Get That Grant! Grant Writing For Teachers Jane Yuster, Director of Assessment Redwood City School District Dr. Bill Conrad, Director of Assessment Alameda County Office of Education February 2009

Grant Writing Tips Read the grantor's guidelines and instructions carefully. Make your ideas innovative, creative and educational. Keep your goals realistic and achievable. Have a reasonable, detailed budget.

Grant Writing Tips (2) Be clear in your ideas. Have someone not connected with the project read the draft. Proofread!!! No mistakes. Follow the grantor’s instructions to the letter. Write a thank you note even if you are rejected. Ask for feedback in the case of a rejection.

Remember: Do Not Take Rejection Personally! The most important thing for grant-writers to remember is that they might submit a perfect application and still receive a rejection. Most foundations have limited resources with which to fund projects.  Do not get discouraged if you get a rejection from a possible funding source

Sources to Find Out About Funding School Grants Newsletter http://www.schoolgrants.org/ Get your school to get a subscription to this periodical. It is the best one we have seen.

Funding Sources American Honda Foundation http://corporate.honda.com/america/philanthropy.aspx?id=ahf Staples http://www.staplesfoundation.org/foundapplication.html

Funding Sources HP http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants/us/programs/index.html Intel http://www.intel.com/community/grant.htm

Funding Sources Donors Choose http://www.donorschoose.org/homepage/main.html Philanthropic Ventures http://www.venturesfoundation.org/programs/teacher-grants/science-resource-grants-program

Philanthropic Ventures- Teacher Grants in Science Focus is on CONSERVATION. Grants of up to $500 will be awarded to teachers to enhance their classroom science programs relating to conservation. Requests may be for educational field trips (local and not overnight), classroom science materials, classroom science presentations, or professional development. Students need to cover part of the admission cost for field trips.

Philanthropic Ventures- Teacher Grants in Science Who: Any public school teacher, K-12, in the Alameda County Public School System is eligible to apply. A maximum of three grants will be awarded to a school. Collaboration encouraged for joint activities (up to $500) between same grade level teachers.

Philanthropic Ventures- Teacher Grants in Science Fax in a description of your idea on school letterhead, including the following information (510) 645-1892 : Date and notation that request is for a Science Resource Grant School Name, Address, Telephone and Fax Numbers, School District name Teacher Name, Grade Level Description of Your Conservation Science Project Total Amount Requested Item by Item How the Money Will be Spent - Actual Cost per Item Applications must be signed by the Submitting Teacher and the Principal

Donors Choose

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Donors Choose

Donors Choose Proposal Ignite, Inspire and Launch Our Goddard Graduates - Rocket Scientists of the Future!

Donors Choose Hoover Elementary School serves a school population where 88% of the students receive free lunch and 85% are English Language Learners. The principles of force and motion are at the heart of the 8th grade Physical Science Standards as adopted by the State of California. This year I invested my own money to purchase several solid fuel rocket kits in order to aid with the teaching of these principles. The rockets were a huge success!!!!

Donors Choose My kids are begging for more difficult challenges. Most of my kids come from very low socioeconomic backgrounds. On top of that, most of them have very little parental support for their education. For them to demand more of an educational activity is incredible! To keep the enthusiasm going and to make sure we accomplish sound educational goals, we have created the "Goddard Graduates" program. The requirements of this program are:

Donors Choose 1. The students must read about the physics of rocket flight. 2. The students must design, based upon sound aeronautics, and test a model rocket of their own design. 3. The students must communicate their experimental results both in a written and oral format. 4. The students must know who Robert Goddard was and his contribution to rocket science.

Donors Choose This project will serve 90 kids and give them an opportunity to gain a real and fascinating understanding of these key concepts of physics. Thank you for helping ignite, inspire and launch the next generation of rocket scientists! The cost of 8 Model Rocket Igniters, 3 Alpha II Rocket Packs, 1 Rocket Engine B6-4 24 Pack and 1 Rocket Engine C5-3 24 Pack is $535, including shipping and fulfillment.

Lets Do A Grant: Come up with an idea for a program you would really like to do. Write a lesson or unit plan for your idea. Put together a detailed budget for your idea. Use the 24 hour rule.