State Farm Southern Zone
Youth
Advisory
Board
Request for Proposals
To fund:
Youth-directed Service-Learning Action
Sponsored By
State Farm Insurance
APRIL 2010
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Background
The Board
Service-Learning
Mandatory Requirements
Funding Levels
Issue Analyses
The Application
Checklist
Contact Sheet
RFP Narrative
Budget
Table of Contents
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
The Board
The State Farm Southern Zone Youth Advisory Board
The State Farm Southern Zone Youth Advisory Board is a diverse group of 8-10 students aged 17-21. They play
a leadership role in creating and overseeing a $75,000 State Farm funded service-learning initiative. Their work is truly
youth-led and youth-driven. They are a subset of the Corporate State Farm Youth Advisory Board. The Southern Zone
Board grants funds for student-led service-learning projects in the State Farm Southern Zone, comprised of Alabama,
Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina. These grants address in a structural way the issues of financial education,
driver safety, access to higher education and environmental responsibility. The number of grants to be awarded will
depend on the number and quality of request received. Grant amounts will vary according to the nature of the proposal
and availability of funds.
Applicants may only apply for one year grants. There are four (4) types of grant given by the Southern Zone
Board. There will be three (3) levels of service-learning grants offered to schools and programs: Emerging, Expansion,
and Exemplary. Grant request are due by Sunday, August 1st ,2010. Notifications will be made by the first week
of September by email and phone.
Southern Zone Youth Advisory Board Members
Alabama
Taylor Peake - taylorpeake@gmail.com
Gabe Hyde – ghyde@samford.edu
South Carolina
Damaris Taylor – djtaylor@fas.harvard.edu
Gabe Fonseca – gabe.fonseca@yahoo.com
Mississippi
Tirranny Nettles - tirrannynettles@gmail.com
Jenny My Ngo (Chair) - myngoj@gmail.com
State Farm Employee Advisors
Bruce White - bruce.white.gkmd@statefarm.com
Emily Clark - emily.clark.lvlo@statefarm.com
Mission Statement
The State Farm Southern Zone Youth Advisory Board seeks to improve the lives of youth and impact
communities through the support of youth-led service-learning projects. Therefore, we believe that:
 Youth bring insightful and unique perspective.
 The State Farm Southern Zone Youth Advisory Board is responsible for advocating
on behalf on its peers.
 Board members should invest their passion into the board’s mission.
 The board should act in the best interest of State Farm, its agents, associates and
customers.
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Service-Learning
Service-Learning
Grants are given out in support of service learning projects NOT community service projects. Please ensure that
you have reviewed the distinct qualities of service-learning that differentiate it as a teaching strategy from
community service prior to the completion of the application.
Most people learn by doing, rather than merely hearing or reading. That’s where service-learning adds value.
Service-learning is a teaching method which supplements the classroom studies with hands-on projects that address
pressing community issue and problems. When students have the opportunity to apply what they are learning to
authentic problem solving, the result is too powerful to contain in a textbook.
Service-learning ensures that a project not only benefits the “target audience,” but also the young people who are
active participants in designing and executing the work.
Types of Service-Learning
Direct Service-Learning - Positions youth in direct contact with people that results in working with a diverse population.
Example: Students working at a soup kitchen to provide food to the hungry and homeless.
Indirect Service-Learning - Engages youth in performing service by activities that occur at school and channels
resources to an area of need.
Example: Math students collecting canned food for the local food bank while keeping a bar graph of the
number of cans collected per week.
Advocacy Service-Learning - Provides the opportunity to participate in policy change by youth contributing voices and
talents to help eliminate the causes of a specific problem.
Example: Students in a US Government class research state seatbelt law and lobby local legislators to push for
stricter laws to decrease the number of “no seatbelt”-related deaths.
Standards of Quality Service-Learning Practice
In 2008 the National Youth Leadership Council released 8 research-based Standards of Quality Service-Learning
Practice. These standards are components that research shows are present in high quality service learning projects.
1. Curriculum Integration: embedding service-learning experiences in curricular goals and standards that
drive student learning of concepts, content and skills in academic disciplines and co-curricular settings.
2. Reflection: facilitating continuous reflection before, during, and after the service experiences - using
multiple, cognitively challenging methods to encourage critical and creative thinking that addresses
learning experiences.
