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Program Teachers

FAQs

Questions

  1. Who is eligible to receive a TPS grant?
  2. What audiences should TPS-funded projects target?
  3. What are the grant amounts the Library will award?
  4. How long is the funding period?
  5. What project activities are fundable under TPS grants?
  6. Are matching funds required?
  7. Will the Library accept multiple proposals from the same applicant?
  8. Who will review grant applications?
  9. Are applicants in the U.S. territories eligible to apply?
  10. May a project include the use of other digitized collections in addition to the Library’s?

Answers

  1. Who is eligible to receive a TPS grant?

    Eligible applicants include: public or private organizations, both not-for profit and for-profit organizations and including institutions of higher education, colleges, universities, professional associations, library systems, cultural institutions, other educational organizations such as K-12 schools, after-school programs, literacy organizations, centers, clubs, associations of home-schooling parents, honor societies, and other professional, civic, regional, state, and community groups, and collaborative partnerships (such as an organization with content expertise paired with a state or regional educational entity); states; public or private agencies, including for-profit agencies; and Indian tribes and tribal organizations.

  2. What audiences should TPS-funded projects target?

    The Library’s mission is to use its collections to connect with those representing diverse communities, beliefs, and endeavors to engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity. Toward this end, TPS grants support creation and delivery of educational programs, materials, and tools based on Library of Congress collections. Grant projects may target virtually any group of learners based on their professions, interests, affiliations, geography, age, ability, ethnicity, and other attributes. Examples of audiences that TPS-funded projects might target include students, parents, teachers, librarians, college faculty, journalists, clergy, hobbyists, community leaders, club and society members, English Language Learners, or genealogists, etc.

  3. What are the grant amounts the Library will award?

    The Library will make 12-month grant awards of between $35,000 and $100,000. Actual awards may be less than $35,000 or exceed $100,000, at the Library’s discretion.

  4. How long is the funding period?

    Funding periods typically last one year. The Library may make additional funds available to grantees for a maximum additional two years at the government’s sole discretion, without competition, subject to grantee’s satisfactory performance under the current award, subject to the availability of funds and grantee’s submission of a fundable proposal.

  5. What project activities are fundable under TPS grants?

    Fundable projects must use the Library’s online, digitized collections for one or more of the following activities:

    • Delivering educational programming to various categories of learners
    • Creating and distributing educational materials or tools for teaching specific content
    • Convening meetings of like organizations to devise strategies for furthering common learning and teaching goals with Library of Congress materials
    • Conducting research that investigates the impact of incorporating Library of Congress resources into educational initiatives, and includes significant practitioner involvement
  6. Are matching funds required?

    There is no mandatory cost share or matching requirement, however proposals that include matching or cost sharing elements may be rated more highly.

    Cost sharing includes contributions, both cash and in-kind, which are necessary and reasonable to achieve program objectives and which are verifiable from the recipient's records.

  7. Will the Library accept multiple proposals from the same applicant?

    The Library will accept only one proposal from the same organizational department. Applicants may be included in multiple proposals as members of collaborative partnerships or within a single organization.

  8. Who will review grant applications?

    Panels comprised of Library staff, staff from other government agencies, and representatives from sectors represented in the pool of applying organizations will review proposals.

  9. Are applicants in the U.S. territories eligible to apply?

    Yes, applicants located in the U.S. territories meet the eligibility requirements. Furthermore, all projects that target learners in the 50 United States and the United States territories are eligible to receive TPS grant funding.

  10. May a project include the use of other digitized collections in addition to the Library’s?

    Yes. While this grant opportunity does not fund digitization costs of new materials, grant projects may include sources from collections outside of the Library of Congress that have already been digitized or will be digitized with non-award funds.