The Educational Foundation’s grants program has successfully provided funding for a wide array of educational resources ranging from educational technology, class programming aides, books, tutorial programs, supplies, instructional software programs, field trips, equipment, and the components necessary for presentations and classroom initiatives. An 11-person grants committee of the Board of Directors reviews all grants and presents their recommendations to the full board for approval.
The SCSD Educational Foundation accepts grant applications at any time during the year, but only reviews and awards funds in October of each school year.
Please review all instructions and guidelines carefully. Understanding the requirements of the grant process, how to complete the grant application, and what is expected by the Grants Committee is very important! We are always open to suggestions for improvements to make this process as easy as possible, and welcome feedback at jquitzau@scsdfoundation.org. We also encourage you to review our past grant projects on our website to get an idea of the wide diversity of excellent projects the Foundation Grants Committee has approved for funding, and use these as a guideline in developing your own project ideas.
Here are five important steps to follow when your are thinking of applying for an SCSD Educational Foundation Grant. Please review all 4 planning steps and the guidelines which are in Step 5.
We are offering only online web-based applications for Foundation Grants. We hope this process makes it easier for applicants to review their projects, and it allows for you to save your progress and return to your application as many times as needed over any period of time to complete the work. If there are any issues or questions, please let us know….we want to hear from you so we can make improvements to this new system.
The most important part of submitting a grant application to the Foundation for consideration is to develop the ideas for a project that will support your efforts in educating and engaging students and encouraging them to learn and be creative. Projects must support the District’s Core Curriculum and must be approved by your school principal in order to be considered by the Foundation.
Over the past 18 years the Foundation has approved over 375 incredibly creative and diverse projects including vegetable gardens, worm farms, robotic labs, murals, STEM programs, theater and music performances, reading contests, and so much more. A complete list of funded projects can be found here. This webpage offers a wonderful array of projects, videos, and examples of funded projects the Foundation was proud to support. A good project, and one that excites the members of our Grants Committee, is a project that engages the most students, encourages involvement with parents, provides creative opportunities for children to learn and develop skills, is easily replicated for future classes, or can be used in other schools and more than one grade level. If you have a project idea, and would like to discuss it with the Foundation before submitting your application, we encourage you to contact Jan Quitzau, our Foundation Administrator for guidance via email at JQuitzau@scsdfoundation.org.
The Foundation Grants Committee understands the dramatic need for teaching materials, technology (computers, iPads, SmartBoards, etc), teaching aides, staff development, and books. However, the Foundation requires that any request for these types of materials be clearly linked and essential to the execution of the project being proposed and described in detail in the grant proposal. The Foundation also does not fund projects that are funded under the District’s annual operating budget, nor do we fund continuing education or development programs for teachers, staff, or administrators. Our role is to provided supplemental resources for projects that have the highest impact on students directly.
Please do not submit a grant application requesting funds for any type of technology (computers, ipads, software, or other hardware), without written approval from the SCSD Information Technology Department to ensure that your request is compatible with District servers, wireless systems, security, or service contracts. The Foundation does not have the authorization to approve technology requests. The Grants Committee will consult with the District IT department after receiving your application so inquiring ahead of time will save time, and avoid having your application returned to you for revisions. The contact person in the IT Department is Andrew Cramer at: acramer@scsd.us (or) 435-4281.
On your grant application, we ask you to provide the names of teachers, school leadership team members, and administrators that will be participating or directly involved with your project. Only one person will serve as the project contact for the Foundation, but the Grants Committee does take school teamwork into consideration when reviewing your application. Please give some thought to how your project will be administrated and the role that team members will play in the success of the project.
After you’ve decided on a project and who will be on your project team, you’ll need to itemize what supplies, equipment, teaching tools, and reference materials you will need to complete the project and provide preferred vendors and estimated costs for each item. The Foundation purchases ALL materials for each funded grant, and the accuracy of your budget and “wish list” are critical to the grant approval process and the efficient purchasing of the materials you need.
As part of the application review process, the Foundation Grants Committee will look carefully at your project budget and the materials that you have requested. Applications should include item descriptions, item numbers, vendors/sources, and pricing. The Grants Committee will not consider your application if the budget or “shopping list” is not specific or is incomplete.
We encourage all applicants to use the internet, SCSD purchasing and IT departments, and local vendors at your disposal to identify the specific materials, equipment, technology and supplies needed for your project. If you need assistance or are unsure of how or where to gather information regarding a specific product, you are encouraged to discuss it with Jan Quitzau, our Foundation Administrator , prior to submitting your application.
If your project includes a field trip, please contact the destination for pricing on admission, meals, and tours. Bus transportation needs to be coordinated with the SCSD Transportation Department, and they can provide estimated pricing for buses and drivers. The Foundation makes payment arrangements directly with the destination and gets invoiced and pays the School District for your transportation services directly.
Please read all of these application guidelines very carefully, then click the “Start Your Application” button at the bottom of this page which will take you to the beginning of the application form.
Depending on the items to be purchased, the vendors used, and delivery times for orders… and factoring in school breaks, we will do everything possible to get you the supplies you need to begin your project as quickly as possible. We completely understand the limitations of this process, and encourage teachers to keep this in mind when planning your project schedules! We cannot have UPS or FedEx make deliveries directly to schools because of school hours and the absence of a receiving staff. We ask that project leaders have patience and we will communicate via email if there are unusual delays in shipping or issues with specific items or orders.
The SCSD Educational Foundation reserves the right to make changes or adjustments to these guidelines and to the Education Grants Program as needed at any time.
For more information, clarification, or inquiry, please contact Jan Quitzau via email at: JQuitzau@scsdfoundation.org
