New Jersey
Community Stewardship Incentive Program (CSIP)
Grant Application
2013
Department of Environmental Protection
New Jersey State Forestry Services
Community Forestry Program
Opens: April 1, 2013
Deadline: May31, 2013
CSIP Grant 2013 page 1 of 11
Community Stewardship Incentive Program Application Form
(All blanks must be filled in order to be eligible)
Municipality: County:Federal ID Number:
Contact Name:Salutation:Title:
(Person Submitting Application)
Applicant Organization Name:
Primary Contact Number:Extension: Type:
Secondary Contact Number:Extension: Type:
Email:Fax Number:Extension:
Mailing Address:City, State, Zip:
Fiscal Year End Date:Amount Requested: $
Matching Contribution: $, that will be % In-kind match, Total Project Amount: $
Financial Officer:Title:
Type of Accounting Records of County or Municipality:
Cash Basis, Modified Accrual, Accrual Basis, Other:
Grant Executor:Title:
(Person that will sign the Agreement)
- Is this a TreeCityUSA Community? Yes, No Growth Award? Yes, No
- Is this a Sustainable Jersey Certified Community, if yes what level? Silver, Bronze, Registered, or Non-certified
If our project could not be fully funded, we would accept a lesser grant amount?Yes or No
CSIP Grant 2013 page 1 of 11
Please mark practice you are applying for:
CSIP # 1 Training
CSIP # 2 Community Forestry Ordinance Establishment
CSIP # 3 Public Education & Awareness
CSIP # 4 Arbor Day
CSIP # 5 Tree Inventory
CSIP # 6 Hazard Tree Assessment
CSIP # 7 Storm Damage Assessment
CSIP # 8 Tree Maintenance and Removals
CSIP # 9 Insect and Disease Management
CSIP # 10 Wildfire Protection
CSIP # 11 Tree Planting
CSIP # 12 Tree Recycling
CSIP # 13 Sidewalk Maintenance Program
CSIP # 14 Storm Water Management
CSIP # 15 Other
CSIP Grant 2013 page 1 of 11
Number of tree to be planted:
As designated representative of the above organization, I hereby agree that this project shall be implemented within the agreed upon time frame. I pledge that within 30 days after completion of the proposed project, the organization shall submit a report documenting the project’s costs to the New JerseyForest Service for review and approval. I understand that reimbursement by the New JerseyForest Service will be initiated after the report is received and approved.
Signature: ______Date: ______
Person Submitting Application
As official representative of the above municipality or county under whose auspices the project is being completed, I hereby authorize the project submitted for this proposed CSIP grant.
Signature: ______Date: ______Mayor or CountyAdministrator Signature
Introduction
The goal of these Community Stewardship Incentive Program (CSIP) grants is to provide funds to help municipalities and counties carry out the practices that are listed in their Community Forestry Management Plan (CFMP). Only CSIP practices listed in the municipal/countyCFMP are eligible for funding. Grant awards will be made on a competitive basis. Only municipalities and counties with Approved Status under the New Jersey Shade Tree and Community Forestry Assistance Act for the 2012or 2013 calendar year are eligible for this CSIP grant, and must maintain Approved Status as long as the grant is open.
New Jersey Shade Tree and Community Forestry Assistance Act
The New Jersey Shade Tree and Community Forestry Assistance Act was passed on December 5, 1996. The act established the New Jersey Community Forestry Program within the Department of Environmental Protection’s State Forestry Services under the direction of the State Forester. One of the primary goals of the program is to enhance the ability of all county and municipal governments to care for and manage their shade trees and community forests through technical and financial assistance.
Funding
The 2013 CSIP grants are being funded from the “Treasure Our Trees” license plate fund and Green Acres No Net Loss funds. The maximum grant amount that will be awarded to a municipality or county will be $20,000.
All applicants are required to provide a matching contribution. The matching contributions can come from in-kind services (volunteer work counts) and/or payments made. The contributions must equal 1/2 or more of the State’s contribution or equal to 33% or more of the total project amount. For example; if a request of $20,000.00 is made then a contribution of $10,000.00 or more is needed for a total project amount of $30,000.00 or more. The matching contribution must be from sources other than the state government.
Awarded grants will be paid as reimbursement after the work is completed, inspections are made, the work meets the requirement and industry standards, and the invoices are submitted with documentedmatch.The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will be required to fill-out and sign a document verifying the funds expended are true and correct. If partial payments are required 25% of the funds will be held till all work is completed in the agreement and the project summary is submitted.
Award Notification
The New Jersey Forest Service shall make award announcements during the month of June 2013. Each applicant will be notified of their final status and, if selected, the amount of their award. Grants will be awarded to those proposals that meet the eligibility criteria and are rated highest on the Evaluation Criteria given below. Project amendments may be required.
