On January 19, when you click the SUBMIT button, you’ll be reminded that reminded: “all applicants will be notified of the Selection Committee’s decisions on March 28, 2023.” This response likely leaves you wondering, “Why so long?’ In today’s post we’ll share about our selection process and a link to our latest podcast full of helpful tips to get you over the finish line.
While preparing your proposal, you hopefully referenced our Scoring Criteria. The Scoring Criteria is not only a great asset for applicants, but what our selection committee uses to select our grant recipients. Fund for Teachers builds a 400-strong cohort of community volunteers annually to determine who will be FFT Fellows. Volunteers include previous grant recipients, school leaders (such as principals, superintendents, and district representatives) and last but not least, community volunteers and donors who support teachers with their time and resources.
On average, six Selection Committee members will review your proposal over the next two months. The initial screeners read for eligibility and quality: Any applications deemed poor, or ineligible are removed from process. Subsequently, different Selection Committee members receive a mix of proposals based on quality, subject/grade taught and individual/team applicants. This way, no reader has all the excellent or all the math proposals in their bunch. Volunteers are given two weeks to read and score the proposals, and then meet in person to make final decisions. The number of applications funded depends on the number of applications received, team vs. individual submissions (because teams are awarded more money), and funds raised from donors that year.
Selection Committee members are provided thorough directions for fairly approaching the process, as well as resources to guide their work. Upon submitting funding decisions, our staff reviews those proposals a final time for any eligibility-related issues.
THEN, all applicants are notified throughout the day via email on March 28.
Listen to the latest issue of our Podcast: Successfully Submitting a Proposal for more tips on how to use the Scoring Criteria and how to keep Selection Committee members in mind while you write.
Best of luck in these final days!
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