Grant Opportunities Available

Current Opportunities:

Wireline Competition Bureau Cybersecurity Pilot Program

Eligible schools, libraries, and consortia comprised of eligible schools and libraries, can apply to participate in the three-year, $200 million Pilot Program by completing Part 1 of the FCC Form 484, available through the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC’s) E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC) system via its website. Applicants selected to participate in the Pilot Program can request and receive support to defray the costs of eligible cybersecurity services and equipment. View more information on the program here.

Public School Districts' Opioid Recovery Trust

The Public School District Opioid Recovery Trust ("the Trust") Grant Program aims to help public school districts recover from the opioid epidemic and develop responses to educating students harmed by the opioid epidemic. To apply for funding, public school districts must submit a proposal for funding to the Trust for up to three types of grants, each with a maximum grant value of $500,000, which must be drawn down and used within three fiscal years after the grants have been distributed. The grants cannot supplant funding for legally mandated services, nor substitute for existing services. Funds from these grants must extend or expand existing services or introduce new services to students harmed by the opioid epidemic.
Applications must be submitted no later than 5 P.M. EST on Friday, November 15, 2024. They must be submitted electronically using the application form available at https://www.schooldistrictopioidrecoverygrants.com/.

U.S. EPA Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant

The Center for Green Schools, The Collaborative for High Performance Schools, The Association of School Business Officials, and the National Rural Education Association are working together to create grant writing tools and provide direct coaching for school districts to use to apply for a U.S. EPA Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant. Applications for this grant are due on a rolling basis until November 21, 2024. View more information here.

Access to Local Foods Grants

Arkansas Community Foundation invites applications for projects that will increase Arkansans’ access to locally grown and produced foods and/or strengthen the local food ecosystem, including:

Programs that support farmers/gardeners/growers located in and working to provide fresh produce to "food desert" communities in Arkansas.
Programs that operate or pilot innovative strategies to aggregate crops and/or connect local farmers/growers to distribution or retail markets.
Programs that support local food ecosystems and collaboration among farmers/growers, technical assistance providers, co-ops, and others involved in food production and distribution (could include learning cohorts).

Further information may be found here.

2024-2025 Stronger Connections Mini Grant

DESE released the competitive Stronger Connections Mini-Grant application for high-need LEAs. The competitive Stronger Connections Mini-Grant aims to provide additional funding for LEAs to develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive approach that prioritizes physical and emotional safety for their unique school community (SEC. 4108 [20 U.S.C. 7118]). Awarded LEAs will receive access to $55,000 for activities and practices that promote safe and supportive learning environments by prioritizing safety, creating a sense of belonging, and teaching positive behaviors in order to improve academic achievement and the well-being of all students. COM-25-023 provides additional details and the application. The deadline to apply is November 30, 2024.

State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP)

Provides funding to eligible entities to address cybersecurity risks and threats to information systems owned or operated by, or on behalf of, state, local, or tribal governments. The program enables targeted cybersecurity investments in recipient agencies, thus improving the security of critical infrastructure and resilience of the services that state, local, and territorial governments provide to their communities.

Please note: A State Administrative Agency (SAA) is the only entity eligible to apply for the SLCGP on behalf of subapplicants. Eligible subrecipients include local governments (including school districts) and do not include nonprofit and for-profit organizations. A public educational institution (e.g., elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education) is generally eligible to receive assistance under SLCGP if it is an agency or instrumentality of a state or local government under state and/or local law. Due to the nature of the grant application process, some state application windows may only be open for a limited time or have additional requirements. It is encouraged that any interested subapplicants reach out to their respective SAA contact for state-specific application information. Arkansas's point of contact is Kathy Smith and may be reached at kathy.smith@adem.arkansas.gov or by calling (501) 683-6728.

Science Education Partnership Award

The SEPA program supports educational activities that encourage pre-college students (pre-kindergarten to grade 12) from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue further studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
SEPA Notification of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) PAR-23-137 funds two types of projects: (1) classroom-based projects for pre-college students and teachers and (2) informal science education (ISE) projects conducted in outside-the-classroom venues such as science centers, museums and libraries. A SEPA project may focus on one or more of the following activities centered on any discipline of health research within NIH’s mission: Courses for Skills Development, Research Experiences, Mentoring Activities, Curriculum or Methods Development, and Outreach. Projects that support quantitative and computational skills development are strongly encouraged. View more information here.

Ongoing Opportunities:

Action for Healthy Kids NourishEd District Partnership Grant

School district staff apply for support for district-level policy and professional development, as well as funding and professional development for schools within the district to support curricula/programs, best practices and policy implementation, and family-school partnerships to address food access and nutrition education (NourishEd) and provide a learning environment where students are healthy in body and mind. All grants include monetary and in-kind support from AFHK. More information can be found here.

AdoptAClassroom.org

Spotlight Funds are a grant program for K-12 educators. Each fund supports a specific subject area, or addresses a need facing K-12 educators and students. We currently have five Spotlight Funds: Arts, COVID-19 Relief, Inclusive Classroom, Natural Disaster Relief, Racial Equity in Schools, and STEM. Educators who receive a Spotlight Fund Grant can use the funds to order the tools and materials they need to support their curriculum and meet their students’ needs. See here for more information on each fund, and how to apply.

