Friday, March 30, 2012

April & May Seem to Present a Unique Opportunity

I’ve been running The School FundingCenter for more than 10 years. In that time I’ve always tried to monitor how many schools were out there looking for grants at any given time. While I know that some schools may still be on spring break or have it coming up, I have never seen the activity on our database go this low. How could that be important to you?

As our economy has begun to recover ever so slowly, grant opportunities have increased. That means if more grants are out there right now, and less people are looking for them, it greatly increases your odds of securing some of this grant money.
You still have plenty of time to write grants for summer school, and this would certainly be a good time to begin writing grants for the fall semester. You’re just going to have to alter your thinking a little. Instead of this being the home stretch where you focus completely on getting to  the end of school year, you need to think of it as an opportunity to have plenty of money for next year’s programs.

I’m not suggesting that you neglect any of your teacher or administrator duties. I’m just saying that if you’re going to write a grant or two, you’ll never have less competition than you will right now.
If you are going to write several grants, remember the sequence. First, find the problem in your district, campus, or classroom that needs correcting. Develop a good, workable plan that will help you fix or alleviate these problems. Use a grant database to help you find grants that match up with your problems. Gather the materials and documentation that you need to demonstrate that you have problems and that you have ideas, strategies, and programs that will help you resolve those problems.

Then, write your grant proposal.  Make sure you beat the deadline for submitting them.
Working with a good grant database will help you quickly and easily identify the grants for which you qualify.  I’d like to recommend the use of the following school grant databases:

Discount School Supply (free and very comprehensive for the categories listed)

The School Funding Center (subscription fee, but the largest and most comprehensive available)

Ed.gov (free, lists only federal grants)

Grants.gov (free, lists all federal grants, not just those for schools)

Foundation Center (subscription, comprehensive list of foundation grants)

50 State Education Agencies (free, lists all state education grants for that state)

With the use of one or two of these school grant databases, you will make your task much easier. The time is right.  The competition is less.  You have April and May to make use of these conditions before you get out of school for summer vacation.  Let’s get started --- today!

Check It Out: New Grant Opportunity!


Grant Name:  ING Unsung Heroes Program

Funded by:  ING

Description: For the past fifteen years, the ING Unsung Heroes awards program has recognized K-12 educators in the United States for their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and ability to positively influence the children they teach. Since honoring the first "unsung hero" in 1996, ING has awarded nearly $3.8 million to nearly 1,600 educators across the country. Educators are invited to submit grant applications describing class projects they have initiated or would   innovative class projects. Three of those individuals will be chosen to receive awards of an additional $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000. All awards must be used to further the projects within the school or school system. All K-12 education professionals are eligible to apply. Applicants must be employed by an accredited K-12 public or private school located in the U.S. and be a full-time educator, teacher, principal, paraprofessional, or classified staff member working on a project with demonstrated effectiveness in improving student learning.

Program Areas:  General Education, Math, Reading, Science/Environment, Social Studies

Recipients:  Public School, Private School

Proposal Deadline:  4/30/12

Average Amount:  $2,000.00

Email:  ing@scholarshipamerica.org


Availability:  All States

Check It Out: New Grant Opportunity!


Grant Name:  Early Childhood Reading Grants

Funded by:  Target

Description: Reading is essential to a child's learning process. That's why Target awards grants to schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations to support programs such as after-school reading events and weekend book clubs. Together we're fostering a love of reading and encouraging children, preschool through third grade, to read together with their families.  

Program Areas:  Early Childhood, Library, Reading

Recipients:  Public School, Private School, Other

Proposal Deadline:  4/30/12

Average Amount:  $2,000.00


Availability:  All States

Check It Out: New Grant Opportunity!

Grant Name:  Arts Grants

Funded by:  Target

Description: Target offers grants to schools and nonprofits that bring arts and cultural experiences directly to K-12 students. These programs must have a curriculum component.

Program Areas:  Arts

Recipients:  Public School, Private School, Other

Proposal Deadline:  4/30/12

Average Amount:  $2,000.00


Availability:  All States

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

What Kinds of Projects Will Grants Fund?

