In Fiscal Year 2003, approximately 1.2 million students participated in 2,000 local Learn and Serve America supported projects. In these service-learning projects, students integrated community service with their classroom and extracurricular learning.
In addition to assisting students in meeting academic content standards and obtaining skills needed for the transition to work, service-learning provides a unique opportunity for young people to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions of effective citizenship and a lifelong ethic of service.
Learn and Serve America continues to reach diverse and underserved populations, with 35% of its participants from minority populations and 27% of its programs located in schools where at least 50% of the students are eligible for the federal school lunch program.
State Formula Grants
About 45% of all Learn and Serve America funds support non-competitive School-Based Formula grants—grants to State Education Agencies (SEAs) that are based on a statutory formula.
SEAs train educators, volunteers, service-learning coordinators, and students in service-learning and make subgrants to schools or school districts that partner with nonprofit organizations to conduct service-learning programs. SEAs also conduct program evaluations, support local partnerships, and develop curriculum aligned with service activities and state academic standards.
Using criteria determined by Learn and Serve America, enhanced by a state’s own priorities, each SEA awards subgrants through its own state-developed process. At the local level, funds are awarded to schools or districts who partner with community- or faith-based organizations, private schools, public agencies, colleges, or for-profit businesses. Most states award grants through a competitive process; some states distribute grants to districts without competition.
If you are interested in training or grant funding for a school-based program, contact your State Education Agency.
School-Based Competitive Grants
SEAs, Indian Tribes, U.S. Territories, and nonprofit organizations compete nationally for grants to promote innovation, high quality programming and expansion of the field of service-learning. Funds are used to provide training and technical assistance, evaluate results, and implement local programs. Seventy-five to eighty percent of funds are subgranted to local partnerships between schools and community- and faith-based organizations for program implementation. As part of a Corporation-wide priority, grantees are encouraged to focus on providing opportunities for disadvantaged youth to serve others, through, among other possible activities, intensive Summer of Service programs.
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