionally, an annual USOC report to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is required no later than 60 days after the end of the fiscal year detailing the use of the grant funds including the number of veterans who participated in the integrated adaptive sports programs, participant demographics, and the administrative expenses of the program. Performance Measurements OOF applicants that receive funding under this solicitation must provide data and statistics that measure the results of their work on a quarterly basis. Award recipients will be required to submit a start-up plan for accomplishing the grant program. The start-up plan will include specific tasks, outcomes, budget and timelines for accomplishing the work. Quarterly reports will be required to assess compliance with the original start up plans and at the end of the project period according to the direction of the USOC. Performance measures for this program, as applicable, are as follows: Objective Metrics Promote lifelong health of disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces through regular participation in physical activity and sports. Number of adaptive/Paralympic sport(s) offered new or continuing Number of activity types offered Number of veterans the activity reaches Number of outreaches conducted Number of communities that are now serving veterans with disabilities Number of veterans with disabilities participating by age group Number of veterans with disabilities participating by disability type Increase participation of disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces in sports. Enhance recreational activities provided by creating partnerships among organizations specializing in supporting, training, and promoting programs for disabled veterans Activities/programming offered in partnership and collaboration with other non-profit, community-based organizations, the military, Veteran Affairs facilities, and Veteran Service Organizations. Equipment specifically purchased for grant programming. Training opportunities offered by grant recipient or completed by grant recipient to enhance recreational activities to include certification, professional development, ability awareness, program development, etc. Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Requirements Applicants should be aware that for all recipients of awards of $25,000 under this solicitation, consistent with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA), the USOC will be required to report award information and, in certain cases, to report information on the names and total compensation of the five most highly compensated executives of the grantee organizations. Grantees receiving the maximum award of $25,000 will be required to provide this information to USOC so that reporting requirements under FFATA can be met. Audits In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. Adjustments Under OOF Grants, changes to the approved activities or budgets may be requested. Requests for changes, along with a revised budget, must be submitted in writing. The USOC will receive the request and determine the appropriate action in regards to acceptance, modification, or denial. All changes must be approved through the USOC prior to implementation. If an organization determines it cannot carry out a grant project, it must immediately inform the USOC. Dependent on the status of the grant application and award, the USOC will determine actions to be taken based on the specific details of case.