Welcoming Libraries Grant Final Report FY25

Idaho Commission for Libraries

Grant Closeout - ICfL Staff Use Only

Grant Award Number: {grantNumber}

Award Recipient: {libraryName}

ICfL Library Consultant Review:

The grantee fulfilled the programmatic requirements of the grant.
The grantee sufficiently answered the final report narrative questions.
The grant is ready to be closed.

Library Consultant Signature:

ICfL Fiscal Review:

The grantee fulfilled the fiscal requirements of the grant.
The grantee provided sufficient documentation of grant expenditures.
All funds have been expended or returned.
The grant is ready to be closed.

Fiscal Review Signature:

ICfL Comments:

Final Report Due: March 31, 2025

Grant Period: December 6, 2024 - March 31, 2025

The Idaho Commission for Libraries’ Welcoming Libraries Grant of $1,000 is available to Idaho public, school, or tribal libraries working with children. The grant focuses on supporting activities that improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in libraries to better serve Idaho’s underserved groups of children. These grants support libraries as they work to make their materials, programs, and spaces more welcoming and accessible to all children.

This final report collects contact information, narrative responses, financial data, and program feedback for each awarded grant. The report must be completed in one sitting and cannot be saved for completion at a later time. We suggest drafting responses in a separate document prior to completing the online form. The form should be signed and submitted with an electronic signature on or before March 31, 2025.

If you have questions about the program or reporting requirements, please contact the Idaho Commission for Libraries:

Kristina Taylor, Outreach & Community Engagement Consultant, at kristina.taylor@libraries.idaho.gov or (208) 639-4136
Jamie Thill, Grants/Contracts Officer, at jamie.thill@libraries.idaho.gov or (208) 639-4153

Grant Award Number:*

Library Name:*

Library Branch (if applicable):

School District (if school library):

Preparer's Name:*

Preparer's Title:*

Preparer's Email Address:*

Authorizing Official/Library Director Name (if different):

Authorizing Official Email Address (if different). This person will receive a copy of the grant report upon submission.:

The narrative section of the report asks you to describe your completed project, the activities your library carried out to fullfill the programmatic components of the grant, program participation, and notable outcomes. If you have questions about the programmatic requirements of the grant, or need to obtain your original grant agreement, which contains your project plan, please contact the ICfL.

Please keep the program goals in mind when developing report narrative responses. Grant goals:

Build the institutional capacity of libraries to best serve their communities by increasing (1) their understanding of the specific communities they serve; (2) identifying gaps in their services; and (3) addressing these gaps.
Strengthen the role of libraries and library staff as community connectors as they work to make their library spaces more welcoming to all while increasing access for underserved children to diverse, equitable, and inclusive books, programming, and resources.
Increase equitable access to information and reading materials by increasing the amount of diversity, equity, and inclusion materials libraries provide.

1. Select one or more of the additional required activities you completed as part of this grant.

Conducted a community assessment or gathered information about the community through focus groups or community interviews, in order to gain a better understanding of those served, those who are going underserved, and to ensure all viewpoints/experiences are represented in the library’s collection, programs, and spaces.Conducted a collection diversity/inclusion audit of all or a portion of the library’s collection for children, resulting in targeted collection purchasing for inclusive representation and promotion of these new resources. This may also include a marketing or display audit.Conducted a storytime diversity/inclusion audit of all or a portion of the library’s storytime curriculum, resulting in targeted or updated storytime programming, resource purchasing, and promotion.Created or modifed current children’s programming, the library’s physical space, or the library’s virtual space to meet the developmental, cognitive, and/or neurological needs of library patrons, ensuring library programs, materials, and spaces are welcoming and accessible to all.Create an outreach plan and conduct outreach services (programs, partnering, and information sharing) to strategically identified underserved groups of children or adults to meet unmet needs in your community. (*Note: A community partner is required for this activity. Outreach activity is the only allowable grant activity that can serve adults as well as children.)

