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Volume 1 Issue 1
September 15, 2008
Getting Ready to Write Fall Grants
by Don Peek
There is more grant money available to schools during the fall semester than at any other time of the year. Right now is an excellent time to apply for grants -- whether they are being awarded by the federal government, your state government, or by a foundation. It doesn't matter if you are an experienced grant writer or an educator who has never written a grant, now is the best time to get started writing those grant proposals for your school.
As you begin to fill out applications for grants, keep in mind the one key to getting any grant funded: You must closely match the needs of your school with the purpose for which the granting organization is giving grant money. That seems like a simple and straightforward idea, one hardly worth mentioning, yet failure to do that is the single biggest reason why most grant proposals are never funded.
To make sure your needs do match those of the granting organization, you must fully understand the needs of your school. Your school may need a new field house for the football team, additional money in the general budget, or money for your seniors to visit Hawaii on their senior trip, but those types of needs almost never match up with a granting organization's reasons for giving grants.
On the other hand, the need to raise the reading scores of middle school students who are two years behind, the need to involve more parents in the education of their children, or the need to enhance the learning experience of struggling students by incorporating the proper technology can often be matched with the purposes of granting organizations.
When you begin to seek grant money, it is important to remember that your search is not just a search for money. It must be a search for the resources you need to tackle a specific problem or need at your school. So.
If your school is having academic problems, for example, your assessment may begin with standardized test scores. If your incoming freshman class has an average reading level of 6.8, you have an academic problem that will impact almost every subject you teach. Your standardized test scores are proof that you need help with this group.
If only 40 percent of your fifth graders passed your state's assessment test in mathematics, you have a problem that needs addressing. Again, standardized tests have informed you of the need.
However, some problems cannot be identified by assessment testing. For example,
These are not problems that can be identified with a standardized test, but they are still problems that need to be addressed and can often be addressed with programs funded by grant money.
A good way to identify some of your schools most pressing problems might be to survey your entire staff. Such a survey might be used to identify the three biggest problems your school faces. Or it might be used to identify the three biggest problems students face in getting a quality education at your school. Or it might be used to get your staff's perspective on school needs or school climate. For example, might a survey reveal that your school suffers from a lack of academic leadership? inadequate staff development? discipline problems? apathetic teachers? Grant money might be used to solve any of the problems identified by survey data.
Surveying your students may yield a host of other topics that can be addressed with grant money. Bullying, racial tensions, or classroom disruptions by problem students may be preventing your students from learning to their potential.
Once you have found and prioritized the major problems that impact your students' academic success or their quality of life, you are ready to begin searching for the resources and grant monies that will closely match your needs.
Whether you are a teacher, administrator, or a grant writer, now is the time to start writing grants for your school. But it will do you little good to begin applying for grants if you have not taken steps to determine and document the major problems your school faces.
Remember, writing grants is not just about trying to get free money for your school. It's about entering into a partnership with an organization that agrees to fund a program that will help you meet a major need you face.
When should you start applying for grants this fall? Just as soon as your assessment has been done and your needs have been prioritized, it's time to begin applying for grants.
Don Peek is former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. Learn more about The School Funding Center at the bottom of this newsletter.
Grant Name:
Global Climate Change Education
Funded by:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Description:
The goals of the GCCE project are to use NASA's unique contributions to climate and Earth system science. GCCE will fund grants that
Program Areas:
Professional Development, Science/Environmental
Recipients:
Public School, Private/Charter School, Higher Education, Other
Proposal Deadline:
10/24/2008
Average Amount:
$150,000.00 - $500,000.00
Contact Person:
Tamra Ross
Address:
500 E St., S.W., Suite 200, Washington, DC 20024
Telephone:
202-479-9030
Email:
[email protected]
Availability:
All States
Grant Name:
State Farm Youth Advisory Board Grants
Funded by:
State Farm Youth Advisory Board
Description:
Grants given exclusively for service-learning in the areas of: 1)driver safety, 2)environmental responsibility, 3)financial literacy, 4)access to higher education/closing the achievement gap, 5)disaster preparedness. All states and Canada.
