August 27 Webinar: "The Fundamentals of Funding: How to Identify, Write, and Submit Grants for School and Program Initiatives"
On August 27, to expand on our coverage of the federal stimulus package for education, we drew on the grant-writing experience of school administrator Kathleen Petersen, also a member of The George Lucas Educational Foundation's National Advisory Council. She demystified the process of researching, designing, writing, and implementing grants.
As is often the case, the number of questions from our community far exceeded our allotted time, but we've put together the following resources to help you get the most out of our members-only Edutopia webinars:
- Join the discussion: If you had a question we didn't get to during the webinar, ask the experts and your fellow Edutopia readers at large. Webinar host Grace Rubenstein and other Edutopia staff will check back often, too, so please continue the lively discussion below.
- Let us know how we did: We want our members to get as much value as possible, so please take a brief survey.
- Download the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation: If you'd like to take notes during the presentation or just want to have it as a reference, download the file.
- Download PDFs of sample components from two grant applications:
- Find links to more information about the webinar topic below.
About the Panelists
Grace Rubenstein
Grace Rubenstein is a senior producer with Edutopia magazine and Edutopia.org. Prior to joining The George Lucas Educational Foundation in 2005, she was an education reporter at the Lawrence, Massachusetts, Eagle-Tribune and a Boston Globe correspondent. She has won awards from the New England Press Association and the New England Associated Press News Executives Association.
Kathleen Petersen
Kathleen Petersen, a member of the Foundation's National Advisory Council, retired as principal of Santa Clara Elementary School, in Santa Clara, Utah, in spring 2009, but remains with the Washington County School District as director of Title I programming. She has won grants totaling over $1 million to create computer labs and a paperless sixth grade. Read more.
Useful Resources for Educators
Consult these sources to get ideas for grants:
- University research projects
- Software companies
- Educational publications
- The U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse
Helpful magazines and journals besides Edutopia include
- Tech & Learning.
- the ASCD's Educational Leadership.
- the International Reading Association's Reading Teacher.
- the National Association of Elementary School Principals's Principal magazine.
Also, search for articles in newspapers and mainstream magazines about what other schools are doing.
Explore the writings and other presentations of these educational researchers:
Finally, ask stakeholders to brainstorm ideas, be creative, or watch for ideas you can replicate.
More Edutopia.org Content About the Webinar Topic
Read more about education funding:
- Go to our page listing our content about the federal stimulus package for education. Note, especially, "How to Help Your State Get Race to the Top Money."
- Read this directory of travel grants for teachers.
- Browse our directory of grant information.
- Subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter, which features links to new grants in every issue.
This article originally published on 8/24/2009
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Suggestion for easy grant writing and successful funding
Are you familiar with DonorsChoose.org?
I have obtained some expensive items through them such as calculators, wireless headphones and a transmitter for a listening center, etc.
They have a friendly step-by-step process and an internal "e-mall" where you can search for the items you need for your project. They offer templates to help teachers write a standard grant that can be easily adapted to whatever your situation is.
Anyone can become a donor and get tax breaks. I let all the parents in my class know about it and they told their friends and co-workers.
I really like DonorsChoose.org
Oscar Ramírez
Dual Language Coordinator
Oyster-Adams Bilingual School
DCPS
Washington, DC
Capital Asset Funding
Do you have any experience including capital assests i.e. buildings (a science kit warehouse, for example) into a grant? Do you have any suggestions?
Grant-Writing Fees
What the are the typical a) hourly fees (and total hours required); and b) contingency percentage fees in lieu of hourly ones (e.g., 3%, 5%, 10%) for professional grant-writing consultants.
affluent schools
Q: I teach at a fairly affluent school, and have been turned down for grants because we are not a Title 1 school. Any suggestions for getting grants?
I am a music teacher in a suburban elementary school in Denver
Webinar questions
Hi All -
Thanks to all who joined us for this webinar! If you had a question that didn't get answered, please feel free to ask it here. Kathy will be checking back to this page to answer any outstanding questions.
Thanks!
Betty Ray
Community Manager
Edutopia.org
One question that came in via Twitter
s there a Twitter service, like Grantsalert.com, that can update the bajillion opportunities that are out there?
David,
I, too, have been at a non-Title school for the last five years. It was a surprise to me, coming from a Title I school, how many grants are not available without the poverty status. It took additional searching, but I was able to find RFP's that would allow us to apply. I also attached letters to several of the grant applications that did not require Title I status, but had poverty level as a piece of the evaluation. In the letter I stated that although we did not have a high level of poverty, we did have individual children who suffered because they were growing up in poverty but their home boundary did not put them at ta title school. In the letter, I would tell about several of the students and what needed to be done to level the playing field with the more affluent children. Don't give up; the RFP's are out there. We just received a million dollar grant to pay for a certified music teacher for 5 years - unheard of in Utah.
Pre-Selection
Hello,
I am researching education grants for a middle school in Northern California and for an educational non-profit. In researching potential local donors, I have come across the term "re-selected", as no need to apply because the company/foundation funds only pre-selected organizations. What does this mean and how does one become a pre-selected organization? Thank you.
Pre-Selection
Hello. I am currently pursuing funding opportunities for my local middle school in Northern California as well as a non-profit educational website. In the course of my research, I have come across the term "pre-selected", as in "no need to apply, grants are given to pre-selected organizations." What does that term mean and, how does an organization become pre-selected? Thank you.
More info on Donorschoose.org
Great suggestion, Oscar! I personally know one teacher who has had more than 30 grants funded on Donorschoose.org, totaling nearly $10,000. For anyone who wants more info on Donorschoose.org, you can find it in this Edutopia story from last year: http://www.edutopia.org/donorschoose-school-supplies-donation
Grace Rubenstein
Senior Producer
Edutopia