Library Services and Technology Act Local and Collaborative Competitive Grant

Portal ID:
4235
Status:
Closed (38 total applications submitted)
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 

Details

Purpose:

The California State Library’s competitive LSTA grant opportunities help California’s libraries respond effectively to local needs and align services with local community aspirations; support experimentation and research and development in California’s libraries; and provide training and support in grant writing and grant management for the California library community.

Description:

We invite libraries to apply for funding to support local and collaborative projects that address community needs, align with community aspirations, and are from agencies that support equity, diversity, and inclusion. We are especially interested in:

• projects that focus on underserved and vulnerable populations, sustainability, and workforce development;• applications from library jurisdictions and branches of library jurisdictions that have not received LSTA funding in the last five years;• collaborative projects that represent a variety of regions, library sizes, and populations.

However, we welcome applications from all California library jurisdictions and library consortia, and on any topic and serving any group.

• Agencies applying for a local competitive grant and requesting $75,000 or above, and agencies applying for a collaborative competitive grant must plan to work with a project partner (in additional to the collaborative applicant group) and must have at least one project partner in place before a full application is submitted.

Types of Grant OpportunityTwo types of grant opportunity are available:

• Local Competitive Grants support projects that focus on one library jurisdiction and can include projects focusing on one branch in one library jurisdiction.• Collaborative Competitive Grants support projects that are implemented by three or more library jurisdictions.

Information about this opportunity can be found at https://www.library.ca.gov/grants/library-services-technology-act/

Application process has two phases: Intent to Apply and the Full Application

October 12: Intent to Apply Form opens.November 20: Intent to Apply Form closes.December 18: State Library staff notify applicants of decisions and make available full application materials.February 24: Application Form closes.April 9: State Library staff notify applicants of decisions.*July 2021-June 2022: Libraries implement their activities.Grantees meet to share strategies, resources, ideas, successes and lessons learned.Fall (2022): LSTA Coordinator surveys grantees for feedback on the grant process.Project Advisors conduct informational debriefs with grantees to discuss successes and lessons learned to share.

* Projects will be selected in the spring; however, awards cannot be made until federal IMLS funding levels are confirmed for 2021-2022 and the 2021-2022 California State budget has passed.

• Award Amounts: Awards range from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $100,000.

 

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Public Agency

The local competitive grant opportunity is open to California libraries. Libraries applying for a local competitive grant may also apply for a collaborative competitive grant. The collaborative competitive grant opportunity is open to California libraries, library consortia, and library-focused non-profit organizations.

Eligible Geographies:

Grant is limited to California.

Matching Funding Requirement:

Applicants are expected to contribute a local match to the grant funds in the form of a cash match and/or in-kind contributions. A match is expected, but no minimum amount is required.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
April 9, 2021
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
FY 2021-2022

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$2,500,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$10,000 – $250,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
Yes ( see Description for details )
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • Federal

Funding Source Notes:

Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants are federally funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and are awarded by the State Library to eligible California libraries.

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Advance(s)

Funding Method Notes:

A typical payment schedule is: 45% upon execution of the agreement and the State Library’s receipt of the awardee’s claim form; 45% upon receipt of the first quarter financial report, submitted by grantees in October; 10% upon receipt of all final reporting forms and any unexpended funds. It can take up to ten weeks for a grantee to receive funds from the State Library after the signed claim form and/or reports are received by the Fiscal Office.

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Lynne Oliva, LSTA Coordinator, 1-916-653-5217, lynne.oliva@library.ca.gov