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Classroom
funding

This guide identifies local, state and national organizations that offer grants or collect donations that will help you achieve your teaching goals. Each month, new and different funding opportunities are also listed in COCA’s Arts in Education Newsletter.

Digital Wish

Like a gift registry, teachers create “wish lists” of needed technology products and describe how each item will be utilized. Teachers are then encouraged to send the wish list to the local community, parents and friends and ask them to get involved. Visiting donors can elect to buy items from the teacher’s wish list, or donate money directly to a classroom so that wish list items can be purchased. All donations are tax-deductible, 100% of every donation funds classroom technology. When schools buy technology products Digital Wish gives 2%-10% in cash back to schools, and there are never any fees to donate.

The Foundation for Leon County Schools Innovative Teacher Grants

The Foundation for Leon County Schools (FLCS) was created to support K-12 resources that are not funded by tax dollars to our public schools. Business and community leaders serve on the Foundation Board of Directors which oversees Foundation programs and operations. To receive matching funds from the Consortium of Florida Education, the Foundation established the Innovative Teacher Grants program to enhance classroom instruction and recognize teachers for innovation and creativity.

Grants Alert

This web site provides teachers, administrators, counselors and related organizations with free access to up-to-date announcements of corporate, foundation, state and federal education funding opportunities. It allows you to sign up for email grant alerts and includes a grant writer’s directory, a searchable listing of education grants and a help center with fund raising ideas, ways to develop partnerships, and other helpful documents.

The Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education Program

The Partners in Education program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is designed to assist arts organizations throughout the nation to develop or expand educational partnerships with their local school systems. The primary purpose of these partnerships is to provide professional learning in the arts for teachers. In 1992, this program was awarded the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ Dawson Award, which recognizes innovative and successful projects.

McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Academic Enrichment Grants

The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation offers Academic Enrichment Grants to develop in-class and extra-curricular programs that improve student learning. The Foundation provides up to $10,000 for programs that nurture the intellectual, artistic, and creative abilities of children from low-income households. Eligible applicants must be employed by schools or non-profit organizations, have direct and regular contact with students in grades preK-12, and work with students from low-income households.

NEA Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) provides grants for organizations support exemplary projects in artist communities, arts education, dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literary arts, local arts agencies, media arts, museums, music, musical theater, opera, presenting and multidisciplinary works, theater, and visuals arts.

National PTA Arts Enhancement Grants

Throughout the year, National PTA offers awards or grants to honor or support PTAs as they engage families, support student success, improve the health and safety of students and families, increase access to arts education or celebrate advocacy and diversity.

Surdna Foundation Funding

The Surdna Foundation invites arts teachers from public arts high schools to apply for funding for artistic development through its Arts Teachers Fellowship Program. Eligible schools include specialized public arts high schools, as well as arts-focused, magnet and charter high schools.  The program offers teachers the opportunity to immerse themselves in their own creative work, interact with other professional artists, and stay current with new practices.

The Big Read

The Big Read is a national program of the NEA in cooperation with Arts Midwest designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture, and is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations seeking funding to conduct month-long, community-wide reads. Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read will receive a grant ranging from $2,500-$20,000 and access to online training resources, educational, and promotional materials. Approximately 75 organizations from across the country will be selected by a panel of experts.

Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Mini-grants for School and Public Libraries

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation offers mini-grants of $500 to K-12 school and public libraries for programs that encourage literacy and creativity in children. Programs relating to the work of Ezra Jack Keats are welcome, but not required.

C-SPAN’s StudentCam

StudentCam is C-SPAN’s annual national video documentary competition that encourages students in grades 6-12 to think seriously about issues that affect communities and the nation. With cash prizes totaling $100,000 each year, C-SPAN awards prizes to the top 150 student documentaries. If you are a teacher and listed as an adviser on one of the top 50 winning films, you will also receive a cash award. Since 2004, C-SPAN has awarded over $1.2 million dollars in cash prizes to students and teachers.

IBMA Bluegrass in the Schools Mini-Grant

Sponsored by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), the Bluegrass in the Schools Mini-Grant provides matching funding requests of up to $200 for in-school bluegrass music programs. While the IBMA appreciates all forms of music related to bluegrass, including mountain music, old-time, early country, Cajun, blues, and a host of other styles, they give priority to programs with a central focus on bluegrass music. Live ensemble demonstrations are encouraged, along with a brief overview of the history and pioneers of bluegrass music, the instruments used, their role in a band, the vocal harmony structure used in bluegrass music, and bluegrass music today.

Mockingbird Foundation Music Education Grants

The Mockingbird Foundation offers grants to schools and nonprofit organizations that effect improvements in areas of importance to the Phish fan community. Mockingbird is interested in projects that foster self-esteem and free expression, and particularly (though not exclusively) interested in programs which benefit disenfranchised groups, including those with low skill levels, income, or education. Grants range from $100 to $5,000 and are made on a one-time basis.

NCMT Using Music to Teach Mathematics Grants for PreK-5 Teachers

Sponsored by NCTM, the Using Music to Teach Mathematics Grants for Grades PreK-5 Teachers encourages the incorporation of music into the elementary school classroom to help young students learn mathematics. Grants of $3,000 will be awarded to those currently teaching mathematics in grades preK-5. This award is for individual classroom teachers or small groups of teachers collaborating in one grade or across grade levels. Proposals must address the combining of mathematics and music, the plan for improving students’ learning of mathematics, and the anticipated impact on students’ achievement. The applicant must be a current NCTM member or teach in a school with a current NCTM school membership.

AATE Lin Wright Teaching Grant

The American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) is pleased to announce the Lin Wright Professional Teaching Grant to support the work and professional development of an exemplary secondary school teacher through the introduction of AATE’s national professional network. The $3,000 grant funds registration and travel expenses to attend AATE conferences, and a project aimed to grow or enrich the theatre program in their school or to make the program more visible in their community. The grant is intended for a professional teacher who has never attended an AATE conference before.

Creative Leadership Grants

This program provides grants for innovative, creative leadership team building within elementary/middle schools. Grants help build your school’s creative capacity. Each grant-winning school (up to 20 grants awarded) receives $2,500 and Crayola products valued at $1,000.

NEH and IMLS Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants Program

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) invite applications to the Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants program. This program is designed to encourage innovations in the digital humanities. Proposals should be for the planning or initial stages of digital initiatives in any area of the humanities.

Please also visit the Classified section of COCA’s Tallahassee Arts Guide to see other possible education related funding opportunities.

We recognize that these listings do not represent all arts educational funding opportunities. COCA does not endorse any organizations or programs listed herein, nor imply stature through their inclusion in this guide. While we have made every effort to ensure that this guide is correct, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information. If you have updates or other funding resources that you’d like to see listed here, please contact Sahara Lyon at sahara@tallahasseearts.org to suggest them.