Grant Size: up to $10,000
Application Deadline: January 15

Background
The Vincent Astor Incentive Awards program was established in 1984 to improve the quality, productivity and effectiveness of education in the Town of Mount Desert through the staff of Mount Desert Elementary School, the Northeast Harbor Library and the Mount Desert Island High School. The program was made possible by an endowment grant from the Vincent Astor Foundation.

The program includes two components:

1. Incentive Awards of up to $10,000 to encourage and reward school/library staff for their initiatives by enabling them to pursue projects which will broaden their experience or education or otherwise contribute to their skills or to the curriculum of the school.
2. Mini-grants of up to $500 to fill a need not discovered by a teacher until after the school year begins and for which funding is not otherwise available. These awards are not intended as a substitute for normal, yearly operational funding but rather to supplement and enrich the educational process. Mini-grants are only available to staff from the elementary school and the library.

Evaluation Criteria
Applications will be reviewed on their merits by the Awards Committee. A limited number of grants will be awarded. The following criteria will be used in the evaluation process:

• Are the description and objectives of the proposed project clear?
• Are the procedures to be followed, the methods to be attempted, the materials and resource personnel needed, the tentative schedule and the completion dates clear and specific?
• Is the budget request reasonable and sufficiently detailed?
• Does the project have promise of benefiting students from Mount Desert?
• Are the schedule and completion dates realistic?
• Are public funds available to support the proposal?

Proposals from Mount Desert High School will be considered as a second priority. If requesting funds to purchase equipment, please include descriptions and sources (i.e. catalog page).

Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must be directly employed by or on the staff of the Mount Desert Elementary School, the Northeast Harbor Library or the Mount Desert Island High School and may not be a member of the Awards Committee or a member of the immediate family of a committee member. Preference will be given to applicants who have not received an award in the past 12 months.

How to Apply

• Incentive Awards: The application deadline for Incentive Grants is January 15 with awards to be announced by late March. Applicants who have questions about the appropriateness of a proposal are encouraged to discuss their idea with a committee member before applying. Award applications are available through the schools, the library and the Maine Community Foundation. Recipients are expected to remain teaching in Mount Desert schools and/or employed by the library after an award is granted, to extend the benefits of their travel experiences with upcoming classes of students and their colleagues.

• Mini-Grants: Mini-grant requests will be considered monthly and a formal application is not necessary. Applicants should submit a one-page letter to the committee by the 15th of the month explaining the project. Awards will generally be made within thirty days of receipt of the proposal.

Proposals should be sent to:

Victor Astor Incentive Awards Fund
Maine Community Foundation
245 Main St.
Ellsworth, ME 04605.

Applicants will be notified by late March of the final decisions.

Astor Fund Application (.pdf)
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Astor Fund Application (.rtf) (word processor version)

Contact
If you have any further questions regarding the Victor Astor Incentive Awards Fund, please contact Jean Warren in MaineCF's Ellsworth Office via email or by phone at 1-877-700-6800.

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