2012 Optimist Club of Norwich and DistrictYouth Pay it Forward Challenge!
We are excited to announce our 3rd annual Pay it Forward Challenge. This contest is open to families, youth groups, church groups, classrooms, sports teams or anyone with a little bit of imagination. We as Optimist are always looking for ways to do good things to give back to our community. We are now challenging everyone else out there to do the same! We look foward to seeing the ideas that you come up with.
The Norwich Optimist Club is committing $1,500 to fund our 2012 Pay It Forward Challenge. Grants are designed to fund a one-time-only service-oriented project identified as an activity the entrants would like to perform to benefit their school, neighborhood, or greater community. Projects must contain a "Pay it Forward" focus - that is, they must be based on the concept of one person doing a favor for others, who in turn do favors for others, with the results growing exponentially to be considered in the grant making process. WE CAN NOT GIVE GENERAL EDUCATIONAL GRANTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF YOUR SCHOOL , THE PURCHASE OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS, ETC AS PART OF THIS CHALLENGE. Grant applications are reviewed and considered by a Selection Committee and the winners will be announced Feb 25th,2012.
Deadline for receipt of applications is Feb 14th, 2012. All applications must be submitted electronically (by email) to info@norwichoptimistevents.com with the words Pay it Forward in the subject line.
Please review the application process thoroughly and submit the form electronically. Failure to follow precise directions will result in an automatic rejection of your project.
Thank you for your efforts in helping to spread the Pay It Forward concept. Wishing you the best of luck from everyone at the Optimist Club of Norwich and District.
When completing an application, you should:
• explain the project thoroughly as to it’s contribution to the community.
• include specific details about how it will be organized
• attach a clear and concise budget
SELECTION CRITERIA
Selection Committee members will score the applications based on:
• Adherence to the Pay It Forward concept (explaining how the project's benefits will multiply exponentially); Your application will not be considered if there is not a clear demonstration of how the benefits will multiply exponentially. We may receive ideas for projects that simply state a positive impact. We do not discourage them, but they are not Pay It Forward projects. Pay It Forward is: I do a favor with the understanding that those recipients will then "pay it forward" to 3 people each and that the 3 people will then "pay it forward" to 9 people, etc. If you are not familiar with the Pay It Forward concept, please read the book Pay It Forward or read one of the excerpts posted on this site www.payitforwardfoundation.org before submitting a grant application.
Applicants must be residents of the Township of Norwich. There must be at least one youth (under 19) involved in the project. Qualifying projects must involve one of the following areas of our community and must be performed in the spring/summer/fall of 2012.
• Youth in our community
• Seniors in our community
FUNDING
The maximum per grant available is $500. We are pledging a total of $1,500 to this project and hope to fund as many winners as possible. These grants are available for projects on a one-time-only basis for 2012. Because funding is limited, applicants are welcome to involve other funding sources as well if needed to perform their project. Please document any other current committed source(s) of funding of the project in your budget.
SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION
Download the application form and rules and regulations by clicking on the tabs on the right sight of this page. Include a copy of the proposed budget. Proposals, including application and budget, must not exceed three pages . Limit one application per project. Applicants will receive confirmation that their application has been received for submission. Winners will be announced on our website on Feb 26, 2012 . If approved, applicants should receive funds within 30 days after notification of approval and be prepared to start their project.
