If you want to secure grant money for your school, the first step is to understand in detail the main issues your school faces. The second step is to develop a solution that has the greatest likelihood of solving one of those problems. The third step is to find all possible grants that might fund your solution. And the fourth step -- the subject of this issue's article -- is to narrow down the list of grants to those whose criteria match your needs and then call a contact person to verify that match.
Over the course of a year, hundreds of grants will become available to your school. The tricky part, however, is finding among all those grants the few that might fund your plan and support your goals. That’s why it is so important to employ a comprehensive grant database. A grant database allows you to search quickly and easily for grants that match your needs. Yes, you could use your favorite Internet search engine to locate grants, but you will need to wade through thousands of search results -- many of which won’t apply to your type of school, won't match up with your specific needs, or have deadlines that have already passed. A good grant database allows you to tailor your searches and find likely matches in minutes rather than hours, days, or weeks.
Even when you use a good grant database, you still have additional work to do. In just a few minutes, a database can provide 30 reading grants for private schools in your state or 50 math grants for public schools. Once you've narrowed down and identified those grants, then your real work begins: you must search through those grants to find the ones for which you qualify. You will be able to eliminate some that don't tie in with your goals. You will eliminate others for which you might not qualify because your school doesn't meet one or more of the grant's criteria.
TWO INVALUABLE RESOURCES
Fortunately, good databases provide two essential resources to support your grant research.
The first resource is a live link to the grant's website. Use that link to find every bit of information you can about the grantor and the specific grant. Typically, the website will list more grant restrictions than a short database entry can list. If you find anything that clearly disqualifies your school from receiving a particular grant, simply go on to the next grant on your list. Almost anything you would want to know about grantors or the grants they offer can be found on their websites. Those websites are invaluable tools that will help you determine if you and that grant/grantor are a good match.
The second resource is a phone number or email address so you can communicate directly with the grant's contact person. Once you are quite sure that a grant matches the needs of your school, call or email the contact person. (I prefer calling that person myself.) I never start completing a grant application without first getting in touch with the contact. While that contact person cannot tell you that you will get the grant money you seek, he or she can certainly confirm that you are eligible to apply. You might also pick up from the person's voice a tone that is either encouraging or discouraging. If that tone is particularly negative, I would recommend moving on to the next grant on your list. I would definitely make this call -- even if it is hard for you to do -- because it can save you hours and hours of needless work.
If you don't make use of those two resources, you are wasting valuable time.
IN SUMMARY...
The fourth key to finding lots of grant money for your school is matching your school's specific needs with grants that meet those needs. To find those matches...
Use a good, comprehensive database to narrow down the list of grants for which you might qualify.
Once you find possible matches, use the live links provided in the database to do research on the grantor’s Web site.
After you determine that your school is eligible for a particular grant, call the grant's contact person to verify your eligibility and elicit any tips for applying for that grant.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The 4th Step: Finding Likely Grants & Making the Call
Check it Out: NEW Grant Opportunity!
Grant Name: ING Foundation Educational Grants
Funded by: ING Foundation
Description: The ING Foundation is the charitable giving arm of ING in the Americas. The Foundation awards grants to non-profit organizations addressing a variety of community needs and resources, focusing on 4 primary areas: children's education, financial literacy, diversity, and environmental sustainability.
Program Areas: Arts, Community Involvement/Volunteerism, General Education, Health/PE, Math Reading, Science/Environment, Social Studies, Vocational
Recipients: Public Schools, Private/Charter School, Higher Education
Proposal Deadline: 12/15/2010
Average amount: $2,500.00
Contact Person: Luis Abarca, Jr., Manager of Community Relations
Telephone: 770-980-6580
Email: ingfoundation@us.ing.com
Website: http://ing.us/about-ing/citizenship/ing-foundation-grants
Availability: All States
Funded by: ING Foundation
Description: The ING Foundation is the charitable giving arm of ING in the Americas. The Foundation awards grants to non-profit organizations addressing a variety of community needs and resources, focusing on 4 primary areas: children's education, financial literacy, diversity, and environmental sustainability.
Program Areas: Arts, Community Involvement/Volunteerism, General Education, Health/PE, Math Reading, Science/Environment, Social Studies, Vocational
Recipients: Public Schools, Private/Charter School, Higher Education
Proposal Deadline: 12/15/2010
Average amount: $2,500.00
Contact Person: Luis Abarca, Jr., Manager of Community Relations
Telephone: 770-980-6580
Email: ingfoundation@us.ing.com
Website: http://ing.us/about-ing/citizenship/ing-foundation-grants
Availability: All States
Check it Out: NEW Grant Opportunity!