3. Youth Voice: engaging the vision and leadership of young people as valued contributors to society by
integrating their ideas into the selection, design, implementation, and evaluation of service-learning
experiences.
4. Diversity: fostering civil discourse and democratic values through the inclusion of diverse perspectives
and experiences, and through a respect for all learners.
5. Meaningful Service: applying problem-solving and critical thinking skills to community and civic needs in
real-world environments.
6. Progress Monitoring: analyzing student reflections and assessment measures, in combination with
project and partner evaluation data, for continuous review and improvement.
7. Duration & Intensity: ensuring that service and learning experiences are of sufficient intensity and
duration (or are equal to one semester), so that all phases of planning, through project evaluation, are
included.
8. Reciprocal Partnerships: leveraging community assets and promoting collaborative communication and
interaction among stakeholders.
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Mandatory Requirements
Mandatory Requirements
In order to be eligible to receive a grant from the State Farm Southern Zone Youth Advisory
Board, the following should be true or clearly evident:
o Applicants should be educators who currently teach in a public K-12, charter, or
higher education institution.
o Organizations/institutions must be located in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, or
Mississippi.
o Non-profit organizations, those organizations falling under §501(c)3 of United States
Tax Code, are also eligible to apply if they are able to demonstrate how they plan
to ACTIVELY PARTNER with students in PUBLIC K-12 schools and cite the
specific schools/classes with which they will be working.
o The RFP must address a community need through service-learning NOT
community service (see the section on Service Learning or for more information
visit: www.service-learning.org)
o The RFP must include promotion of State Farm and the State Farm Southern Zone
Youth Advisory Board through media outreach and project marketing.
o Grant winners must complete the Memorandum of Agreement according to the
published timeline.
Please carefully read and consider the above requirements before reading and
completing the rest of the application. If you have any questions regarding the
requirements or specifications please do not hesitate to contact your local Southern
Zone Board member for clarification or further explanation.
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Funding Levels
For this year’s grant cycle, the Board will be implementing separate funding levels
for which organizations may apply. These funding levels reflect the Board’s commitment to
excellence by attempting to provide the teachers, students, and service-learning stakeholders
in the Southern Zone, with a more focused and powerful grant-making tool. Please take the
time to read each of the funding levels carefully and determine which level of funding your
organization has the best capacity to implement.
Please consider that these three levels of funding represent steps in the overall process of
service-learning programming in your organization. It is the expectation of the Board that
grantees who apply as Emerging or Expanding grantees will grow the next year so that they
may reach the next funding level. The Board intends to use these three levels of funding to
create growth in the collective knowledge of service-learning in the Southern Zone.
Organizations should, over time, progress from one funding level to the next, until the
organization is ready to apply for a Corporate grant to institutionalize their service-learning
programs across their district, or other large educational entity.
Emerging
These grantees are service-learning programs or projects that are in the initial stages of planning and
development. Practitioners applying for Emerging level grants may only have a novice knowledge
and experience in service-learning pedagogy. The goal of Emerging grants is to provide funds so
that service-learning may begin to take root in schools and communities. Funds would be used for
professional development, technical assistance, and rudimentary project implementation.
Expansion
This level of funding is for organizations that have an intermediate amount of service-learning
experience. Practitioners working with students to implement the service-learning should have
service-learning training and should be well-versed in the educational theory of service-learning.
Organizations may have pockets of service-learning present throughout their entire program, but
there is a lack of true (not nominal) central coordination and coherency. Funds would be used for the
implementation of projects (under a central initiative) and further training.
Exemplary
This level of funding is specifically targeted at organizations with an expert knowledge of servicelearning and the beginnings of true systemic service-learning throughout their program. Practitioners
in this category of funding are very well-versed in service-learning theory and have had multiple
experiences with service-learning. Service-learning initiatives being undertaken by the youth are
coordinated centrally and coherently. Applicants at this level are well on their way to applying for a
Corporate YAB Grant to institutionalize their service-learning programs. Funds would be used for the
further unification of service-learning efforts and for the funding of multifaceted youth-led initiatives.
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Issue Analyses
Financial Education
Knowledge of financial education is an important life-skill needed by anyone in any country.
