[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 93 (Tuesday, May 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27515-27518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10669]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; 
Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.345A.
    DATES: Applications Available: May 13, 2008.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 12, 2008.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 11, 2008.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The Underground Railroad Educational and 
Cultural Program (URR) makes grants to nonprofit educational 
organizations that are established to research, display, interpret, and 
collect artifacts relating to the history of the Underground Railroad.

    Authority:  20 U.S.C. 1153.

    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.

    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of 
higher education only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $1,943,510
    Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of 
applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2009 from the list of 
unfunded applicants from this competition.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $500,000-$1,000,000 total for up 
to three years.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 2.

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit educational organizations that 
are established to research, display, interpret, and collect artifacts 
relating to the history of the Underground Railroad.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: The Federal Government may provide no 
more than 20 percent of the total funds for any project funded under 
this competition. See 20 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2). Applicants must provide the 
remaining 80 percent funding from private entities. As part of the 
application process, applicants will be required to demonstrate their 
ability to meet the cost sharing requirement.
    3. Other: Each nonprofit educational organization awarded a grant 
under this competition must create an endowment to fund any and all 
shortfalls in the costs of the on-going operations of the facility. 
Grantees must establish a network of satellite centers throughout the 
United States to help disseminate information regarding the Underground 
Railroad. These satellite centers must raise 80 percent of the funds 
required to establish the satellite centers from non-Federal public and 
private sources. In addition, grantees must establish the capability to 
electronically link the facility with other local and regional 
facilities that have collections and programs that interpret the 
history of the Underground Railroad. As part of the application 
process, applicants will be required to document their ability to 
create an endowment, establish satellite centers, and establish the 
electronic capability described above. For specific requirements on 
reporting, please go to http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Claire D. Cornell, 
Underground Railroad Program, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary 
Education (FIPSE), Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S. 
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6145, Washington, DC 
20006-8544. Telephone: (202) 502-7609 or by e-mail: 
[email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer

[[Page 27516]]

diskette) by contacting the program contact person listed in this 
section.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
    Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant, 
address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your 
application. You must limit the application narrative to the equivalent 
of no more than 30 pages, using the following standards:
     A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1'' 
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. Page numbers and an 
identifier may be outside of the 1'' margin.
     Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) 
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, 
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in 
charts, tables, figures and graphs.
     Use a font that is either 12-point or larger or no smaller 
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
     Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, 
Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font 
(including Times Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
     The page limit does not apply to Part I, the Application 
for Federal Assistance Form (SF-424); Part II, the budget section, 
including the narrative budget justification; Part IV, the assurances 
and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the Table of Contents, 
the resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. However, the 
page limit does apply to all of the application narrative section.
    We will reject your application if you exceed the page limit.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: May 13, 2008.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 12, 2008.
    Applications for grants under this program must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For 
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your 
application electronically, please refer to section IV. 6. Other 
Submission Requirements in this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII 
in this notice.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 11, 2008.
    We will not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to the 
requirements of Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 
part 79. Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs 
under Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this 
program.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We specify unallowable costs in 34 CFR 
74.27. We reference additional regulations outlining funding 
restriction in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this program must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an 
exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in 
this section.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications for grants under the Underground Railroad Educational 
and Cultural Program, CFDA Number 84.345A, must be submitted 
electronically using the Government wide Grants.gov Apply site at 
http://www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to download 
a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload 
and submit your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a 
grant application to us.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    You may access the electronic grant application for The Underground 
Railroad Educational and Cultural Program at http://www.Grants.gov. You 
must search for the downloadable application package for this program 
by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in 
your search (e.g., search for 84.345, not 84.345A).
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must 
be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as 
otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if 
it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov 
system--after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply 
with the application requirements. When we retrieve your application 
from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your 
application because it was date and time stamped by the Grants.gov 
system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this program to ensure that you 
submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system. 
You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to 
Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps include (1) 
Registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes 
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2) 
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative 
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization. 
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step 
Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note