Grant Name: Pets in the Classroom Grant
Funded by: Pet Care Trust
Description: Pets in the Classroom is an educational grants program to support school teachers to have aquarium fish or small pets in the classroom. We know many school teachers have very limited resources for the support of classroom animals. That’s why the Pet Care Trust is sponsoring this program to help teachers support pets in the classroom through direct, no-hassle grants. You can obtain a grant or coupon for the purchase of new pets, pet environments or pet food and supplies for existing classroom pets.
Program Areas: Miscellaneous, Science/Environment
Recipients: Public School, Private
Proposal Deadline: None
Average Amount: $50.00 - $150.00
Telephone: 443-640-1060
Email: mailto:nina@ksgroup.org
Website: http://www.petsintheclassroom.org
Availability: All States
Funded by: Pet Care Trust
Description: Pets in the Classroom is an educational grants program to support school teachers to have aquarium fish or small pets in the classroom. We know many school teachers have very limited resources for the support of classroom animals. That’s why the Pet Care Trust is sponsoring this program to help teachers support pets in the classroom through direct, no-hassle grants. You can obtain a grant or coupon for the purchase of new pets, pet environments or pet food and supplies for existing classroom pets.
Program Areas: Miscellaneous, Science/Environment
Recipients: Public School, Private
Proposal Deadline: None
Average Amount: $50.00 - $150.00
Telephone: 443-640-1060
Email: mailto:nina@ksgroup.org
Website: http://www.petsintheclassroom.org
Availability: All States
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The 3rd Step: Finding Possible Grants
If you want to secure grant money for your school, the first step is to understand in detail the main problems/needs your school faces. The second step -- the subject of a previous blog -- is to develop a solution that has the greatest chance to solve that problem. And the third step is to locate all possible grants that might help fund your solution.
Grants available to schools fall into three basic categories: federal grants, state grants, and foundation or corporate grants. Federal and state grants are generally larger, and their applications are longer and more difficult to complete. Foundation and corporate grants typically yield schools less money, but their applications are less complex. That means you can usually fill out several foundation applications in the time it takes to complete one federal or state application.
Many educators attempt to locate grants on the Internet by using search engines or by subscribing to grant newsletters. Those methods tend to be inefficient and end up costing both time and money. The best way to locate potential grants is to use a grant database. The more comprehensive and up-to-date the database, the better it will serve your needs.
Your very best choice for using a grant database is the free one offered by Discount School Supply. It is large, free, and fairly comprehensive. By far the most comprehensive grant database available to educators is the School Funding Center Grant Database. It contains virtually all federal, state, foundation, and corporate grants available to schools in the United States. Old grants are removed and new grants are posted on a daily basis. The one drawback to using this database is the cost -- $397.00 per year. While relatively expensive, it still saves educators both time and money because of its comprehensive nature. First, use the free database provided by Discount School Supply. If you need even more grant information, go the database provided by The School Funding Center.
If you are looking specifically for federal grants, another good database to use is ED.gov Grants. This resource comes directly from the federal government, and it is free. It lists every federal education grant available to schools in the United States. It does not list state, foundation, or corporate grants. If you use this grant resource, you will still want to track down discretionary grants for schools.
If you are specifically looking for state grants, your best bet is to go to your state education agency's website. Some of those sites include good grant databases that will help you locate current state grants. Others are not so good -- or worse than that -- and will take a little more work on your part. Go to ED.gov's Education Resource Organizations Directory page to find your state education agency's website. If your state's site does not have "grants" or "funding" listed in its menu bar, type "grants" into the search box on the site to see if you can find listings that way.
If you are specifically looking for foundation grants, your best bet is to go to the Foundation Center. This organization lists thousands and thousands of foundations in its database. Many of those foundations offer grants to schools. The database is good for finding foundation grants, but the subscription cost ranges from $595.00 - $995.00 per year depending on the number of foundations you want listed in your searches. The more comprehensive the database you wish to search, the more your subscription will cost.
While you can find grant listings in many places, if you want to find all of the grants available to you quickly and easily, you will want to use one or more of the grant databases listed above. Remember, grant writers should use their time to write grants, not look for them. Save both time and money by using a good, established school grant database to locate the funding solutions you need in order to improve student achievement.
