Proposal for Emerging Opportunity Program
Spring 2015
Submit application to [email protected]
Deadline: 12:00 pm (noon) on Friday March 20, 2015 LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Please limit your proposal and responses to the form and space provided. Any materials submitted in addition to this application form will not be considered in the evaluation of the proposal. Do not attempt to unlock or alter this form.
If you need assistance with this proposal or are unclear about how to respond to any questions please contact CDD staff at 266-6520.
Agency or Group: Boys and Girls Club of Dane County Amount
Requested: $6,738
Title of Proposal: Voices of Diversity Project
Contact Person: Karen Gallagher
Address: 1818 West Beltline Hway, Madison 53713 Telephone: 608 257-2606
E-Mail: [email protected] Is this Group a 501 (C) (3)? Yes or No Yes Applicant Organization founded (Year): 1999
Name of Fiscal Agent
(if Applicable): N/A
Fiscal Agent Contact
Person: N/A
Project Description: ( Approx. 20 Words)
Voices of Diversity trains at-risk youth in the skills required to write publishable op ed pieces.
1. Emerging Need or Opportunity: (5000 characters) Please describe the emerging need or unanticipated opportunity that warrants City resources and attention at this time:
The Voices of Diversity Project addresses the absence of diverse opinions and perspectives in our mainstream media, specifically that of youths of color and low-income background. This “silence”
contributes to a skewed perception that shapes public policy and practices within our larger social systems and preserves institutionalized inequalities. It also tells young people growing up in our culture what they can do and what they can expect to achieve.
In 2015 we are still wrestling with issues that have a disproportionate negative affect on the lives of people of color. These include: incarceration policies and rates, unemployment and underemployment, health care
access, home foreclosures, funding for public education, community banking and lending practices, and neighborhood desegregation and gentrification or disintegration. Meanwhile the commentaries that continue to dominate the opinion pages of American newspapers offer non-nuanced explanations of events, influence policy debates and proposed solutions, and undermine our proclaimed goals of justice, equality, and fairness for all. Prejudices, bias, and stereotyping run rampant in our press.
Within the last year here in Madison, the pernicious effects of racial disparities have begun to hit home with the release of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families’ Race to Equity Report. This report
confirmed and raised awareness of the opportunity gaps that have long existed in Dane County between black and white citizens. In addition, the 2013 Wisconsin Knowledge & Concepts Exam highlighted educational disparities between economically advantaged and disadvantaged and black and white students. To summarize some of these findings for the areas that include Madison and Verona: 13% of economically disadvantaged students achieve reading proficiency compared to 56% of advantaged students; 12% of African American students achieve reading proficiency compared to 57% of white students. African American students further do not graduate with a regular diploma in four years as often as their white peers: 47% of African American students took longer than four years compared to 13% of white students in Madison, while in Verona these numbers were 26% for African American students compared to 3% for white students.
The absence of voices of diversity among media content makers contributes to the disempowerment and disenfranchisement of people of color and people who are low-income. Disadvantaged youths and youths of color grow up without a sense that they have something important to say and to contribute to society or that their contribution will be values. They learn that their perspective does not matter, that their experience has no validity, and their understanding of events can have no impact. Minority youth face this challenge here in Madison, as they do elsewhere in the U. S., in their struggle to realize and fulfill their potential and to take steps to find their place in the world.
This scenario has terrible consequences at the community level. A community—even well-intentioned— that cannot understand the dynamics or experience of need and disempowerment, cannot forge inclusive public policies that lead to change and racial equity. To bridge racial divisions within communities, we need to have the voices that are missing from our media and our public debates present and talking to all of America, from citizens at the neighborhood level to elected officials in Washington, D.C.
2. Applicant Organization or Group: (5000 Characters) Please briefly describe the history and structure of your organization. Include information about staffing, your board and/or volunteers. Please describe any successes you have had in the areas of programming or the project described in this proposal.
Since 1999, The Boys & Girls Club of Dane County (BGCDC) has inspired and empowered young people reach their potential as productive, responsible, and caring adults. It currently provides services 5 days/week to 4,400 Club members ranging in age from 7-18 throughout the school year and 400 students 8 weeks each summer. Its vision is a society in which all youth, regardless of social class, ethnicity, or race, have a chance to discover their individual voice and make a positive contribution to the community. BGCDC has 30 FT and 70 PT staff who oversee and/or run # programs at its 8 locations in Dane County,
including its Taft Street and Allied Drive clubhouses and programs at Verona and Monona Grove high schools. The organization’s leadership team consists of its CEO,
COO, and Chief Academic and Chief Development officers. Program staff consists of the Directors of its two clubhouses, Director of Programming, and administrative staff. A board of 21 members oversees the organization’s growth, quality of services, adherence to its mission, and marketing, and is responsible for charting its direction.
