Service Area Competition CHC Grant Writing

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Part One: First Things First

Patty Linduska

Training/TA Director

Alaska Primary Care Association

PattyL@AlaskaPCA.org

907-929-2730

Expected Outcomes

1.

2.

3.

4.

Know how to prepare to apply for a grant on grants.gov

Know the elements of reviewing the grant guidance.

Know how to identify the content required.

Know how to set up the application format.

Get Ready to Apply

Obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number

Register with the System for Award Management (SAM)

(formerly CCR)

Register with Grants.gov

(may take up to a month)

 One –time process

Register with HRSA Electronic Hand Books (EHBs)

 Applicants will be able to access EHB approximately 7 days after grants.gov and receipt of tracking number.

Help: CallCenter@hrsa.gov

or 1-877-464-4772, (TTY for hearing impaired (877) 897-9910) Monday through Friday

(except Federal holidays), 9 am to 5:30 pm ET

Getting Ready, cont.

 Instructions on how to register, tutorials and FAQs are available on the Grants.gov web site at www.grants.gov

.

 Assistance is also available from the Grants.gov help desk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (excluding Federal holidays) at support@grants.gov

or by phone at 1-800-

518-4726.

 Appropriate agency contacts are in Section VII of the

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

Accessing the Grant Application

 Download the application package and instructions from http://www.grants.gov/ .

The program guidance is also part of the instructions that must be downloaded.

Make note the Announcement Number as it will be required later in the process.

 Save a copy of the application package on your computer and complete all the standard forms based on the instructions provided in the program guidance.

http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/opportunities/packages/opp

HRSA-14-021-cfda93.224-cid5822.pdf

Important Note

The following attachment types are supported in HRSA EHBs. Even though grants.gov may allow you to upload various types of attachments, it is important to note that

HRSA only accepts the following types of attachments. Files with unrecognizable extensions may not be accepted or may be corrupted, and will not be considered

as part of the application.

.DOC - Microsoft Word

.RTF - Rich Text Format

.TXT - Text

.WPD - Word Perfect Document

.PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format

.XLS - Microsoft Excel

.VSD – Microsoft Visio

 When the application is printed by HRSA, documents will print as they are formatted by the applicant. Take care to format Excel spreadsheets so they will print in as few pages as possible.

 Limit the file attachment name to under 50 characters.

 Do not use any special characters (e.g., -, %, /, #, ) or spacing in the file name or word separation. (The exception is the underscore ( _ ) character.)

Reviewing the Guidance

 Eligibility Requirements

 Submission dates and times

 Summary of Funding

 Cap on $ amount

Cost sharing/matching fund requirements

Funding restrictions

 Change in guidance

 Submission requirements

 Specific requirements/expectations

 Budget period/project period-start and end dates

Ask: Is this Grant for Us?

 When reviewing for appropriateness of grants in general, look at all the elements and decide if this grant opportunity is a good fit for your organization.

 Does it fit into your strategic plan?

 Do you have the capacity to write the grant ?

 Will you have the capacity to run the grant if awarded?

 Is there enough money to accomplish what you want?

Two-Tiered Online Data Entry

HRSA uses a two-tiered online data entry procedure for completing the

SAC grant application. The application process is divided into two phases:

Phase 1: Applicants will enter Grants.gov and complete the

Application Form SF 424, Project Summary/Abstract and the HHS

Checklist Form PHS 5161. These must be completed and successfully submitted via Grants.gov by 11:59 PM ET on the applicable due date.

Phase 2: After completing the Grants.gov portion of the application process, applicants will enter HRSA’s EHBs and complete all other components of the application (refer to page 15 of this guidance for detailed description of the required forms/narrative/attachments) which must be submitted via HRSA’s EHBs by 5:00 PM ET on the applicable due date.

Two-Tiered Online Data Entry, cont.

Please Note: Applicants can only begin Phase 2 in HRSA’s EHBs after Phase 1 in Grants.gov has been completed by its due date, and HRSA has assigned the application a tracking number. You will be notified by email when your application is ready within HRSA’s EHBs for Phase 2. This email notification will be sent within 3 business days of the Phase 1 submission. Refer to section 4 of the HRSA Electronic Submission Guide for more details.

 To ensure that you have adequate time to follow procedures and successfully submit the application, we recommend that you register immediately in

Grants.gov if you have not done so already. The registration process can take up to one month.

 We also recommend that you submit your application in Grants.gov as soon as possible to ensure that you have maximum time for providing the supplemental information in HRSA EHBs. Please note that all applicants must also be registered in HRSA’s EHBs.

Page Limit

The total size of all uploaded files may not exceed the equivalent of 160 pages when printed by HRSA.

