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Penn State Programs for Educators Penn State World Campus offers 4 online master's degrees and 7 graduate certificates for educators. All courses are accredited and can help meet your professional development requirements, such as Act 48 in Pennsylvania. Penn State's College of Education is regularly ranked among the nation's best graduate schools, and your online programs are taught by the same nationally renowned faculty. The transcripts you earn online are identical to those earned by resident students – with no distinction made for course work completed at a distance. Penn State World Campus classes start soon. Learn more today! =============================================================== Volume 5, Issue 6
June 4, 2012   What Projects Will Grants Fund? by Don Peek Sometimes I'm amazed when people ask me about projects they'd like to fund with grant money. I've had people ask me to direct them to the grants that will pay for their senior class to go to France. I've had football boosters who needed a grant that would build them a new field house. At least once a year, someone needs to find a grant that will help keep a job that's being cut. I'm not saying that grantors never fund projects like these. I'd say it's more like a one-in-a-million shot. That's not never, but it's really close. The majority of grant money seems to be set aside for academic problems that schools face. To a lesser degree, the arts get a good share of grant money. Quite a bit of money is also available for technology. More and more attention is being paid to the environment and environmental projects in schools. One more hot grant topic is school nutrition and child obesity. Naturally, it is always a help when one of these topics also falls within the realm of broader academic problems. Reading and math grants lead the pack in sheer numbers, but science grants are relatively numerous, too. Within these grants, do schools have an advantage if they have a large population of low-socioeconomic-status and at-risk students? Yes, they do, but that doesn't mean other schools don't have a shot at plenty of grant money. As I've often said, finding grant money for your school is a numbers game. You cast a wide net using a school grants database, and then you narrow and narrow until you find the grants you are most eligible to receive. If you complete one grant proposal, and you're not all that eligible in the first place, chances are you're not going to get a lot of grant money. If you apply for five grants that exactly match your needs and qualifications, you have a very good chance of getting grant money. With all of that said, there are still grants out there that fill some unusual needs. One grantor resurfaces several tracks each year. Another helps build baseball fields. Another supports soccer programs. One helps build skateboard parks. Another helps build bicycle paths. Target has a large program that funds field trips for schools. Several organizations let you advertise your project and help you find sponsors for it. One organization helps put used band instruments into needy schools. Another gives good, used computers to schools. All in all, I'd say most worthy projects can find grant backing if you are both patient and persistent. You just have to think about the grantors. Would they rather see their money being spent to send a senior class to France or to help at-risk students in an inner-city school read better? In summary, it is going to be easier for you to find grant money to fund projects in the areas of reading, math, science, technology, the arts, the environment and nutrition/childhood obesity. Still, that does not mean grant money is not available for a host of other worthwhile projects. It is easiest to find the grant money you need using the following grant databases: http://www.schoolfundingcenter.net (all school grants of all types)
http://www.grants.gov (all federal grants for schools)
http://www.foundationcenter.org (all foundation grants for schools)
50 state education agency sites (state grant listings for schools in that state)
Don Peek is former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. Learn more about The School Funding Center at the bottom of this newsletter. 