Community Stewardship Incentive Program Goals
Aid and promote sustainable, healthy tree cover in New Jersey communities
Increase environmental, social, and economic benefits to communities through tree management
Help address new tree resource issues that become a priority
Develop long-term partnerships within communities to aid the developmentof sustainable practices
Encourage the expansion of local community forestry programs and support CFMP’s
Requirements
To successfully applyfor the CSIP funding your municipality or county must meet certain requirements. If the application is missing one of these parts it will not be reviewed.
1)The municipality or county must have Approved Status under the New Jersey Shade Tree and Community Forestry Assistance Act (the Act) for 2012or become Approved in 2013
- Municipality has acurrent approved CFMP
- Two Core Trained Individuals
- Obtain all yearly CEU requirements
- Submits an Annual Accomplishment Report
Please see “Community Forestry Assistance Act Guidelines” for more details about Approved Status.
2)The grantee must agree to match 1/2 of the grant amount or 33% of the total project amount with cash and/or in-kind services.
3)The CSIP practices must be listed in the CFMP (some of the names and numbers of the practices have changed, and allowances will be made accordingly).
4) All blanks in the application form must be completed.
5)Proposal must have all required parts according to the CSIP Practice
6) Only one grant application may be submitted by a municipality or county.
7) The funding requested in the grant application must be less than or equal to $20,000.00
9) The grant application must be postmarked or hand delivered by May 31, 2013.
10)One original paper and one digital copy of the entire grant proposal package must be submitted.
11)The application must be signed by the Mayor or Municipal/County Administrator and by a member of the applicant organization to indicate their support of the project.
12) The applicant organization must be in compliance with all previous New JerseyForest Servicegrants.
13) The application shall have the titles of each section clearly marked.
14)The Proposal must outline the scope of work. The budget must specify the costs involved, and what would be coved under the grant funding or by the required match.
15)If a tree planting is a part of the project you must agree to the “CSIP 2013 Tree Planting Standards”, a copy can be found on the Community Forestry website,
Project Proposal
For the CSIP practice proposed, a Project Proposal must be submitted using the following format to describe the project. This Proposal should be no more than 4 pages total not including the Application Form, Budget Table, Budget Narrative, and supporting documents. Please use page references to your CFMP to aid in referencing your plan. Note the titles below must be clearly marked and in this order within the Project Proposal otherwise the proposal will not be reviewed.
- Project Title
- CSIP Practice
- Proposal Summary
- Project Budget
- Project Goals and Objectives
- Timeline
- Project Method
- Evaluation Plan
- Appendix
Please follow the directions for each section below:
Project Title: Project name (have fun and be creative)
CSIP Practice: Please use the current title and number of the CSIP practice. Note the numbers and names have changed for some the CSIP practices, and they may no longer match in your management plan; please use the new name and number that most closely match your CFMP. Project Proposals will only cover one CSIP practice. So if you are doing tree plantings (#11)as part of practice #14 Storm Water Management, then you would list only #14 because the primary reason for planting the trees was for Storm Water Management. Note all tree planting will be held to the standards listed in CSIP practice #11 Tree Planting.
Proposal Summary: Briefly describe the purpose of the project,the scope of work, and overall costs associated with the project. Keep this sort and simple it should be no more than a short paragraph.
Project Goals and Objectives: Describe the project and how it fits into the Community Forestry Management Plan (also, if possible, reference the pages in the plan).
Project Budget: Project Budget Form on page 8and Budget Narrative shall be included in the Project Proposal. The budget should identify the sources of all in-kind contributions that will be used to meet the applicant’s required match. In-kind contributions, such as donated services or materials, should be included in the budget. Please check with the municipal or county CFO before submitting.
The match contributions must equal 1 half or more of the State’s contribution for the CSIP practice. The budget should identify the sources of all in-kind contributions that will be used to meet the applicant’s required match. In-kind contributions, such as donated services or materials, should be included in the budget. The accepted federal volunteer rate for hourly work is $21.79/hour. Professional rates may be used as long as the individual donating his or her time is actually working within their professional scope of work, i.e. a landscape designer drawing a plan or a Certified Tree Expert consulting on tree selection.
A Generic Budget Narrative (page 9) and Budget instruction (page 10) are included. The Budget Narrative shall look similar to the Generic Budget Narrative that can be used as a template. The Budget instruction must be followed to properly fill out the Project Budget.
Timeline: Describe in a chart and/or narrative the time the project will take and when set goals and objectives will be met. Projects should be scheduled to be completed within 3 years. If for some reason the project cannot be completed in 3 years, please justify why in the timeline, the project end date shall be mentioned in the timeline.
If any tree planting is to take place in the project the timeline must take into account that trees should only be planted during spring and fall, and that tree availability may be a factor. List the planting seasons (examples: spring 2014, fall 2014) and the estimated number of trees to be planted in each location for each season. Also dates should be list of when the start and stop of the planting will take place. The first planting season will be the fall of 2013 with the first spring season being 2014. The time line must also cover the 2-year establishment period and care and maintenance intervals in that 2 years including watering.