Grants available to schools fall into three basic categories: federal grants, state grants, and foundation or corporate grants. Federal and state grants are generally larger, and their applications are longer and more difficult to complete. Foundation and corporate grants typically yield schools less money, but their applications are less complex. That means you can usually fill out several foundation applications in the time it takes to complete one federal or state application.
Many educators attempt to locate grants on the Internet by using search engines or by subscribing to grant newsletters. Those methods tend to be inefficient and end up costing both time and money. The best way to locate potential grants is to use a grant database. The more comprehensive and up-to-date the database, the better it will serve your needs.
Your very best choice for using a grant database is the free one offered by Discount School Supply. It is large, free, and fairly comprehensive. By far the most comprehensive grant database available to educators is the School Funding Center Grant Database. It contains virtually all federal, state, foundation, and corporate grants available to schools in the United States. Old grants are removed and new grants are posted on a daily basis. The one drawback to using this database is the cost -- $397.00 per year. While relatively expensive, it still saves educators both time and money because of its comprehensive nature. First, use the free database provided by Discount School Supply. If you need even more grant information, go the database provided by The School Funding Center.
If you are looking specifically for federal grants, another good database to use is ED.gov Grants. This resource comes directly from the federal government, and it is free. It lists every federal education grant available to schools in the United States. It does not list state, foundation, or corporate grants. If you use this grant resource, you will still want to track down discretionary grants for schools.
If you are specifically looking for state grants, your best bet is to go to your state education agency's website. Some of those sites include good grant databases that will help you locate current state grants. Others are not so good -- or worse than that -- and will take a little more work on your part. Go to ED.gov's Education Resource Organizations Directory page to find your state education agency's website. If your state's site does not have "grants" or "funding" listed in its menu bar, type "grants" into the search box on the site to see if you can find listings that way.
If you are specifically looking for foundation grants, your best bet is to go to the Foundation Center. This organization lists thousands and thousands of foundations in its database. Many of those foundations offer grants to schools. The database is good for finding foundation grants, but the subscription cost ranges from $595.00 - $995.00 per year depending on the number of foundations you want listed in your searches. The more comprehensive the database you wish to search, the more your subscription will cost.
While you can find grant listings in many places, if you want to find all of the grants available to you quickly and easily, you will want to use one or more of the grant databases listed above. Remember, grant writers should use their time to write grants, not look for them. Save both time and money by using a good, established school grant database to locate the funding solutions you need in order to improve student achievement.
Check it Out: New Grant Opportunity!
Grant Name: Adopt-A-Classroom Educational Grants
Funded By: Adopt-A-Classroom
Description: Teachers who register at the Adopt-a-Classroom web site can be adopted by an individual, a business, or a foundation. Once adopted, teachers will receive credit to purchase items that enrich the learning environment, including classroom technology.
Program Areas: General Education, Science/Environment, Technology
Recipients: Public School
Proposal Deadline: None
Average Amount: $500.00
Telephone: 877-444-7666
Email: info@adoptaclassroom.com
Website: http://www.adoptaclassroom.com/
Availability: All States
Funded By: Adopt-A-Classroom
Description: Teachers who register at the Adopt-a-Classroom web site can be adopted by an individual, a business, or a foundation. Once adopted, teachers will receive credit to purchase items that enrich the learning environment, including classroom technology.
Program Areas: General Education, Science/Environment, Technology
Recipients: Public School
Proposal Deadline: None
Average Amount: $500.00
Telephone: 877-444-7666
Email: info@adoptaclassroom.com
Website: http://www.adoptaclassroom.com/
Availability: All States
Check it Out: New Grant Opportunity!
Grant Name: The Fender Music Foundation Grants
Funded by: The Fender Music Foundation
Description: The Fender Music Foundation accepts information from grant candidates through its Grant Candidate Form. Qualifying applicants are established, ongoing and sustainable music programs in the United States, which provide music instruction for people of any age who would not otherwise have the opportunity to make music. The intent of the program must be music instruction, not music appreciation or entertainment, and the participants/students cannot be professional or career musicians. Almost all of the selected programs to which grants are awarded fall into the following categories: In-school music classes, in which the students make music; after-school music programs that are not run by the school; or music therapy programs, in which the participants make the music.