Arkansas State Parks Field Trip Grant Programs

Is your school considering a field trip to an Arkansas State Park? Arkansas’ 52 state parks are natural treasures full of cultural heritage set on gorgeous mountains, lakes, streams, and forests. Many State Parks offer staff-led programs and activities, aligned to state curriculum standards, which will help your students get in touch with nature, science, and Arkansas history. They can be further cross-curriculum-focused to integrate social studies, art, language, and physical education.

Schools can receive up to $1,000 specifically for that purpose thanks to the Arkansas State Parks Field Trip Grant Program. The grants will focus on a classroom visiting the park during the school year. Priority will be given to field trips that align with the school curriculum and are between September and April. Find more information here.

ASTA Teacher Scholarship and Classroom Grants

ASTA Teacher Scholarship and Classroom Grants Teacher scholarships and classroom grants are competitive awards available to all educators in Arkansas. Apply online or by mail to receive up to $500 for professional development or classroom materials. Applications are accepted with a recurring deadline of March 31 and October 31.

Cook Center for Human Connection: Calm Room Grant

The Cook Center for Human Connection, is a non-profit organization that brings together the best organizations, programs and products to provide mental health support, and enhance human connections essential for people to thrive, is offering a matching grant of $5000 per school (for up to 20 schools) to install a Calm Room in their school building. More details of the grant can be viewed here.

Classics for Kids Foundation

The mission of Classics for Kids Foundation is to empower young people to shape positive futures through music, build sustainable stringed instrument music programs, and provide grants for high-quality instruments. If your school believes in the role of fine instruments in your program and can show evidence of need and commitment to raising matching funds, you are a strong candidate for the Classics for Kids matching grant program. Applications accepted quarterly. Deadlines: June 30, September 30, December 31 and March 31. Find more information here.

Cloudflare Project Cybersafe Schools

Cloudflare’s mission is to help build a better Internet. It is our pleasure to introduce an initiative aimed at K-12 public school districts: Project Cybersafe Schools.Project Cybersafe Schools will help support small K-12 public school districts, for free, by providing cloud email security to protect against a broad spectrum of threats including malware-less Business Email Compromise, multichannel phishing, credential harvesting, and other targeted attacks. Project Cybersafe Schools will also protect against Internet threats with DNS filtering by preventing users from reaching unwanted or harmful online content like ransomware or phishing sites and can be deployed to comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). More information can be found here.

COVID-19 Student Support Recovery Grant

Applications are accepted from local education agencies, charter schools, public schools, nonpublic, and private schools to implement SBHSN's evidence-based mental healthcare program. The purpose of this program is to promote a collaborative and integrated approach amongst the education and healthcare community to ensure students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. The funding will support the placement of licensed mental health professionals on school campuses. These health professionals will provide mental health services and coordinate academic support activities in collaboration with school district-designated program personnel. More information can be found here.

DESE - Financial Aid Incentives for Educators

Please click here for more information on funding opportunities.

Direct Pay Through the Inflation Reduction Act

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act’s “elective pay” (often called “direct pay”) provisions, tax-exempt and governmental entities will, for the first time, be able to receive a payment equal to the full value of tax credits for building qualifying clean energy projects. Unlike competitive grant and loan programs, in which applicants may not receive an award, direct pay allows entities to get their payment if they meet the requirements for both direct pay and the underlying tax credit. For more information about using direct pay on projects that are receiving grants and forgivable loans, click here.

Edthena Innovation Fund

Edthena is introducing a $1.5-million Innovation Fund to support schools and districts with their teacher observation and collaboration initiatives. The Edthena video collaboration platform can help by:

Streamlining feedback to teachers with video observations
Creating opportunities for more teacher-teacher collaboration
Scaling best practices and “what works” examples across the district
Flexible, asynchronous learning that’s still high quality and high impact

Details on how to apply for funding can be found here.

Gravely and Paige Grants for STEM Teachers

The Gravely and Paige Grants provide funding to elementary and middle schools in the United States to promote STEM innovation in the classrooms with an emphasis on academic programs. Grants of up to $2,000 are awarded. This is a joint effort between AFCEA chapters and the AFCEA Educational Foundation to help augment the cost to students for activities or tools inside or outside of the classroom, such as robotics clubs, cyber clubs and other STEM-related activities. Applications are accepted and awarded on a rolling basis.

Harbor Freight Donation

Harbor Freight Tools is proud to support students and teachers in K-12 public schools across the country. From donating a greenhouse for a middle school garden to providing tools for a high school engineering class, we are committed to supporting excellent teaching and learning in the communities where we live, work and serve. We are consistently impressed by the dedication of teachers, administrators and parents eager to improve their students’ education, and we are honored to help make their vision a reality. More information can be viewed here.

Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards

As part of a cooperative agreement to develop and implement the USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s Healthy Meals Incentives (HMI) Initiative, Action for Healthy Kids is recognizing and celebrating School Food Authorities (SFA) who have made operational changes to improve the nutritional quality of their school meals, as well as SFAs who engage students and families in nutrition education and in the planning and preparation of nutritious school meals. For example, one SFA might have introduced a “Build Your Plate” station where students can customize their meals with a variety of nutritious options, while another might have organized cooking classes for students and parents to learn how to prepare healthy meals at home. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis between June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2025.

Inventionland Grants for K-12 Schools

We are pleased to announce the expanded Innovation Education Grant program for the 2022/2023 School Year . The program is meant to financially support schools, districts and other local educational agencies who desire to leverage Inventionland Education’s award winning Innovation Labs®, professional development programs, and K-12 Innovation curriculum. It is our goal to offer all educators and students the same opportunities to experience the magical world of innovation, creativity, and STEAM-related learning. More information can be accessed here.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Grants

Apply for NCTM's Mathematics Education Trust grants, scholarships, and awards. Funding ranges from $1,500 to $24,000 and is available to help math teachers, prospective teachers, and other math educators improve the teaching and learning of mathematics. To view the current grant opportunities available, click here.

National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS)

On July 5, the NPSS officially launched. This new initiative is a public/private collaboration between AmeriCorps, USED, and a large coalition of education and service organizations that will together support the expansion, launch, and improvement of "people-powered supports" such as high-impact tutoring, mentoring, student success coaching, and others with a goal of recruiting 250,000 professionals into the recovery effort nationwide.

Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV)

Project SERV funds short-term education-related services for local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to help them recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted. Further details can be found here.

Project to Support America's Families and Educators

The Project SAFE grant program is intended to improve students’ safety and well-being by providing resources to local educational agencies (LEAs) that adopt and implement strategies to prevent the spread of the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Project SAFE grant program provides grants to eligible LEAs to improve student safety and well-being by advancing strategies consistent with CDC guidance to reduce transmission of COVID-19 in schools. Applications are accepted until funding is depleted. More information can be found here.

Rural Tech Fund - Assistive Technology Grants

Rural Tech Fund provides funding for Assistive Technology equipment to increase accessibility for students with disabilities in public schools and libraries. These donations include equipment and software that promote student inclusion and participation. Projects funded include laptops or tablets to utilize speech-to-text, text-to-speech, word processing, magnification, audiobooks, and other accessibility features. They also include Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices, whether a dedicated communication device or tablet used for AAC purposes, adaptive equipment such as keyboards or mouses that make technology accessible, and other software or applications that increase education and technology access for individuals. Since AT varies widely, Rural Tech Fund looks for projects that specifically provide accessibility to a student or group of students and include technology access for inclusive purposes. Click here to view more information or here to view the application.

Rural Tech Fund - Rural Technology Education Grants

Rural Tech Fund's work manifests through funding of teacher and student-led projects in public schools and libraries. Projects funded are designed to help spark student interest in technology-based careers like computer science, computer engineering, information technology, programming, cyber security, robotics, or similar areas. In some cases, these project donations may include a few smaller items like a Raspberry Pi microcomputer or a robotics kit. In other situations, partnerships with school districts provide entire Maker Spaces equipped with things like circuit development kits, 3-D printers, robotics kits, and classroom sets of individual microcomputers to build upon. Click here to view more information or here to view the application.

Spark Good Local Grants

Spark Good Local Grants are awarded through an open application process to eligible organizations operating locally and directly benefiting the service area of the facility from when they are requesting funding. All organizations interested in applying for a Spark Good Local Grant must have a Spark Good account on Walmart.com/nonprofits and be verified by Walmart’s third-party verification partner, Deed. Only authorized users of the organization’s Spark Good account may apply. Grant amounts range from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $5,000.

Grant applications are accepted and reviewed on a quarterly basis. Deadlines for submissions include:
- Quarter 1: March 1 - April 15
- Quarter 2: May 1 – July 15
- Quarter 3: Aug. 1 – Oct. 15
- Quarter 4: Nov. 1 – Dec. 31

Organizations may only have a combined total number of 25 submitted and/or approved applications at any given one time for the calendar year, regardless of quarterly submission. Final decisions on applications submitted within each quarter are made prior to the next quarter’s application opening. More information can be found here.

The Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation

The Kazanjian Foundation makes grants of $10,000 to $25,000 on average and expects to be one of several funders of a project. The Foundation will look most favorably at programs that match grants of support with funds from other organizations, learning institutions, universities, colleges, internal funds, and government sources.
Foundation’s current funding interest includes but not limited to:

Leveraging AI to increase student learning effectiveness and experience
Efficient and innovative solutions to reach and serve more people
Behavioral economics with a focus on environmental issues
Economic education initiatives to under-served communities in the local states
On-line competitions
Offering future college scholarship to high school students demonstrating financial, economic, and entrepreneurship achievements
Marketing capabilities to serve more population in economic education
Programs to generate more excitement for economic and financial education
Economic education programs in a recently mandated state

Letters of Interest may be submitted at any time throughout the year; however, the recommended deadline to submit your LOI to meet our grant cycles is March 10th or September 10th.