During the past decade BCGDC has grown to become the primary provider of services to at-risk, black and Latino/a youth in Dane County. 90% of its members are minority or low-income children and many have underachieved in school. In 2013 its College Club Program was 1 of 3 BGCDC programs in the nation recognized for achieving student improvements in reading and math scores. According to WI Center for the
Advancement of Secondary Education research, students who have participated in BGCDC’s AVID/TOPS program for 3 years or more have a 96% likelihood of graduating on time. In 2014 it won 4 College Ready grants from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation. It also received the Friends of Education Award from the State of Wisconsin and, for the second year in a row, the National Boys & Girls Clubs of America Gateway Award for Program Innovation. BGCDC has more than 100 partnerships with different organizations in the Dane County area, including two local police departments, Madison Metro School District, local businesses, and nonprofits.
Other BGCDC programs that will feed the proposed Voices of Diversity include:
Homeroom: 45 minutes/day of homework help, independent reading, educational games, and one-on-one tutoring delivered by professional staff and licensed teachers to assist students in school projects and provide supplemental support in math and literacy.
College Club: College prep for 1st-12th graders that is built on a foundation of academic monitoring, tutoring, and case management; a space and a platform that validates students and their life experience and focuses on topics like goal setting, college entry, understanding financial aid, and career development and life skills through service learning. Education Coordinators work with each student to set academic and personal goals and connect College Club members’ families to community resources to remove social and/or economic barriers that threaten to interfere with students’ education.
Advancement Via Individual Determination/Teens of Promise: Operated in partnership with the Madison Metro School District, AVID/TOPS provides a college-readiness class during the school day, tutoring, college field trips, career exploration, summer internships, community mentors, and wrap-around support for 9th-12th graders.
Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) Program: Dedicated to bringing the creative and performing arts to life for Club members, CAPA inspires and enables students to explore the creative and performing arts, including dance, music, and digital music production and photography, to develop their talents as they awaken their creativity, and to learn social and emotional skills in a safe, supportive, and positive environment.
Saving to Achieve Results (STAR) Credit Union: The only youth-chartered credit union in the world, STAR instills financial literacy and responsibility by providing members access to financial services and the opportunity to participate in the operation of an on-site credit union office.
Summer Camp: 8-week, full-day academic and recreational activities that promote literacy, arts, team-building, and community, and prevent summer learning loss. Campers participate in engaging and structured activities, including a summer reading program and weekly field trips, and enjoy two free meals daily. Summer Internships: In partnership with the Madison Metropolitan School District through the AVID/TOPS
program, teens participate in meaningful professional experiences at community businesses and organizations.
Keystone Club: A leadership and service club for ages 14-18, Keystone Club offers activities in 4 areas: service to club and community, character and leadership development, education and career exploration, and social recreation. Keystone Club members participate in regional and national Keystone conferences. 3. Intended Service Population: (2500 characters) Please describe the intended service population (e.g.,
where they are located, ages, ethnicities, income ranges, English language proficiency etc.).
The Voices of Diversity Project will serve primarily Allied Dunn’s Marsh area residents who are students of color, 15 to 18, and low-income. The neighborhoods in which these students live have disproportionately high ratios of poverty, crime, disorderly conduct, drug trafficking, weapons offenses, arrests, and
convictions when compared to the City of Madison overall.
According to the United States Census American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates for 2008-12, 74% of BGCDC members live at the federal poverty level and 51% come from single-parent households. Eighty-three percent qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. Many parents and guardians of these students work more than one job in order to have enough money to support their family.
Club members attend school in two districts, Madison Metro (70% of program participants) and Verona (30%). A large number are underachievers in school. The 2013 WI Knowledge & Concepts Exam reveals an achievement gap between economically disadvantaged/advantaged students. Only 13% of Madison’s disadvantaged students and 12% of Black and Latino/a students scored proficient at reading compared to 56% of economically advantaged students and 57% of white students. At Verona Area High School only 16% of black, 17% of Latino/a, and 19% of economically disadvantaged students scored proficient in reading. Proficiency is required to graduate.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction further reports a 77% high school graduation rate for Madison as a whole. However in 2013 only about 50% of Madison Metro black students graduated with a regular diploma in four years compared to 13% of white students. Twenty-six percent of Verona Area high school students did not graduate with a regular diploma in four years compared to 3% of white students. 4. Innovation: (5000 characters) How does this proposal reflect a new or innovative approach to the stated
problem?