Program Areas: After-School, Arts
Recipients: Public Schools, Other
Proposal Deadline: None
Average amount: $500.00 - $5,000.00
Telephone: 818-706-8742
Email: info@fendermusicfoundation.org
Website: http://www.fendermusicfoundation.org/grants/index.cfm?sec=overview&
Availability: All States
Funded by: The Fender Music Foundation
Description: The Fender Music Foundation accepts information from grant candidates through its Grant Candidate Form. Qualifying applicants are established, ongoing and sustainable music programs in the United States, which provide music instruction for people of any age who would not otherwise have the opportunity to make music. The intent of the program must be music instruction, not music appreciation or entertainment, and the participants/students cannot be professional or career musicians. Almost all of the selected programs to which grants are awarded fall into the following categories: In-school music classes, in which the students make music; after-school music programs that are not run by the school; or music therapy programs, in which the participants make the music.
Program Areas: After-School, Arts
Recipients: Public Schools, Other
Proposal Deadline: None
Average amount: $500.00 - $5,000.00
Telephone: 818-706-8742
Email: info@fendermusicfoundation.org
Website: http://www.fendermusicfoundation.org/grants/index.cfm?sec=overview&
Availability: All States
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Second Step: Developing a Solution
If you want to secure grant money for your school, the first step is to understand in detail the problems your school faces. Once you have clearly identified those hurdles to student achievement or schoolwide success, the second step is to develop a plan/solution that has the greatest likelihood of achieving your goals.
When I first became a middle school principal, our test scores indicated that we had a reading problem. Overall, our students read about 1.5 grade levels below the national average. We already had a Title I reading program, but we weren’t getting very good results. We did our research and found that:
1) Although we had a serious school-wide reading problem, only our very poorest readers attended reading classes.
2) Although we knew that reading was a skill, we did not provide enough time durng the school day for our students to practice that skill.
3) Monitoring large amounts of independent reading is difficult without enough computers and specialized software.
With that knowledge, we were able to put together a comprehensive plan in which
• all students, regardless of their reading levels, would attend a reading class.
• each student would spend one hour each day in reading practice on appropriate-level materials.
• we would use the STAR reading test to determine the beginning reading levels of students and to measure growth.
• we would use Accelerated Reader software to monitor students' daily reading.
In addition, we would initiate "structural" changes in order to meet the needs of our new program:
• In order to make time in the school day for students to receive an hour of reading practice, we had to change from a 7-period to an 8-period schedule.
• All of our teachers would become reading teachers in order to monitor 30 minutes of reading practice time. The regular reading teachers monitored the other 30 minutes and taught mini-lessons on skills.
• We had to purchase STAR and Accelerated Reader.
• We had to purchase thousands of library books to match the reading levels, interests, and reading volume of our students.
• We had to purchase dozens of computers to monitor the program.
We developed a special budget in order to put our plan into place. While our solution was relatively expensive, we did not consider costs when we developed the plan. We only considered the results we would be likely to achieve. To get the money we needed to fund our plan, we tapped into the regular budget, Title I, and special education funds. But that wasn’t enough. We wrote grants, and we entered into a partnership with the software company to do detailed research as we measured our students’ reading growth.
When your school faces a hurdle to student achievement, the key is to build a plan that directly addresses the problem and has the greatest likelihood of success. When you are developing your plan, don’t worry about costs. That will come later. If you can, find schools with similar demographics that have faced similar problems and made major improvements. Duplicate the best parts of their plans if it’s feasible for you to do so -- without consideration to money.
When your plan is complete -- and you’re sure it is comprehensive and has an excellent chance of success -- then comes the time to start worrying about the budget and finding the money to fund your program. Which brings us to the topic we will cover in my next blog: finding grant money to fund your program.
When I first became a middle school principal, our test scores indicated that we had a reading problem. Overall, our students read about 1.5 grade levels below the national average. We already had a Title I reading program, but we weren’t getting very good results. We did our research and found that:
1) Although we had a serious school-wide reading problem, only our very poorest readers attended reading classes.
2) Although we knew that reading was a skill, we did not provide enough time durng the school day for our students to practice that skill.
3) Monitoring large amounts of independent reading is difficult without enough computers and specialized software.
With that knowledge, we were able to put together a comprehensive plan in which
• all students, regardless of their reading levels, would attend a reading class.
• each student would spend one hour each day in reading practice on appropriate-level materials.
• we would use the STAR reading test to determine the beginning reading levels of students and to measure growth.
• we would use Accelerated Reader software to monitor students' daily reading.
In addition, we would initiate "structural" changes in order to meet the needs of our new program:
• In order to make time in the school day for students to receive an hour of reading practice, we had to change from a 7-period to an 8-period schedule.