Without preparation, a person will be less likely to buy a house at a good rate, know a good
interest rate for a loan, know how to buy a car and avoid unnecessary fees, or know how to
save their money. Service-learning grants addressing this community need should aim to
educate students about practical financial skills.
Driver Safety
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that “25 percent of all deaths due to injuries
are the result of road traffic injuries”1. The leading causes of traffic and traffic-related deaths
include impaired driving, improper or lack of use of seat belts and speeding. Driver safety
also includes: child-passenger safety, graduated licensing, senior citizen safety, road rage,
street racing, road engineering, and railroad crossing safety. Service-learning grants
addressing this community need should engage students in promoting awareness of this
issue and changing driving habits of peers and community members to decrease the number
of traffic related deaths and injuries.
Access to Higher Education
Attending a two or four year institution of higher education is becoming increasingly
necessary to enter the workforce. It is clear that service-learning is one of the most effective
tools for helping increase attrition rates from secondary to higher education institutions. By
helping to engage them in their educational experiences and educating them about the
importance of college/university attendance, service-learning projects/programs can help
make accessing higher education a more achievable goal for many students. Servicelearning grants addressing this community need should help students build skills necessary to
enter a higher education institution and help expose students (especially minority students) to
higher education institutions.
Environmental Responsibility
One of the most current and rapidly growing concerns in the 21st century, is that of
Environmental Responsibility. Topics for consideration in this ongoing public discourse have
been climate change, ozone depletion, conservation of natural resources, wildlife protection
which are just a few of a myriad of concerns. By starting grassroots efforts through servicelearning programs in this issue area, youth can help bring about systemic change for the
betterment of the worldwide community. Service-learning grants addressing this community
need should encourage environmental responsibility in students and community members via
advocacy and to help directly and/or indirectly impact local environmental factors.
1
Juan Walte, “World Health Day 2004: Road Safety”, http://www.paho.org/English/DD/PIN/whd04_features.htm (2004)
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Checklist of Required Materials
Prior to the submission of your application, please take the time to verify that all of the
following have been completed and are included in your application packet. In addition,
please review your application to ensure that you have provided all of the information
necessary for the Board to decide whether or not your proposal should be funded.
_____ Letterhead of Request on Organization Letterhead2
_____ Completed Contact Sheet
_____ Completed Proposal Narrative
_____ Completed Timeline
_____ Completed Budget
Please submit applications by Sunday, August 1st, 2010 to:
The Southern Zone Youth Advisory Board
sfszyab@gmail.com
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or points that require further clarification
please contact any of the Southern Zone YAB members or their State Farm Liaisons.
2
Letters of request must include the Federal Tax ID # (EIN) of the submitting organization.
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Adult (must be legally authorized to sign on the behalf of the
organization):
Name of Applicant: _________________________________
Name of School/Organization: _________________________________
Occupation: ______________________________
Work Phone: ________________________ Cell Phone: _________________________
Summer Break Phone: ________________________________
Email: _______________________________
School/Organization Mailing Address:
______________________________
Street
____________________, _________ ____________
City
State
Zip Code
Signature: _____________________________________________, Date: _____________
Youth Applicant (co-author of proposal)
Name of Applicant: _________________________________
Summer Break Phone: ______________________ Cell Phone: ________________
Email: __________________________________________
By signing below you are confirming that you helped to directly craft and write the attached
proposal, timeline, and budget. In addition, by signing you are acknowledging that you are
aware that during the grant review process you may be contacted regarding your role in the
creation of this proposal.
Signature: _____________________________________________, Date: _______________
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Service-Learning Project Proposal Narrative
Prior to the completion of your narrative, please carefully read and consider the following.
The State Farm Southern Zone Youth Advisory Board looks favorably upon grant applications
and proposed applications that:
o Directly and clearly link service activities with state or national academic standards.
o Provide new opportunities for youth through service-learning to make positive
change in their communities.
o Engage a large number of youth as participants and beneficiaries.
o Are initiated, designed, and carried out by youth with support from expert community
partners.
o Meet a sufficient number of the Standards of High Quality Service Learning Practice.
o Bring multiple reciprocal community partner and stakeholders together for a
common goal.
o Have a clearly defined and well-explained budget.
o Are well organized, clearly and persuasively written, and grammatically correct.
