The
instructions below provide guidance on obtaining and working
Grants.gov applications. An applicant must thoroughly read
the Laura
Bush 21st Century Librarian Program guidelines (PDF, 272KB)
for guidance on composing the application narrative, filling
out the forms, supplying the appropriate documentation, etc.
Grants.gov Registration
Obtaining Application Packages
Working on an Application Package
Application Attachments
Grants.gov Help
Application Forms
Organizations that are applying under the December 15, 2006,
deadline for the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
must submit their applications through Grants.gov, the federal
government’s online application system. The Grants.gov
system will accept applications through 11:59 P.M. eastern
time on December 15.
These instructions are designed to accommodate
the online application process. Applicants should feel free
to contact program staff at any time with questions about
an application component.
The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian
Program package will be available on Grants.gov on September
18. The Grants.gov system will accept applications through
11:59 P.M. eastern time, December 15, 2006.
While the deadline is December 15, IMLS recommends
strongly that applicants REGISTER EARLY (see
“Grants.gov Registration” section below) and COMPLETE
AND SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION EARLY.
Applicants are urged to not wait until the
last day to submit their applications. Grants.gov can slow
down during periods of high usage, which most often occur
between 12:00 noon and 5:00 P.M. eastern time, particularly
on days near a deadline. Applicants will have a better experience
if they submit their application outside of these hours and
in advance of the deadline.
Grants.gov
Registration
All applicants must register with Grants.gov
before submitting their application. The multistep registration
process generally cannot be completed in a single day. Applicants
who are not already registered should allow at least two weeks
to complete this one-time process. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL
THE DAY OF THE APPLICATION DEADLINE TO REGISTER.
Step-by-step instructions for registering are
available at www.grants.gov/GetStarted. In addition, IMLS
has created an easy-to-follow checklist
for registering. Applicants who have problems registering
should call the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726; e-mail
support@grants.gov;
or consult the information posted on the Grants.gov Web site
at www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport.
The Grants.gov customer service hours are 7:00 A.M. to 9:00
P.M. eastern time, Monday through Friday.
Applicants do not need to complete the registration
process to download the application package and begin to prepare
their material (see below). However, they will need their
Grants.gov UserID and password, which are obtained during
the registration process, to submit their completed application.
Obtaining
Application Packages
Electronic application packages are obtained
directly from www.Grants.gov.
Organizations applying through Grants.gov will need to locate
the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program package on the
site. To locate the package:
| 1. |
Go to www.Grants.gov.
|
| 2. |
In the left-hand column, click on "Apply
for Grants," then click on "Download a Grant
Application Package and Instructions." Under “Find,”
click "Download grant application packages."
|
| 3. |
This will take applicants to the “Download
Application Package” screen. On this screen, enter
one of the numbers found in the box below to locate the
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program application
package, then click on “Download Package.”
Applicants will need to know one of the
following to locate the package:
CFDA
No: 45.313
Funding Opportunity Number:
L21-FY07 |
| 4. |
When an applicant starts to download an
application, two items need to be downloaded:
(1) Download Application Instructions—This
package contains the grant application guidelines (which
include instructions for completing the application) and
the IMLS forms for budget, program information, and any
others related to this specific program.
(2) Download Application Package—This
package has the face sheet (SF-424s, “Application
for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational Form”)
and the Attachments form.
Applicants need to download both of these packages to
have all of the materials and forms necessary to complete
the application. |
| 5. |
To access, complete, and submit the application
package, applicants need to have PureEdge Viewer, a small,
free software program, installed on their computer. Applicants
who do not already have this software can follow the instructions
on Grants.gov for installing this program.
Please note that the PureEdge viewer is compatible with
computers running the Windows operating system. Non-Windows
users will be able to download and complete the PureEdge
forms by taking advantage of the free Citrix server. See
www.grants.gov/MacSupport
for more information.
The application package will download in a Zipped file
(.zip). Applicants need to have software that un-Zips
files to open them. Numerous freeware packages are available
on the Internet. The .zip contents are also available
below. |
Working
on an Application Package
| 1. |
When opening the application package that
is saved on the applicant’s computer, the Grants.gov
“Grant Application Package” screen will appear.
In the “Application Filing Name” field, applicants
should enter their organization’s legal name. |
| 2. |
The forms needed to complete the Laura
Bush 21st Century Librarian Program application appear
in the “Mandatory Documents” box. To open
an item, click on it to select it, and then click on the
“Open Form” button that is beneath the “Mandatory
Documents” box. Forms cannot be opened by double-clicking.
When a form is more than one page, navigate between pages
by using the “Next” or “Previous”
buttons at the top of the screen. |
| 3. |
After working on a form, click the “Close
Form” button at the top of the screen to capture
entered information and return to the “Grant Application
Package” screen. Before closing the “Grant
Application Package” screen, click on the “Save”
button. Until all of the required fields in all of the
mandatory forms are completed, clicking on the “Save”
button will generate an invalid values message. Click
“Yes” to proceed. Grants.gov will also ask:
“File Already Exists. OVERWRITE?” Clicking
“Yes” will save the most recent changes to
the existing file. |
| 4. |
When a form is completed, click on the
form name in the “Mandatory Documents” box
to select it, and then click the “=>” button.
