Grant Writing Tips
Read Successful Grants
Read Successful Grants
Posted February 9, 2016
Thinking about writing a Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant? One of the first things to do is to become familiar with what a winning application looks like.
The United States Department of Education has posted the narratives of 26 of the 28 MSAP grants that won in the 2013 competition and were funded for 2013-2016. (Ten of these posts include the entire application.) You can find them in the MSAP section of ed.gov.
AES evaluation designs and performance measures are used in 9 of the 28 grants that are currently funded. AES evaluates these programs. The districts are:
- Springfield Public Schools
- Los Angeles Unified School District
- Napa Valley Unified School District
- School Board of Polk County
- NYC Community School District 13
- NYC Community School District 28
- New Haven Public Schools
- Bridgeport City School District
- LEARN Consortium
The full applications for some of the MSAP grants funded in 2013, 2010 and 2007 (as well as winning proposals for many other U.S. Department of Education programs) can be found here. (The 10 for 2013 are the same full applications that you can find using the first link.)
For each project, you can download the entire grant application, including the abstract, narrative, budget and school projection tables, as well as the student selection and new or revised magnet school projects sections. (Districts have redacted some data and personal information, which appear as black squares or rectangles. Redactions will have little or no effect on your understanding of these applications.)
Because each competition may differ in terms of selection criteria, priorities and page limits, it is probably best, especially for those new to MSAP, to read only the most recent applications (FY 2013 Awards). However, please keep in mind that the selection criteria, priorities and other sections for the new competition may be somewhat different.
Therefore, keep an eye on the Federal Register. The Forecast of Funding Opportunities estimates that the MSAP grant application will be released on February 22, 2016, and the deadline will be April 25, 2016.