Category: Grants

Apply Today for the 2024 Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative. Applications Due By January 12

Apply Now! Schools and community-based organizations can now apply for the 2024 Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative grants through the Maine Department of Education (DOE). These grants support hands-on, engaging, interdisciplinary outdoor learning and career exploration opportunities that connect students with Maine’s amazing natural environments and landscapes.

Created by Governor Mills, the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative has included thousands of students throughout the state in its Coastal Ecology and Inland Forestry Programs over the last two years. Read about past programs here: Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative: Past Programs | Department of Education.

The Maine DOE is excited to build on these successes to reach more students in this expanded program. The 2024 Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative Request for Applications (RFA, also known as grants) is available here: Grant RFPs and RFAs | Division of Procurement Services (maine.gov).  See RFA 202311223. 

Schools, private and nonprofit organizations, municipal Parks and Recreation Departments that are current members of the Maine Recreation and Park Association, and public libraries can apply.  In this sense, “schools” include school administrative Units (SAUs), Career and Technical Education (CTE) Centers or Regions, Education in Unorganized Territories (EUTs), charter schools, and approved private schools located in Maine.  See the RFA for explicit information and definitions on eligibility and allowable uses of funding. 

Grant awards will range from $25,000 to $999,999 with a total of $2,000,000 available. The 2024 Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative grant requires a marketing and outreach plan for reaching students from disadvantaged backgrounds as well as an emphasis on Maine DOE’s Whole Student Framework.  

This funding can potentially be used to facilitate outdoor learning programs before, during, or after school; on weekends; during school breaks and/or over the summer. Applications will also be considered for schools and organizations who wish to use the funding to enhance or expand existing outdoor programming. Grants are expected to be awarded in the early spring. All programing must be completed by September 1, 2024. 

This 2024 Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative opportunity is funded in its entirety by the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund. Learn more about the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative.  

Open for Additional Applicants: Comprehensive Electronic Health Record Pilot Grant Program Request for Applications (RFA #202305111)

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is accepting applications from school administrative units (SAUs), publicly supported secondary schools, and Education in the Unorganized Territory (EUT) who meet eligibility requirements stated in RFA# 202305111 as an ongoing open application period.

Using American Rescue Plan, state reservation funds, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) will cover costs of implementing a comprehensive electronic health record of up to $6000 which includes a nominal stipend for an SAU designated electronic health record champion. This widespread pilot aims to show that maintaining an electronic health record is beneficial to both local schools and the State of Maine as it will increase the efficiency of services provided, decrease the burden of reporting health data, allow for data-informed decisions and policy, and increase revenue possibilities with MaineCare.

Proposals submitted that meet the requirements will be accepted on a first come, first served basis until funds are no longer available or by May 31, 2024.

Eligible school administrative units that are interested in the Comprehensive Electronic Health Record Pilot Grant Program opportunity may access the application and the previously released question/answer document through the Grant RFPs and RFAs webpage.

All questions about the Comprehensive Electronic Health Record Pilot RFA should be submitted to the Grant Coordinator: Emily Poland, Office of School and Student Supports, Emily.Poland@Maine.gov

 

2024 Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative (MOLI) Grant Information Sessions

Start your scope of work now! The Maine Department of Education (DOE) will soon be seeking applications for the next round of Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative grants.  These grants support hands-on, engaging, interdisciplinary outdoor learning and career exploration opportunities that connect students with Maine’s amazing natural bounty. See a Newsroom story about 2023 Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative Grants.

With massive expansions in eligibility, this funding can potentially be used to facilitate outdoor learning programs before, during, or after school; on weekends; during school breaks and/or over the summer. The Request for Applications (RFA) is slated to be published December 1, 2023.

Join Maine DOE staff for a series of open office hours in November to learn more about the application process and how your organization can maximize this opportunity for students.   Make sure you sign up for these Open Office Hours sessions.  After the RFA is published on the State website, the Maine DOE will not be able to field questions outside of the formal Procurement process.

Join the Maine DOE Open Office Hours to brainstorm how your school or organization can take advantage of this one-time federal funding.

