Category Archives: Education

Robert F. Schumann Foundation

The Robert F. Schumann Foundation supports projects in the United States focused on Arts, culture, and humanities, Education, the Environment, and Animals. The Foundation is administered through Wells Fargo Philanthropic Trust Services.

Applications are accepted year round, but must be submitted by February 28th to be considered at that year’s annual grant meeting.

Eligibility

This grant is open to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations in the United States. Special consideration will be given to organizations in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and on the East Coast.

Focus Areas

The Schumann Foundation supports projects focused on:

Arts, culture, and humanities
Education
The Environment (especially open space habitats)
Animals (especially ornithology)

Snapdragon Book Foundation Grant

The Snapdragon Book Foundation was founded in 2008 to provide funds to school libraries serving disadvantaged children. Especially as funding for books is being cut, they want to ensure that all kids have quality reading options.

Applications are due by Sunday February 11, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET. Past awards have ranged from $500 to $20,000 and applicants are encouraged to request the amount needed for their projects. If unable to fulfill the entire amount, Snapdragon may offer partial funding. There is no matching requirement.

Eligibility

This grant is open to public, private, and alternative (e.g. charter or youth detention center) Pre-K – 12th grade school libraries in the United States and its territories. Applicants must serve disadvantaged youth, but there is not a minimum required percentage of low income students.

Public schools need only provide a link to their official website to confirm their eligibility. All others will need to upload IRS documentation designating them as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

Allowable Expenses

Grant funds may be used to purchase:

Books to be used repeatedly by multiple children through a classroom or central school library
Reference materials for student use
Magazine or newspaper subscriptions
Processing or cataloging fees from book vendors

Grant funds may not be used for:

Books for individual students to take home and keep
Test-Prep books for SAT, ACT, or other entrance exams
Audio/visual equipment including audio books
Computers, eBooks, eReaders, iPads, software
Accelerated Reader subscriptions or quizzes
“Hands-on” materials like science experiment kits

NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET)

The Bay Watershed Education and Training program from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides funding for projects that expose youth to meaningful watershed educational experiences.

To place these experiences within a local context, the program is administered through seven regional NOAA offices: California, Chesapeake, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England, and Pacific Northwest. All applications should be submitted through Grants.gov, but deadlines and award amounts vary by region. No matching funds are required.

Eligibility

This grant is open to:

K-12 public and independent schools and school systems
Institutions of higher education
Nonprofit organizations
State or local government agencies
Interstate agencies
Native American tribal governments

Regional Offices

California

The California B-WET program is not being offered in 2024.

Chesapeake

The Chesapeake office serves states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed which includes Maryland, the District of Columbia, and parts of Virginia, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. Projects should advance the environmental literacy goals of both the NOAA Education Strategic Plan and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

Applications are due by February 16, 2024 for requests of up to $150,000.

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes office serves New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Projects are separated into Conventional and Indigenous Communities.

Conventional applications are due by February 29, 2024 for requests of $30,000 – $150,000. Indigenous Communities applications are due by March 1, 2024 for requests of $50,000 – $100,000.

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico office serves Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Applications are due by February 5, 2024 for requests of $25,000 – $100,000.

Hawaii

Applications to the Hawaii office are due by January 31, 2024 for requests of $50,000 – $150,000.

New England

The New England office serves Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Applications are due by February 20, 2024 for requests of $25,000 – $150,000.

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest office serves Oregon and Washington. Applications are due by February 1, 2024 for requests of $60,000 – $150,000.

Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS)

Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS) supports projects working to change school food systems. The program is administered by the Chef Ann Foundation and funded by the USDA Food & Nutrition Service Healthy Meals Incentives for Schools.

Grants of $500,000 – $600,000, with no matching requirement, will be awarded to eight projects. Applications are due by January 22, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET.

