National Family Caregiving Awards
sponsored by National Alliance for Caregiving and MetLife Foundation
Applicants >>
Reviewers >>
Administrators >>

2008 MetLife Foundation/National Alliance for Caregiving
National Family Caregiving Awards Program

Recognizing the work of not-for-profit organizations that support family caregivers.

  Request for Applications

Deadline for Submissions: April 15, 2008

The National Alliance for Caregiving and MetLife Foundation are pleased to announce the launch of the 2008 National Family Caregiving Awards Program. Now in its third year, the goal of this program is to improve the quality of life of family caregivers by recognizing and supporting the efforts of not-for-profit community groups that work with them. The six awards will recognize the current work of community agencies and other organizations that support family caregivers as a significant part of their mission.

For the first time, a seed grant of $5,000 will be awarded to a not-for-profit organization that proposes to start a program for older caregivers of adult children with physical, mental or developmental disabilities.

Please note that the National Family Caregiving Awards Program is NOT a grants program (except for the seed grant described below) and organizations will not receive funding to establish new family caregiving support programs with this award.

CATEGORIES
A total of six awards of $25,000 each will be made. Three awards will be given in each of the following two categories (examples are provided only for clarity):

Caregiver Education Awards will go to groups that have developed innovative training programs to educate caregivers on topics such as: assisting with ADL needs, financial planning, time management, and others. Example: a book and/or video that shows the caregiver how to respond positively to negative outbursts by the care recipient.

Caregiver Support Awards will go to organizations that provide family caregiver support programs such as respite, counseling, or eldercare in truly innovative ways. Example: a mobile respite unit that serves caregivers in a small, rural community.

To view the 2006 and 2007 National Family Caregiving Awards Program winners and descriptions of their programs, log on to www.caregiving.org/CaregivingAwards.htm.

Details
 
  • One award in each category will go to an organization working in a rural community with a census population of 100,000 or less.
  • Two awards in each category will go to an organization working in an urban community with a census population of 100,000 or greater.
  • Each award will carry a cash value of $25,000 that will be designated for use in the awardee's caregiver support or educational program.

RECOGNITION AWARDS
An Alzheimer's Recognition Award will also be given to one of the six award recipients that innovatively supports family caregivers of those with Alzheimer's disease and meets the other criteria in the category in which they apply.

A Minority Recognition Award will also be given to one of the six award recipients that innovatively supports minority family caregivers and meets the other criteria in the category in which the applicant applies.

ELIGIBILITY

All not-for-profit organizations that support family caregivers as a significant part of their mission are encouraged to apply. All applicants must be designated as 501(c)(3) organizations. An educational institution, such as university or college, is eligible to apply if it is designated as a 501(c)(3) organization. All organizations will be required to send a copy of their 501(c)(3) designation letter by fax, regular mail or e-mail at the time of application submission.

Units of government are NOT eligible to apply, but governmental agencies working in collaboration with with not-for-profit agencies to support caregivers in their communities are strongly encouraged to have the not-for-profit agency complete and submit this Request for Applications.

Any organization that receives an award must agree to disclose fully how their program was developed and provide sufficient details to enable replication. This includes sharing data and research and allowing key staff to be available for interviews. Upon notification of the award, the winners must also agree to work with Alliance staff to develop a full description of the community-based program for a final report to be developed by the Awards program.

To determine if your program is eligible for a National Family Caregiving Award, you must answer YES to each question below:
 
  • Is the family caregiver program intended to support the needs of caregivers of older adults?
  • Is the family caregiver program administered by a not-for-profit, non-governmental agency/organization?
  • Is the family caregiver program currently operating to meet the needs of caregivers, i.e., you are not applying for this award to start a new program?

CRITERIA
Applications will be judged on the following criteria. Please note the weights or points that are given to each criterion.

  1. Innovation (30 points)
    How this program or product is new and different from others.
  2. Demonstration of effectiveness or impact (25 points)
    How much impact the program or product has had on the knowledge or behavior of family caregivers or the general public, shown through testimonials, surveys, published results, or other means.
  3. Basis in research (15 points)
    How the program or product applies research to practice.
  4. Diversity (10 points)
    How the program or product has addressed cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, age, and other differences among caregivers or care recipients.
  5. Potential for replication or adaptability (20 points)
    How others could easily begin a similar program or whether others have already done so.