[[Page 27517]]

that the registration process may take five or more business days to 
complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to allow 
you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In addition 
you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual basis. This 
may take three or more business days to complete.
     You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your 
application in paper format.
     You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information you typically provide on the following forms: 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the 
Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424--have 
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance).
     You must attach any narrative sections of your application 
as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable 
Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file 
types specified in this paragraph or submit a password-protected file, 
we will not review that material.
     Your electronic application must comply with any page-
limit requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that 
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates 
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The 
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send 
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification 
indicates that the Department has received your application and has 
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified 
identifying number unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting 
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov 
Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a 
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date because of technical 
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension 
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to 
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand 
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing 
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC 
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII in this 
notice and provide an explanation of the technical problem you 
experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk 
Case Number. We will accept your application if we can confirm that a 
technical problem occurred with the Grants.gov system and that problem 
affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., 
Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The Department 
will contact you after a determination is made on whether your 
application will be accepted.

    Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply 
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the 
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed 
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before 
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem 
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the Grants.gov system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system; and
     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days; or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
    If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be 
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must 
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the 
application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: Claire D. Cornell, U.S. 
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6145, Washington, DC 
20006-8544. FAX: (202) 502-7877.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
    b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a 
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail 
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable 
following address:

By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.345A), 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260; or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center, Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.345A), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.

    Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing 
consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service.
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier.
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Education.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    (1) A private metered postmark.
    (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    If your application is postmarked after the application deadline 
date, we will not consider your application.

    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your 
local post office.

    c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.

[[Page 27518]]

    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper 
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original 
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.345A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, 
Sundays, and Federal holidays.

    Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you 
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department--
    (1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by 
the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including 
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are 
submitting your application; and
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a 
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not 
receive this notification within 15 business days from the 
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of 
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

V. Application Review Information

    Selection Criteria. The selection criteria for this program are 
from 34 CFR 75.210 and include: Project significance (10 points); 
quality of the project design (40 points); adequacy of project 
resources (20 points); quality of project personnel (10 points); and 
quality of the project evaluation (20 points). Additional information 
regarding these criteria is in the application package for this 
competition.
    In making grant awards for this program, the Department will 
consider information concerning the applicant's performance and use of 
funds from a prior grant in this program or in any other Department 
program and will consider the applicant's failure to submit an 
acceptable performance report for a grant in this program or in any 
other Department program. 34 CFR 75.217(d)(3).

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your 
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award 
Notification (GAN). We may notify you informally, also.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, 
we notify you.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify 
administrative and national policy requirements in the application 
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable 
Regulations section in this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice and 
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also 
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding 
commitments under the grant.
    3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a 
final performance report, including financial information, as directed 
by the Secretary and as outlined in the text below.
    For each fiscal year for which an organization receives funding 
under this program, those organizations must submit to the Department a 
report that contains: (a) A description and evaluation of the programs 
and activities supported by the funding; (b) the audited financial 
statement of the organization for the preceding fiscal year; and (c) a 
plan for the programs and activities to be supported by the funding. 
The Secretary may also require more frequent performance reports under 
34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to: 
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms/appforms.html and 
review a more detailed explanation in the application package.
    4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA), the following measure will be used by the 
Department in assessing the performance of the Underground Railroad 
Educational and Cultural Program:
     The extent to which funded projects have been 
institutionalized and continued after URR funding ends.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: Claire D. Cornell, Underground 
Railroad Educational and Cultural Program, FIPSE, OPE, U.S. Department 
of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6145, Washington, DC 20006-8544. 
Telephone: (202) 502-7609 or by e-mail: [email protected].
    If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

VIII. Other Information

    Alternative Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the application package in an alternative format 
(e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on 
request to the program contact person listed in this section.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: May 8, 2008.
Diane Auer Jones,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. E8-10669 Filed 5-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P