This project represents a unique partnership betwween two philosophically aligned but very different organizations: The Progressive, Inc., whose mission includes standing against the disenfranchisement of citizens and championing peace, social and economic justice, civil rights, civil liberties, human rights, and a reinvigorated democracy, and the BGCDC, dedicated to assisting every youth fulfill his or her potential in positive ways. By combining forces on the Voices of Diversity project, these two organizations commit themselves to addressing and changing the dynamics at play in Madison that perpetuate racial inequality and injustice. By teaching young people who are low-income and of color the skills they need to express their points of view effectively in public, this project contributes to empowering individuals, creating an informed and active citizenry, and ensuring that diverse voices are heard by all. By learning to write powerful op-ed pieces that channel their frustrations, hopes, and dreams as young citizens of color, participants in these clinics channel their emotions and energy in constructive ways and empower themselves.
According to media sources, a common refrain among newsroom managers is: “We would run more diverse pieces if we had them.” Op-ed pieces are a powerful means for including more diverse views and voices throughout the media. As part of this project, writers from The Progressive’s Media Project (PMP) will train youths of color in the standards and conventions of newspaper op-ed pieces so that they may add their voices to the public debate on a variety of topics locally and nationally. PMP writers will also edit completed pieces produced by youths during a three-part clinic designed to coach them in writing op-eds with an eye toward their publication.
The PMP keeps a detailed editorial schedule for op-eds, maximizing their likelihood that project participants will make it into print. It employs the very highest journalistic standards, producing commentaries that are repurposed, reprinted, and redistributed far and wide, including via social media networks, mobile and online newspapers, multi-media news sites (www.nwaonline.com, www.northjersey.com,
www.canada.com, www.philly.com, www.mlive.com, etc.), major publications (Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Daily News, Newsweek, Forbes, etc.), popular blog sites (Huffington Post, Daily Kos, etc.), and international newspapers (Times of India, Gulf Times, Canadian National Post, Korea Herald, etc.). Its editors contact newsrooms and advocate for particularly important pieces so that they do not fall “under the radar.”
By 2014 PMP had built a solid core of newspapers across the country that consistently relied upon its op-eds for racial diversity and progressive perspective (Anchorage Daily News, AK; Bellingham Herald, WA; Sacramento Bee, CA; Merced Sun-Star, CA; Fresno Bee, CA; Modesto Bee, CA; Island Packet, SC; Kansas City Star, MO; and Bradenton Herald, FL). There is also an increasing number of large newspapers archiving PMP op-eds and making them easily accessible for years at a stretch (Hartford
Courant, CT; Sun-Sentinel, FL; Orlando Sentinel, FL; Daily Press, VA; Baltimore Sun, MD; Allentown Morning Call, PA; Chicago Tribune, IL; and the Los Angeles Times, CA).
5. Project/Program Goals: (5000 characters) Please describe the specific goals, objectives and intended measurable impacts of this program/project. Include the number of people you expect will benefit from this project.
Project Goal: To encourage disadvantaged youths and youths of color to discover and insert their distinct voice into the media and public discussions around the search for solutions to racial inequities by training them to write op-ed pieces.
Objectives: Participants will:
1) Be able to identify the components of good op-ed writing 2) Increase their confidence in their expository writing skills
3) Increase their awareness of positive avenues for expressing their viewpoints effectively and publicly. Immediate impacts: The Voices of Diversity project will help students improve their writing skills and power of expression. Students will both discover their voice and learn how the op-eds can function as a tool for inserting their voice into ongoing discussions and debates around racial inequities. They will witness and read journalists of color and diverse backgrounds who have committed themselves to having an impact upon social and political change through writing and speaking. They will increase in confidence and feel empowered by their enhanced ability to employ their right to freedom of speech in powerful and productive ways in their own behalf and that of their community.
Long-term Impacts: Those participants who continue to practice the writing skills they acquire in the Voices of Diversity clinic will be served well in college and employment. They will experience a long-term sense of empowerment and will be more likely to use the power of the pen to other less constructive shows of strength to present their viewpoint. A few will realize their potential to become inspirational voices for their community and throughout the nation as future journalists. Many will know what it means to be engaged cititzens who speak out in their own behalf and in behalf of others to make a difference.
6. Program/Project design: (5000 characters) Please describe structure of proposed program or project, hours of service/schedule, staffing, curriculum or project/service structure, etc.
Working together with staff from the PMP, the BGCDC will schedule one op-ed writing clinic for members of College Club. The clinic will take place during BGCDC’s normal hours of operation, weekdays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will last a total of eight hours divided into three sessions. There will be 12 members in each clinic. Club members who take part in these clinics will demonstrate an interest in writing and will complete a screening interview with the BGCDC’s Academic Officer.
