Request for Proposals:
TEACHER INITIATIVE GRANTS 2015-2016
Purpose: To promote enriched learning environments in and out of the Arabic
classroom, QFI plans to award Teacher Initiative Grants in the 2015-2016 academic
year to teachers of Arabic who are currently teaching in K-12 public or public charter
schools in the United States or Canada.
Grant funds may be used to purchase materials and other resources to enhance the
teaching and learning of Arabic, as well as to support school-related cultural or
community events. Priority will be given to proposals that identify and fulfill a specific
need and contribute to the betterment of the Arabic classroom or program.
Appropriate uses of grant funds include, but are not limited to:
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Books, videos, software and other materials to teach Arabic language and
Arab culture (to test materials for free before you buy, request the “Arabic
Language Resource Box” via Al-Masdar).
Special costs associated with an interdisciplinary project or student-related
activities (must have a specific focus on Arabic language and/or Arab culture)
such as materials for art, music, geography, history, and science projects;
Speakers, performers, or Arabic language and Arab culture-based
programs/workshops to be held at the school;
Local travel and/or tickets for students to attend or visit Arab cultural events or
establishments such as museums, restaurants, stores or a local university’s
Arabic department (to name just a few examples; others will be considered);
Costs associated with student-driven performances related to Arabic language
and/or Arab culture that involve the greater school community.
For examples of past uses of Teacher Initiative Grants, please click here.
Application Process:
Applications for Teacher Initiative Grants will be accepted in four separate rounds
from September 10, 2015 through April 15, 2015. The deadline for each round is listed
below. Applications for each round will be due at 11:59 p.m. on the deadline date.
Late application materials will not be considered, nor will materials that do not follow
the guidelines set out for this application. Failure to complete the entire application
will disqualify you from being considered for a grant from QFI. Applicants will be
notified of QFI's decision within 30 days of the deadline of each round.
Deadlines for Teacher Initiative Grants 2015-2016
October 15, 2015
December 15, 2015
February 15, 2015
April 15, 2015
Eligibility:
Only applicants teaching in-school Arabic at public and public charter K-12 schools in
the U.S. and Canada are eligible to apply. Teachers of after-school Arabic programs
or clubs are not eligible to apply. QFI will give priority to first-time applicants; however,
teachers who have received funding from QFI in the past are still welcome to apply.
Teachers may submit multiple proposals in the 2015-2016 school year, but are only
eligible to receive one Teacher Initiative Grant per year. Multiple Arabic teachers
from the same school may apply but only one Teacher Initiative Grant will be
awarded to each school per year.
Requirements for Teacher Initiative Grant Recipients:
Teachers who receive funding from QFI will be responsible for submitting narrative
and financial reporting, written blog posts, and photos and videos in compliance with
QFI deadlines and quality guidelines. Additionally, grantees that are awarded funds
to purchase materials for the classroom will be required to review these materials on.
Similarly, if teachers create any materials with grant funding, they will be required to
upload these materials on Al-Masdar.
How to Apply:
If creating an account for the first time:
To apply, you must first register in QFI’s Grants Management Portal (Fluxx):
http://qfi.fluxx.io/. Select “Create an Account Now” and fill out the relevant
information. All of the fields in bold are required to be completed. Include your name,
address, city, country, state/province, postal code, email, and phone number.
When selecting a Program, choose “Arabic Language and Culture” from the
dropdown menu. For “which type of grant are you interested,” select “Teacher
Initiative Grants.”
For “Project Title,” please write TIG followed by a brief title of your project (e.g. TIG –
Arab Cultural Night; TIG – Music in the Arabic World). In “Amount Requested” please
include the exact amount requested up to $1000 for the project. For “Project
Summary,” please include a short description of your project. After completing this
registration form, click “Submit Request.”
You will receive a password within two business days that will allow you to log in and
create a request for a Teacher Initiative Grant.
If you already have an account on Fluxx:
If you have already registered on Fluxx, you do not need to register again. If you
have forgotten your password, please click on “I forgot my login/password”. Once
you receive your password, please follow the instructions below to apply. If you are
experiencing further technical difficulties, please contact [email protected].