 This page limit DOES NOT include the

Program Specific Forms;

Program Specific Information (Health Care and Business Plans and

Electronic Health Records);

Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424);

Project Performance Site locations.

Grants.gov Lobbying Form;

Budget Information for Non-Construction Program (SF-424A);

HHS Checklist Form PHS 5161;

Assurances; and

Certifications.

Page Limit, cont.

 Please note that the page limit DOES include the

 project abstract;

 program narrative; budget justification; and

 all attachments.

 Applications that exceed the specified limits

(approximately 20 MB, or that exceed 160 pages when printed by HRSA) will be deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for funding under this announcement.

Application Format: Forms and

Documents

 “Forms” refers to those documents that are completed online in the system and that do not require any downloading or uploading.

 “Documents” are those requirements that must be downloaded in the template provided, completed, and then uploaded into the system.

Application Format, cont.

 Applicants are reminded that failure to include all required documents as part of the application may result in an application being considered as incomplete or nonresponsive.

 All incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant without further consideration.

 It is highly recommended that applicants print out the application before submitting it electronically to ensure that it is within the 160-page limit.

Application Due Date

Table 6: Application Deadlines

Project Period

Start Date

November 1, 2013

December 1, 2013

January 1, 2014

February 1, 2014

March 1, 2014

April 1, 2014

May 1, 2014

June 1, 2014

Project Period

Start Date

November 1, 2013

December 1, 2013

January 1, 2014

February 1, 2014

March 1, 2014

April 1, 2014

May 1, 2014

June 1, 2014

HRSA

Announcement

Number

HRSA-14-021

HRSA-14-022

HRSA-14-023

HRSA-14-024

HRSA-14-025

HRSA-14-026

HRSA-14-027

HRSA-14-028

Grants.gov

Deadline

(11:59PM ET)

July 24, 2013

July 31, 2013

August 14, 2013

September 11, 2013

October 9, 2013

October 30, 2013

December 4, 2013

January 8, 2014

Due Date, cont.

 Applications completed online are considered formally submitted when:

(1) the application has been successfully transmitted electronically

• to the correct HRSA funding opportunity number by the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) through Grants.gov and has been validated by Grants.gov on or before the

Grants.gov deadline date and time; and

(2) the Authorizing Official (AO) has submitted the additional information in HRSA EHB on or before the

EHB deadline date and time.

Due Date, cont.

 Receipt Acknowledgement

 Upon receipt of an application, Grants.gov will send a series of email messages regarding the progress of the application through the system.

1. The first will confirm receipt in the system.

2. The second will indicate whether the application has been successfully validated or has been rejected due to errors.

3. The third will be sent when the application has been successfully downloaded at HRSA.

4. The fourth will notify the applicant of the Agency Tracking Number assigned to the application.

 The applicant will receive an “Application successfully transmitted to HRSA” message in HRSA EHB upon successful application submission within the EHB system.

Due Date, cont.

 The Chief Grants Management Officer (CGMO) or designee may authorize an extension of published deadlines when justified by circumstances such as natural disasters(e.g., floods or hurricanes) or other disruptions of services, such as a prolonged blackout.

The CGMO or designee will determine the affected geographical area(s).

 Late applications:

 Applications that do not meet the appropriate deadlines are considered late applications and will not be considered for funding in the current competition.

Funding Restrictions

 Funds under this announcement may not be used for fundraising or the construction of facilities. The HHS

Grants Policy Statement (HHS GPS) available at http://www.hrsa.gov/grants includes information about allowable expenses.

 Pursuant to existing law and consistent with Executive

Order 13535 (75 FR 15599), health centers are prohibited from using Federal funds to provide abortion services

(except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered). This includes all grants awarded under this announcement and is consistent with past practice and long-standing requirements applicable to grant awards to health centers.

Funding Restrictions, cont.

Salary Limitation

The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations

Act, 2013 (P. L. 113-6), enacted March 26, 2013, continues provisions enacted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act,

2012

 -74). The law limits the salary amount that may be awarded and charged to HRSA grants. Award funds may not be used to pay the salary of an individual at a rate in excess of Executive

Level II of the Federal Executive Pay scale. The Executive

Level II salary is $179,700. This amount reflects an individual’s base salary exclusive of fringe benefits and any income that an individual may be permitted to earn outside of the duties to the applicant organization. This salary limitation also applies to sub-awards/subcontracts for a substantial portion of the project under a HRSA grant.

Funding Restrictions, cont.

 Any proposed changes in scope requiring prior approval

MUST be submitted through HRSA’s Electronic Handbook

(EHB). The EHB can be accessed from anywhere on the

Internet using a standard web browser, https://grants.hrsa.gov/webexternal/ .