This will move the form to the “Mandatory Completed
Documents for Submission” box. All forms must be
in the “Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission”
box before an applicant will be able to submit their application.
Forms can be worked on from either the “Mandatory
Documents” or “Mandatory Completed Documents
for Submission” box. |
There are two forms in the “Mandatory
Documents” box that every applicant must fill out before
submitting their application:
Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short
Organizational Form (SF- 424s): This form asks for
basic information on the applicant’s organization and
project. It is equivalent to the IMLS Face Sheet form in the
conventional application package.
Attachments Form: This is not a form in
the conventional sense, but rather a place to attach the other
forms and additional items that must be included for a Grants.gov
application package to be considered complete.
Note: The Program Information Sheet, the Detailed
Budget form, and the Summary Budget form are also mandatory
components of the application. They are included in the downloaded
Zip file in both Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word formats, and
are also available below.
They can be saved in either PDF or Word format, then attached
to the application using the Attachments Form.
Before completing the required forms, applicants
may want to activate the Help tool by clicking on the help
button (looks like a question mark) in the tool bar. Applicants
can then find instructions by positioning the cursor over
each item or, where relevant, over the radio button for an
item. Detailed instructions for certain items are provided
in the next section.
Application
Attachments
The Attachments Form is not a form in the conventional
sense. Rather, it is a place to attach documents/files that
are completed and saved elsewhere on the applicant’s
computer. The forms and documents that must be attached to
the Attachments Form are listed in their correct sequence
below:
1. Program Information Sheet
2. Narrative
3. Detailed Budget form
4. Summary Budget form
5. Partnership Statement
6. Text Responses documents
7. Any remaining attachments
Several important points about the forms and
documents to attach:
| 1. |
On the Attachments Form, there are 15 attachment
buttons, labeled “Attachment 1” through “Attachment
15.” By clicking on a button, applicants will be
able to choose the file from their computer that they
wish to attach. Applicants should attach only one copy
of each item. Applicants are encouraged to create multipaged
documents that consolidate multiple attachments into one
document, if possible. |
| 2. |
Applicants must submit all attachments
in one of the following formats: Microsoft Word (.doc),
Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf), Microsoft Excel
(.xls), JPEG (.jpg), rich text (.rtf), or plain text (.txt).
To save the PDF versions of the Program Information Sheet
or Budget forms as PDFs, applicants must use Adobe Acrobat
Approval or the full Acrobat Standard or Professional
Programs. (Acrobat Approval is no longer available for
purchase, but existing versions will work.) Caution: Applicants
using the free version of the Reader software cannot save
the filled-out forms.
Nonform documents, such as the narrative and Text Responses
document(s), can be created with any software, but must
be saved and submitted in one of the formats listed above.
Applicants who do not have the software needed to convert
files to PDF can use one of the many low-cost or free
software packages available. To learn more, go to www.imls.gov/pdf/PDFConversion.pdf.
Documents not available in an electronic format should
be scanned and submitted as a PDF or JPEG file. |
| 3. |
For documents that are not forms, applicants
should make sure that pages are clearly labeled with the
organization’s legal name and the name of the item
(e.g., application narrative) and numbered sequentially. |
| 4. |
Forms and document files should be labeled
clearly and attached in the proper order so that IMLS
can correctly identify attachments. |
| 5. |
Applicants do not have to fill in all
15 Attachments Form buttons. |
| 6. |
If unable to view an attachment by clicking
the “View Attachment” button on the Attachments
Form, applicants should check the bottom of the screen
for the message “Pop-ups were blocked on this page.”
If this message is present, pressing “Ctrl”
and “View Attachment” will enable the applicant
to see the attachment. |
Grants.gov
Help
For help on how to use Grants.gov, please see
the help material on the Grants.gov Web site at www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport.
Applicants can also e-mail the Grants.gov helpdesk at support@grants.gov
or call them at 1-800-518-4726 from 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. eastern
time, Monday through Friday.
The Grants.gov help desk will assigned a case
number to each inquiry. This number only documents the inquiry
to the help desk, and is in no way related to the tracking
number that Grants.gov will assign an application once it
has been successfully submitted.
For other help with your application,
please review the instructions in the Laura
Bush 21st Century Librarian Program guidelines (PDF, 272KB),
or contact the IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
staff.
Application
Forms
Program Information Sheet:
Adobe
PDF | Microsoft
Word
Budget Forms:
Detailed Budget: Adobe
PDF | Microsoft
Word
Summary Budget: Adobe
PDF | Microsoft
Word
Partnership Statement: Adobe
PDF | Microsoft
Word |
