IMPACT Grant

In general, populations that have been traditionally underrepresented (in enrollment, retention, persistence and/or completion) in institutions of higher learning are considered “underserved,” “at-risk,” or “underrepresented.”  These populations include, but are not limited to, students who are:

No.  We consider need- and merit-based scholarship aid to be a very important element for college students; however, to maximize our impact using limited resources, we must approach our grantmaking strategically so that many more students can be the beneficiaries of our partnerships and learning. 

However, WHEF does not consider completion grants to be scholarships and they can be considered in proposals. Completion grants are one-time, small-scale awards for baccalaureate students in good standing, their final academic year and on-track for graduation and exhibit unmet financial need. In general, WHEF defines students from low-income families or who are PELL recipients as those with financial need. Institutions considering completion grants in a proposal should provide the appropriate data to support the project's potential impact upon persistence and completion for Mississippi students meeting this criteria. 

Not at this time – however, we do invite our private institutions to reach out to our program team so that we can learn more about how to partner most effectively in supporting their underserved students.  We respect that our private colleges educate many of the same types of students and have unique needs, and we seek to craft funding opportunities that speak to those needs in the future.  

Although there is flexibility to submit a 2-, 3-, or 4-year proposal, eligible institutions may only submit one proposal for the applicable 4-year grant period and are asked to consider projects that exhibit the most potential for moving the needle on student success. 

No, the application review is merely a tool that allows WHEF program staff to lift on-the-ground insights that are not always readily available or easily shared in grant applications. To honor the time of our applicants, the application reviews will be limited to telephone interviews with key project personnel. 

Yes.  WHEF will consider other future funding opportunities based upon available resources.  We will share those opportunities with interested parties at the appropriate time through the proper channels. If institutions have a special circumstance or limitation preventing participation in the 2019 RFP offering, they are encouraged to share those circumstances with the WHEF program officer, Shanell Watson.

Institutions will be individually notified of award decisions by email, which will include executive leadership and the project lead(s).  Additionally, a formal announcement will be posted to the Blog of woodwardhines.org in the spring of 2020.  Commitment letters detailing the terms and conditions of the grant will be delivered to each grantee via postal mail, and signed copies must be returned to WHEF prior to distribution of grant funds. 

Yes. We will make the appropriate budgetary considerations so that our grantees may meaningfully engage in learning and sharing within the community of practice.  Should any grantee have programming or presentation suggestions to make participation more impactful for attendees, we welcome and actively seek that feedback.  Please send your learning event content and design recommendations to Program Officer Shanell Watson.  

Yes.  As the details of the events are developed, we will share opportunities for participation with all IHLs, regardless of funding status. 

Cluster evaluation involves examining a group of projects that target a single theme. When several grants within an organization are related to a specific issue, a cluster evaluation can determine how effectively the projects are complimenting each other and is an ideal means for sharing best practices. In our effort to understand what impact our grantmaking has upon the state and within the broader context of the foundation’s investments, WHEF finds it beneficial to conduct a cluster evaluation for the IMPACT initiative. 

WHEF has engaged Higher Ed Insight (HEI), a research and evaluation firm experienced in design, strategic implementation and impact measurement of student success programming.  HEI will conduct ongoing evaluation activities with all grantees throughout IMPACT’s five-year period.  To learn more about HEI, click here or listen to the recorded informational webinar above.

Proposals that do not possess the following characteristics will significantly reduce their possibility of IMPACT funding:

• data that provides strong evidence of the needs of WHEF priority populations;
• clear support of executive leadership;
• evaluation plans that do not support effective measurement;
• realistic plans of sustainability beyond the grant period.

Additionally, proposals that do not favorably address improving persistence and completion amongst Mississippi undergraduate students are not considered strong candidates for funding.

Institutions may consider weaving together several best practices within a proposal; however, care should be taken to ensure the following:

• each proposed practice is examined to identify the applicable funding category, and the lowest level of related funding is utilized. For example, proposals that include both proven practices and new "piloted" ideas would be eligible for only innovation tier funding.
• institutions considering a braided approach must submit evaluation plans that can successfully measure how each of the efforts did, or did not, contribute to the overall project impact.
• evidence of how all proposed ideas would support improved persistence and completion of underrepresented Mississippi students.

Transfer undergraduate students have been included in WHEF's definition of traditionally underserved populations. With regards to online students, if online student populations are: 1) serving Mississippi students seeking baccalaureate degrees, (which is the focus of the IMPACT initiative); and 2) if the former is true, whether there are data to support that those students are persisting and completing at lower rates than campus-based students.

Important: Based upon compelling feedback from our university colleagues in the early stages of the RPF process, the WHEF team has given considerable thought to the grant limitation of only supporting/supplementing the salaries of existing institutional personnel for projects. To that end, the following change will be effective immediately to provide support in IMPACT applications and corresponding budgets:

• The salary of one new institutional staff member dedicated to the proposed project can be supported by IMPACT funding;
• IMPACT funding support must be limited to 50% of base salary;
• In the sustainability portion of the IMPACT application, applicants must demonstrate realistic plans to absorb the salary costs after the conclusion of the grant period or provide reasonable explanation of how the proposed effort will be sustained without involvement of such personnel.

Examples of new personnel that may be integrated in IMPACT projects, can include, but are not limited to:

• Current graduate or doctoral students;
• Project directors;
• Program managers or coordinators.

Yes. Proposals can include the identification of additional revenue streams and partners to supplement and demonstrate sustainability of the project's operations during and beyond the grant period.

As a Mississippi foundation, WHEF has a specified interest in demonstrating that grant awards will have observable impact upon attainment rates of Mississippi residents.  Depending on the type of project that your institution is planning to propose, it could be a challenge to parse out and track grant support for Mississippi students only.  As institutions gather data for their proposals, we require a disaggregation of those data to determine how Mississippi students could be potentially impacted.  As a compelling case for IMPACT funding is developed, institutions should be aware that significant priority will be assigned to proposals that can demonstrate how the improvement of persistence and completion for Mississippi students within a project might overlap or intersect with underserved groups.

Yes.

A total of $2.6 million in direct grants will be available. Of course, the number of funded projects will depend upon the number of accepted applications; however, each institution is permitted to submit only one proposal for the applicable IMPACT initiative period.

Example: “Our proposal anticipates that the first year of multi-year spending may be lower than the maximum allowable for the applicable grant tier (i.e. innovation, verification, institutionalization). However, we also anticipate that a subsequent year will incur expenses that exceed the maximum annual amount, essentially averaging to an appropriate annual amount.”

Yes, it is acceptable to submit a grant proposal that staggers funding amounts across years to achieve project objectives.  WHEF understands that there may be a period of “ramp-up” or “cool-down” for grant activity, with more expensive project components occurring at specific points in-between.  For example, if an institution were to apply for a 3-year verification grant, the maximum amount available for the active grant period will be $75,000/year X 3 years, or $225,000.  The related grant budget may include $60,000 of costs in year 1, $85,000 in year 2, and $80,000 in year 3. 

The important considerations are that applying institutions observe the total amount available in the applicable funding tier and describe in the project narrative how this approach will be helpful in achieving goal and evaluation targets.

This level of rigor is not required for the IMPACT application; however, if an institution has this information readily available and would prefer to include those data, it is not prohibited.