Eligibility

This grant is open to groups of local partners:

With 3-5 partners, including the Lead Partner
Which include at least one School Food Authority
With a Lead Partner who has a demonstrated history of working with school nutrition programs
Who are all located within 250 miles of the Lead Partner
Who are all located in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands

Other potential partners might include:

Food producers
Cooperative Extension Services
Local government entities
Community-based food support organizations

Objectives

The objectives of the PLANT program are to:

Build and strengthen relationships
Improve school food supply chain coordination
Increase awareness of and access to K-12 markets
Expand scratch cooking operations in K-12 schools
Establish a sustainable approach and best practices

Additional Benefits

In addition to financial support, grantees will receive technical assistance, tools, training, and resources from:

Green Our Planet Garden Grants

Green Our Planet is on a mission to teach youth in the United States to love and protect the environment through garden-based STEM activities. These gardens become living laboratories where they learn about topics like conservation, nutrition, and financial literacy.

The garden building program is only available in Las Vegas, but the Garden Connect STEM Program and Hydroponics STEM Program are open to schools throughout the US.

Garden Connect STEM Program

Grants for this program are available for $2,500; schools are expected to provide an additional $1,000 to cover the full cost of the program. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Eligibility

This grant is open to public, private, and charter schools in the United States.

Requirements

Applications must include:

A signed letter of support from the school principal
Three digital photos of the garden or garden space

Grantees will also be expected to:

Commit to at least one year of participating in the Garden Connect STEM Program
Participate in monthly surveys and quarterly reports to assess the program

Program Elements

Program participants will receive:

STEMWorks accredited Outdoor Garden STEM Curriculum for grades K-5, MS & HS Health Curriculum, and K-12 Financial Literacy Lessons
1-on-1 Virtual Consulting with Garden Connect Coordinators
Access to Resource Library
Access to Virtual Academy
Online community through Green Our Planet’s Magic Garden Portal

Hydroponics STEM Challenge

Grants for this program are available for $8,000; schools are expected to provide an additional $2,000 to cover the full cost of the program. Applications from schools outside Nevada are accepted on a rolling basis. Applications from schools in Nevada are currently under consideration.

Eligibility

This grant is open to

Public, private, home, and charter schools
Libraries
Community centers

Requirement

Applications must include a signed letter of support from the administrator.

Program Elements

Program participants will receive:

Hydroponics systems for 20 classrooms
Seed germinator
Nutrient fertilizers
pH measurement tool
Total dissolved solids (TDS) measurement tool
The Green Our Planet Hydroponic Manual
Support from a Green Our Planet Hydroponic Coordinator

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation

For 20 years, The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation has been planting fruit, nut, and medicinal trees alongside Native American tribes, schools, and animal sanctuaries. Their goal is to help plant 18 billion trees around the world to protect the environment by improving the soil, water, and air quality, to feed those in need, and to strengthen communities.

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis. Most funded projects are in the United States, but they accept applications from international projects as well.

Eligibility

Applicant

This grant is open to:

Nonprofit organizations
Non-government organizations
Public schools
Government entities serving a charitable purpose

Applicants must also:

Own or have a long term lease on the planting site or have a long term usage agreement with the non-profit or governmental entity that owns it
Be committed to caring for the orchard indefinitely
Have a clear goal for how the orchard can help them fulfill their charitable mission
Be able to recruit and coordinate volunteers for planting day

Site

The site must:

Be suitable for planting trees about 15 feet apart with holes dug to 18 inches deep and 2 feet wide
Have a year-round irrigation source. The Foundation may be able to provide hoses or a drip irrigation system, but there must be somewhere to hook them up.

There isn’t a set number of trees required per project but they typically consist of at least 15-20 trees.

Grant Package

Grantees will receive:

Assistance with designing the layout of their orchard
Trees and shrubs
Equipment
Horticultural workshops
Training and manuals on the care and maintenance of the trees
Funds for deer fencing and irrigation systems is available on an as needed basis
Optional educational materials for schools

Reiman Foundation

The Reiman Foundation has been supporting charitable and civic projects in the United States since its founding in 1986. They focus on four key areas: Health Care, Education, The Arts, and Children.

