Ecolab Applicant FAQ

How many ETGP projects can I submit or be involved with?

You may only submit one ETGP application.

If you are submitting an individual application, you may be a participant on a team application.  You may not be the lead on that team application and you may not assume the lead role should the lead leave the project.  

I remember the Ecolab awards being much larger than they are now.  Why has this changed?

The award amounts have not changed in the time the SPPS has run the ETGP. You may be remembering the predecessor to the current program.  The previous Ecolab Foundation-funded grant program was funded and run by Ecolab.  The current program started in 2018 and is funded by Ecolab but managed by SPPS.  We do not have the option to return to the old program.

I'm a specialist at an elementary, why can't I get a team-sized grant to ensure I can run projects for all my students?

Unfortunately, ETGP grants were never intended to be used in this fashion.  Rather than large schoolwide or districtwide projects, they are intended for something that will impact a classroom or all the students of one grade.

To impact all your students, instead of a project, funds could be used to purchase or replace consumable materials (art supplies), worn out or out-dated equipment (gym scooters, microscopes), or new classroom enhancements (Snap Circuits, solar system models).

If I'm awarded a grant but switch schools over summer break, does the grant follow me?

No. Grants are awarded to a project planned for a specific school (or set of schools) and student population. The principal at the school receiving the grant will determine if the project will still run or if funding will be returned.

If my colleague was awarded a grant but has retired/gone on leave/left the school, can I take over their project?

If you are not already leading an individual or team ETGP project for the year and it's okay with your principal, you may take over a project that has lost its lead.

If you are already leading another ETGP individual or team project, you may not take over the lead role of another ETGP project.  Another teacher or staff member will need to assume responsibility or funds will need to be returned to the ETGP for the next cycle.

Contact us if there is a change in project leadership.

If my school has multiple projects, and we each have a small amount of money left at the end, can we pool it together for a field trip or other activity?

You may not merge left-over funds from multiple projects this way, even if the activity is part of one of the ETGP projects.  Each individual grant has a goal, and the funds may only be used toward that stated goal.  If the project costs less than budgeted and there are no other tools or elements that the overage can fund, it must be returned to the Innovation Office.  Using grant funds for a purpose other than initially agreed upon is considered fraud.

Is there an online presentation that walks through the application process?

Yes!  You can find these on the bottom half of the application and directions page.

What expenses are allowed with ETGP funds?

• Purchase of materials and other resources that increase student understanding of academic content
• Field trip expenses (admission fees or transportation)

Materials requested must be part of a curriculum plan. All materials or goods purchased with award funds become the property of SPPS. If you receive a grant and transfer to a different school, the grant funds and materials or goods purchased with grant funds stay with the school or program designated on the grant application.

What expenses are not allowed with ETGP funds?

The decision of what expenses are not allowable comes from Ecolab and is not negotiable. Funds must not be used for:

• Animal dissection supplies
• Furniture
• Projects that do not directly impact students
• Staff or substitute time
• Technology hardware (computers, laptops, computer hardware, Smart Boards)

What happens to unspent funds?  

Unspent funds are returned to the Innovation Office and are reissued in the following year.  This is why the awarded dollar amount noted in the annual report is higher than the funds provided from the Ecolab Foundation.

What if I haven't been able to spend down my  Ecolab award?

Unspent funds will not be eligible for carry over.

Please contact us if you have questions or concerns.

What if my proposed project becomes no longer feasible at implementation time?

If your project is awarded funding, but becomes nonviable for some reason, there's still a possibility that you can keep your award. You will need to develop a new project that supports the same objectives described in your application.

Approval from the Grants Office is required before implementing the new or revised program. If you need to change your project activities, please contact us for further clarification and support.

What is the ETGP submission window for 2023?

February 10 to 6 pm on May 19, 2023.

What is the maximum ETGP grant amount?

Individual projects may receive up to $2,500, and team projects may receive up to $7,500.

When will I hear back whether I am awarded a grant?

The goal is to notify all applicants of their award status before they return to school in August. We want educators to be able to include their grant in their plans for the school year.

If this date changes, all applicants will be notified.

