1. What is the purpose of SPICE grants?  The purpose of the grants is to: 1) increase parent/family involvement in their children’s education and/or 2) overcome barriers to participation. The National PTA has developed a Family/Parent Involvement Program Standards to assist PTA units in broadening the stereotypical definition of involvement (volunteering/fundraising at schools.)

2. What are the National Standards and how can I learn more about them?  The National PTA developed a booklet outlining six standards for parent/family involvement programs. Each school should have received a copy of the booklet last year. Ask last year’s PTA president or principal for your school’s copy. They are summarized below and also listed on the front page of the request for proposal for the SPICE grant.

3. Who is eligible?  Any GuilfordCountyPTA in good standing. To be in good standing, a school PTA must have:
1) Paid dues to the Guilford County Council of PTAs for the current school year.
2) Paid dues to the State PTA for the current year.
3) Unit by-laws be current and approved by the State PTA (check with them if in doubt)

4. If our PTA received a SPICE grant last year, are we eligible for a grant this year?  Yes.

5. What types of programs do you fund?  We have funded a resource center, parenting and computer workshops, reading programs & cultural programs.

6. Are there any budgetary line items that cannot be funded?  According to PTA financial guidelines (see Dollars and Sense for Treasurers provided by the State PTA), PTAs cannot fund salaries. Last year, capital expenditures (i.e. playground equipment, tables, building materials, etc.) were also not funded. Remember that the goal of the SPICE grant is to build parent and community involvement, not to fund acquisitions.

7. Does the Council offer assistance in writing grants?  The Council will offer a workshop for grant applicants at the Council's Fall Leadership Conference. If you have specific questions regarding the grant or program planning, please feel free to contact Spice Grant Chairs:
Kristi Bryson..... bkristi@bellsouth.net
April Evans....... maykj@hotmail.com

8. Do we have to complete the entire RFP form?   Yes, it is critical that you complete the entire form including the three questions asking you to summarize your proposal at the bottom of the first page. It may be tempting to refer to an attached page, but it is important that these summaries be filled out on the application page so that they be fairly categorized prior to judging. All the information will be used in our database and will be valid if the responses are in your words instead of our interpretation.

9. What happens to any unused SPICE grant monies awarded to our PTA?  According to an agreement signed by the PTA president and school Principal on the last page of the RFP, unused monies along with an annotated budget need to be returned to the Guilford County Council of PTAs.

10. If our PTA receives a grant, are there any other obligations?  You must complete a project evaluation form by January 31 of the year following your grant award. You may also be asked to write an article for publication describing your project or participate in a workshop

11. How long do we have to complete our parent involvement programs?  Projects must be completed between January 1st and December 15th. The Council may also be able to assist your school with Public Relations if dates are given to us in far enough in advance.

12. Why must we file a report about our project?  Other schools are always looking for ways to increase parent involvement. One of the goals of the SPICE grant is to catalog programs that work and publish those so that others may benefit from your success. Not only does this draw attention to your school and the successes that you may have, but it also may enable other schools to duplicate your successes both here in GuilfordCounty as well as other schools across the Nation.

13. What happens if we decide not to follow through with the project that we were awarded the grant for?  As with any unused money from the SPICE grant, you should return the entire amount. If however, the scope of your project changed, it may still be possible to keep the money and use it for the new or modified project. If you have questions regarding the project, please feel free to contact Spice Grant Chairs:
Kristi Bryson...... bkristi@bellsouth.net
April Evans....... maykj@hotmail.com