Sometimes I’m amazed at people when they ask me about projects they’d like to fund with grant money. I’ve had people ask me to direct them to the grants that will pay for their senior class to go to France. I’ve had football boosters who needed direction to the nearest grant that would build them a new field house. At least once a year someone needs to find a grant that will help keep a job that’s being cut.

I’m not saying that grantors never fund projects like these. I’d say it’s more like a one-in-a-million shot. That’s not never, but it’s really close.  

The majority of grant money seems to be set aside for academic problems that schools face. To a lesser degree, the arts get a good share of grant money, too. Quite a bit of money is also available for technology. More and more attention is being paid to the environment and environmental projects in schools. One more rather hot grant topic is school nutrition and child obesity. Naturally, it is always a help when each of these latter topics mentioned fit into the realm of broader academic problems.

Reading and math grants lead the pack in sheer numbers, but science grants are relatively numerous, too. Within these grants, do schools have an advantage if they have large low-socioeconomic and at-risk students? Yes, they do, but that doesn’t mean that other schools don’t have a shot at plenty of grant money as well.

As I’ve often said, finding grant money for your school is a numbers game. You throw the net out wide using a school grant database, and then you narrow and narrow until you find the grants that you are most eligible to receive. If you complete one grant proposal, and you’re not all that eligible in the first place, chances are you’re not going to get a lot of grant money. If you apply for five grants that exactly match your needs and qualifications, you have a very good chance of getting grant money.

With all of that said, there are still grants out there that fill some unusual needs. One grantor resurfaces several tracks each year. Another helps build baseball fields. Another supports soccer programs. One helps build skateboard parks. Another helps build bicycle paths. Target has a large program that funds field trips for schools. Several organizations let you advertise your project and help you find sponsors for it. One organization helps put used band instruments into needy schools. Another gives good, used computers to schools.

All in all, I’d say most worthy projects can find grant backing if you are both patient and persistent. You just have to think about the grantors. Would they rather see their money being spent to send a senior class to France or having at-risk students in an inner-city school read better?

In summary, it is going to be easier for you to find grant money to fund projects in the areas of reading, math, science, technology, the arts, the environment, and nutrition and childhood obesity. Still, that does not mean that grant money is not available for a host of other worthwhile projects that your school needs in order to overcome some of its other problems.

Check It Out: New Grant Opportunity!

Grant Name:  Academic Enrichment Grants

Funded by:  McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation
Description: The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation offers Academic Enrichment Grants designed to develop in-class and extra-curricular programs that improve student learning. The Foundation considers proposals that foster understanding, deepen students' knowledge, and provide opportunities to expand awareness of the world around them. The Academic Enrichment Grants provide funding for programs that nurture the intellectual, artistic and creative abilities of children from low-income households. The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation awards grants to individuals in amounts up to $10,000 per year for a maximum of three years, provided the eligibility requirements continue to be met.

Program Areas:  General Education, Math, Reading, Science/Environment, Social Studies

Recipients:  Public School, Private School

Proposal Deadline:  4/15/12

Telephone:  801-209-3029

Average Amount:  $10,000.00



Availability:  All States

Check It Out: New Grant Opportunity!


Grant Name:  Music Is Revolution Foundation Mini-Grants

Funded by:  Music Is Revolution Foundation and Svengirly Music, Inc.

Description:  The Music Is Revolution Foundation administers a mini-grant program for Music Is Revolution activities designed by teachers to implement, support, and/or improve their ability to provide quality music education for their students. Mini-grants up to $500 are available to teachers for music education activities of all types. Only projects that clearly contain a music education focus that is, projects based on the concept of music education, through musical experiences, initiating students into a sense of their social, academic, and cultural identity, and humanizing them through the emotional, cognitive, and/or physical impact of music will be considered. Applicants are encouraged to include activities that expose students to genres and styles of music not likely to be experienced as a part of their normal daily lives, and to plan the  project with input from students, parents, and school administrators, so that the project supports the imaginations of the students while maintaining relevance to the curriculum already in place.

Program Areas:  Arts

Recipients:  Public School

Proposal Deadline:  4/15/12

Average Amount:  $500.00



Availability:  All States