GRANTS: September 2009

[Ryan Goble]

Pulled these from NEA Today:

Target Field Trip Grants
As part of our commitment to education, we created the one-of-a-kind Target Field Trip Grants program. So far we’ve awarded 7,400 grants, totaling over $6 million, to educators in all 50 states. More than 729,000 students have explored the world outside the classroom with a Target Field Trip Grant!

Pay It Forward Mini Grants
The Pay It Forward Foundation administers a mini-grant program for Pay It Forward activities
designed by and involving youth in service to their school, neighborhood or the greater
community. Mini-grants up to $500 are available to schools, churches and community-based
groups of youth for service activities of all types.

Green Yor School Contest
SCA's Green Your School Contest is a national competition to stimulate and/or identify conservation service projects designed by high school students that improve or restore or beautify or conserve their high school environment. To be eligible, projects must have been started after August 1st, 2008. The Contest submission phase begins on April 1, 2009, and will end at 11:59 pm ET October 9, 2009. Winners will be announced on or around November 15, 2009.

The NEA Foundation Grants

The NEA Foundation is accepting applications for $2,000 and $5,000 grants. To apply online for a Learning & Leadership Grant, click here.
To apply for a Student Achievement Grant, click here.

Click here for a brochure with more details. 

To learn more about our new Teaching Improvisation Grants, Learning & Leadership and Student Achievement grants that have been earmarked to support public educators’ work to teach improvisation to middle- and high-school music students, download this document.  The NEA Foundation announces these grants in partnership with MENC: the National Association of Music Education.

The NEA Foundation supports a variety of efforts by teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff to improve student learning in the nation's public schools, colleges, and universities.

• Learning & Leadership Grants: provide opportunities for teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff to engage in high-quality professional development and lead their colleagues in professional growth. The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study. Application deadlines are February 1, June 1, and October 15.

• Student Achievement Grants: provide $5,000 to improve the academic achievement of students by engaging in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work should also improve students' habits of inquiry, self-directed learning, and critical reflection. (These grants replace the Foundation's Innovation Grants program, which has been discontinued.) Application deadlines are February 1, June 1, and October 15.
  
• NEA's Books Across America Library Books Awards: In collaboration with the National Education Association, the Foundation is pleased to announce 50 awards of $1,000 each to public schools serving economically disadvantaged students to purchase books for school libraries.  The awards are made possible with support from corporations and individuals who donated to the NEA’s Books Across America Fund to bring the gift of reading to students.  Click here for a complete list of 2009 recipients.

• Closing the Achievement Gaps:  Many economically disadvantaged and minority students do not have the same opportunities for academic success as their more affluent peers. With support from the NEA Foundation, partnerships led by NEA affiliates, school districts, and community organizations will take action to accelerate the achievement rate for disadvantaged and minority students, while raising achievement for all groups of students. Details. Application is by invitation only. Additional resources.
  

[Helen]

Thanks for sharing these grants. One thing for sure, with this economy, we can use all the help we can get.

[Helen]

Here is a new grant from Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuyinc.com/community_relations/teach_awards.htm">http://www.bestbuyinc.com/community_relations/teach_awards.htm


What Is Teach@15?
The Teach@15 Award program helps schools serving any grades 7-12 meet their technology needs. Teens (age 13-18) who are registered members on at15.com ("Members") can nominate their schools (depending on eligibility) to win a Teach@15 Award. Starting September 15, 2009, teen members can vote once a day for 15 days for one nomination. Every 15 days, Best Buy will award 3 schools with Best Buy Gift Cards based on member votes. The school with the most votes will win $1,500, second most votes wins $1,000 and third most votes wins $500.

How It WorksNominations: From September 1 until September 15, and every 15 days thereafter, Members can nominate their schools for a Teach@15 Award. Members can nominate their schools once per nomination period. Nominations will be reviewed and approved for the next voting period.

School Eligibility Requirements:
Accredited non-profit junior or senior public, private, parochial, magnet and charter high schools (serving any grades 7-12).
All schools must be non-profit.
All schools must be located in the United States.
Nominations must be made by Members of the @15 Site.
Home schools, pre-K schools/programs, after-school programs, colleges, universities and vocational-technical schools are NOT eligible.


Voting: Starting September 15, 2009 and every 15 days thereafter, teen members will be able to vote once a day for a nominated school. At the end of the 15 day voting period, votes will be tallied and the nominated schools with the most votes will be granted the Teach@15 Award. The winning school will use the award to purchase any Best Buy products that meet the need described by the Member in the online nomination form.

Why The Change?The new Teach @15 Awards give the decision making power directly to the students, which aligns more closely with Best Buy's @15 commitment to empower teens to create change. Teens can nominate and vote for schools to receive awards every 15 days.

The new award structure extends the reach of the Teach Award program by making awards to schools more frequently and getting new technology into schools faster. In addition, schools can now increase their chances of winning by mobilizing students to register on at15.com and vote early and often. The fate of their nomination is at their own fingertips.