Note: We may not be able to provide budget codes at the time of notification, but will have those out to awardees as soon as we have them.

Where are the narrative and budget forms?

While you still have to answer narrative questions, we have eliminated the separate narrative form.

To streamline the application and instructions, the Ecolab Checklist is the primary source of forms and tools.  Applicants can access the information they need, bypassing the tips, tools, and resources they don't.

Save the checklist and tick off the required components as you go.  You will find links to the narrative and budget forms as well as the final application form in this checklist.

Will the Ecolab grants program be held in 2023?

Yes!

I'm usually pretty good at planning projects, but this year's crazy and I need a starting point.

If you don't already have a specific plan in mind, the Questions to Develop Your Project is an excellent place to start.  If you do have a plan in mind, the Seven Planning Questions for a Grant Proposal may be a better place for you to start.

You can also try reading through the narrative questions in the Ecolab Questions document (see the Ecolab Checklist for a link). The questions have once again been redesigned this year to help educators walk through the development of the project both for themselves and for the reviewers.

If you need more direct assistance, Contact us for guidance. 

In a team or group project, who is the team lead?

The lead is the person who is taking responsibility for the project.  All communications (award status, project check in, etc) will go to the team lead.

Changes in a project's lead must be reported to Reyna Davila-Day.

No one individual should lead more than one project.

I've never written a grant proposal before. How do I even start the process?

This is the perfect program for you to try your hand at developing a grant project and applying for funding! The application is relatively short, compared to most grant programs.

Watch the developing your project tutorial!  You will have to scroll down to the videos on the linked page.

The key is to figure out the essentials of your project before you start writing the narrative. 

1. Identify a root cause or a barrier to student learning.
2. Identify projects or materials that would address or remove these problems.

The Questions to Guide Your Project can raise questions to help you with this process. Tips for Your Proposal document provides guidance on writing the narrative. The Ecolab Application Checklist walks you through the steps of the process with links to useful resources. 

If you still need some direction, contact us for guidance.  While we can't write your grant for you, we can certainly help put you on the path to doing it yourself and provide feedback to strengthen your proposal once it's drafted.

Didn't the narrative go away?

The ETGP application no longer includes a separate narrative form. However, that narrative content is still part of the application, entered in the Google application form.

Does the character count limit include spaces?

Yes.  Spaces are characters and do count toward your total.  Removing spaces without revising is not a good way to fix an excess in characters.

How can I make my proposal stand out?

If you have a project developed but need suggestions for ensuring it stands out, check out the Tips for Your Proposal.

How rigid is the character limit?

The character count is firm. If you paste something that exceeds the limit, the excess will be truncated.

Don't try to get around the character count by using abbreviations or removing spaces between words; this will make your proposal less clear and will impact your score negatively.

How do you write a narrative?

Check out the short video tutorial writing and revising your narrative! You will have to scroll down on the linked page to the video section.

If you're struggling with the narrative, contact us for guidance or to review your draft for feedback on strengthening the content.

How should I approach the narrative questions?

Answer each question as clearly as possible. This is your opportunity to describe your project and explain the value it brings to SPPS. Do not expect the reviewers to make connections between your plans and your goals; make those connections absolutely clear.

Some people start with the shortest possible summary, and then add detail to flesh it out within the character count.  Others fully answer the question and trim back to fit the character count.  Consider whether it's harder for you to cut content or add content and go with your strengths when assembling this.

Check out the Application Scoring Guide, which replaces the past rubric, to get an idea of what the reviewers will be looking for.

What is meant by "identifying information?"

School, staff, or team member names can all make it possible for reviewers to identify the applicant or applicant team, which could influence their review scores. We want to minimize this kind of bias.

We recognize that some schools have unique and identifiable characteristics that may not be able to be scrubbed from the narrative.  For example, there is only one school with a Mandarin immersion program, and only one program that focuses on aerospace.  If the project relates to a characteristic such as this, it may be mentioned.  If the project is unrelated to such characteristics, they should not be mentioned.

What is the best way to note Minnesota standards, classroom curriculum, and SPPS Strategic Plan elements in my narrative?

Use layman's terms instead of codes, curriculum formal names, or number designations.