Writing clinics will be led by experienced journalists and teachers who have a history of writing on themes of race, education, and around issues of social justice and civil rights. Each of these instructors is a person of color, who also has experience working with youths. Clinics will consist of a combination of discussions about the role of the media and the special purpose and power of ed pieces. Participants will read published op-eds, chosen for their relevance to issue of race and education, and addressing social inequities. They will also discuss issues of racial injustice and the experience of youths of color in Madison. Participants will be
encouraged to recount their personal experience and to see it in relationship to broader events and currents locally and nationally.
Writing clinics will include training in the basics of expository/op-ed writing:
A. Structure – Writing a strong “lede,” defending a position with two or three arguments, rebutting counterarguments, ending with a strong conclusion.
B. Overcoming writer’s block – Checking ego at the door, working without inspiration, developing an outline.
C. Tips for good, strong writing – Using active tense, building on short sentences and small paragraphs, avoiding generalizations, shunning adjectives and adverbs.
D. Exercises – Writing strong “ledes”; writing strong conclusions.
Session one will be largely discussion and instruction with the opportunity for students to read other op-eds and practice writing sentences and opening paragraphs. Sessions two and three will be writing workshops. Session two will open with the opportunity to students to define the focus on their own op-ed, and session three will close with students reading their pieces aloud if they chose. After session three, the PMP instructor will edit and return students’ op-eds along with suggestions for their improvement, and if appropriate, ideas for publication.
A third half-day writing clinic will be held for the administrative and afterschool teaching staff of BGCDC to encourage them to voice their unique perspective on the experience of working with youths of color and low-income youths and the challenges facing this subset of the next generation in moving into positions of responsibility and authority. This clinic will include writing workshop time for skill building. It will also provide time to teach staff to voice their perspective in a concise manner during public conversations about
inequalities, thereby building media capacity throughout the BGCDC and facilitating their ability to assist youths in continuing to write about their experiences and points of views.
The conclusion of both clinics will coincide with an event open to the community held at BGCDC during which students will again read their pieces aloud. The Progressive will post on its website any op-ed by student or staff that is published by a newspaper or magazine.
7. Community Engagement: (2500 characters) Please describe how community, residents and program and/ or project participants were engaged in the development of this proposal.
The idea for this clinic came about following the death of Tony Robinson in Madison in early March as members of the broader Madison community came together to mourn his death and discuss its larger meaning. The young people who live in the Allied neighborhood and attend BGCDC’s Verona High School College Club program and Allied Center BGCDC Clubhouse also began to grapple with the death of a young mixed-race man in Madison and of the meaning of recent Ferguson-to-Madison protests nationally and locally. Many of these youths have not had the chance to participate in marches and protests and still are coping with a maelstrom of emotions and ideas.
Two of the things that come up again and again in their comments is their frustration with the social policies which, as high schoolers, they are just beginning to become aware of, and the implications of these policies and recent events to their own lives. They are searching for a way to also begin to search to broadcast their voices and have an impact for change.
Staff of BGCDC in conversation with parents and other stakeholders, including staff at Madison and Verona high schools, have attempted to help youth process their responses. Verona High School in
particular has created a space in the school where students may go to talk through their ideas and feelings. Outside of the schools, however, Madison as a community lacks creative spaces where youths can go to digest and process recent events.
8. Collaboration: (2500 characters) Please describe the level of involvement with other service providers, schools, funders, government bodies, or other public or private stakeholders in the development of this proposal and its expected implementation.
The Progressive Media Project will provide writing instruction to 24 youths ages 15 to 18 during two op-ed writing clinics. It will train staff in the skills that pertain to writing strong, publishable op-eds and will also
train them in the skills needed to critique and edit the op-eds written by students. This will be the first time that the PMP has branched out to work with youths as part of its Voices of Diversity Project.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Arts (MMoCA) is in conversation with the BGCDC about hosting a “Gallery Night” at one of its Club sites in 2015. Currently MMoCA is being considered as a possible site for showcasing students’ finished op-eds. The BGCDC is also in discussing expanding and sustaining the Voices of Diversity Project long-term as a regular part of its College Club programs.
9. Proposed Timeline for Implementation:
Activity Estimated Start and Completion
Dates
Recruit 12 clinic youth participants September - October 2015
Schedule clinic dates September 2015
Hold clinic for youths November 2015
Hold clinic for staff November 2015
Schedule and hold public reading of students op-eds March 2016
10. Funding: (500 characters each)
a) What other funding have you sought and/or received to support this project?
