Volume 5, Issue 2 February 6

by Don Peek

It is typically a long grind from the beginning of the year until spring break. It is an excellent time to make progress with your students. You should have few distractions and no extended holidays. It is also probably the very best time of the year to write grants for your district, campus, or classroom.

During February you have more flexibility as a grant writer than at just about any other time of the year. Why? Because you have the opportunity to write grants for three different segments of the school year. You still have time to write grants that can be used during the spring semester. You can write grants that can be used for summer school. You can begin writing grants for the fall semester. Only during the early fall semester do you have this much opportunity, and often educators are so busy with the beginning of school, they don't have time to write grants during September and October.

If you intend to apply for grant money that can be used during the spring semester, I recommend that you find either foundation or corporate grants with deadlines not too far in the future. You can apply for a grant, win the money, and actually receive your funding in time for it to impact your students in the current semester. Don't procrastinate. If you need grant money in the near future, you have to begin working on your applications today.

If you're looking for a summer school grant, you have a little more time, but not much. Remember, you have to send in the application, get it approved, and get your funding by the time summer school begins. Summer school grants are good to write in that you are usually helping underserved student populations, you're helping to shore up either basic or highly advanced skills, and/or you have an innovative program that you can't wait to try out. All of these make for great grant material. I'd try to have my grant applications in for summer school no later than the end of February or mid-March.

Finally, if you are a long-range planner, and I hope you are, you can already see major needs for the fall semester. You may need to totally revamp a program or introduce a completely new program to your school. You not only have all your assessment data from last year, you also have current assessment data from last semester. You may be searching for larger amounts of money that come only from federal grants, state grants, or some of the larger foundation and corporate grants. You still want to begin your search for grants now and begin writing those grants during February.

With so many school budgets being cut, finding grant money has become absolutely necessary for many schools. There is no better time for you to write grants than the month of February. The money is out there. Don't be a procrastinator. Your students deserve the best, and that probably means you need to write a few grants to supplement your budget. Start now.

It is easiest to find the grant money you need using the following grant databases: http://www.schoolfundingcenter.net (all school grants of all types) http://www.grants.gov (all federal grants for schools) http://www.foundationcenter.org (all foundation grants for schools) 50 state education agency sites (state grant listings for schools in that state)

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:
Innovations in Reading Prize

Funded by:
National Book Foundation

Description:
Each year, the National Book Foundation awards a number of prizes of up to $2,500 each to individuals and institutions—or partnerships between the two—that have developed innovative means of creating and sustaining a lifelong love of reading.

Program Areas:
Reading

Recipients:
Public School, Private School, Other

Proposal Deadline:
2/21/12

Average amount:
$2,500.00

Website:
http://www.nationalbook.org/innovations_in_reading.html

Availability:
All States

===================================================================

Grant Name:
Summer Reading Grants

Funded by:
Dollar General Litercay Foundation

Description:
Dollar General Literacy Foundation Summer Reading Grants provide funding to local nonprofit organizations and libraries to help with the implementation or expansion of summer reading programs. Programs must target Pre-K through 12th grade students who are new readers, below grade level readers or readers with learning disabilities.

Program Areas:
After-School, Library, Safe/Drug Free Schools

Recipients:
Public School, Higher Education, Other

Proposal Deadline:
2/28/12

Average Amount:
$3,000.00

Website:
http://www2.dollargeneral.com/dgliteracy/Pages/summer_reading.aspx

===================================================================

Grant Name:
Schools of Distinction Award

Funded by:
Intel Foundation

Description:
To be considered for an Intel Schools of Distinction award, schools must develop an environment and curricula that meet or exceed benchmarks, including national mathematics and science content standards. In total, 18 K-12 schools will be selected as finalists to receive $2,500 from the Intel Foundation. In addition, 6 winning schools will receive $10,000. Plus, one of the six schools will be chosen as the Star Innovator and receive an additional $15,000 grant as well as products and services.

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

Recipients:
Public School, Private School

Proposal Deadline:
2/23/12 < /P>

Average amount:
$5,000.00 - $25,000.00

Website:
http://www.intel.com/about/corporateresponsibility/education/soda/index.htm

Availability:
All States

===================================================================

Grant Name:
U-Act Grants

Funded by:
Red Robin Foundation

Description:
U-ACT, which stands for Unbridled Acts, or random acts of kindness, is a character-building initiative specifically for grades K-8, which aims to inspire and encourage students to be kind to others. The goal of the Red Robin Foundation U-ACT Program is to create a sense of neighborliness inside and outside of school settings and eliminate bullying through Unbridled Acts. Through monthly monetary grants, the Red Robin Foundation U-ACT Program honors schools that exemplify kindness to others and show support in their community through Unbridled Acts. If your class or school is between the grades of K-8 and you want to implement a program to encourage kindness among your students, and receive a grant for doing so, then you can submit a request! Simply come up with an idea of how you would encourage and implement kindness in your class or at your school and send it to the Red Robin Foundation.

Program Areas:
At-Risk/Character, Community Involvement/Volunteerism, General Education, Math, Reading, Science/Environment, Social Studies, Special Education

Recipients:
Public School, Private Schoo

Proposal Deadline:
3/1/12

Average Amount:
$150.00 - $2,500.00

Email:
foundation@redrobin.com

Website:
http://www.redrobin.com/rrfoundation/uactprogram.aspz

Availability:
All States

===================================================================

Grant Name:
Classroom Grants

Funded by:
Association of American Educators

Description:
Classroom grants can be used for a variety of projects and materials, including but not limited to books, software, calculators, math manipulatives, art supplies, audio-visual equipment, and lab materials. Classroom grants are available to all educators.

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

Recipients:
Public School, Private School

Proposal Deadline:
3/1/12

Average Amount:
$500.00

Telephone:
949-595-7979

Website:
http://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/classroom-grant-application

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 month's pick is a Web page: State Departments of Education. This page lists the Web addresses and physical addresses of all the state education agencies.
State Education Agency Sites
http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/Programs/EROD/org_list.cfm?category_ID=SEA

This page is the best place to begin looking for free information on state grants. It provides a live link to each state education agency which should list any current grant available through that state.

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 Write Successful Grants for Your School: A Step-by-Step Guide, a grant-writing manual by Don Peek, free with your subscription.

Order your subscription today!

Mail your order to The School Funding Center, 449 Rusk Street, Pittsburg, TX 75686

Don't forget that you can do limited free searches in our huge school grant database by going to http://www.schoolfundingcenter.com.

==========================================================================

If you enjoy this Education World newsletter, please feel free to forward it to others! If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up for it -- and any of the other Education World newsletters -- at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml.

 

Education World now incorporates new.SchoolNotes.com "everybody on the same page!" The leading school-to-home communications platform offers FREE pages for teachers and automatic notification of parents and students when new homework is posted!

For a modest $24.95 PER YEAR, upgrade to Personal Edition, "Super SchoolNotes," with thousands of resources linked to your state's standards.

Click here for more information.

==========================================================================

MORE FEATURES OF INTEREST!
From the Principal Files Practical ideas from the folks in the trenches.
Newsletters R Us Copy-and-paste features for your school-to-home newsletter.
The Administrator's Desk Dozens of articles from school-leadership archive.
Reader's Theater More than two dozen scripts, perfect for the classroom.
Best Books for Teaching About… Booklists for 30 popular teaching themes.
Sign Up for Our Newsletters Ten free newsletters full of practical ideas.
Holiday Lesson Plans Ideas for making the holidays educational.
Education World Columnists Meet our team of contributors.

 

==========================================================================

Education World®
http://www.educationworld.com/
==========================================================================