THE LOIS LENSKI COVEY FOUNDATION, INC.

2010 GRANT APPLICATION

– for funding the purchase of children’s books –
Deadline: 15 June 2010

Lois Lenski, children’s book author and 1946 Newbery medalist for Strawberry Girl, had a life-long concern
that all children have access to good books. In pursuit of this goal she established a foundation to provide grants
to agencies serving disadvantaged populations.

The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc. annually awards grants for purchasing books published for young
people preschool through grade 12. Public libraries, school libraries, and 501(c)(3) agencies are eligible. The
Foundation provides grants to libraries or organizations that serve economically or socially at-risk children, have
limited book budgets, and demonstrate real need. Grants for 2010 will range from $500 to $3000 and are
specifically for book purchases rather than administrative or operational uses.

More details regarding the grant program can be found on page 2. Only 2010 application forms will be
considered. Complete pages 3-6 of this application and return to:
The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc.
P. O. Box 255366
Sacramento, CA 95865

All applications must be postmarked by 15 June 2010. Only hardcopy (paper) applications will be accepted.
Applications sent via electronic media will not be accepted.

Grants will be awarded on or before 15 December 2010. Organizations receiving grants will be notified by mail.
A list of those libraries will be posted by 21 December in the “News” section of the Foundation web site,
http://www.loislenskicovey.org/2.html. No written notification will be sent to those organizations that were not
awarded grants. Grant awardees will be asked to return a brief questionnaire and to provide documentation of
grant spending.

Questions regarding the Foundation or its grants may be addressed to:

Michael Covey
The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc.
P. O. Box 255366
Sacramento, CA 95865

Alternatively, questions may be sent by email to: michael.covey@loislenskicovey.org

If you would like acknowledgement of receipt of your application, enclose a stamped, self-addressed post card
with your application. Write the following in the message panel: “This acknowledges receipt of my application
for a 2010 Lois Lenski Covey Foundation grant.” Please allow 4 weeks for us to return your post card.

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The Program
The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc. annually awards grants for purchasing books published for young
people preschool through grade 12. Grants for 2010 will range from $500 to $3000. The grants are specifically
for children’s book purchases, and are not for administrative or operational uses.
The LLCF library grant program provides grants for public libraries, school libraries, and charitable
organizations [501(c)(3)] that have lending libraries where young people up to age 18 may check out books to
read or to use for gathering information. We will also consider applications from non-profit abuse centers, rehab
centers, detention centers, etc., as long as a lending library is actively maintained on the premises. Only libraries
or organizations within the United States, its territories, or commonwealths are eligible.
The Foundation gives to libraries or organizations that serve economically or socially at-risk children, have
limited book budgets, and demonstrate real need.
The library grant program provides grants for purchasing children’s books. The books may be fiction or non-
fiction. The library grant program DOES NOT provide grants for book-donation programs, classroom
collections, atlases, dictionaries, basal readers or similar texts, workbooks or similar instructional tools, or for
textbooks or encyclopedias.
Grant applications for audio books will be considered only in the cases of children with special needs, where
audio books would be particularly appropriate in addressing those needs.
In order for a library to be considered, it must have been in operation for at least three years. County or district
library systems cannot apply as a whole; public or school libraries within a county or district system are eligible
to apply individually.

Instructions
To apply for a grant, fill out the requested information on pages 3-6. Please be thorough, yet concise. You may
use more space than provided, if necessary, but please limit your answer to any one question to no more than
two or three paragraphs of reasonable length. The application may be completed by hand, in pen, as long as the
responses are legible.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. The Foundation is not able to check applications for
completeness, therefore it is important that you take the time to read through the instructions and prepare your
application carefully and completely.
Be sure to sign and date the application.
Send a paper copy of the completed application to:
The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 255366
Sacramento, CA 95865
Send the application on or before 15 June 2010. We cannot accept applications sent by email or other electronic
means. Do not send pages 1 or 2. Please do not waste money sending your application via express mail. The
deadline is for the postmark date, not the date of receipt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other helpful information regarding the program and the application may be found the Foundation web page
http://www.loislenskicovey.org/5.html, which contains the answers to the queries most commonly received.

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 1. Library, school, or organization name: Honey Creek Elementary School

Address: 700 Honey Creek Road

City: Conyers State: GA Zip: 30094

Name and title of contact person Lisa Holbrook, Media Specialist

Contact person’s email address lholbrook@rockdale.k12.ga.us

Contact person’s telephone number 770-483-5706

Institution web site address http://www.rockdale.k12.ga.us/schools/hcs/default.aspx

2. Tell us about your library, school, or organization. Please be specific, thorough, yet
concise. Evidence of outstanding service to children is appropriate. If you represent a
public library, you may omit part E.

