Community Partnership Grants

The Innovation Fund is pleased to announce Community Partnership Grants – a new grant opportunity for public schools, school districts, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Community Partnership Grants provide between $35,000 to $75,000 over one to two years for eligible organizations – in partnership with appropriate schools, districts, and community, state, or national organizations – to implement programs focused on one of the following priority areas:

Birth to Age Eight Language and Literacy Development,
Coordinated Community Services,
Elementary Mathematics Teaching and Learning, and
Positive Learning Climate.

Community Partnership Grants are funded with donations from the Qualified Education Donation Tax Credit.

Eligibility Requirements

To apply for a Community Partnership Grant your organization must be one of the following:

A Georgia local education agency (LEA)/school district*
A Georgia traditional public school or charter school
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a current Form 990

*If the applicant is not a school or district, it must be a party to a contract pursuant to § 20-14-45.

Given the focus of the Community Partnership Grants, eligible organizations must partner with another organization (e.g. government agency, RESA, college or university, etc.). However, the school district, charter school, or nonprofit organization must submit the application and serve as the fiscal agent and lead for all grant funds.

Priority Points

Applicants that fall into one of the following categories will receive priority points on their application in alignment with the below chart. Please note, applicants will only receive priority points in one category (the category for which they would receive the highest points). For example, a high-need, rural school actively working with the Chief Turnaround Officer (CTO) would receive seven points total, rather than seven points for working with the CTO and three for being a high-need, rural school.

Category	Priority Points	Notes
Schools Actively Working with the Chief Turnaround Officer	+7 points	To receive priority points for this category, the school must be actively working with the state’s Chief Turn Around Officer (CTO), as verified by the CTO. Please note, school districts are only eligible for these priority points if their proposed grant program exclusively involves school(s) actively working with the CTO.
Schools on the Turnaround Eligible Schools List	+5 points	To receive points for this category, a school must be on the Turnaround Eligible Schools list, available here. Please note, school districts are only eligible for these priority points if their proposed grant program exclusively involves school(s) on the Turnaround Eligible Schools List.
High-Need Rural Schools/School Districts	+3 points	To receive points for this category a school district must be located in a county designated as Tier 1 or Tier 2 based on the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ annual job tax credit tiers AND must serve fewer than 25 students per square mile. Click here for a map and list of high-need, rural school districts. Individual schools within the listed school districts are also eligible for priority points.

Funding Timeline

The Innovation Fund will accept, review, and award Community Partnership Grants on a rolling basis. Applicants can submit their application at any time, and the Innovation Fund will award grants at least four times per year. Please note these timeframes are subject to change, subject to the availability of funds from the Qualified Education Donation Tax Credit. The below chart indicates the currently-anticipated timeframe in which the Innovation Fund will review and award grants.

Applications Received By	Will Be Reviewed and Awarded By
June 30, 2018	Mid-August 2018
September 30, 2018	Mid-November 2018
December 30, 2018	Mid-February 2019
March 31, 2019	Mid-May 2019

Application Instructions

To apply for a Community Partnership Grant, please follow the steps below.

Carefully review the Community Partnership Grant Guidelines, Application Questions, and Rubric.
Participate in Community Partnership Grant Application Webinar.
Once you participate in the webinar series, create an account on the Community Partnership Grant Application Portal and log in to complete the eligibility form and application.
Electronically submit your completed application, including your answers to the application questions along with all required documents.

Questions

For questions regarding the Community Partnership Grant Opportunity, please contact NaKenia Carruthers, Innovation Fund Foundation Project Manager, at nakenia.carruthers@gosa.ga.gov or 404-640-9608.