Step 1: General Information (become familiar with guidelines.)
Step 3: VCCS Workshop Mini-grant Application (online only.)
Step 4: If accepted, return the Acceptance Sheet that will accompany your letter. (fax or emailed PDF only - must contain signatures.)
Step 5: VCCS Workshop Mini-grant Final Report Form (online only.)
Step 6: VCCS Workshop Mini-grant Final Report Signature Page (fax or emailed PDF only - must contain signatures.)
General Information
The VCCS Professional Development Workshop Mini-Grant Program promotes the development and advancement of community college employees in Virginia. The workshop mini-grants provide funding for development and implementation of group activities for professional development such as workshops, in-service activities, and conferences involving at least two or more VCCS colleges.
Priority will be given to cost-effective proposals. The VCCS Workshop Mini-Grant Program encourages proposals which:
- Promote the best possible conditions for professional service and growth.
- Encourage the involvement of all interested individuals and groups in a cooperative effort to accomplish Dateline 2009 goals and improve Virginia’s community colleges and the programs and services they provide.
- Promote improved communication about and among the community colleges of Virginia.
- Benefit personnel from more than one VCCS college.
A maximum of $1,500 is available per mini-grant. The total amount available for mini-grant funding is dependent upon the amount in the Professional Development Program’s budget and may vary from semester to semester. There is a limit of one mini-grant award per person for each funding cycle.
An effort will be made to distribute the mini-grant funds throughout the 23 colleges; multiple applications from the same college will be considered and awarded depending on availability of funding.
Honorarium or speaker fees plus travel expenses can be paid, with the total not to exceed $1,500. Use of VCCS employees is encouraged and compensated according to VCCS policy. Travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with state travel policies.
Meeting room charges are allowable expenditures, although every effort should be made to negotiate meeting rooms at no cost. Audio/visual equipment is allowable, although every effort should be made to use equipment from a nearby college. Food and refreshment expenditures are also allowable. Other miscellaneous items such as materials and duplication costs may be allowed upon committee review.
Non-allowable expenditures include: fees paid for services not connected with an approved budget activity, fees paid for services that were not performed or paid prior to being performed, and fees for entertainment or alcoholic beverages.
Open to all VCCS employees and adjunct faculty. A proposal will not be accepted if the program is already completed and/or fully funded by another source. In no instance will a college be allowed to realize a profit from the funded project.
Click here to view the Professional Development Workshop Mini-Grant Peer Review Sheet
- Applications must be received electronically by 5:00 p.m. ET on the deadline date.
- The proposed activity must be planned and coordinated by faculty/staff from more than one VCCS college.
- Regional proposals are encouraged. Duplication of successful programs in other regions is also encouraged.
- Format is to be followed exactly.
- Deadlines will be the same every year. If due dates fall on a weekend, the following Monday will serve as the due date.
Note: If the deadline date falls on a weekend, the next business date becomes the new deadline date.
| Effective Dates |
Application Deadlines
(Online application and faxed or emailed PDF signature page) |
Acceptance Letter to VCCS
(faxed or emailed PDF signature page) |
Final Report to VCCS
(Online report and faxed or emailed PDF signature page) |
| Summer Semester |
February 15 |
April 1 |
November 15 |
| Fall Semester |
April 15 |
June 15 |
March 15 |
| Spring Semester |
October 1 |
December 1 |
August 15 |
Innovations in technology, professional activities, and shifting community college roles
Future directions for the community college
Articulation with public schools, 4-year colleges
International education
Mentoring part-time employees
Student development, assessment, or retention
Dateline 2009 related topics
New relationships between and among community college employees
Communication
Customer service
Time management/stress management
Promoting pleasant, positive work environments
Motivational topics
Dealing with change
Other topics that meet discipline, instruction, career, or organization needs
- Read through the entire grant application packet and instructions on this site.
- Discuss the idea for your proposal with colleagues, especially those who have applied for VCCS grants in the past, and with your Academic Dean.
- Have your college's VCCS Professional Development Committee member or Director of Grants review the application as you work on it and especially before you submit it.
At NVCC, all proposals must go through the Office of Grant Development prior to being submitted electronically. Please contract Deborah Rosen at drosen@nvcc.vccs.edu or 703/323-3154 for assistance.
At TCC all proposals must go through the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs prior to being submitted electronically. Please contact Susan Meslang at smeslang@tcc.edu or 757 822-1773 for assistance.
At VWCC all proposals must go through the Office of Grant Development and Special Projects prior to being submitted electronically. Please contract Marilyn Herbert-Ashton at mherbert-ashton@virginiawestern.edu or 540-/857-6372 for assistance.
- Prepare a draft application and review it several times.
- Be sure to specify how you will include other VCCS colleges.
- Be sure that items in the goals, outcomes, agenda, and assessment sections are clearly tied to each other. Be detailed, but brief.
- Specifically justify each budget item, and make sure each budget item is also discussed in the methodology section.
- Ask a colleague to proofread for mistakes before you submit the application.
- If you have questions that cannot be answered locally, email Ms. Nan Ottenritter, Director of Professional Development, at nottenritter@vccs.edu.