[Federal Register: August 1, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 147)]
[Notices]
[Page 42061-42065]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01au07-48]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information;
Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program (URR); Notice
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.345A
Dates:
Applications Available: August 1, 2007.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 31, 2007.
Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit educational organizations that
research, display, interpret, and collect artifacts relating to the
history of the Underground Railroad.
Available Funds: $1,980,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $500,000-$1,000,000 total for up to
three years.
[[Page 42062]]
Estimated Number of Awards: 2.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to provide
grants to establish a facility to house, display, and interpret
artifacts related to the history of the Underground Railroad, and to
make the interpretive efforts available to institutions of higher
education that award a baccalaureate or graduate degree.
Special Requirements: Each nonprofit educational organization
awarded a grant under this program must enter into an agreement with
the Department. Each agreement must require the organization--
(1) To demonstrate substantial private support for the facility
through the implementation of a public-private partnership between a
State or local public entity and a private entity for the support of
the facility. The private entity must provide matching funds in an
amount equal to four times the amount of the contribution of the State
or local public entity, except that not more than 20 percent of the
matching funds may be provided by the Federal Government;
(2) To create an endowment to fund any and all shortfalls in the
costs of the on-going operations of the facility;
(3) To establish a network of satellite centers throughout the
United States to help disseminate information regarding the Underground
Railroad throughout the United States. These satellite centers must
raise 80 percent of the funds required to establish the satellite
centers from non-Federal public and private sources;
(4) To establish the capability to link the facility electronically
with other local and regional facilities that have collections and
programs that interpret the history of the Underground Railroad; and
(5) To submit, for each fiscal year for which an organization
receives funding under this program, a report to the Department that
contains--
(a) A description of the programs and activities supported by the
funding;
(b) The audited financial statement of the organization for the
preceding fiscal year;
(c) A plan for the programs and activities to be supported by the
funding, as the Secretary may require; and
(d) An evaluation of the programs and activities supported by the
funding, as the Secretary may require.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1153.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Available Funds: $1,980,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $500,000-$1,000,000 total for up to
three years.
Estimated Number of Awards: 2.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit educational organizations that
research, display, interpret, and collect artifacts relating to the
history of the Underground Railroad.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Not more than 20% of the total funds
for this project may be provided by the Federal Government. See 20
U.S.C. 1153(b)(2).
IV. Application and Information Submission
1. Address to Request Application Package: Jay Donahue, U.S.
Department of Education, room 6164, 1990 K Street, NW., Washington, DC
20006-8544. Telephone: (202) 502-7507 or by e-mail: jay.donahue@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact
person listed in this section.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of applications, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package and instructions for this
program. Page Limit: The program narrative is where you, the applicant,
address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your
application. You must limit the section of the narrative that addresses
the selection criteria to the equivalent of no more than 30 pages,
using the following standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1''
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. Page numbers and an
identifier may be within the 1'' margin.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative, except titles, headings,
footnotes, quotations, references, captions and all text in charts,
tables, and graphs.
Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier,
Courier New, or Arial. Applications submitted in any other font
(including Times Roman and Arial Narrow) will be rejected.
Use not less than 12-point font.
The page limit does not apply to: the application for
federal assistance (SF 424), the Supplemental Information Required for
Department of Education Grants, the budget information summary form (ED
Form 524), and the assurances and certifications. The page limit also
does not apply to a table of contents. The budget narrative and any
attachments or appendices will be counted as part of the Program
Narrative for purposes of the page limit requirement. You must include
your complete response to the selection criteria in the program
narrative.
We will reject your application if--
You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the
page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: August 1, 2007.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 31, 2007.
Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer
to section IV. 6. Other Submission Requirements.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII
in this notice. If the Department provides accommodation or auxiliary
aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the
application process, the individual's application remains subject to
all other requirements and limitations in this notice.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR
[[Page 42063]]
part 79. Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs
under Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this
program.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this competition must be submitted electronically unless you qualify
for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the
instructions in this section at: http://www.grants.gov.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications. Applications for grants
under the Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program--CFDA
Number 84.345A must be submitted electronically using the
Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at: http://www.Grants.gov. Through
this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application
package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your
application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant
application to us.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
You may access the electronic grant application for the
Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program at: http://www.grants.gov.
You must search for the downloadable application
package for this program by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA
number's alpha suffix in your search.
Please note the following:
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and
must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your
application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system
later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline
date. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify
you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time
stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date.
The amount of time it can take to upload an application
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures
pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf
.
To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp
). These steps include (1)
registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2)
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization.
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step
Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf
). You also must provide on your
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please
note that the registration process may take five or more business days
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your
application in paper format.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
all information you typically provide on the following forms:
Application for Federal Education Assistance (SF 424), the Department
of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--
Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the
Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424--have
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance).
You must attach any narrative sections of your application
as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable
Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file
types specified in this paragraph or submit a password-protected file,
we will not review that material.
Your electronic application must comply with any page-
limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification
indicates that the Department has received your application and has
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specific identifying
number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues
With the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov
Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support
Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically, or by hand
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing
instructions as described elsewhere in this notice.
If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the
[[Page 42064]]
application deadline date, please contact the person listed elsewhere
in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII in
this notice and provide an explanation of the technical problem you
experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk
Case Number. We will accept your application if we can confirm that a
technical problem occurred with the Grants.gov system and that the
problem affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The Department
will contact you after a determination is made on whether your
application will be accepted.
Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before
the application deadline date and time, or if the technical problem
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the Grants.gov system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Grants.gov system; and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days; or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the
application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Jay Donahue, U.S.
Department of Education, room 6164, 1990 K Street, NW., Washington, DC
20006-8544. FAX: (202) 502-7877.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.345A), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260; or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.345A), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506,
Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing
consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service,
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier, or
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark, or
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.345A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications:
If you mail or hand deliver your application to the Department--
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and-- if not provided by
the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are
submitting your application; and
(2) The Application control Center will mail to you a
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not
receive this notification within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are
from 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR and are listed in the application package.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118.
4. Performance Measures: The success of this program depends upon
the manner in which projects are being institutionalized and continued
after funding. This performance measure constitutes the indicator of
the success of the program. If funded, you will be asked to collect and
report data from your project on steps taken toward
[[Page 42065]]
achieving this goal. Consequently, applicants are advised to include
this outcome in conceptualizing the design, implementation, and
evaluation of their proposed projects.
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact: Jay Donahue, U.S. Department of
Education, room 6164, 1990 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006-8544.
Telephone: (202) 502-7507.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.
VIII. Other Information
Eletronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.
Dated: July 26, 2007.
James F. Manning,
Delegated the Authority of Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary
Education.
[FR Doc. E7-14929 Filed 7-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P