Grant Name:
Bikes Belong Grant Program Funded by:
Bike Belong Coalition Description:
The Bikes Belong Grant Program strives to put more people on bicycles more often by funding important and influential projects that leverage federal funding and build momentum for bicycling in communities across the U.S. These projects include bike paths and rail trails, as well as mountain bike trails, bike parks, BMX facilities, and large-scale bicycle advocacy initiatives. Program Areas:
Health/PE Recipients:
Public School, Higher Education, Other Proposal Deadline:
6/29/12 Average Amount:
$10,000.00 Telephone:
303-449-4893 Email:
mail@bikesbelong.org Website:
http://www.bikesbelong.org/grants Availability:
All States =============================================================== Grant Name:
Best Buy Children's Foundation Education Grants Funded by:
Best Buy Children's Foundation Description:
Best Buy Children's Foundation supports and strengthens communities by contributing to a variety of organizations and programs that foster engaged, fun learning experiences for children through the use of interactive technology. The majority of funded proposals are initiated by the Foundation. However, they are interested in learning about existing and emerging national programs that creatively use interactive technology to make learning a fun and engaging experience for children. Program Areas:
After-School, General Education, Math, Reading, Science/Environment, Social Studies, Technology Recipients:
Public School, Private School, Other Proposal Deadline:
7/1/12 Average Amount:
$1,000.00 - $3 million Telephone:
612-291-6108 Website:
http://www.bestbuy-communityrealtions.com/national_grants.htm Availability:
All States =============================================================== Grant Name:
AIAA Classroom Educational Grants Funded by:
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Description:
The purpose of AIAA grants is to assist educators in presenting mathematics, science, and technology principles to students (K-12) in an exciting, hands-on manner to develop our future aeronautics and aerospace engineers, scientists, pilots, and space explorers. Program Areas:
Math, Science/Environment, Technology Recipients:
Public School, Private School Proposal Deadline:
Grant proposals considered in April and June until funds are exhausted Average amount:
$200.00 - $400.00 Telephone:
703-264-7500 Website:
https://www.aiaa.org/Secondary.aspx?id=4184@terms=grants Availability:
All States =============================================================== Grant Name:
Kinder Morgan Foundation Education Grants Funded by:
Kinder Morgan Foundation Description:
Grants are primarily directed to educational programs for youth in grades K-12. Funding is provided to local, state, provincial and regional educational institutions, libraries and programs that provide ongoing support, such as Junior Achievement. The foundation also supports youth programs provided by local arts organizations, symphony orchestras, museums and others. Initial approach is to contact the foundation for application form, which is required. Program Areas:
Arts, Community Involvement/Volunteerism, General Education, Library, Math, Reading, Science/Environment, Social Studies Recipients:
Public School, Private School, Other Proposal Deadline:
7/10/12 Average Amount:
$3,500.00 - $5,000.00 Telephone:
303-763-3471 Email:
km_foundation@kindermorgan.com Website:
http://www.kindermorgan.com/community/km_foundation.cfm Availability:
All States =============================================================== Grant Name:
"From Failure to Promise" Grant Funded by:
Dr. C. Moorer & Associate Description:
The purpose of the "From Failure to Promise" Grant is to assist educators in moving students from "failure to promise" in literacy, math, science and/or technology. Program Areas:
General Education, Math, Reading, Science/Environment, Technology Recipients:
Public School, Private School, Other Proposal Deadline:
7/31/12 Average Amount:
$1,000.00 Email:
drcmoorer@gmail.com Website:
http://www.fromfailuretopromise.com/K-12--Educator-s-Literacy-Grant.html Availability:
All States =============================================================== 
 In each issue, Don Peek recommends a Web resource, book, software program, or another useful tool of interest to the grants community. This month's pick is a Web site: Resources-Teachers.com. This site is free and has all kinds of free stuff for teacher---worksheets, coloring sheets, clipart, lesson plans, etc
Resources-Teachers
http://www.resources-teachers.com This site also provides teachers with nursery rhymes, short stories, games for the playground, fairy tales, and links for more free stuff. Check it out!  The Education World Grants Newsletter is written by Don Peek, former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. The School Funding Center Grant Database attempts to list every grant available to schools across the United States. It is updated daily and currently contains more than 110,000 grant opportunities worth more than $6.5 billion. If you are serious about getting grant money for your school, you may want to subscribe to The School Funding Center Grant Database.
12-month subscription: $397.00
6-month subscription: $249.00
2-month subscription: $ 99.00
When you order the 12-month subscription, you get a copy of Write Successful Grants for Your School: A Step-by-Step Guide, a grant-writing manual by Don Peek, free with your subscription. Order your subscription today!
Use a credit card to order your subscription online Call in your credit card order to 1-877-856-7400 Fax your order to 1-903-856-5272 (signed purchase order required) Mail your order to The School Funding Center, 449 Rusk Street, Pittsburg, TX 75686 Don't forget that you can do limited free searches in our huge school grant database by going to http://www.schoolfundingcenter.com. =============================================================== If you enjoy this Education World Grants Newsletter, please feel free to forward it to others. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up for it -- and any of the other Education World newsletters -- at http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml. 
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