Program Areas:
After-School, Community Involvement/Volunteerism, Family Services, Science/Environmental, Social Studies
Recipients:
Public School, Higher Education, Other
Proposal Deadline:
11/1/2008 (Feb. 1, May 1, Aug. 1 and Nov. 1)
Total Amount:
$5,000,000.00
Average Amount:
$25,000.00 - $100,000.00
Contact Person:
Dawn Fones
Contact Address:
One State Farm Plaza, B-4, Bloomington, IL 61710
Telephone:
309-766-2259
Email:
[email protected]
Website:
http://www.statefarmyab.com
Availability:
All States
Grant Name:
K-6, 7-12 Science and Math Education Grants
Funded by:
Toshiba America Foundation
Description:
The mission of Toshiba America Foundation is to promote quality science and mathematics education in U.S. schools. Grants are made for programs and activities that improve teaching and learning in science and mathematics, grades K-12. The Foundation focuses its grant making on inquiry-based projects designed by individual teachers, and small teams of teachers, for use in their own classrooms.
Program Areas:
Math, Science/Environmental
Recipients:
Public School, Other
Proposal Deadline:
10/1/2008 (Oct. 1 is the annual deadline)
Average Amount:
$500.00 - $20,000.00
Telephone:
212-596-0620
Email:
[email protected]
Website:
http://www.toshiba.com/tafpub/jsp/about/HowApply.jsp
Availability:
All States
Grant Name:
Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities
Funded by:
U.S. Department of Education
Description:
The purpose of this program is to (1) help address state-identified needs for highly qualified personnel in special education, related services, early intervention, and regular education to work with children with disabilities and (2) ensure that those personnel have the skills and knowledge, derived from practices that have been determined through research and experience to be successful, needed to serve these children.
Program Areas:
Disabilities, Professional Development, Special Education
Recipients:
Public School, Private/Charter School, Higher Education, Other
Proposal Deadline:
10/10/2008
Average Amount:
$90 million
Contact Person:
Patricia Wright
Address:
400 Maryland Ave, S.W., Rm. 4113, PCP, Washington, DC 20202-2600
Telephone:
202-245-7620
Email:
[email protected]
Website:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/osepprep/index.html
Availability:
All States
Grant Name:
Learning & Leadership Grants
Funded by:
The NEA Foundation
Description:
These grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two purposes: 1) Grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research. 2) Grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment. Applicants must be practicing U.S. public school teachers in grades K-12, public school education support professionals, or faculty and staff at public higher education institutions. Preference will be given to members of the National Education Association. The NEA Foundation encourages grant applications from teachers with less than seven years of experience in the profession, and education support professionals. Applicants: Mail the original and five (5) copies of your application to the address listed below. Please do not staple or bind your application. Applications that do not comply with the guidelines or that include materials not specifically requested by The NEA Foundation will not be reviewed. Applications sent by e-mail or fax, or incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Program Areas:
General Education, Professional Development
Recipients:
Public School, Higher Education
Proposal Deadline:
10/15/2008 (Feb. 1, June 6, Oct. 15)
Average Amount:
$2,000.00 - $5,000.00
Address:
1201 Sixteenth Street NW, Suite 416, Washington, DC 20036-3207
Telephone:
202-822-7840
Email:
[email protected]
Website:
http://www.neafoundation.org/programs/Learning&Leadership_Guidelines.htm
Availability:
All States
In each issue, Don Peek recommends a Web resource, book, software program, or another useful tool of interest to the grants community.
This week's resource is a Web site:
SchoolGrants.org
http://www.schoolgrants.org
Here's a Web site that provides lots of information and tips about grant writing. Schoolgrants.org offers a biweekly newsletter at a reasonable price that lists available grants and even more information and tips about grant writing.
The Education World Grants Newsletter is written by Don Peek, former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. The School Funding Center Grant Database attempts to list every grant available to schools across the United States. It is updated daily and currently contains more than 110,000 grant opportunities worth more than $6.5 billion.
If you are serious about getting grant money for your school, you may want to subscribe to The School Funding Center Grant Database.
12-month subscription: $397.00
6-month subscription: $249.00
2-month subscription: $ 99.00
When you order the 12-month subscription, you get a copy of Successful School Grants, a step-by-step grant-writing manual by Dr. Deborah Porter, one of the foremost grant writers in the country, free with your subscription.
Order your subscription today!
Don't forget that you can do limited free searches in our huge school grant database by going to http://www.schoolfundingcenter.com.
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