Federal Grants Access Initiative
It has been estimated that nearly $500 million dollars in federal grants available to Catholic schools goes unclaimed each year. Responding to another recommendation of the Task Force, ACE has launched an effort to ensure that Catholic schools and dioceses are capable of securing their equitable share of federal dollars that follow eligible children, regardless of which school they happen to attend. ACE Consulting, under the leadership of Stephen Perla and Michelle Doyle, former Director of the Department of Education’s Office of Nonpublic Education, will direct this initiative through two phases:
Phase I
Michelle Doyle and Stephen Perla will present workshops at each of the eight regional meetings held by the Chief Administrators of Catholic Education (CACE), a subset of the National Catholic Educational Association populated primarily by diocesan superintendents of education.
The purpose of these workshops is to disseminate information on successful strategies for accessing an equitable share of federal funds and to gather the superintendents’ diverse set of concerns and experiences related to this pursuit.
Phase II
Beginning in January 2009, and continuing on an ongoing basis, the newly formed ACE Consulting initiative will work with individual dioceses and schools to build capacity in the pursuit of federal funds.
Additionally, ACE plans on building a national network of lawyers who are committed to Catholic education and willing to assist local Catholic school leaders in securing federal grants on a pro bono basis. These lawyers would be trained and supported by the ACE Consulting staff.