2. Expanding upon the selection you made in Question 1, describe in detail what was accomplished/what steps were implemented for each grant activity your library undertook. What progress did your library make on any of the three grant goals? *

3. Participating in a minimum of one Continuing Education course on diversity, equity, or inclusion (EDI) in libraries via any library-related educational venue was required for this grant. Some information about this CE course was reported on in February in the CE report. Since your CE report was submitted, how have you applied the knowledge gained from your CE course to implement this grant?*

4. What did you/your library do to promote, display, or make library patrons aware of the new diverse and inclusive resources you purchased with the grant?*

5. What was your greatest success and greatest challenge when implementing this grant? Please answer both parts of the question.*

6. If you worked with a partner to implement this grant, describe the work carried out. How was your partner involved and/or what did your partner contribute to the grant project? (Note: For outreach activities, a partner was required making this a required question for those grantees. If you did not have an outreach activity and you did not have a partner for another activity type, please enter "N/A" in this box.)*

7. Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project.*

8. Photos. If you would like to share photos of your project, upload them here. This is an optional report element.

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The financial section of the report requests the original grant amount, actual expenditures, unspent balance, and includes a place to upload receipts and other documentation. Your receipts and documentation must total or exceed the full grant award amount. Unused grant funds must be spent immediately or returned to the ICfL. If you have questions about eligible or ineligible expenses, documentation requirements, or need to obtain your original grant agreement please email libgrants@libraries.idaho.gov.

A. Allowable Expenditures. A grantee may only use program funds for allowable costs, as defined in the federal grant funds Uniform Guidance (2 C.F.R. Part 200), which includes the requirement that costs be reasonable and necessary for the accomplishment of program objectives.

The following is an abbreviated list of allowable grant expenses. It is not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive. Applicants should contact the ICfL if they are unsure if their proposed idea/expenditure is allowable.

1. Compensation including salaries, wages, and benefits for staff involved in planning or implementing programs and/or performing activities or tasks specific to the grant, is allowable. Grant funds can be spent on salaries to expand library services or complete grant project objectives and may not be used to replace existing salaries or staff time. Grant funds spent on salaries shall be capped at 30% of the total grant. If using grant funds to pay library staff wages for specific grant tasks, a payroll receipt/report will be required to demonstrate proof of payment.

2. Books for youth presenting a variety of viewpoints and subjects, which support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. If the full grant amount is spent on books, the library must conduct an audit of their existing materials before making purchases.

3. Materials, supplies, and programs to support the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the library including those that increase access for children with disabilities such as assistive technology, activity materials, sensory storytimes and kits, bookmarks, posters, and signs. Furniture is allowable if specifically intended to increase access for underserved youth who do not currently have the equipment/means necessary to access library services (i.e. an adjustable desk to accomodate a wheelchair) or for outreach program equipment (i.e. travel tables, wagons, etc.).

4. Training and education costs for staff, including books and related travel expenses. Costs must be directly related to the purpose and successful fulfillment of this grant.

5. Professional and consultant services such as those for translation, guest speakers, or facilitators that support the purposes of the grant.

6. Services to increase accessibility of library services such as those used for technological connectivity and subscriptions. Grant funds may only be used to pay for services provided during the grant period.

7. Advertising brochures or publicity specifically related to the grant such as publishing dates and times of activities, outreach events, or informing the public of the library's resources related to the grant.

B. Non-Allowable Expenditures. The following is an abbreviated list of non-allowable grant expenses. It is not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive. Applicants should contact the ICfL if they are unsure if a cost is allowable. The following items are not allowable grant expenses:

1. Food and beverages. Food is allowable if used primarily as a supply in a learning activity.

2. Capital expenditures related to the purchase of real property, buildings, or motor vehicles.

3. Construction expenditures related to the improvement or expansion of buildings and facilities.

4. Advertising or publicity not related directly to the programs carried out through the grant.

5. Promotional items and memorabilia, including models, gifts, and souvenirs.

6. General purpose supplies and materials including technology, which is not specifically intended to serve children who currently lack access to library resources due to personal or familial barriers. Assistive technology and equipment is allowable.