Submitting Your Proposal
A. Initial Steps: Creating a Request
After logging in to the Grants Management Portal, click on “Create a Request.” This
will pull up a page listing several categories of grants. Click the “Teacher Initiative
Grants” button to open the application.
B. Completing the Request
Please complete each question, drop down or short answer, in order to provide QFI
with a project narrative and context. Leave nothing blank. If you do not know an
answer, state “Unknown.” If the question does not apply to you, state “N/A.”
You will need to fully complete the Teacher Initiative Grant application before
selecting “Save Grant Request” at the bottom of the screen. Please note that you
cannot save the grant request if you have not fully completed the application.
C. Budget
Budgets should be prepared in accordance with the guidelines on Appendix A of this
Request for Proposals. Thus, you will need to complete the Informal Budget document
(to upload under “Request Documents”) and the Office Budget tool on the
application.
QFI will closely review each proposal budget, and may request revisions. Failure to
complete this section accurately will result in disqualification. Therefore, please review
the appendix closely.
D. Request Documents
In the final section, “Request Documents,” please upload the following documents.
1. Resume or CV, titled, “YOUR LAST NAME, RESUME”.
2. Information budget tool, Titled “YOUR LAST NAME, INFORMAL BUDGET”.
3. Proof of budget documents, as explained in Appendix A.
4. Budget Explanation (Optional).
If you have any questions regarding the application process for QFI Teacher Initiative
Grants, please contact Craig Cangemi, QFI Program Officer, at [email protected].
Appendix A: Teacher Initiative Grant Budget
Explained
Each applicant will be expected to adhere to the following guidelines for budgeting
as part of the application for a Teacher Initiative Grant. Failure to do so will result in
disqualification from the application process.
Step 1: Informal budgeting tool
Please use the “informal budgeting tool” below to prepare your budget. After it is
complete, use it to complete your formal FLUXX budget (as explained below). Also,
upload a copy of the informal budgeting tool under “Request Documents.”
Budget Item
Price per
unit
Number
of Units
Total Price
Evidence
Attached
under
“Request
Documents”
Total:
Example 1: Middle Eastern music lessons and concert
Budget Item
Price per unit
Number
of Units
Total
Price
Framed Drums
22.99
5
114.95
Ocean Drums
42.99
2
85.98
Tambourines
11.99
5
59.95
Middle Eastern Drum Lessons
30.00
10
300.00
Total:
$560.88
Evidence Attached under
“Request Documents”
“Framed Drum Proof of
Budget”
“Ocean Drum Proof of
Budget”
“Tambourine Proof of
Budget”
“Drum Lesson Proof of
Budget”
“Proof of Budget” to be attached under the section, “Request
Documents”
“Framed Drum Proof of Budget”
“Tambourine Proof of Budget”
“Ocean Drum Proof of Budget”
“Drum Lesson Proof of Budget”
Proof of budget documents can take the following forms:
 Prices from any online or print source
 Formal Invoices
 E-mails from company stating the cost (informal invoice)
Step 2: Completing the formal FLUXX budget
The FLUXX budget is what will be used to evaluate the cost of your proposal. Please
use your informal budgeting tool to complete the FLUXX budget.
Directions:
1. To the right of the “Budget Requests” tab on your FLUXX request, click the green
circle.
Click here
2. When the tab “Add Budget Request Item” appears, complete using the following
example. Repeat for each row on your “informal budgeting tool”.
Notice that the name of the budget item is followed
by (Number of Units @ Price per Unit)
The completed product should look like this:
Other Important Information
Each budget item should very clearly relate to the purpose of
accomplishing your goal. If a budget item does not clearly relate to the
proposal outcome, please attach a document to the “Request Document”
section, titled “BUDGET EXPLANATION”.
Please note that the TIG does not cover the following:
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Professional development or projects with one direct beneficiary
Lodging, mileage, airfare, or per diem
Technology
Confetti, streamers, banners, or any other single-use product