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis.

Eligibility

This grant is open to entities with tax-exempt status.

Application

Unlike most grant programs, the Reiman Foundation does not require a specific format for applications. They simply ask that you provide the following information on your organization’s official letterhead:

Date of application submission
Agency overview including focus and population served
Contact person’s name and information
Brief project description
Need for funding
Amount requested and, if possible, a Wish List of items with costs
Documentation of tax-exempt status

Applications can be mailed to:

Reiman Foundation, Inc.
125 West Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 200
Pewaukee, WI 53072

or emailed to reimanfoundation@hexagoninc.com.

Change Happens Foundation

The Change Happens Foundation was founded in 2001 with the mission of being a catalyst for progressive, secular social change. They do this by partnering with organizations that have a high impact and are committed to improving the human experience.

Their primary focus areas for grantmaking are Education, Science, and the Environment. Letters of Inquiry, may be submitted at any time.

Eligibility

This grant is open to applicants in the United States who are:

Registered 501(c)3 nonprofits
Government entities
Federally recognized Native American Tribes

Applicants must also be verifiable via GuideStar with valid credentials and three years of 990 forms.

Focus Areas

Education – Ideas and practices to educate and prepare students for bright and rewarding futures

Science – Research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics

Environment – Programs focused on conservation, climate change, and sustainable energy

Ineligible Activities

Change Happens funds may not be used for:

Scholarships
Endowments
Special Events
Individuals
Indirect costs such as processing fees or fiscal sponsor fees
Religious activities

Application Process

All new applicants must submit a Letter of Inquiry with basic information about the organization and project.
If your LOI is accepted will you be invited to submit a full proposal.

Applicants whose LOI was not accepted are asked not to submit a second inquiry.

Current and past grantees may be asked to submit a second proposal once all performance reports have been completed.

Ciena Teaching Grant

Telecommunications company Ciena offers grants of up to $3,000 to classroom teachers doing innovative work in STEM. Their goal is to increase learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math and to make access to the digital sphere more equitable. Applications are accepted and awarded on a rolling basis.

Eligibility

This grant is open to teachers in the United States, the District of Columbia, or employed by the Department of Defense Education Activity. They must be teaching science, technology, engineering, or math to K-12 students.

Priority consideration will be given to schools with more than 50% of students receiving free or reduced lunch.

Allowable Expenses

Grant funds must be spent on materials and equipment for STEM-based projects. This can include distance or virtual learning programs that are particularly inventive.

Application Requirements

All applications must include:

A letter of recommendation from your school principal
Volunteer opportunities for Ciena employees

Potential volunteer opportunities include:

Exhibit or activity judging
Award presentation
Program preparation
Direct assistance in the classroom or during extracurricular activities

ALDI Cares Community Grants

ALDI Cares Community Grants from the ALDI chain of grocery stores, awards grants of $250 – $5,000 to community projects in the United States that address one of their three focus areas – Children’s Health and Wellness, Food Insecurity, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Applications are accepted from February 1 – December 15 of each year and reviewed as they’re received. ALDI recommends that applicants submit their request at least 8 weeks prior to the date when funding is needed.

Applications must be submitted under the closest ALDI store.

Eligibility

This grant is open to:

501(c)3 nonprofit organizations
Public or private K-12 schools
Native American Tribes

Applicant organizations must be vetted through the application platform YourCause.

Focus Areas

ALDI will accept applications for projects that address one of their three focus areas:

Children’s Health and Wellness – Improving the physical, social, and mental health of youth through education, art, sports, and afterschool programming

Food Insecurity – Lack of consistent access to healthy food

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Breaking down systemic barriers and promoting equitable access to opportunities

Allowable Activities

ALDI does not limit the activities allowed under this grant beyond addressing one of their focus areas. However, they do not fund:

Individuals or families
Political candidates, organizations, or activities
Religious activities to promote any religious doctrine
Research
Fundraisers or events for individuals, colleges, or fraternities/sororities