Return to top of page

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
All applications must be submitted online at web.raffa.com/nac/caregiver_awards/applicationform.cfm. In addition to contact information (including an e-mail address and telephone number for the primary individual with whom we can follow up), please answer the questions on the form, including:

  • Category in which application is being submitted (Caregiver Education or Caregiver Support)
  • Size of the community (census population of less than 100,000 or more than 100,000)
  • Should this application be considered for the Alzheimer’s Recognition Award or the Minority Recognition Award? If so, clearly indicate that.
You must also provide a Summary Description of the program or product and upload a three-page Word document using the online form. Although the narrative is limited to three pages, please provide succinct but detailed responses. For an application to be reviewed, all questions must be answered and the following format used.
  1. Summary description of the program or product (maximum 300 words)
    • Please type your Summary Description in the box provided on the online application form.
  2. Narrative (up to three pages, single-spaced)

    • Description of applicant organization (including not-for-profit status)
    • Description of the program or product
      1. Clearly describe the program or product
      2. Describe how long it has been in existence
      3. Describe how many and what types of people have been served
      4. What is the total overall budget?
      5. How many staff is required? With what credentials?
      6. If appropriate, describe with whom you collaborated or formed a partnership and how it functions
      7. If appropriate, please describe how technology is used to enhance the caregiver support or education program.
    • Description of how criteria are met
    • Innovation: Explain how the program or product is new or different and how it enhances quality.
    • Effectiveness or impact: Describe the impact of the program or product and how it was measured. Be as specific as possible. For example, what percentage of the target group has been reached successfully? How did you measure the results? Describe any evaluation undertaken to prove the impact of the program or product. Quotes from satisfied consumers are not the best use of space in this section.
    • Basis in research: Describe the research base used to develop your program or product (e.g., community needs assessment, literature review, or survey). Describe how it builds upon similar programs or models or extends a proven model to a new population or user.
    • Diversity: Describe how the program or product identified and addressed cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, age, and other differences among caregivers or care recipients.
    • Replication or adaptability: Describe whether the program has been replicated or how easy it would be to do so. What was the budget for the program or product (is it prohibitively expensive?)? Describe what would be required for someone else to replicate what you have done and the resources to do so (costs, staff, other resources). Clearly indicate your agreement to full disclosure of all necessary details to enable replication and to provide contact information for an individual to respond to inquiries.

    If the submission includes a website, please include the URL in the application summary and narrative.

Return to top of page

SEED GRANT AWARD FOR OLDER CAREGIVERS CARING FOR ADULT CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

A growing number of older adults are responsible for the care of their physically, mentally, or developmentally disabled adult child. As these parents age, they require more support as they are less able to provide direct care for their adult children. Further, many parents have not prepared for the day when they are no longer able to provide assistance to their adult child with a disability. To meet this growing caregiving need, the MetLife Foundation and the National Alliance for Caregiving will provide a $5,000 seed grant to be awarded to a not-for-profit organization that wishes to create a program to meet the needs of older persons caring for their adult children with disabilities. Potential programs could include counseling to plan for the future after the parent dies or innovative support programs to address the immediate needs of the older caregiver.

ELIGIBILITY FOR THE SEED GRANT

The same eligibility criteria apply to organizations submitting proposals for the seed grant as those applying for a National Family Caregiving Award.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SEED GRANT

All proposals for the seed grant must be submitted online at at web.raffa.com/nac/caregiver_awards/applicationform.cfm. In addition to contact information (including an e-mail address and telephone number for the primary individual with whom we can follow up), you will submit a single Word document using an online form. Although the narrative is limited to three pages, please provide succinct but detailed responses. For a proposal to be reviewed, all questions must be answered and the following format used.

  1. Summary description of the proposed program (maximum 300 words) Please type your Summary Description in the box provided on the online application form.
  2. Narrative Proposal (up to three pages, single-spaced)
    1. Description of applicant organization (including not-for-profit status)
    2. Applicants for this start-up grant must address the following in their proposal:
      • Description of the proposed program
      • Innovation: How will this program be new and different from traditional caregiver support or education programs?
      • Needs Statement: How were the caregiver needs determined and how will the program be designed to address the identified needs?
      • Potential Impact: How will the program be designed to make a difference in the lives of older caregivers caring for adult children with disabilities? What are the anticipated outcomes?
      • Use of Grant Award: How will the $5,000 award specifically be used?
      • Timeline: What is the timeline for the proposed start-up project?
The recipient of this seed grant award will be required to submit to the Alliance brief reports on their progress in creating the new program at six months and 12 months after receiving the grant money.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS FOR THE NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVING AWARDS AND THE SEED GRANT
Please fax, mail or e-mail a copy of your 501(c )(3) designation letter at the time of application submission. The fax number is 301-951-9067. The e-mail address is kathy@caregiving.org. The address is:
National Alliance for Caregiving
4720 Montgomery Lane, 5th Floor
Bethesda, MD 20814

Please do NOT send any other additional materials or the product itself at the time of application. If the application is accepted for further evaluation, you will be contacted and five copies of sample materials will be requested at that time.

RECOGNITION
The awards will be presented at a gala awards luncheon in Nashville, Tennessee on July 22, 2008 in conjunction with the N4A Annual Conference and Trade Show. Award winners must agree to attend and present at this event. The National Alliance for Caregiving will cover the travel and hotel costs for an awardee representative to attend this event.

CONTACT INFORMATION
For additional information, contact Kathy Cameron at the National Alliance for Caregiving, kathy@caregiving.org or 703-585-6607.

Return to top of page