Campaign for Grade Level Reading Application

Part of a nationwide movement, the Heart of Indiana Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a communitywide effort to help children from birth through 3rd grade, especially those from asset-limited families, succeed in life by focusing on an important predictor of school success and high school graduation: grade-level reading by the end of third grade.

The campaign is based on the belief that schools cannot succeed alone. Engaged communities collaborate to remove barriers, expand opportunities, and serve as full partners with families to ensure student success. Grade level reading depends on the following factors:

Children meet developmental benchmarks and are ready for kindergarten
Children attend school persistently
Children retain and continue learning over the summer
Children are healthy
Parents and caregivers are supported and successful in their role as first teacher, tutor, advocate, and coach.

The Campaign for Grade Level Reading partnership focuses on A MORE SEAMLESS, OUTCOMES-ACCOUNTABLE SYSTEM of care, services, and family supports for children from birth through third grade — one that is less fragmented, more aligned, and operates along a continuum. To accomplish this, partners are focused on providing services that achieve the following outcomes:

School Readiness — Children are ready for school and developmentally on track, or fewer children are entering kindergarten with undetected, undiagnosed, and untreated conditions or delays that can impede learning.

School Attendance — Children are attending school regularly or fewer children are chronically absent because of manageable health challenges such as asthma and preventable ones such as tooth decay.

Summer Learning— Children are maintaining or increasing their reading levels over the summer.

Grade Level Reading — Children are reading at or above grade level at the end of first, second, and third grade.

Family Support and Engagement – Families have the support needed to help their children read on grade level and achieve academic and life-long success.

These services are integrated and delivered to children and families in a bundled fashion to provide a multi-faceted approach to grade level reading success. Different from collaboration that many non-profits expertly navigate, integration in the Campaign for Grade Level Reading model also influences how services are organized in an organization’s overall operations. Integration is purposely built into program design, staff communication plans, data collection and service delivery so children and families can benefit from multiple, reinforcing services and systems that contribute to their overall academic success.

Accessibility

Applicants should expect and be open to changing their current client flow and service model, both at entry into the Campaign for Grade Level Reading and over time to meet the needs of families and in response to outcome data. Campaign for Grade Level Reading Partners should also have accessible hours (such as evenings or Saturdays) in order to accommodate the schedules of working people.

Organization Name *

Address *

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State

Zip Code

Website / URL

Executive Director *

First

Last

Contact name if different from Executive Director

First

Last

Email *

Phone *

What County or Counties do you plan to serve with this request? *

Please indicate which county or counties you serve

FUNDING REQUESTED

What is the amount of annual funding requested from United Way and what is the amount of total program revenue projected in the proposed annual program budget in this proposal?

United Way annual program funding requested: *

Total proposed annual program budgeted expenses: *

Total proposed annual AGENCY budgeted expenses: *

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY (9 points) *

Explain how your organization is capable of fulfilling the program service for which you are applying for funding. Describe your organization, noting capacity and experience. Cite examples of how the organization typically applies its skills and resources to accomplish its goals and satisfy its stakeholders’ expectations. Factors to consider in your response: a. Mission and history b. Organizational structure c. Leadership and management style d. History with managing and participating in partnerships e. Fiscal and grant management capacity f. Program location

TARGET POPULATION NARRATIVE (8 points) *

Define the current target population, including the size and circumstances of the population from which program participants are identified. Include relevant descriptions of the demographics of program participants (which may include age, gender, race/ethnicity, income level, geographic location, etc.). Describe the risk factors and community conditions affecting the target population that underlie the need for the program and any other relevant characteristics of the target population.

ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVITY (10 points) *

Describe actions by the agency to ensure the program is accessible to—and effective in serving—members of the target population who may face barriers to service due to such factors as income inequality, race/ethnicity, language, physical disability, transportation issues, work schedules or other factors.

PROGRAM QUALITY (5 points)

a. Is the program or agency licensed, accredited, certified by an affiliate, or subject to any other set of standards? *

b. If yes, please name and describe the entity—or entities, if the program/organization has multiple) that conducts the review and the frequency of the review.

c. When was the most recent review(s) and what was the outcome of the review(s)?

d. In the past three years, has the organization lost any accreditation/certification/licensure due to performance problems or has the organization chosen not to reapply for any accreditation/certification/licensure for any reason? *

e. If yes, please explain.

f. Describe any additional efforts taken by the organization to ensure program quality.

PROGRAM PARTICIPANT COUNT (6 points)

Please report an unduplicated count of program participants in 2021 by geographic area, gender, race/ethnicity, income level and age, for each service for which you are applying for funding.

Total number of program participants *

Are you able to report an unduplicated count of participants? *

Participants by Geography

Please report an unduplicated count of program participants in 2021 by geographic area for each county you serve.

PARTICIPANTS BY GENDER

Please report an unduplicated count of program participants in 2021 by gender.

Number of male participants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of female participants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of tansgender male/trans man participants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of trans female/trans woman participants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of non binary/gender nonconforming participants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of gender unknown *

PARTICIPANTS BY RACE/ETHNICITY

Please report an unduplicated count of program participants in 2021 by race/ethnicity.

Number of American Indian/Alaska Native participants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of Black/African American participants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of Asian/Pacific Islander participants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of Hispanic/Latino participants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of White/Caucasian particpants *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of participants of other race/ethnicity *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

Number of participants with unknown race/ethnicity *

Enter 0 if none/not tracked

PARTICIPANTS BY INCOME LEVEL

Please report an unduplicated count of program participants in 2021 by income level.

Number of participants at or below 100% of Federal Poverty Level *

Number of participants between 100%-200% of Federal Poverty Level *

Number of participants at or above 200% of Federal Poverty Level *

Number of participants whose income level is unknown *

BUDGET NARRATIVE (10 points) *

Please provide detail on each of the budgeted revenue sources and expenses in the program budget you submitted.

ADOPTION OF GRADE LEVEL READING FOCUS (15 points) *

The Campaign for Grade Level Reading is more than a “program.” It is a data-driven model designed to collectively improve the way our community approaches grade level reading. Please describe your plan to remove barriers, expand opportunities, and assist families and caregivers in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities to serve as full partners in the success of their children. Please describe challenges you foresee in delivering on this plan and viable solutions for overcoming these barriers.

STAFF QUALIFICATIONS (12 points) *

The Campaign for Grade Level Reading relies on three specialized roles to ensure that children are reading on grade level: Educational Support (early learning, tutoring/mentoring, summer learning), Family Engagement (supports for families in their role as first teacher, advocate, and coach), Health and Wellness (access to health care for chronic illness and preventative care). Effective Grade Level Reading models also require time for program management to oversee the efforts of the front-line staff and implementation of the model across the organization. Please describe the number, qualifications, experience, and duties of specific staff responsible for delivering and managing these services and any additional services that families will receive. Include a description of training provided to these staff to ensure they are capable of performing the work required of them.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (10 points) *

Describe, in detail, how your program or services are currently delivered. Explain how services will be delivered to achieve outcomes listed in the Grade Level Reading description to ensure all barriers to grade level reading are addressed and eliminated. Describe your planned approach to “bundling” services, and include a description by which a child and his or her family will receive all necessary supports to be successful.

Additional explanation on outcomes

If necessary, provide additional explanation on outcomes listed above

Outcome lessons learned *

Describe what has been learned about your current program’s success as a result of outcomes data. If any changes have been made to the program (e.g. outreach, activities, data collection) based on the outcomes data, describe those changes.

Does your organization have a diversity, equity or inclusion statement? *

AGENCY Budget *