7. Costs of entertainment, including amusement, diversion, and social activities and any associated costs are unallowable, except where specific costs that might otherwise be considered entertainment have a programmatic purpose, which is library specific, and are pre-approved in the grant application/agreement budget.

1. Grant Award Amount:*

Enter the dollar amount of your grant award.

2. Expenditures. Please enter your grant expenses.:*

	Expenditure $ Amount	Description
Salaries, Wages and Benefits (30% cap)
Professional and Technical Consultant Fees (speaker's fees, translators, etc.)
Supplies/Materials (items with a per unit cost of less than $5,000 including books, tablets, etc.)
Services (professional)
Travel (to attend training or carry out the grant)

3. Total Expenditures (automatically calculated):

4. Unspent balance of grant (automatically calculated). Grant award amount minus total expenditures. This number must be 0 or negative. IF THIS NUMBER IS POSITIVE, YOU HAVE GRANT FUNDS REMAINING THAT MUST BE SPENT IMMEDIATELY OR RETURNED TO THE ICFL.

5. Describe what you purchased during the grant period. Expand upon the very brief description provided in the budget table. If you purchased 20 books, please describe the types of books, and the reason you selected them.:*

6. Spending Documentation. Please upload documentation of grant spending such as receipts, paid invoices, and/or reports generated by your financial system. Where possible, please scan items into a single PDF. If receipts show non-grant spending, please designate which items/costs were grant purchases. Your spending documentation must total to the entire grant amount. If you have any funds remaining they must be spent immediately or returned to the ICfL. *

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7. Content Acquisition. Please indicate the combined number of books or other content items purchased in the following categories. These fields are required for reporting to our federal funding partner, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). For items in categories not listed, such as supplies or furniture, you do not need to record their numbers in this table. For example, if you purchased 50 print books, 20 audio books, and 10 noise-canceling headphones, list those numbers in their respective categories of Print Materials, Audio Materials, and Hardware:*

	Number of Items
# Hardware Acquired (tablets, headphones)
# Software Acquired (applications)
# Licensed Databases Acquired
# Print Materials Acquired (books)
# Electronic Materials Acquired (ebooks)
# Audio/Visual Materials Acquired (audio books, recordings)

1. Did you find the tools/guides/articles on various equity, diversity and inclusion topics shared with you, and made available as an Idaho Niche Academy module, helpful in your implementation of the grant? Would you suggest any additional resources?*

2. Would you like to provide us with additional feedback on the grant application, implementation, or reporting process? Would anything improve the experience for future grant recipients?

3. For our Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) project evaluation, please select one option on each line in regards to your library's Welcoming Libraries Grant overall experience:*

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neither Agree or Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
I learned something by participating in this library activity.
I feel more confident about what I just learned.
I intend to apply what I just learned.
I am more aware of resources and services provided by the library.
I am more likely to use other library resources and services.

Please review the following statements before signing and submitting this report:

A. The library has met the requirements outlined in the grant agreement/application.

B. The grantee's legal entity has expended all funds received for the purposes outlined in the grant agreement/application. If any grant funds are not expended at the end of the grant period, they must immediatly be returned to the ICfL.

C. I certify that the statements herein are true, complete, and accurate to the best of my knowledge.

D. I certify that I have the authority to submit this report on behalf of my organization.

Electronic Signature (type your name in the box below):*

If you have any questions about this program or your report please contact Kristina Taylor, Youth Services Project Coordinator, kristina.taylor@libraries.idaho.gov, (208) 639-4136 or Grants/Contracts Officer Talela Florko at jamie.thill@libraries.gov, (208) 639-4153.

Grant Closeout and Final Report

Welcoming Libraries Grant 2024

I. Contact Information

II. Narrative Report

III. Financial Report

IV. Program Feedback

V. Signature and Submission