Teacher Grants, Contests & Awards

IRA & RR Reading Conference Travel Grants from Wilbooks

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

A large number of grants will be made available to help fund expenses for selected early literacy professionals (grades K-3) attending International Reading Association or Reading Recovery conferences.

Award:

Five hundred grants of up to $200 each are awarded each school year.

Deadline:

Applications are accepted year-round.

Stringed Instrument Grants
Classics for Kids Foundation

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

Schools or nonprofit organizations that believe in the role of fine instruments in their programs, and can show evidence of need and commitment to raising matching funds, are strong candidates for the Classics for Kids matching grant program.

Award:

Matching grants for new stringed instruments. Awards vary.

Deadline:

December 31, annually.

Small Grant

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The foundation seeks to provide hands-on environmental stewardship opportunities for youth, serve as a catalyst to getting environment-based education in schools and inspire youth and communities to participate in community service through environmental stewardship activities. Grants are made for activities that conform to the mission of the Captain Planet Foundation and must have all three of the following attributes to be considered for funding:

• Project based.
• Performed by youth.
• Have real environmental outcomes.

Award:

$500 through $2,500

Deadline:

January 31, annually.

Teaching Materials Grant
Tina B. Carver Fund of TESOL International Association

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The grant is available for funding the purchase of student classroom learning materials and/or teacher-related materials (e.g., ancillary materials that can be used in conjunction with textbooks or other instructional materials) to support adult ESL education programs in the United States.

Award:

$400

Deadline:

May 31, annually.

Grants for Grades 6-12
Toshiba America Foundation

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The foundation's mission is to provide science and mathematics teachers, grade 6-12, in public or private (nonprofit) schools, with additional funds to support classroom projects. It encourages projects planned and led by individual teachers or teams of teachers for their own classrooms. Successful grantees have designed projects that tap into the natural curiosity of their students, enable students to frame their own scientific questions and incorporate the expertise of community partners. Endorsement from a school official is required.

Award:

$5,000 or more.

Deadline:

February 1, annually.

Innovations in Reading Prize
National Book Foundation

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The foundation awards prizes to individuals and institutions that have developed innovative means of creating and sustaining a lifelong love of reading.

Award:

Up to $2,500.

Deadline:

Applications are available in January and due late February, annually.

Student Achievement Grants
The NEA Foundation

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The NEA Foundation provides grants to improve the academic achievement of students in US public schools and public higher education institutions in any subject area(s). The proposed work should engage students in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen their knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work should also improve students' habits of inquiry, self-directed learning, and critical reflection.

Award:

$2,000 and $5,000.

Deadline:

June 1, annually.

Mini-Grant Program for Public Libraries and Public Schools
Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The program awards up to $500 to public schools and public libraries for projects that foster creative expression, working together and interaction with a diverse community. Mini-Grants give educators an opportunity to design and implement a great program—whether a special activity outside the standard curriculum or one that helps meet its goals.

Award:

Up to $500.

Deadline:

March 15, annually.

Teacher Grants
ASM Materials Education Foundation

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The purpose of these grants is to enhance awareness of science materials and the role that scientists play in society. With a network of local Chapters across North America, ASM members are willing to work closely with local teachers to develop and implement these lessons.

Award:

Twenty grants of $500 each

Deadline:

May 25, 2015

Sol Hirsch Education Fund Grants
National Weather Association (NWA)

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

Allows K-12 teachers to purchase scientific materials or equipment for the classroom, school or community; begin new school or community science outreach and education programs; enhance or expand existing meteorology / science education programs; or attend accredited courses, workshops or conferences related to meteorology that will significantly enhance their teaching activities.

Award:

Awards vary.

Deadline:

June 1, annually.

ChemClub Community Activities Grants
American Chemical Society (ACS)

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

Supports chartered ACS ChemClubs in community interactions through service projects or by improving science learning experiences.

Award:

$300 or $500.

Deadline:

June 1, annually

Champion Creatively Alive Children
Crayola and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The 2015 program provides grants for innovative, creative leadership team building within elementary schools.

