Nittany Valley Running Club

The Nittany Valley Running Club sometimes distributes small grants to local programs that promote running and are managed independently of the NVRC. The running programs that have been sponsored to date are ones that help develop young runners, and our sponsorship of them helps fulfill the Club's mission. Our sponsorship was, until recently, on an ad hoc basis.

In May of 2006 the Club approved a formal policy for an NVRC Sponsorship Grant Program. This program is a means for the Club to support local running programs through our small annual surplus. The sponsorship grant program is not limited to youth running programs. We've decided it's best to formalize the program to make sure the process is fair and equitable.

The policy is below. If you have any comments or questions, email Marty Mazur at mxm14@psu.edu. or Jerry Steffy at run2k1@juno.com.

The following is a strawman policy for the Sponsorship Grant Program (“Program”) of the Nittany Valley Running Club (NVRC, or “the Club”).
 
Purpose of Grants: The following is the NVRC mission statement, which was used as a guiding principle for this strawman policy.
 
The purpose of the Nittany Valley Running Club is to establish a sound, continuing program of youth and adult fitness, to promote development and competition for all age groups, and to conscientiously prepare athletes for competition.
 
NVRC grants will be issued at the discretion of the Officers of the Club. They will be given with preference to programs or organizations that are fulfilling a need that is not being addressed by other means. For example, most local school districts have running programs for high school students. Therefore, any proposal to aid in coaching or training high school students would be less likely to be given a sponsorship grant.
 
Eligibility: The following are the eligibility requirements for an NVRC sponsorship grant:

• The organization seeking the grant shall not be a for-profit organization
• The organization seeking the grant shall have, elect, or appoint an officer who is responsible for communication with the NVRC.  
• All of the members of the organization seeking a grant shall reside in Centre County. 
• The organization seeking the grant shall submit all required application materials starting February 1. Grants are distributed from February 1 through April 30 on a first-come, first served basis until the budgeted funding runs out. Officers may consider late applications at their discretion only if there is money left in the current year’s allocation for grants. 

Other Requirements and Restrictions: 

• Grants will be used solely for expenses and equipment that benefit all members of the sponsored program.  
• Grants will not be given to pay the salary or expenses of coaches for any organization. 
• Sponsored organization must be open to all age-eligible members of the Centre community. In particular, no ‘elite only’ organizations will be funded. No organizations restricted by race, sex, or religious or other affiliation will be funded. 
• Money unused by the sponsored organization shall be returned to the Club.

Budget: The budget for funding of the entire NVRC Sponsorship Grant Program shall be set annually by the Officers and be based on information provided to the Officers by the Treasurer. The funding will come from the Treasurer’s projection of budgetary excess for the current calendar year. Officers, at their discretion, may elect to supplement this amount with money from the Club’s reserve on a year to year basis. The budget will also include money given to the NVRC specifically for use toward this Sponsorship Grant Program. The Sponsorship Grant Program will have its own separate rolling budget: unused or returned monies from one year will be rolled forward for use in subsequent years.
 
Grant Amount:  Grants will be given based on the Club Officers’ assessment of the merit of the program applying for a grant. Applicants may request grants up to $500 per year. Under some circumstances, amounts in excess of $500 will be granted at the discretion of the officers. Officers may at their discretion, and depending on the budget of the Program, disburse grants less than the amount requested. Receipt of a grant does not guarantee continued funding in future years. Grant levels can be changed from year to year at the discretion of the Officers of the Club.
 
Requirements for Applicants: Applicants shall submit a written request for a grant no earlier than February 1 and no later than April 30 for funds to be used during the same calendar year. Application must be made every year a sponsored organization requests a grant. The grant request shall include the following:

• Name and contact information for the requesting officer.
• Amount of the grant requested. 
• Estimate of planned use of the money, including breakdown (e.g. how much toward uniforms, meet application expenses, equipment, etc.) 
• Planned events for participants (e.g. planned workout schedule, approximate number of meets or events, etc.) 
• Requirements for participation in the granted organization (e.g. middle age children, retirees, etc.) 
• Officers may consider late applications at their discretion only if there is money left in the current year’s allocation for grants. 

Liability and Insurance: The NVRC assumes no legal liability in sponsoring a running program. The funded organization shall assume all legal liabilities. The event insurance held by the NVRC is not extended to funded organizations as part of their grant.
 
Reporting Requirements: Sponsored programs shall submit a report to the Club by the end of the calendar year in which the grant is received. The completeness of the report will weigh into the consideration of the grantee for future funding under the Program.  The format of the report is informal, but should include the following information:

• Number of participants in the sponsored program.
• Events or meets, if any, that the sponsored program participated in.
• Awards won by participants in sponsored program. 
• An accounting of the use of the grant money. This accounting need not include receipts or excessive detail.