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Understanding the
Department of Labor
Solicitation for Grant
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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
LIBRARIES
AUG 1 9 2003
DEPOSTED BY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA









Should l apply for this grant?”
Each Solicitation for Grant Application
(SGA) contains a Summary and Supplemental
Background Information. While these
sections provide insight into the services being
sought, pay particular attention to the eligible
applicant and deliverables sections to
determine if your organization should
consider submitting an application.
The eligible applicant section will let you
know if your organization can apply. For
example, only states or state agencies may be
eligible to apply.
The SGA may include a deliverables section
that describes the products and meetings
required to fulfill this particular grant. If the
requirements are unfamiliar or seem
overwhelming, you may want to call the “for
further information contact” person and
determine if the requirements are feasible for
your organization.
Finally, does your organization provide the
services requested in the SGA: The closer the
match between your organization's mission
and the activities and the services being
sought, the better your chance of success in
competing for funds. Be sure your
organization is capable of providing the
services the federal government is seeking to
fund.
* In writing a proposal, applicants should pay
particular attention to the bolded elements in these
headings.
How do I write a winning proposal?”
If your organization is an eligible applicant,
and is capable of providing the services sought
and fulfilling the requirements outlined in the
solicitation, concentrate on two sections when
writing the proposal – the the application
contents and selection process and
evaluation criteria.
The application contents enumerate what
the application must contain to be considered.
Sometimes there is extra information
describing these elements. Do not use this
information as the outline for constructing
your proposal. Make sure every piece of
information required is included, but look at
the evaluation criteria and selection process
for your proposal content.
The evaluation criteria and selection
process should be used to organize your
proposal. The reviewer must evaluate your
proposal using the criteria and point structure
outlined in this section. Make sure that every
question and request for information from the
evaluation criteria is answered in the proposal.
Use headings to let the reader know what
question you are answering. To the extent
possible, follow the order of the rating criteria
when writing your proposal.
Finally, in reviewing your proposal, make sure
it is within the allowable page limit, uses the
correct margins and font size, and is mailed
on time.
Commonly Requested Components
Need: Use statistics to show how the
community needs the proposed services.
Information such as unemployment rates,
poverty rates and high-school dropout rates
are standard statistics that can tell a
convincing story for a particular community.
America's Career Info net
(www.acinet.org/acinet/), local One-Stop
Centers, and state employment service can
provide some of these statistics.
Use Partnerships: Show how the whole
community is interested in working together
by demonstrating that other organizations,
such as schools, government, businesses, faith-
based and community organizations, are a
part of the team effort. Include letters from a
partnering organization describing its
commitment to the project, unless the SGA
specifically says not to include supporting
letters. It is helpful to begin your outreach
early if you plan to include support letters.
Goals and Objectives: Clearly number each
goal and objective. Ensure that measurable
indicators exist to evaluate whether the
program attains the goals and objectives.
Evaluation: Describe the method for
collecting data and how it will be analyzed to
determine if the goals and objectives are
achieved.
Elements of a DOLSGA:
The Department of Labor announces funding
opportunities by publishing a Solicitation for
Grant Applications (SGA) in the Federal
Register. . A typical SGA contains the
following elements:
1)
Billing Code: identifies the
department, agency and program
putting out the notice and the purpose
2)
3)
of the notice.
Summary: gives an overview of the
program and services being sought by
the solicitation.
Dates: identifies the deadline for
submitting an application (response to
the notice) and describes the methods
of submitting the application
4) Addresses: gives the address to deliver
5)
6)
the application
For further information contact:
elaborates on how to obtain forms/
applications and who to contact
with any questions
Supplementary Information has
multiple parts:
A) Background – includes the
authority for the grant funding, the
purpose of the program, the size of
the grants to be awarded and any
definitions.
7)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Eligible Applicants — defines
who can apply for the grants
Application Contents — lists the
elements that are required for the
application to be reviewed. There
are two parts: the technical
proposal and the cost proposal (in
other words the program and the
budget)
Evaluation Criteria and Selection
Process — describes the
information that must be
contained in the technical and cost
proposals and the maximum points
that may be awarded for each
criterion during the rating process
Deliverables – requirements for
grant recipients to fulfill this
specific grant, such as formal
reports, studies, or progress reports.
NOTE: not all SGAs have this
element.
Grant Requirements: lists the DOL
regulations and OMB circulars that are
applicable to the different categories of
DOL grant recipient, as well as any
additional grant specific requirements.
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