Grant Resources

          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.