Ready.Set.READ! is managed by United Way of Berks County
Ready.Set.READ! – – a community initiative centered on improving early grade reading proficiency and managed by United Way of Berks County — has announced a grant opportunity available to Ready.Set.READ! (RSR) partner schools, Summer Learning Coalition members and other organizations serving Berks County Title 1 students.
“Ready.Set.READ! and United Way are committed to helping kids achieve success, and we’re pleased to have this opportunity to invest additional funds in summer learning and literacy programs, which will help lessen summer learning loss,” says Dr. Yamil Sanchez Rivera, Senior Vice President of Community Impact at United Way of Berks County. Summer learning loss describes what happens when students lose academic skills over the summer months, and is often one of the most significant causes of the achievement gap between lower and higher income students.
A summary of the grant opportunity follows, with full details available at United Way’s website at www.uwberks.org. Applications will be accepted beginning Monday, January 7, 2019 through 4:00 PM on Friday, February 8, 2019. Notice of funding will be conveyed at the end of March.
The Summer Learning Grant provides up to $5,000 to an organization in support of summer learning programming including a literacy component. The funds are intended to help cover summer programming expenses. Last year, grants totaling nearly $38,000 were awarded to 8 organizations. Additional grant criteria follows:
• Proposal serves Berks County Title 1 students, up to and including 3rd grade.
• A literacy component is required; the proposal may also include cross discipline activities (i.e. STEM).
• All proposed programs must articulate an evaluation element to measure the outcome success of the literacy component.
• One $5,000 maximum proposal per organization or grant partnership may be submitted.
• A final report, including data associated with the program outcome(s), must be submitted upon completion of the project and due no later than September 27.
• Project collaboration and creativity are encouraged.
• Proposals and final reports must be electronically submitted via e-CImpact, a software tool accessed via United Way’s website (www.uwberks.org).
Applicants should review the full detail regarding all grant eligibility requirements, as well as the application format, at www.uwberks.org. The information will be featured on the website’s homepage.
Grant proposals will be awarded through a competitive process after review by a panel of community volunteers, including representation of United Way and Ready.Set.READ! board and committee members.
For technical assistance with the application software, known as e-CImpact, please contact Jennifer Tinsman, Program and Data Manager, at [email protected] or 610.685.4576. Any questions related to the proposal should be directed to Alicia Hartman at [email protected] or 610.685.4577.