Reviewers are not expected to know standards or the strategic plan. Many are not teachers, so they may be unfamiliar with even very commonly used curriculum programs.

Example 1: Use "Develop ideas for media artwork using play and experimentation" instead of "Meets standard 2.0.2.2.1."

Example 2: Use "... this aligns with an existing  curriculum designed to teach mindfulness to elementary-aged children..." rather than "...this aligns with Smiling Mind."

Example 3: Use "Implement culturally relevant practices within student learning and programming" not "3a."

Where can I get school-specific data?

The SPPS Data Center is a great starting point. There are several basic reports here that you can view. The initial reports will be for the district as a whole, and you can change the criteria to display for specific school, grade range, and/or demographics.

Can I receive feedback on my proposal?

You can request feedback from the Innovation Office staff on any part of your application, or the submission in its entirety any time before the application deadline.  It is strongly preferred that you request feedback  before you submit your application.  Submitted applications with significant changes will need to be resubmitted.

The earlier you reach out, the more available staff will be, and the more time you'll have to implement suggestions. In the days closest to the application deadline, we will be too busy screening submissions for issues to assist with application improvements.

Please send us your proposal and any questions. 

In the event that your proposal does not receive funding, you can still reach out to the Innovation Office afterward for feedback from reviewers.

I've never developed a budget before; what does this entail?

Your budget is basically an itemized list of expected expenses, including a brief description and the cost.

The ETGP budget template is a Google Sheets document that has you separate the expenses by type (supplies, field trips, and other). As you enter your amounts, the form will automatically calculate, reflecting the funding you should be requesting.

For projects with lots of small materials, you don't need to itemize each component.  Instead of listing each type of bolt individually, you could put them all together as "hardware."

Check out the budget development tutorial!  You will need to scroll down the linked page to the video section.

My budget includes a lot of lower cost items and there's not enough space on the budget form.  What should I do?

Keep in mind that you don't need to itemize each component and can group items with a similar purpose.

We see this a lot with reset rooms, where many items (fidgets, dimple toy, monkey noodle, ball, sand, theraputty, bubble timer, bean bag) can be grouped as "sensory tools."

If your items can't be grouped together in this fashion, you can overflow your list into the Other section at the bottom of the budget.

What documentation should I include to support my budget?

No documentation is required at the time of application.

If the grant involves a service provided by an external source or an expensive piece of equipment, or something available only from a specific vendor, you may need to provide documentation prior to purchase.

My proposal draft is finished--what do I need to know before I begin the online application?

Make sure you have answers prepared for every question on the Ecolab Questions document to ensure you have all the data you need before you start the online application.  This will make answering questions quick and easy.

Make sure your budget is complete and link sharing is turned on.

Your budget and narrative content should be as polished as you can make them.  You can not come back and edit the application Google Form.

See the Google Form submission tutorial!  You will have to scroll down the linked page to the video section.

Who reviews applications?

When applications are submitted, Innovation Office staff will screen them to ensure identifying data is redacted and expenses are allowable. 

If there is time, staff will offer strengthening feedback. Staff will make minor revisions to your content on your behalf with your approval, however, significant revisions will require resubmission of the application.

Peer reviewing and scoring is done by a combination of Ecolab staff and the SPPS community. SPPS community may include teachers, other staff and student family members. Each application will be scored by at least three different reviewers, and ideally one will be an Ecolab staff member.

Can I be a reviewer if I’m also an applicant?

Yes. Current and past applicants make excellent reviewers. To prevent the risk of biased reviews, applicants are assigned applications that are from a different subset than their own.  For example, an individual applicant may be a reviewer for a packet of team projects.

Please check out the Purpose of Application Review page if you want to learn more about the review process and what is expected from reviewers.

How do I become a reviewer?

If you are interested in possibly participating as an application reviewer, please complete our Reviewer Interest Form. This isn't a commitment, but an invitation for us to contact you as we get close to the application review process.

If the interest form is closed, the review process has already started. However, you can still volunteer to be pinch-hitter, picking up random applications to review if an assigned reviewer is unable or needs to recuse themself. Please contact us about volunteering as a pinch-hitter.