1. Who is eligible to apply?
All faculty and staff from any State Center Community College District Campus is eligible to apply for a mini-grant.

2. I was previously granted a mini-grant, can I apply again?
Yes, you can apply again. If it is for the same project or event, please be sure to indicate such on the application.

3. Are there any items that cannot be funded?
The committee will not fund faculty professional development, food or other perishables, banners or T-Shirts

4. A colleague is applying for a specific project for which I would also like to apply. Can we both apply for one project?
The committee will not accept duplicate applications. If you know someone else is applying for the same project, work with them to ensure their application covers all your needs and put both names on the application. If you are unaware of the redundancy, the committee will still only receive one application and the other(s) will be held back by the College.

5. My project will cost greater than the $1,500 of a mini-grant. What should I do?
If your project costs are more than the $1,500 that can be granted via mini-grant, you must identify and seek additional sources of funding. This will be reviewed in your application. Please be specific as to the source of funding, the amount requested, and the steps taken to secure the funding project to be funded more than once, but it is not guaranteed. Be sure to indicate that the project has been funded in the past on your application.

6. My project is recurring or an annual event. Can I get funding for this via mini-grant each year?
If your project is recurring, continuous, annual or in any way outside the scope of a one-time funding need, you will need to identify and seek additional sources of funding. This will be reviewed in your application. Please be specific as to the source of funding, the amount requested and the steps taken to secure the funding. It is possible for a mini-grant

7. How do I increase the likelihood of being funded?
The committee seeks to fund projects with a great deal of impact on students and that faculty, staff or students are passionate about. Be sure be detailed in your answers to explain how many will be impacted, what the impact will be and the long term difference it can make for a student’s education or career in that field.

8. What happens if I receive a mini-grant and do not complete the Final Report?
Applicants who receive the mini-grant and do not complete a Final Report will not be eligible to apply for funding in the future. We will send reminders to help you avoid this, but ultimately, this is your responsibility.

9. What is the Request for Payment Reimbursement Process?
You must submit your request for payment within one week of receiving invoices or receipts to the Foundation office with all campus approvals. The reimbursement must meet the expense criteria on the mini-grant application submitted and approved by the Foundation Board of Directors. The Reimbursement check process is a two week turnaround from the time it was received in the Foundation office.

10. What documents must be submitted for a Request for Payment?
The types of documents required vary by the type of request being submit. In general, there are three types of requests for payment: paying a vendor, paying an individual, and paying account holder/employee.

Paying a Vendor:
Invoices from Vendor, purchase order, and a Form W-9 if the vendor is new

Paying an Individual:
Invoice, Independent Contract Agreement (approved), Form W-9, Form 590, and a flyer or description of event

Paying Account Holder/Employee:
Original Receipts attached to request for payments. Additional documentation may be required such as credit card statements, copy of Travel and Conference form, flyer on the event, or meeting minutes.

11. Will the project be judged on factors other than content?
All reviewers from the campus level to the committee level will assess each application for completeness and accuracy. The project idea must be totally flushed out with costs, logistics and other details described in full.

12. What is the approval process for a mini-grant application?
Once you have applied, it is reviewed by your department dean or director. At this point, the dean or director will deny the application or approve it and send it to your campus president. The president will then deny the application or approve it and send it to the Foundation. Foundation staff will vet applications for completeness, allowable items, and accuracy. The Foundation Scholarship and Grants Committee will then read all the applications and rate them in two categories: Project description and how it will improve service or instruction to students, and Information on how the project will enhance the classroom experience or student development. These two ratings will be added for a combined score, and the applications will be ranked by score. The committee then meets to discuss applications and makes the final decisions on who will be funded.

13. My application was denied. Why?
Applications can be denied for a number of reasons at any point during the review process. If you application has been denied, you are entitled to know the reason for the denial. The most common denial reasons are listed below. Please note, not all funding is used each mini-grant cycle and not all applications are funded. Both the use of funding and which grants are funded is wholly determined by the reviewers at the campus, administration, and committee levels.

Lack of Funding
The Foundation Board of Directors allocates $35,000 annually to fund mini-grants. If the amount of money applied for and approved exceeds this number, applications must be

Duplicate Project
If a project is applied for multiple times, it is denied and only the strongest application for that project will be approved. For example, if three biology faculty all apply to fund the same microscope, the project will be considered a duplicate and only the strongest application will be considered.

Funding Available Elsewhere
If a project can be funded elsewhere such as an outside grant or department budget, the application will be denied.

Project Not Eligible for Funding
As stated in question number three of this document, there are certain projects that the committee has deemed ineligible for funding. If this is applied for, it will be denied.

Lack of Completeness or Accuracy
If an application is incomplete or is found to be inaccurate, it will be denied.

Low Number of Student Impact
Student impact can be the number of students impacted or the level of impact on the student educational experience and is viewed as the combination of the two factors. If your dean/director, your president, or the committee feel students are not impacted enough, the application will be denied.

14. If I have additional accounting questions, who do I contact?
You will need to reach out to Leslie Mabray in the Foundation office at extension 7504 or via email.

15. If I have questions regarding my application, the process, the final report or anything other than accounting, who do I contact?
You will need to reach out to the Foundation Office at extension 7500 or via email to jessica.oldenkamp@scccd.edu.