Part A – Library (size of facility, age of facility, pertinent history, programs for children):

Honey Creek Elementary School is a Pre-K through Grade 5 school and was built in 1974. The
library is approximately 3139 square feet. The school is a Title 1 school. Of the K-5 student
population, 21.7% are in an Early Intervention Program and 12.8% are Special Education
students. In 2009, the school received a Bronze Award from the Governor’s Office of Student
Achievement for the highest percentage of students meeting and exceeding standards. The
score of 95.48% was a gain of 2.16% over the prior year. This put Honey Creek Elementary at
or above 88.2% of all elementary schools in Georgia. Along with being a Title 1 Distinguished
School and a Georgia School of Excellence in 2009, the school was also awarded the U.S.
Department of Education’s Blue Ribbon School Program Award. Programs offered include
reading incentive programs utilizing Accelerated Reader, and lessons on research and literacy
skills.

Part B – Hours per week library is open: 40 hours

Part C – Computers on site:

Number of computers
Total computers Library computers set aside
in separate computer
in library for children to use
lab (if applicable)

7 6 54

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Part D – Staffing (number of full-time staff, number and hours of part-time staff, training
levels): The staff consists of one full-time certified media specialist and one full-time
media clerk

Part E – School (grades served, size of student body, pertinent history):

OR
Non-profit organization (purpose, ages served, number of children, pertinent history):

Honey Creek serves Pre-K through Grade 5. There are currently 549 students enrolled. This is
a Title 1 school.

3. Tell us about the community you serve. Setting, economic conditions, and special
circumstances are appropriate:

Rockdale county is considered a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. The smallest county in Georgia,
Rockdale County has 130.6 sq. miles in land area and a population density of 637.2 per square
mile. In the last three decades of the 1900s its population grew by 286.2%. According to the
2006-2008 U.S. Census the county population is 81,440. The population is 54.8% Caucasian,
37.6% African American, 9.4% Hispanic, 2.1% Asian, and .3% Native American. The 2008
unemployment stood at 6.7%. 12.4% of the population speak a language other than English in
the home. 45% of students are economically disadvantaged.

4. Income data:
Provide either per capita income or household income for the area you serve and for the state
as a whole. Both numbers should be from the same year. There are many online sources for
income. One helpful source is the U.S. Census Bureau at
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en.

Per Capita Income OR Household Income

Area You Serve 24,477

Entire State 25,676

Year for which data is valid: 2008

Source of data: http://factfinder.census.gov

5. How many children use your library regularly? A number must be provided. It is
important that this number accurately reflect the use of the library by individual
children. The number of juvenile library cards, for instance, is not an appropriate
measure of usage.
• School libraries – Other libraries – please estimate, as accurately as possible,
the number of children that use your library in a week’s time. Do not count multiple
visits as separate children. An average of 143 per day

6. What percentage of school-age children you serve qualify for free or reduced lunch
programs? This information is obligatory for all applicants. Local school districts are
usually able to provide this number. 48%

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 7. How many children’s books (books published for children pre-school through teens) do
you have in your collection? Include fiction and non-fiction titles. 11,217

8. In what condition are the children’s books? Provide percentages.

Part A:
.04 % Excellent (new and in good condition)
68% Good (not new, but in good condition)
28% Fair (well used, but not overly-deteriorated)
0% Poor (significantly damaged, close to unusable)
If more than 10% of collection is in “poor” condition, provide explanation:

9. What is your historic and projected expenditures for the purchase of children’s books?
(Books published for children pre-school through teens.)
• Use the table below to document dollar amounts from the last three years, and your
projected amounts for 2010.
• If your budget includes monies for non-literature items (overhead lamps,
supplies, etc.), do not include that portion.

$ Other
Budgeted * Grants Donations Income ** Total ***
2010 $4,000 $500 $4,500
2009 $4,000 $814 $5,770
2008 $4,000 $709 $4,709
2007 $3,000 $1004 $4,004
* dollars provided by the administrators of your library
** other fundraising such as book fairs, bake sales, etc.
*** total of previous four columns
Complete budget information is required; use “0” if appropriate.

Provide the source of grants of $1,000 or more:

Provide explanation of any drop in budgeted dollars of over 50%:

10. In general, what type of children’s books do you need?

Easy non-fiction, fiction picture books, folk and fairy-tales, and holiday books.

11. Approximately how many children’s books are needed, at what total cost?

90 books at Total Cost: $1,348.17

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 12. If desired, give additional information that you feel would be useful to our directors in
considering your application by attaching no more than one extra page.
The appended page needs to contain explanatory text that you have written yourself. Do not
append book lists, printouts of state/local income data, or collection age lists.
Check here if you have opted to add information: 

13. How did you learn of the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation library grant program?
From Rockdale County District Office.

Date: 3/18/10 Signed: Renée Jackson

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