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Excursion Grants - A donor wanted teachers to be able to take kids out of the classroom. As she said, to "go to the beach," go to the museum, have a picnic, take a ferry ride in the bay, take a hike.
 Three days after the donor had the idea, we had put
together an announcement, the donor approved it and funded it, and the program was operational. The Excursion Grants announcement of $1,000 grants went out directly to school teachers. The idea evidently hit a nerve because the $50,000 put up by the donor was awarded in two months. In preparation for the next school year, the donor has designated $100,000 for continued support of Excursion Grants.
Doctors in the Classroom - Next was the idea to have a doctor visit a classroom and teach about health. Students could talk about health concerns; they would learn how to become a doctor and what a doctor does.
In a trial run Dr. William Schwartz brought his bag with a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, reflex hammer and other items to a middle school classroom. Students took each other's blood pressure, listened to their hearts and generally became animated by the presentation. Dr. Schwartz volunteered his time, he is retired after years of service in family medicine.
This program will start next Fall in grades K-12. The school administrators we worked with in designing the program are very enthusiastic. Because the doctors are volunteering their time the cost to run such an effort is minimal. The program is designed to fit in with classroom health curriculum.
Visiting Artist in the Classroom - Another new program in  the classroom is for an artist or art historian to visit. This includes visual artists, woodworkers, weavers, and their stipend would enable the artist to bring art materials for students to use. This would be for grades 1-12 and would fit in with the art curriculum. The program is set to begin in the Fall.
In all the examples above we have designed the programs to be simple, stimulating, and informative. The announcements are one page and teachers merely need to fax in a page giving basic information and how they will use the money.
Philanthropic Ventures Foundation is ready to work with donors who have an idea, and to make that idea real. Many high-impact programs come about this way, and in the case of schools, teachers love these programs.
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Here at PVF, in mid-Summer, we are already thinking ahead to the new school year. PVF's hallmark Teacher Grant Programs are a favorite for resource-strapped teachers around the Bay Area, and these programs are a favorite as well for our donors with a focus on education.