The significant expansion of the eligibility rules beyond non-profits to include most local education providers, makes many schools in Maine eligible for this funding.  For 2024, schools, private and nonprofit organizations, municipal Parks and Recreation Departments that are current members of the Maine Recreation and Park Association, and public libraries can apply.  In this sense, “schools” include charter schools, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Centers or Regions, Education in Unorganized Territories (EUTs), approved private schools located in Maine, and school administrative Units (SAU). Applications will also be considered for schools and organizations who wish to use the funding to enhance or expand existing outdoor programming.

The Maine DOE expects more than 60 applications. In 2023 our non-profit partners reached 1,500+ students. In expanding the eligibility and length of the 2024 grant, we expect to reach 2,500+ students with meaningful outdoor educational experiences.

The Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative was created by Governor Mills in 2022 to connect Maine’s young people to the outdoors through engaging summer learning opportunities. The initiative has grown each year in scope and the number of students served. Click here to learn about the 2022 and 2023 Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative programs. The initiative is supported through Federal Emergency Relief Funding.

 

Semester of Service $1,500 Grants to Support Youth Action

Maine youth have shown they want to take action on things that matter in their community. That is why Volunteer Maine, the state service commission, is offering $1,500 mini-grants to support youth-led projects through its Semester of Service grant program. Applications are due on or before November 2, 2023.

Youth groups in schools, faith communities, service organizations, and nonprofits are eligible to apply and participate. The Semester of Service begins on Martin Luther King Day of Service in January 2024 and ends with National Youth Service Day in April 2024. Proposals that tackle issues related to climate, mental or physical health, and housing are encouraged.“Youth-led” means individuals 17 or younger take the lead in all aspects of the initiative (research, decision-making, design, implementation). Advisors over 18 years old are resources and process facilitators. Youth-leadership is critical because it develops young people’s knowledge, skills and confidence to be catalysts for positive change within their communities.Participating youth groups are asked to learn what Dr. King meant by the “Beloved Community” and reflect on what their actions can contribute to making it a reality in their locale. “The Beloved Community” is a term first coined in the early 20th Century by the philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce, b1855 – d1916. For Dr. King, the Beloved Community was not an altruistic goal but rather a realistic, achievable goal. It could be attained by people working together to end poverty, hunger, homelessness, racism, prejudice, violence, bullying, and other conditions that divide or weaken a community.

Proposals for youth-led projects will be accepted from organizations with youth programs or youth constituents, 17 years old or younger, that are Maine public or private nonprofits, state/county/local units of government, higher ed institutions, faith-based organizations, Indigenous communities, and local schools.

Regardless of the type of youth group, the legal applicant must have an employer identification number (EIN) or taxpayer identification number (TIN) and, if selected, accept responsibility for signing the grant agreement, accounting for grant funds, and submitting a report on the outcomes of the project. Awards will not be made to individuals.

Application instructions and additional information can be found here.

For more information contact Maryalice Crofton, Executive Director of Volunteer Maine at (207) 624-7792 or maryalice.crofton@maine.gov.

About Volunteer Maine
Volunteer Maine, the Maine Commission for Community Service, builds capacity and sustainability in Maine’s volunteer sector by funding service programs, developing volunteer managers and service-learning practitioners, raising awareness of the scope and the impact of the volunteer sector, and encouraging an ethic of service.

Applications Open for Comprehensive Electronic Health Record Pilot Grant Program – Request for Applications (RFA #202305111)

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is accepting applications from school administrative units (SAUs), publicly supported secondary schools, and Education in the Unorganized Territory (EUT) that meet eligibility requirements stated in RFA# 202305111 as an ongoing open application period.

Using American Rescue Plan, and state reservation funds, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) will cover the costs of implementing a comprehensive electronic health record of up to $6000 which includes a nominal stipend for an SAU designated EHR champion. This widespread pilot aims to show that maintaining an electronic health record is beneficial to both local schools and the State of Maine as it will increase the efficiency of services provided, decrease the burden of reporting health data, allow for data-informed decisions and policy, and increase revenue possibilities with MaineCare.

Proposals submitted that meet the requirements will be accepted on a first-come, first served basis until funds are no longer available or by May 31, 2024.

Eligible school administrative units that are interested in the Comprehensive Electronic Health Record Pilot Grant Program opportunity may access the application and the previously released question/answer document through the Grant RFPs and RFAs webpage.

All questions about the Comprehensive Electronic Health Record Pilot RFA should be submitted to the Grant Coordinator: Emily Poland, Office of School and Student Supports, Emily.Poland@Maine.gov