1. How the Education Foundation can help in your classroom!
Got Funds?
How the Education Foundation can help in your classroom!

2. What is the Education Foundation?
Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization
Founded in May 2000 by a group of concerned citizens who sought the need to help ECISD teachers provide quality instruction to students
Managed by a volunteer board made up of community leaders and former educators

3. How does the Education Foundation help?
Teacher Grants
Teacher Assistance Program
Direct program support
Battle of the Bluebonnets
Bookworms
AVID
Food 2 Kids
Advanced Placement
Chess
Community Awareness

4. Teacher Grants
Where it all started…

5. To date, the Education Foundation has awarded 667 teacher grants totaling more than
$2,030,180.87

6. What kind of grants are funded?
There are three different types of grants available to ECISD teachers:
Trainer of Trainers – this grant is designed to provide funding for a teacher or group of teachers to receive training on a skill that they will then implement in the classroom setting and/or teach other teachers within ECISD that skill.
New Classroom Proposal (Elementary or Secondary) – this grant is designed to provide funding for a teacher or group of teachers to implement a NEW project in their classroom to improve student learning.
Repeat Proposal – this grant is designed to provide further funding of previously awarded projects that prove to enhance student learning.

7. Who are the grant readers?
The grant readers are community leaders who serve on the Education Foundation Board of Directors. These individuals have agreed to review all the grants submitted and select those to be funded.
Keep in mind that the grant readers are not just reading your proposal. Do them, and yourself, a favor and make your application easy to read and comprehend.

8. How do I apply for funding?
The grant application will be available on December 16, 2016 and may be accessed on the Education Foundation website:
Applications for New Classroom and Trainer of Trainers proposals are to be submitted online by 8:00 a.m. on Monday, February 20, 2017.

9. The Application…
The application consists of the following text fields:
Description
Rationale
Objectives
Activities
Partners
Evaluation
Sustainability
Budget

10. Description This is where you describe your project.
What will this project look like?
What will this project entail?
Tell what you hope to achieve.
Keep statements simple and straight forward.
Keep the focus on the students.
Remember that this is your first impression, make it a good one.

11. Rationale
This is where you tell us why it is important to fund your request.
What problem does this grant address or solve?
What will be different/better if this project is successful?
Keep the focus on the students
Why will the students like this?
What are the students going to learn?

12. Objectives
What knowledge and/or skills will students have attained as a result of this project and/or training?
Limit your number of objectives.
Be specific.
Whenever possible, make objectives measurable.
Keep the focus on the students.
What are the students going to learn?

13. Activities
What exactly will students do in order to obtain the knowledge and/or skills listed in your objectives?
Be specific and relate to stated objectives.
Keep the focus on the students.
If applicable, identify any school/community partners involved in the project and their respective roles.

14. Evaluation
This is how we will measure the success of your project upon completion.
What will measure the success of this project?
What will determine if objectives have been met?
How will the Education Foundation and its donors know this project and/or training was successful?

15. Sustainability
How long (months, years) could this project run with the funds requested?
Is this a one-time purchase? Nothing further would ever be needed?
Do you anticipate the need for additional funding from some source (Education Foundation, ECISD, etc.) in the future to continue your project or complete your vision?

16. Budget What do you need to accomplish your goals?
What will it cost, exactly?
Requests should be cost effective.
Budget must be detailed.
Requested items should be realistic.
Remember to account for shipping fees.
Lock-in pricing with vendors.
Do NOT put items in your budget that are not justified within your proposal.

17. WHAT? Budget continued… Do NOT submit a budget like this:
Books = $5,000.00
We need to know what supplies and materials you require!
Remember that any items purchased with grant funds must be approved by ECISD.
WHAT?

18. Helpful Hints! SPELL CHECK!
Sell your idea! Great ideas are funded, not equipment or trips. However, an innovative proposal may require costly equipment or trip and we understand that.
Do your homework! Well researched grants have detailed budgets that leave no question in the readers minds as to what the money will be spent on.
SPELL CHECK!
Have someone outside of education read your grant. If they get excited about your idea and wish they had the means to fund the project themselves, then you’ve got a huge advantage.

19. Keep it BLINDED!
All grants must be blinded meaning that no individual on the Education Foundation Grants Committee may know who is applying.
Don’t mention your name or your campus name!

20. Common Questions Does the Education Foundation fund field trips?
Yes, within reason. We can fund a trip to the Carlsbad Caverns, but can not fund a trip to Europe. Trips must be cost effective and educationally justified. ALL field trips must be approved by ECISD – no exceptions.
If I am awarded a grant, when will those funds be available?
Grants are awarded for implementation the following September. Grant recipients are required to attend a training prior to the release of funds.

21. Important Guidelines
The project is appropriate for a grant if the answer is “YES” to the following questions:
Is your project innovative?
Is your project student-centered?
Is your project important to student learning?
Can your project realistically be done in one school year?
Is your project practical?
Is your project new (to your classroom)?

22. Let’s look at an example…

23. Teacher Assistance Program
T. A. P.

24. What is T. A. P.?
The Teacher Assistance Program (T.A.P.) is intended to provide time-sensitive assistance to ECISD teachers for items and/or projects that directly impact student learning.
T. A. P. will not cover funding in the following areas:
Scholarships
Teacher Training
Technology
Field trips
Chess
Robotics
Furniture

25. Important Guidelines
Eligible T.A.P. requests must meet the following criteria:
Cost $250 or less
Directly impact student learning
Comply with ECISD policy(s)
Must meet the approval of your campus principal and campus curriculum facilitator

26. How do I apply for funding?
The T. A. P. application is available on the ECISD SharePoint site under “Education Foundation”.
Select Administration on the top right
Select Education Foundation under the Communications section on the left
Select the T. A. P. tab on the left
Select Applications tab on the left
Select NEW DOCUMENT on the top left
T. A. P. applications are reviewed monthly – October through April.
Let’s look at the application:

27. Questions?

28. How to contact the Foundation?
Celeste Potter, Director
Facebook &