PRIORITY NOTICE: Guidance for Submitting Competitive Grant Applications Using Vendor Self Service

The State of Maine now uses Vendor Self Service (VSS) for all competitive procurement. As such, Maine school administrative units (SAUs) are asked to please use VSS to submit applications for and questions about all competitive grant opportunities (also known as Requests for Applications-RFAs). If an applicant emails a question about an RFA directly to the listed RFA coordinator, their application will not be disqualified; however, they will be redirected to submit their question through VSS.

Please also note that the cutoff time for submitting applications has changed; applications must now be submitted through VSS by 4 p.m. (no longer by midnight).

The Maine DOE recommends that SAUs intending to apply for any future RFAs follow the below steps:

• Ensure that you can log into the VSS system. You may register for an account here. (Training videos and user manuals are located at the bottom of that page.) For help resetting your password or obtaining login information, contact the VSS Help Desk at [email protected] or 207-624-7889.
• Verify that your payment and procurement addresses are correct in VSS under the Addresses & Contracts page. Remember to notify [email protected] any time that an address is changed to avoid any additional delay in payment.

Please note the following, as well:

• Intent to Apply for an RFA, if applicable, should continue to be emailed to the coordinator listed on the RFA.
• Applications for formula grants (e.g., Title funding, IDEA, etc.) should continue to be submitted in Grants4ME.
• The Maine DOE Newsroom will continue to host any notifications about competitive grant opportunities.

With questions or for additional information, please visit the VSS webpage or contact the Maine Office of State Procurement Services at 207-624-7340.