The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) is pleased to announce a third round of funding for the 2023-2024 Summer Enrichment Grant Program, which provides equitable, high-quality, and accessible summer enrichment opportunities for Connecticut children.
Donor Name: Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE)
State: Connecticut
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/03/2023
Size of the Grant: $50,000 and $150,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
The 2023-2024 Summer Enrichment Program will award two-year grants of up to $150,000 in funds to a limited number of eligible programs. Camps may either apply for an Expansion Grant (up to $50,000 in funding) or for an Innovation Grant (between $50,000 and $150,000 in funding). Camps can use the funds for expanding the number of students served, adding additional support services and/or activities, and subsidizing enrollment costs by providing scholarships for families from low-income backgrounds.
Grant Award Options
Applicants will have the opportunity to apply for one of two grant awards through the Summer Enrichment Program:
- Expansion Award
- These awards will provide applicants up to $50,000 in funding per site per year. Expansion Grants may be used for expanding existing programs or creating new programs to serve students who would otherwise not have access to summer camp or programs.
- Innovation Award
- These awards will provide applicants between $50,000 and $150,000 in funding per site per year. The Innovation Grant program will award programmatic and operational funding to organizations that can serve Connecticut children at a greater scale, provide holistic learning opportunities that blend educational and enrichment components, and remove financial and other types of barriers that have typically precluded participation. These grants will be awarded to organizations with a clear record of providing excellent summer learning opportunities for students, particularly for students from traditionally underserved communities. Only programs that meet the below eligibility criteria may apply for an Innovation Award:
- Program must serve a minimum of 150 individual students over the course of each summer period (June 5, 2023 – September 1, 2023 AND June 3, 2024 – August 30, 2024);
- Program must provide at least 80 hours of programming over the course of each summer program period (June 5, 2023 – September 1, 2023 AND June 3, 2024 – August 30, 2024); and
- Program must describe how it will provide novel and innovative summer programming to Connecticut students.
- These awards will provide applicants between $50,000 and $150,000 in funding per site per year. The Innovation Grant program will award programmatic and operational funding to organizations that can serve Connecticut children at a greater scale, provide holistic learning opportunities that blend educational and enrichment components, and remove financial and other types of barriers that have typically precluded participation. These grants will be awarded to organizations with a clear record of providing excellent summer learning opportunities for students, particularly for students from traditionally underserved communities. Only programs that meet the below eligibility criteria may apply for an Innovation Award:
Eligible Activities
Applicants must commit to using the funding in at least one of the following ways:
- Serve additional children or youth through existing programming;
- Subsidize enrollment costs for program participants; and/or
- Provide transportation for program participants. Programs must provide enrichment activities designed to encourage “purposeful play,” which could include: sports, music, art, hands-on experiences, mentorship, teamwork, field trips, guest speakers, career/college exploration, cooking, food and nutrition, wellness, physical activity and physical education. Based on previous evaluations of the Summer Enrichment Program, the CSDE is prioritizing programs that provide students with a wide array of activities from which to choose and that allow them to participate in unstructured time, outdoor activities, and field trips.
Eligible Spending Categories
- Recruit and hire additional staff, counselors, lifeguards, behavioral specialists or other necessary personnel to serve more students
- Camps may allocate funding towards an account with CTREAP, a portal that connects educational professionals and staff to job openings across Connecticut. CTREAP is offering summer enrichment programs a four-month membership for two consecutive years for a total price of $208.1
- Rent for a larger facility in order to serve additional students
- Subsidize the costs of expanded hours or weeks that students participate in camp
- Subsidize or waive enrollment costs for students, particularly those eligible for free or reduced-price school meals
- Cover activity and other supply costs necessary for camp programming (i.e. arts and crafts, t-shirts, field trips, ticket fees, etc.)
- Provide food, snacks, and water for students
- Cover transportation costs for students
Eligible Applicants
Programs must serve school-age children who have completed kindergarten and are within the age group of 5-18 inclusive, with the exception that programs may serve youth with special needs, still enrolled in their school district, up to their 22nd birthday. Eligible applicants are limited to the following:
- Non-profit organizations with a current, valid child care center or youth camp license from the Office of Early Childhood (OEC)
- Note: OEC licensed programs can only request funding for sites with existing licenses with school-age care endorsements. Sites licensed to serve only children ages five and under may not apply.
- License-exempt child care center, youth camp, or other summer program operated by either a
- Municipal agency;
- Private or independent school. Private and independent schools and faith-based organizations are eligible to apply only if the program is open to all children and not just those who are of a particular faith, enrolled in a particular school, or members of the applicant organization;
- Organizations that are specifically exempted by state law .
- Local education agencies (LEAs) that received less than $1,000,000 in ARPA Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding
- License-exempt non-profit community-based organizations (CBOs) for programs serving exclusively youth ages sixteen or older; or
- A partnership led by one of the above eligible organizations, working together with other non-profit organizations, municipal agencies, local and regional boards of education, Regional Educational Service Centers (RESCs), charter schools, or other independent schools.
- Note, the applicant must be one of the above.
For more information, visit Summer Enrichment Grant Program.