Issue Area
Under which issue area will you be applying? Please check beside the appropriate issue.
_______ Financial Education
_______ Driver Safety
_______ Access to Higher Education
_______ Environmental Responsibility
Funding Level
Under which funding level will you be applying? Please check beside the appropriate level.
________ Emerging
_________ Expansion
_________ Exemplary
Throughout the application different requirements MAY exist for each funding level. Please
pay special attention to these additional requirements for your specific level of funding. The
narrative can be found on the next page. Good luck!
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Please thoughtfully respond to the following questions or statements:
Executive Summary
Emerging: Please provide an overview and description of how you plan to use the funds for
which you are applying. What is the big picture of your project or program?
Expansion (in addition to the above): Please provide an overview of how you are continuing a
past initiative or project forward into the next year.
Exemplary (in addition to all of the above): Please describe ways that you are moving
towards a strongly centralized and institutionalized service-learning program.
Organizational Capacity
All levels please provide the following data:
Projected number of students directly involved in the initiative
Grade levels/ages involved in the project (both performers of and recipients of service)
Demographics of the targeted population
Total number of students at project sites (e.g., total pop. of school(s) or district)
Emerging: What structures are currently in place or need to be established in order to
successfully administer and manage your grant funds?
Expansion:
What is your institution’s prior experience with implementing service-learning projects?
What is your institution’s prior experience with managing service-learning or similar grants?
What service-learning training have your teachers, students, and administrators had?
Exemplary (in addition to Expansion questions):
What centralized structure is in place to unify your program’s service-learning initiatives?
What were the impacts of your prior projects and service-learning initiative (please provide
data if possible)?
Please provide evidence that your administration supports your service-learning program.
Genuine Community Need (Please provide support data for all levels):
What school/community needs led your organization to the target issue identified above?
What student and/or school needs can be met through activities funded in this proposal?
Youth Voice (for all levels)
How were youth involved in the writing and creation of this proposal?
How will youth be given opportunities to choose the method by which to address the identified
community need?
How will youth be given important decision-making roles throughout the project or program?
Curricular integration (for all levels)
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
In what course(s) will students be implementing service learning projects and
activities funded by this proposal?
What topics, themes, or units of study provide natural opportunities for students to engage in
problem solving and civic action connected to the courses identified above?
Identify corresponding state or national curriculum standards that students will be
demonstrating in service learning projects and activities funded by this proposal.
Reciprocal Community Partnerships
Please complete the following chart of partnerships in your community that you will leverage.
You do not need to have partners listed under each category. Expansion and Exemplary
level grantees should designate which partnerships are pre-existing from other projects and
which will be formed this coming school year.
Businesses
Government (all levels)
Civic
Individuals
Faith-based
Other Ed. Programs
Taking one (1) of the above partners, please elaborate in detail how you will work together to
help accomplish your goals for this project/initiative.
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
Timeline You may add additional rows if necessary.
Month
Activity
Youth Voice?
(Y or N)
State Farm?
(Y or N)
Media?
(Y or N)
State Farm Southern Zone
Yo u t h Ad v i s o r y B o a r d
BUDGET
REQUESTED FUNDS
A. Salaries and Compensation (CANNOT BE OVER 10% OF TOTAL AMT REQUESTED)
NO.
ITEM
EXPLANATION
UNIT COST
QUANTITY
TOTAL
1
2
3
4
SUBTOTAL (1)
$
B. Supplies and Equipment
NO.
ITEM
EXPLANATION
UNIT COST
QUANTITY
TOTAL
1
2
3
4
SUBTOTAL (2)
$
C. Travel and Lodging
NO.
ITEM
EXPLANATION
UNIT COST
QUANTITY
TOTAL
1
2
3
4
SUBTOTAL (3)
$
D. Promotion / Publicity / Marketing
NO.
ITEM
EXPLANATION
UNIT COST
QUANTITY
TOTAL
1
2
3
4
SUBTOTAL (4)
$
D. Professional / Technical Services
NO.
ITEM
EXPLANATION
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QUANTITY
TOTAL
1
2
3
4
SUBTOTAL (5) $
E. Miscellaneous
NO.
ITEM
EXPLANATION
UNIT COST
QUANTITY
TOTAL
1
2
3
4
SUBTOTAL (6)
GRAND TOTAL
$