This is the first application for funding for the Voices of Diversity Project at the BGCDC.
b) Do you anticipate future funding needs from City sources associated with this proposal? Please describe.
The BGCDC actively seeks funds from individual donors, businesses, and foundation year round. One of the sources of funding that it may solicit for the continuation of this project in 2016-17 is the City of Madison.
c) Has your organization received funding from the City of Madison Community Development Division, City of Madison CDBG office, Community Services, the Emerging Opportunities Program or the former Emerging Neighborhoods Program in the last 5 years?
Yes No
11. Budget:
Summarize your project budget by estimated costs, revenue, and fund source.
BUDGET EXPENDITURES TOTAL PROJECT COSTS AMOUNT OF CITY $ REQUESTED AMOUNT OF NON-CITY REVENUES SOURCE OF NON-City FUNDED PORTION A. Personnel Costs (Complete Personnel
BUDGET EXPENDITURES TOTAL PROJECT COSTS AMOUNT OF CITY $ REQUESTED AMOUNT OF NON-CITY REVENUES SOURCE OF NON-City FUNDED PORTION
1. Salaries/Wages (show detail below) 1986 1362 625 Private
fundraising
2. Fringe Benefits and Payroll Taxes 356 212 144 Private
fundraising
B. Program Costs
1. Program supplies and equipment 1442 1192 250 Private
fundraising 2. Office Supplies 30 30 0 3. Transportation 48 48 0 4. Other (explain) 3750 3750 0 C. Space Costs 5. Rent/Utilities/Telephone 0 0 0 6. Other (explain): 0 0 0 D. TOTAL (A + B + C) 7756 6738 1019
Explanation of “Other” expenses: (500 characters)
Other Program costs: PMP writers to conduct op-ed clinics at the BGCDC.
12. Personnel Chart: Please list all paid staff that will be working on the proposed program/project. Title of Staff Position F.T.E.* Proposed Hourly Wage*
Academic case manager (Verona College Club) 0.02 $12.62
Teen specialist 0.02 $12.62
Senior director of programs 0.01 $35.18
Assistant director of marketing and special events 0.01 $41.66
$
TOTAL
*FTE = Full Time Equivalent (1.00, .75, .50, etc.) 2080 hours = 1.00 FTE Please identify FTE that will be spent in this project.
*Note: All employees involved in programs receiving City of Madison funds must be paid the established Living Wage as required under City of Madison Ordinance 4.20. Effective January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015, the Living Wage will be $12.62 per hour.
13. Fiscal Agent Relationship (if applicable): If applicant organization is not a 501c (3) this section must be completed. If applicant is a 501c (3) please skip to the Signature Page.
The Fiscal Agent should read the EOP application and have some confidence that the applicant agency will be able to successfully implement the proposed project or program.
The Fiscal Agent will accept allocated funds from the City of Madison for the identified program or project and reimburse the applicant for expenses incurred performing the work of the contracted program. The Fiscal Agent and the applicant agency will decide who will provide and purchase the necessary insurance coverage for the identified program.
The Fiscal Agent will ensure that the funded project or program is in compliance with City of Madison Purchase of Service Contact requirements, including but not limited to Living Wage requirements, Non Discrimination and Affirmative Action, and equal benefits protections.
Applicant is expected to provide the Fiscal Agent with the Fiscal Agent Commitment Form. Please indicate date and staff person that received this form.
Date:
Staff person: Position:
-SIGNATURE PAGE-
1. Affirmative Action:
If funded, applicant hereby agrees to comply with City of Madison Ordinance 39.02 and file either an exemption or an Affirmative Action Plan with the Department of Civil Rights. A model Affirmative Action Plan and instructions are available at http://www.cityofmadison.com/dcr/aaplans.cfm.
2. Living Wage Ordinance:
All employees involved in programs supported by City of Madison funds must be paid the established Living Wage as required under City of Madison Ordinance 4.20. Effective January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015 the Living Wage will be $12.62 per hour. For more information on Living Wage requirements, go to
http://www.cityofmadison.com/finance/wage/.
3. City of Madison Contracts:
If funded, applicant agrees to comply with all applicable local, State and Federal provisions. A sample contract that includes standard provisions may be obtained by contacting the Community Development Division at (608) 266-6520.
If funded, the City of Madison reserves the right to negotiate the final terms of a contract with the selected agency.
4. Signature:
(Any applications submitted without a signature will be considered incomplete and will not be considered for funding.)
Applicant Signature: Enter
Name: Karen Gallagher, Development Director
By entering your initials in the box, KG
You are electronically signing your name and agreeing to the terms above.