 Please refer to the most recent guidance on changes to scope contained in PIN 2009-03: Technical Revision to PIN

2008-01: Defining Scope of Project and Policy for

Requesting Changes (available at www.bphc.hrsa.gov/policy/pin0903.htm/ ).

Other Submission Requirements

 Except in rare cases, HRSA will no longer accept applications for grant opportunities in paper form.

Applicants for this funding opportunity are required to submit electronically through Grants.gov. To submit an application electronically, please use the http://www.grants.gov

apply site. When using

Grants.gov you will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it off-line, and then upload and submit the application via the Grants.gov site.

Formal Submission of the

Electronic Application

 Applications will be considered as having met the deadline if:

 (1) the application has been successfully transmitted electronically by your organization’s Authorized

Organization Representative (AOR) through Grants.gov and it has been successfully validated by Grants.gov on or before the deadline date and time; and

 (2) the Project Director has entered the HRSA EHBs to review the application and the AOR has submitted the additional information on or before the deadline date and time.

Formal Submission, cont.

 It is incumbent on applicants to ensure that the

AOR is available to submit the application to

HRSA by the published due date. HRSA will not accept submission or re-submission of incomplete, rejected, or otherwise delayed

applications after the deadline. Therefore, you are urged to submit your application in advance of the deadline. If your application is rejected by Grants.gov due to errors, you must correct the application and resubmit it to Grants.gov before the deadline date and time.

Content and Form-Font

 Use an easily readable typeface (Font) such as Times

Roman, Arial, Courier, or CG Times.

 The text and table portions of the application must be submitted in not less than 12- point and 1.0 line spacing.

 For charts, graphs, footnotes, and budget tables, applicants may use a different pitch or size font, not less than 10 pitch or size font.

 Please do not submit organizational brochures or other promotional materials, slides, films, clips, etc.

Content and Form, cont.

 Paper Size and Margins

 Able to print on 8 ½” x 11”

Margins must be at least one (1) inch at the top, bottom, left and right of the paper.

Left-align text.

 Names

 Include the name of the applicant and 10-digit grant number (if competing continuation, competing supplement, or noncompeting continuation) on each page.

Content and Form, cont.

 Section Headings

 Please put all section headings flush left in bold type.

 Page Numbering

 Do not number the standard OMB approved forms.

 Number each attachment page sequentially.

 Reset the numbering for each attachment.

 (Treat each attachment/document as a separate section.)

Letters of Support

 Applicant must provide letters of support, commitment and/or investment (e.g., from the school board, local hospital, public health department, relevant state health care associations, homeless shelters, advocacy groups, and other service providers, etc.). These items should be included in Attachment

10: Letters of Support and referenced as appropriate.

Summary of Changes

 The eligibility criteria have been expanded to clarify the requirements for proposed patient numbers, service area zip codes, and target populations.

 The requirements for Attachment 1 : Service Area Map and Table have been expanded and direct applicants to use UDS Mapper for maps and accompanying data tables.

 Attachment 14 : Implementation Plan is now required for new applicants and current grantees applying to serve a new service area. This plan is designed to outline action steps required for meeting the 120-day operational status requirement.

Changes, cont.

 The prenatal and perinatal performance measures are now required for all applicants. See Appendix B for details.

 The childhood immunization and cancer screening performance measures have been updated per

Program Assistance Letter 2013-02 available at http://bphc.hrsa.gov/policiesregulations/policies/pal2

01302.html.

 Form 2: Staffing Plan has been updated to include a column to report staff expenses to be charged to the

SAC grant (i.e., requested federal dollars).

Changes, cont.

Form 3: Income Analysis has been revised to simplify the reporting of projected income.

Form 6A: Current Board Member Characteristics will be pre-populated and available for edit for current Health

Center Program grantees.

Form 6B: Request for Waiver of Governance Requirements will be not applicable for current grantees receiving CHC

(section 330(e)) funding.

Form 9: Need for Assistance (NFA) Worksheet has been revised to include more current indicators. Core Barriers and Health Indicators have been modified, added, or removed to include the most relevant and current indicators of need for which data are available.

Changes, cont.

The Federal Object Class Categories form has been added to capture details on the federal funding request.

Project period length determining factors have been added, including a stipulation that a current Health Center

Program grantee will not be funded if they would be awarded a third, consecutive one-year project period for FY

2014. See Table 7.

The maximum project period length is three years for all applicants.

The budget justification must detail the costs of each line item within each object class category from the Federal

Object Class Categories form (federal section 330 funding request and non-federal funding). See Appendix C for details.

N

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Phase 1: Grants.gov

Application Section

Application for

Federal Assistance

(SF-424)

Project Abstract

SF-424B: Assurances –

Non- Construction

Programs

Additional

Congressional

District(s) (as applicable)

Project Performance

Site Location(s)

Grants.gov Lobbying Form

SF-LLL: Disclosure of

Lobbying Activities (as applicable)

Form Type

Form

Document

Form

Instruction

Complete pages 1, 2, & 3 of the SF-424. See instructions in Section IV.2.i.

