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| 84.345 UNDERGROUND RAILROAD EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL PROGRAM |
| FEDERAL AGENCY |
| OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION |
| AUTHORIZATION |
| Higher Education Amendments of 1998; Title VIII, Part H, Public Law 105-244. |
| OBJECTIVES |
| To provide grants to nonprofit education organizations that are established to research, display, interpret and collect artifacts relating to the history of the underground railroad. |
| TYPES OF ASSISTANCE |
| Project Grants (Discretionary). |
| USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS |
| In accordance with eligibility requirements. Organizations receiving funds must: demonstrate substantial private support through a public-private partnership; create an endowment that provides for the operations of the facility; and establish a network of satellite centers throughout the United States to help disseminate information regarding the Underground Railroad. |
| Applicant Eligibility |
| An application submitted for funding under this program must include: (1) The name, address, and web site address, if any, of the nonprofit educational institution seeking to participate, and the name, title, mailing and e-mail address, and telephone number of a contact person for the institution. (2) A description of the facility that will be used to house the artifacts related to the history of the Underground Railroad and to make the interpretive efforts available to institutions of higher education that award a baccalaureate or graduate degree. (3) A description of the substantial private support for the facility through the implementation of a public private partnership between a State or local public entity and a private entity. for the support of the facility as required in section 841 (b) (2) of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. An agreement documenting the commitment of the private entity to provide matching funds for the support of the facility in an amount equal to 4 times the amount of the contribution of the State or local public entity. (4) An explanation of the proposed contribution of the State or local public entity and documentation showing that not more than 20 percent of the matching funds will be provided by the Federal government. (5) A description of how the endowment will be created to fund any and all shortfalls in the costs of the on-going operations of the facility and expected sources of these funds. (6) A statement as to whether the applicant institution intends to establish a network of satellite centers throughout the United States to help disseminate information regarding the underground railroad. If the applicants institution does intend to establish a network, documentation showing how the satellite centers will raise 80 percent of the funds required from nonfederal public and private sources. (7) A detailed description of how the applicant intends to electronically link the facility with other local and regional facilities that have collections and programs which interpret the history of the underground railroad, including a listing of the facilities the applicant intends to include. |
| Beneficiary Eligibility |
| Nonprofit educational organizations that are established to research, display, interpret and collect artifacts relating to the history of the underground railroad. |
| Credentials/Documentation |
| Nonprofit certification including a description of the purpose for which the organization was established. |
| Preapplication Coordination |
| Contact the program office for application information. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372. "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. |
| Application Procedure |
| All applications should clearly designate a contact person, telephone number, and the e-mail address of the contact person. Applicants should submit the original application. Copies are not necessary. Applications must be postmarked on or before June 30. |
| Award Procedure |
| None. |
| Deadlines |
| Deadlines will be published in the Federal Register; contact the Program Office for more information. |
| Range of Approval/Disapproval Time |
| One month. |
| Appeals |
| None. |
| Renewals |
| Dependent upon the availability of appropriations. |
| Formula and Matching Requirements |
| An agreement documenting the commitment of the private entity to provide matching funds for the support of the facility in an amount equal to 4 times the amount of the contribution of the State or local public entity is required. An explanation of the proposed contribution of the State or local public entity and documentation showing that not more than 20 percent of the matching funds will be provided by the Federal government is also required. |
| Length and Time Phasing of Assistance |
| One year. |
| Reports |
| For each fiscal year for which the organization receives funding under this section, a report must be submitted to the Secretary of Education that contains a description of the programs and activities supported by the funding, the audited financial statement of the organization for the preceding fiscal year, and a plan for the programs and activities to be supported. The Secretary may require an evaluation of the programs and activities supported by the funding. |
| Audits |
| In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. |
| Records |
| None. |
| Account Identification |
| 91-0201-0-1-502. |
| Obligations |
| (Grants) FY 07 $1,980,000; FY 08 $1,945,410; and FY 09 est $1,945,410. |
| Range and Average of Financial Assistance |
| For FY 2008, the range of awards is expected to be $500,000 to $1,000,000; the average award is expected to be $973,000. |
| PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS |
| Two awards are expected to be made in FY 2008. |
| REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE |
| Education Department General Administrative Regulations. |
| Regional or Local Office |
| None. |
| Headquarters Office |
| Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20202. Contact: Claire Cornell. E-mail: claire.cornell@ed.gov; Telephone: (202) 502-7609. |
| Web Site Address |
| http://www.ed.gov/programs/ugroundrr/index.html |
| RELATED PROGRAMS |
| None. |
| EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS |
| National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (FC) (XE 'NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER"\f"i")(Cincinnati, Ohio) - The 2007 grant award will be used to further and support the FC's mission to reveal stories about the Underground Railroad and freedom's heroes, past and present, challenging and inspiring everyone to take courageous steps for freedom today. The grant will implement a robust schedule of special speakers, events, programs, community forums, and changing exhibits. FC exhibits consist of six permanent experiences and two changing galleries. Grant funds will also be used to manage the Center's highly-visited Web site, which serves an important role in itself to inform and educate our virtual visitors. Grant funds will also be used toward services specifically for FC's annual base of 50,000 visiting school children coming from cities all across the country. entitled "Revolution!" which continues the efforts of our landmark exhibitions "Slavery in New York" (2005) and "New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War" (2006) to examine the "contagion of freedom" that buttressed the Underground Railroad. The project shows how revolutions in America, France, and Haiti uniquely defined notions of freedom, equality, and human rights, and in fact played a key role in the abolition of slavery in the United States by serving as a foundation for the rhetoric and activism of abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, David Walker, David Ruggles, Henry Highland Garnet, James McCune Smith, and many other key figures in the Underground Railroad. A comprehensive exhibition Web site with links to likeminded institutions, as well as a traveling version of the show, will extend the life of the exhibition and reach an enormous and diverse local, national, and international audience. |
| CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS |
| Contact the Program Office for information. |
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General Services Administration Office of Chief Acquisition Officer Regulatory and Federal Assistance Division (VIR) |
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