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 Science Education Student Science Enrichment Program Frequently Asked Questions
Are SSEP awards limited to NC? The Student Science Enrichment Program is limited to non-profit institutions within BWF’s home-state of North Carolina. All students participating in SSEP projects should be North Carolina students. What types of organizations in NC are eligible to apply? Nonprofit organizations that are eligible to apply for SSEP awards include colleges and universities, community groups, museums and zoos, public and private schools, and scientific organizations that can provide scientific experiential activities for K-12 students. Can SSEP Proposals serve elementary students? Yes, beginning with the current grant application cycle, programs serving K-5 students will be eligible, as well as middle and high school programs. Is teacher training supported through the Student Science Enrichment Program Award? Teacher training is not a focus of the SSEP awards. BWF recognizes the value of teacher training and will allow limited funding to be used to enhance the abilities of teachers to conduct innovative enrichment science activities for SSEP student participants. The Fund has chosen to focus the majority of its science education funding on hands-on activities for middle school and high school student activities. Can we use the SSEP award to support classroom activities for students? The SSEP award is designed to support out-of-school activities for middle school and high school students. These activities should take place after school, on weekends, or during the summer. SSEP awards do not provide support for in-school classroom activities. If SSEP activities can be linked to in-school classroom activities, BWF will consider such proposals on an individual basis. Please contact BWF regarding such proposals. How long are the awards? The duration of SSEP awards is up to three years. Each grant provides up to $60,000 per year. Can current awardees reapply? A current awardee can reapply once for funding of the same program. Awardees must compete with the general pool of applicants and they will be expected to demonstrate successful outcomes from the earlier award and promise of significant achievement from a new award. BWF encourages SSEP award recipients to develop strategies to sustain their programs, after BWF support has ended. Applications from award recipients proposing a different program are not considered repeat applicants. If our grant is funded, when will the award begin? SSEP award recipients are announced in early November of each year following the April 10 deadline. The first installment of the SSEP award is made December 15. Is the BWF application deadline firm? Yes. Can I submit a paper application? No. BWF now requires that all applications for this program be submitted electronically. Paper applications will not be accepted. The only pieces of paper required to be sent to BWF is the Signature Page form (one page), with the original signatures, and the documentation of nonprofit status. These items are due to BWF by the application deadline. If you are having trouble using the electronic process, contact proposalCENTRAL or BWF for assistance. If I’m having trouble with the electronic application, whom can I contact for help? For problems with the electronic application, please contact propsalCENTRAL customer support by email or by phone 1-800-875-2562 x227 (toll free). Do I need to submit a Letter of Intent prior to beginning an application? No. BWF does not require a letter of intent prior to beginning an application. Can letters of partnership be sent separately? No. Letters of partnership (up to three may be provided) must be converted to PDF files and uploaded to the application for electronic submission along with the application. Faxed or emailed letters will not be accepted. Are there font or margin requirements for the project plan? Use standard 12-point font for the text, and no smaller than 9 to 10-point font for figures, legends, tables, and diagrams. Text must be single-spaced, with one-inch or larger margins on all sides. How serious are you about the page limit on the project plan and other attachments? All applicants must stay within the set page limits. Only include requested materials. No supplemental materials will be accepted. What is the Signature Page Form? How do I access it? How do I submit it? The one-page Signature Page form summarizes the information from all the sections of the application and provides signature lines for the Applicant, and the Institutional Signing Official. An application is not considered complete without the Signature Page form. You must send a paper copy of the Signature Page form with the required original signatures to BWF by 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time on the application deadline day, along with documentation of nonprofit status. BWF strongly recommends using a courier service to send these documents. Faxed and electronic Signature Pages will not be accepted. The one-page Signature Page form can be printed once you complete all the data entry proposal sections of the online application in proposalCENTRAL. You can access the Signature Page form by clicking “Print Signature Page” in the gray Navigation Menu on the left of the screen. Do not print the Signature Page form until you have completed the data-entry on the Title Page, Applicant/Program Director Information, and the Applying Organization and Contacts sections of the application. For delivery by express courier service (recommended) For delivery by U.S. Postal Service Can I print the signature page form prior to completing my application – in order to obtain the required signatures in time? If you have correctly completed the data entry for all fields in the following sections of your application, you may print the signature page form to obtain the required signatures:
As long as all data has been entered correctly in these sections, the printed Signature Page form will contain all required information. It is not necessary to have all PDF files uploaded and attached to your application prior to printing the Signature Page form. Who needs to sign the one-page Signature Page form? Each of the following people must sign the first page of the Signature Page form: 1) The Applicant - in the signature box marked “Signature of Applicant”. Can I fax the Signature Page form by the application deadline? No. Faxed documents will not be accepted. The hard copy of the Signature Page form with original signatures must be received by BWF by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the application deadline day, along with documentation of nonprofit status. Using a courier service to send your signature page form is strongly recommended. I noticed that some of the information that printed on the Signature Page form is incorrect. How do I correct it? All of the data that prints on the Signature Page form was entered in the various proposal sections found in the gray Navigation Bar on the left of the screen in proposalCENTRAL. To correct an entry, you must go back to the appropriate proposal section and edit the data there (e.g., Applicant/Program Director Information, Title Page, etc.). I noticed that not all of the fields are populated with data on the Signature Page form. Is this correct, or have I done something wrong? This program does not require some types of data that are shown on the Signature Page. As a result, there will be several blank fields on the PDF form and some blank boxes. Can I upload and attach an electronic version of the Signature Page form (PDF file) to my application? No. An electronic Signature Page form will not be accepted. The hard copy of the one-page Signature Page form with original signatures must be received by BWF by 4:00 p.m. on the deadline date. Using a courier service to send your Signature Page form is strongly recommended. Can Letters of Recommendation be included in the application? No. Only letters of partnership will be accepted. How can I convert a document to a PDF file? You can use standard word processing software (e.g., MS Word, WordPerfect) to prepare the documents for your application. However, you MUST convert ALL documents to portable document format (PDF) files prior to uploading and attaching them to your application. For complete instructions on converting documents to PDF files, refer to the SSEP Guide to Using proposalCENTRAL. If you have any questions or difficulty with the conversion process, please contact proposalCENTRAL customer support by email or by phone 1-800-875-2562 x227 (toll free). Can I change my application once submitted? Once you submit the application, the information is “locked” and cannot be changed without “un-submitting” the application. You may un-submit your application, make changes and resubmit it at any time prior to the application deadline. After that time, an application cannot be changed. For instructions on how to un-submit your application, refer to the SSEP Guide to Using Proposal Central. If you have any problems, please contact propsalCENTRAL customer support by email at pcsupport@altum.com or by phone 1-800-875-2562 x227 (toll free). If I’m having trouble with the electronic application, whom can I contact for help? For problems with the electronic application, contact propsalCENTRAL customer support by email at pcsupport@altum.com or by phone 1-800-875-2562 x227 (toll free). If I have questions about a particular program guideline, whom do I contact for help? For questions regarding eligibility, nomination, or application content, contact Melanie Scott , senior program associate, at 919/991-5107.
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