Award:

$2,500 cash award and $1,000 value of Crayola products.

Deadline:

June 22, 2015

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Sharon Gewirtz Kids to Concerts Fund Grants
Sharon Gewirtz Kids to Concerts Fund

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

These grants support music education by providing children with the opportunity to experience classical music firsthand at live performances.  The grants focus on financial need in school and nonprofit music programs throughout the United States.

Award:

Up to $24,000 will be awarded to a person currently teaching mathematics for at least three years and is teaching at least 50 percent of the time in classroom(s) at the PreK–6 levels.

Deadline:

June 30, annually

Art Works: Art Education
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The guiding principle of "Art Works" is at the center of everything NEA does. "Art Works" refers to three things: the works of art themselves, the ways art works on audiences, and the fact that art is work for the artists and arts professionals who make up the field. NEA welcomes projects that:

• Are likely to prove transformative with the potential for meaningful change, whether in the development or enhancement of new or existing art forms, new approaches to the creation or presentation of art, or new ways of engaging the public with art.
• Are distinctive, offering fresh insights and new value for their fields and/or the public through unconventional solutions.
• Have the potential to be shared and/or emulated, or are likely to lead to other advances in the field.

Award:

Awards range from $10,000 to $100,000.

Deadline:

Applications are due July 23, 2015, for school-based projects.

Best Civil War Lesson Plan Contest
Civil War Trust and History

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

Elementary through high school educators are invited to submit lesson plans which help young Americans to care about and understand the Civil War and the fate of its battlefields. All lesson plans must:

• Deal with the American Civil War.
• Be authored by only one teacher; there is no group entry category.
• Follow the format of Civil War Trust Lesson Plans.
• Include a goal(s) and measurable objectives.
• Include a list of the materials to be used, as well as copies of teacher-created handouts.
• Include an approximation of the time involved and appropriate grade level.
• Include an explanation of the methods to be used in implementing the lesson.
• Use at least one primary source. This could be a historic photograph, document, letter, diary, artifact and so on.
• Be accompanied by permission for any copyrighted materials, if used.

Award:

First-place winners are awarded $2,500, second-place winners are awarded $1,000, and third-place winners are awarded $500.

Deadline:

July 1, 2015

Education Grants
D-Addario Music Foundation

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The foundation awards grants and product donations to educational programs that offer sustained opportunities for active participation in music making particularly to those that might not otherwise have the opportunity.

Award:

The average grant awarded is $2,500.

Deadline:

July 15, 2015

From Failure to Promise K-12 Educator's Grant
Dr. C. Moorer and Associates

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

Educators are invited to submit project proposals to motivate, energize, and catapult their K-12 students/youth to reach their full promise in literacy, math, science or technology.

Award:

$500

Deadline:

July 31, 2015

Physics Teaching Grants
Frederick and Florence Bauder Endowment for the Support of Physics Teaching in partnership with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT)

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The grants seek to support special activities in the area of physics teaching, including the development and distribution of innovative apparatus, obtaining and/or building traveling exhibits of apparatus and providing funds for local workshops.

Award:

Awards vary.

Deadline:

July 1, annually

President's Prizes for Outstanding Achievement in Primary and Secondary Education
Entomological Society of America (ESA)

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

These awards recognize educators who have gone beyond the traditional teaching methods by using insects as educational tools. One winner will be chosen from among primary teachers (grades K-6) and one from among secondary teachers (grades 7-12).

Award:

A $400 donation to winner's school to purchase teaching materials, a $400 award paid directly to the winner for travel expenses, and an $800 award paid directly to the winner for expenses associated with attending the ESA Annual Meeting.

Deadline:

July 16, 2015

TESOL Teacher of the Year
National Geographic Learning and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Geographic Eligibility:

National

Focus:

The award was created to recognize and honor exceptional English language teachers at all levels. Eligible educators are those who have been a classroom teacher for a minimum of three years and have not been a previous recipient of this award or the TESOL Excellence in Teaching Award.

Award:

A $1,000 cash award

Deadline:

July 15, annually