As an educator in the “budget cutting” age it is impeccable
that we must find ways to keep our students engaged and enriched. Not only do we as teachers need resources
that are expensive, but our students do as well. One way to help ensure we are giving our
students the best is to seek out and write successful grants. Many foundations are willing to award grants
for educational purposes. Adopt-A-classroom
was started because the founder was astonished at the lack of resources teachers
had in comparison to the wealth in corporate America. It is people like this that help teachers
receive the funds we need to stay on top of the changing times. As I researched grants I found multiple ideas
from being a donor to tips for writing a successful grant.
One site
that really caught my attention was Adoptaclassroom.org. A lawyer, James Rosenberg, founded it. He was a volunteer who worked with a
prekindergarten student. He saw first
hand how little the resources were at the school. Adopt-A-Classroom partners a donor with a
classroom in various ways. One way a
donor gets in contact with a classroom is by searching for various needs. Here they can decide to donate to a classroom
with needs in math and science, art, or general needs. Another way is by searching for a specific
teacher. This program pairs a donor with
a classroom. The classroom gets the
resources it needs and the donor gets the satisfaction of helping the
community. What really impressed me was
the way that the donor sees the impact of their generosity through updates and
possible class visits.
There were
a couple sites I visited that helped with finding grants. Grants.gov and Edutopia both are outstanding
resources for finding various grants. At
Grants.gov a person is able to search different grants by types or by
agencies. I viewed the Teacher Incentive
Grant. This is a grant that will have 15
awards for about 2 million dollars.
There are thousands of grants to choose from. Edutopia was a fantastic place for resources
to find that perfect grant. You can
search by periodicals, corporate, or government grants. This site also listed multiple other
resources you could view in your search for a grant.
Along with
any perfect grant, the teacher must follow the tips for writing a successful
grant. Some of the tips that I found
revolved around the writing process.
Just as we instruct our students on writing, we too must use these
techniques in writing for a grant. A
catchy title is a must. You need to
catch the reader’s attention and make your proposal stand out from the hundreds
of others. You should gather copies of
other successful grants to use as a model for your writing. Know the guidelines of your foundations
grants. You do not want to spend all the
time to apply for a grant that you don’t qualify for. The writing must be straightforward and right
to the point. Stay away from the
fluff. The readers have many proposals
to read and they want to read about the realistic outcomes. The foundation wants to know their funds are
going to create a highly probable success rate with your students.
As daunting and time consuming grant
writing is, it has become a necessity in our line of work. We must be able to balance our resources and
teaching with the budget cuts that everyone is experiencing. Receiving local grants is another way to show
how the community is working for the betterment of each individual child. This sense of community goes a long way in
our student’s education and becoming life long learners.