Type the title of the funding opportunity and upload the project abstract in Box 15 of the SF-424. See instructions in Section IV.2.viii.

Complete the Assurances form.

Document Upload a list of additional Congressional Districts served by the project if all districts served will not fit in 16b of the SF-424.

Form

Form

Form

N

Current Health Center Program grantees applying to continue serving their current service area must provide only the administrative site of record.

Applicants not currently receiving Health Center Program funds for the proposed service area must provide the administrative site information

AND information about all project performance sites. A list of additional sites may be uploaded as necessary.

Provide the requested contact information at the bottom of the form.

N

N

Complete the form only if lobbying activities are conducted.

N

Y

N

Counted in

Page Limit

(Y/N)

N

SF-424A: Application Face Page

 You will need to know how much you are allowed to request

 Check your NGA #13

 You will need to know your new project period start and end dates

 Check your NGA #6 (unless you have been notified of another date by the BPHC) double click above

Estimated Funding

Box 18: Estimated Funding: Complete the required information based on the funding request for the first

year of the project period. This information should be consistent with the total provided in the applicant’s

SF-424A Budget for Non-Construction Programs.

Project Period Dates

Box 17 Proposed Project Start and End Date: Provide the start and end dates for the proposed three-year project period. For applicant’s currently receiving section 330 funds and applying to serve their current service area, the proposed start date should be consistent with the project period end date noted on the most recent Notice of Grant Award.

Notice of Grant Award Example

Make sure you have the MOST RECENT NGA

#1-Supercedes Award Notice Dated:

#2-Project Period-Longest period at the end of which you need to do a SAC application

#3-Budget Period-Usually one year at the end of which you do a Budget

Period Renewal

#4-Amount of Financial Assistance this Action

#5-Recommended Future Support-

Make sure that your grant request matches

This amount.

SF-424 A Estimated Funding

 15. ESTIMATED FUNDING: a. Federal b. Applicant c. State d. Local e. Other f. Program Income g. TOTAL

$ .

00

$

$

$

$

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$ .

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$ .

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Project Abstract

 Upload a one-page summary of the application under box

#15 of the SF-424 Face Page.

 Because the abstract is often distributed to provide information to the public and Congress, please prepare this so that it is clear, accurate, concise, and without reference to other parts of the application.

 It must include a brief description of the proposed grant project including the needs to be addressed, the proposed services, and the population group(s) to be served. The project abstract must be single-spaced.

Abstract, cont.

 Please place the following at the top of the abstract:

Project Title: Service Area Competition

Applicant Name

Address

Project Director Name

Phone Numbers (Voice, Fax)

E-Mail Address

Web Site Address, if applicable

Congressional Districts for the Applicant Organization and

Proposed Service Area (if different).

Types of section 330 funding requested in this application (i.e.,

CHC, HCH, etc)

Current Federal Funding (including HRSA funding), if applicatble.

Abstract, cont.

 The abstract must include a brief description of the proposed project, including the applicant organization, target population, needs to be addressed, and proposed services. Include the following in the body of the abstract:

 A brief history of the organization, the community to be served, and the target population.

A summary of the major health care needs and barriers to care to be addressed by the proposed project, including the needs of special populations (migratory and seasonal agricultural workers, people experiencing homelessness, and/or residents of public housing).

How the proposed project will address the need for comprehensive primary health care services in the community and target population.

 Number of current and proposed patients, visits, providers, service delivery sites and locations, and services to be provided.

 All information provided in the abstract should be consistent with data included in the application.

Now What?

 Submit in grants.gov and wait to hear that you are allowed to work in the Electronic Handbook…BUT, know this, YOU HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN !

 Tips

 Complete Phase 1 as early as possible

 DO NOT allow only two weeks to complete Phase 2…It is the most work!

 Look over the entire application guidance, all required forms and documents, etc.

 Know what is left to do and make a plan to get it done.

Additional Resources

 How to Read Your Notice of Grant Award http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/apply/assistance/SAC/noah andout.pdf

 Email TA@AlaskaPCA.org

to ask for

 SAC Guidance as Word Document

The SAC Webinar #1 PowerPoint Presentation

SAC Project Narrative Format (so you can start working right away)

This information will be available on the All Things Grant

Forum within a few days.

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 Part 2: Budget Presentation & Support Requested

 Budget Presentation Contents

PHS Form 5161-1, SF424A

Budget Justification

Form 2: Staffing Profile

Form 4: Income Analysis

Budget Preparation

 Criterion 6: Support Requested

Next Webinar: July 17 th at 12 noon. See you then.

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