Learn about Grants

Are you interested in implementing a curriculum program like CraftPlus® in your classroom but don’t have the money to spend at your school?  Have you thought about applying for grants but don’t know where to begin?  Grants can be very competitive and very complicated, so Maupin House has put together some tips and resources for finding applicable grants and writing winning proposals.

Grant Writing

• Read the instructions and requirements carefully to make sure you meet the criteria for applying.
• Get the proper permission that you need to apply for a grant.  Some grants require a senior officer’s signature in order to implement a grant in the school system. 
• Be creative!  Private foundations seek creative solutions to problems so it might help to put a fresh spin on an existing idea to “hook” your reviewer in to your project.
• Write concisely and make sure you identify your needs.  If the grant asks for it, make sure you have the following:
  • Mission statement
  • Background information
  • Goals and objectives
  • Evaluation tools
  • All required materials
  • Total cost (be flexible)

Also make sure to have someone read and critique your draft application.

• Keep your goals realistic. Grantors need to know the progress of the program they are funding, so it’s good to evaluate your plan and keep record of what you are doing.
• If there is a narrative section, write professionally, avoiding too much jargon and defining any buzz words that you use.  It’s important to remember that sometimes your reviewers may not be educators.
• Proofread carefully!  Spelling and grammar errors don’t provide the best image.
• Make sure to meet the deadline of your proposal. 
• For more great tips on grant writing, try the following websites:
  • http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev039.shtml  
  • http://www.libraryspot.com/features/grantsfeature.htm
  • http://712educators.about.com/cs/grantwriting/a/grantwriting.htm
  • http://www.npguides.org/guide/index.html
  • http://www.webenglishteacher.com/grants.html

Funding Resources

These resources can help you get started in finding grants that would apply to your area:

Florida state resources
Consortium of Florida Education Foundations
http://www.cfef.net/index.cfm/fuseaction/Foundations.Home

National Resources
Grant Wrangler Web Site
http://grantwrangler.com/

Foundation Center
http://foundationcenter.org/

Office of English Language Acquisition
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/index.html?src=mr

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov/

NCLB Desktop Reference
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/nclbreference/index.html

U.S. Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/index.jsp

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/index.html?src=rt

USDOE Budget News
http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/news.html

Good Start, Grow Smart: The Bush Administration's Early Childhood Initiative
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/toc.html

Head Start Bureau
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/

Office of Special Education
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/index.html?src=mr

GEAR UP Program
http://www.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html

Upward Bound Program
http://www.ed.gov/programs/trioupbound/ubworkstudyltr.html?exp=0

National Endowment for the Humanities
http://www.neh.fed.us/

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Program
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/

Additional Grant Resources

The following sites can help you locate appropriate sources of funding for your projects.

• School Grants Center - Education World offers the latest information about current education grants.
• Discretionary Grant Application Packages - The U.S. Government offers this clickable list of application packages for currently open Department of Education grant competitions. 
• Grants and Programs - The National Education Association Foundation for the Improvement of Education offers information, guidelines, and other resources related to grants the foundation administers.  
• The Foundation Center - This site for non-governmental funding resources offers both print and online resources for a subscription fee.
• Community Foundation Locator - This tool identifies tax-exempt charitable organizations in your community that are possible sources of grants.
• Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam Grants
• Arts in Education Grants
• The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
• Verizon Foundation
• Eleanor Roosevelt Fund for Women and Girls
• Mathematics Education Trust
• International Reading Association
• EDS Technology Grants

*Some information courtesy of http://educationworld.com