• All of our teachers would become reading teachers in order to monitor 30 minutes of reading practice time. The regular reading teachers monitored the other 30 minutes and taught mini-lessons on skills.
• We had to purchase STAR and Accelerated Reader.
• We had to purchase thousands of library books to match the reading levels, interests, and reading volume of our students.
• We had to purchase dozens of computers to monitor the program.
We developed a special budget in order to put our plan into place. While our solution was relatively expensive, we did not consider costs when we developed the plan. We only considered the results we would be likely to achieve. To get the money we needed to fund our plan, we tapped into the regular budget, Title I, and special education funds. But that wasn’t enough. We wrote grants, and we entered into a partnership with the software company to do detailed research as we measured our students’ reading growth.
When your school faces a hurdle to student achievement, the key is to build a plan that directly addresses the problem and has the greatest likelihood of success. When you are developing your plan, don’t worry about costs. That will come later. If you can, find schools with similar demographics that have faced similar problems and made major improvements. Duplicate the best parts of their plans if it’s feasible for you to do so -- without consideration to money.
When your plan is complete -- and you’re sure it is comprehensive and has an excellent chance of success -- then comes the time to start worrying about the budget and finding the money to fund your program. Which brings us to the topic we will cover in my next blog: finding grant money to fund your program.
Check it Out: NEW Grant Opportunity!
Grant Name: It's All About The Fruit Program
Funded by: National Gardening Association and Jamba Juice
Description: The National Gardening Association is accepting applications from U.S. schools for Jamba Juice "It's All About the Fruit" grants, which will provide selected schools with fruit trees to create engaging nutrition and gardening experiences. The grant is open to schools and community garden programs in the United States with at least fifteen children between the ages of 3 and 18. Applications will be evaluated based on plans to promote nutrition education, ideas for incorporating fruit tree activities into the curriculum, and the ability to sustain the program over multiple years. Twenty recipients will be selected to receive fruit trees valued at $500. Trees will be selected based on recommended varieties for each area.
Program Areas: Health/PE, Science/Environment
Recipients: Public Schools, Private/Charter Schools
Proposal Deadline: 11/29/10
Average Amount: $500.00
Website: http://www.kidsgardening.org/grants/jamba.asp
Availability: All States
Funded by: National Gardening Association and Jamba Juice
Description: The National Gardening Association is accepting applications from U.S. schools for Jamba Juice "It's All About the Fruit" grants, which will provide selected schools with fruit trees to create engaging nutrition and gardening experiences. The grant is open to schools and community garden programs in the United States with at least fifteen children between the ages of 3 and 18. Applications will be evaluated based on plans to promote nutrition education, ideas for incorporating fruit tree activities into the curriculum, and the ability to sustain the program over multiple years. Twenty recipients will be selected to receive fruit trees valued at $500. Trees will be selected based on recommended varieties for each area.
Program Areas: Health/PE, Science/Environment
Recipients: Public Schools, Private/Charter Schools
Proposal Deadline: 11/29/10
Average Amount: $500.00
Website: http://www.kidsgardening.org/grants/jamba.asp
Availability: All States
Check it Out: NEW Grant Opportunity!
Grant Name: Bob Costas Grants for the Teaching of Writing
Funded by: College Board
Description: Each year the College Board recognizes exceptional teachers of grades 6 through 12 for the innovative methods they use to develop their students' writing skills. Grants of $3,000 each will be awarded to teachers who are doing an inspiring job of teaching their students to write and who will benefit most from a grant to enhance a successful project. The award was named for Bob Costas, the Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and author, for his dedication to the craft of writing and his generous public service work on behalf of the National Commission on Writing.
Program Areas: Journalism, Reading
Recipients: Public Schools, Private/Charter Schools
Proposal Deadline: 11/19/10
Average Amount: $3,000.00
Website: http://professionals.collegeboard.com/k-12/awards/costas
Availability: All States
Funded by: College Board
Description: Each year the College Board recognizes exceptional teachers of grades 6 through 12 for the innovative methods they use to develop their students' writing skills. Grants of $3,000 each will be awarded to teachers who are doing an inspiring job of teaching their students to write and who will benefit most from a grant to enhance a successful project. The award was named for Bob Costas, the Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and author, for his dedication to the craft of writing and his generous public service work on behalf of the National Commission on Writing.
Program Areas: Journalism, Reading
Recipients: Public Schools, Private/Charter Schools
Proposal Deadline: 11/19/10
Average Amount: $3,000.00
Website: http://professionals.collegeboard.com/k-12/awards/costas
Availability: All States
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