Project Method: Describe the scope of work, the methods to be employed and the personnel being used to accomplish the objectives of the project. This should be well thought out with clear and concise methodology.
Evaluation Plan: Describe how your project managers will determine and quantify the effectiveness of the project as related to Community Forestry Management Plan goals. All CSIP grants will be required at the end of the project to submit a summary report describing the effectiveness of the project, and what the final outcome was; also what was done that worked and what did not. These reports are planned to be posted on the website as references for other projects throughout the state.
Appendix: An applicant may include additionalsupporting documents in an appendix to the grant application package. The following are examples of supporting documents: proposed project staff and job descriptions, letters of support, material price quotes, conceptual diagrams, maps, illustrative materials, equipment specifications, key staff resumes,etc. All supporting items must accompany the grant application. No items sent under a separate cover will be accepted. Letters of support will not be used to evaluate the project; all information about the project must be included in the Project Proposal.
Evaluation Process
The Community Forestry Program staff will determine which of the applications submitted meet the eligibility requirements listed above. All applications fulfilling the eligibility requirements will be provided for review to themembers of the New Jersey Community Forestry Council or their designated representatives. The Council will not review any incomplete applications and will utilize the following criteria to evaluate each project proposal:
Clarity, thoroughness, and conciseness of proposal
- Clarity of budget
- Reasonable and justifiable budget elements
- Relevance to the approved Community Forestry Management Plan
- Benefits to the community
- Projects ability to be used as a model for other communities or provide an unique example
- Extra credit given to Tree City USA Communities
- Extra credit given to Sustainable Jersey Certified Communities
Based on its review and evaluation, the Council will forward to the State Forester its recommendations as to which proposals should be funded. Final award decisions will be made by the State Forester.
Additional Information
No grant agreement will be executed without a DEP grant agreement fully signed
No fund will be reimbursed until the grant agreement is fully executed. The start date that will initiate the “Work Period” will be determined after the State receives the initial Grant Application.
All documents with the exception of maps, drawings or other landscape graphical depictions must be submitted on 8 ½” x 11” sized paper.
When the entire Project Proposal is submitted it must include:
i.)one (1) original,
ii.)one (1) digital, rich text format (rtf) or Microsoft Word®, copy of the full plan with maps and other non-text based supporting documents in PDF. Signatures are not required on digital copy.
If you have questions pertaining to the Community Stewardship Incentive Program that are not addressed in this application package, you may contactAlexander J. McCartney and at 609-292-2532. The New JerseyState Forestry Serviceswill provide technical assistance upon request.
Application Deadline: May 31, 2013
CSIP Grant 2013 page 1 of 11
Please mail to:
Mail Code 501-04
CSIP 2013 Grant
DEP- State Forestry Services
PO Box 420
Trenton,NJ08625-0420
Or Hand Deliver to:
Community Forestry Program
4th Floor of Building 5
501 East State Street
Trenton, NJ 0862
CSIP Grant 2013 page 1 of 11
Project Budget Form
(All blanks must be filled in order to be eligible)
ACCOUNT DESCRIPTION / TOTALBUDGET / FEDERAL / STATE / GRANTEE / OTHER
A. Personnel Costs
Salaries / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
Fringe Benefits / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
B. Consultants and
Subcontractors / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
*C. Other Costs
Specify below
0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
D. Audit / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
Subtotal Direct Costs / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
Less Program Income / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
Total Direct Costs / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
Indirect Costs / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
TOTAL PROJECT
AMOUNT / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00
* If more slots are needed please list them below the budget form.
Generic Budget Narrative
(Make sure the Budget Matches the Budget Narrative and the Project Proposal)
The grantee, through the grant application, has identified and agreed to complete the following for their project. The budget narrative below covers the anticipated expenditures for completing the project.
- Personnel Costs Salaries: This is the salaries needed to monitor, maintain and plant the trees. List of work and justification of time shall be part of the Project Proposal which will become the grantee’s proposal as attachment D-2 of the Grant Agreement.
Fringe Benefits: The cost of benefits relating to the personnel costs above based on ____% of the salary.
B. Consultants and Subcontractors: Covers the use of consultants and subcontractors justification and use shall be part of the project narrative which will become the grantee’s proposal as attachment D-2 of the grant agreement.
C. Other Costs:
(Specify below each below with short justification with detailed justification within the Project Proposal which will become the grantee’s proposal as attachment D-2 of the grant agreement.)
D. Audit: This is the costs associated in auditing the grant for the grantee. The grantee can apply for auditing funds if they deem necessary.
Subtotal Direct Costs: This is the sum of A-D of the grant agreement
Less Program Income: This covers the difference in funds from the subtotal direct cost and the total direct costs