Sodexo Youth Grants
Purpose: Youth Service America will award 100 Sodexo Youth Grants of $500 each to support youth-led service projects in the United States that address the issue of childhood hunger on Global Youth Service Day (April 15-17, 2011.) We're looking for projects that engage your peers, friends, families, neighbors, Sodexo employees, and other community members in creative, youth-inspired solutions to ending childhood hunger in your community.

Applications are due by midnight February 25, 2010.

Begin the application process by taking the eligibility quiz.

Preview the application questions here.

Applicants who have already taken the eligibility quiz can return to their application here.

If you have questions during the application process, please Contact Amanda McDonald, YSA's Grants Manager.

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

The Nature of Learning Grant Program

Purpose: The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Foundation), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) National Wildlife Refuge System and the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC), and National Wildlife Refuge Association, is pleased to solicit applications from organizations interested in initiating The Nature of Learning in their communities.  The Nature of Learning is the FWS National Wildlife Refuge System's community-based environmental education initiative that seeks to:

·        Use National Wildlife Refuges as outdoor classrooms to promote a greater understanding of local conservation issues;

·        Encourage an interdisciplinary approach to learning that seeks to enhance student academic achievement;

·        Utilize field experiences and student-led stewardship projects to connect classroom lessons to real world issues; and

·        Involve a partnership among local schools, community groups, natural resource professionals and local businesses.

Start-Up grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded on a competitive basis to support initial expenses associated with new programs.  Follow-Up grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded on a comprehensive basis to provide continued support to existing The Nature of Learning Programs. 

Eligibility: Federal, state, and local governments, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations are welcome to apply for matching grants twice annually, through the Keystones program. Before submitting an application, please carefully review the guidelines and conservation goals for the applicable Keystone Initiative.

Please leave a message at 202-595-2497 if you have immediate questions and someone will get back to shortly. You can also email for support at info@nfwf.org.

U.S Dept. of Education

Improving Literacy through School Libraries

Purpose of Program:The purpose of this program is to improve student reading skills and academic achievement by providing students with increased access to up-to-date school library materials; well-equipped, technologically advanced school library media centers; and well-trained, professionally certified school library media specialists.
Eligible Applicants: LEAs, including charter schools and state-administered schools that are considered LEAs under state law, in which at least 20 percent of the students served by the LEA are from families with incomes below the poverty line based on the most recent satisfactory data available from the US Census Bureau at the time this notice is published. These data are Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates for school districts for income year 2009. A list of LEAs with their family poverty rates (based on these Census Bureau data) is posted on the USDE Web site at http://www.ed.gov/programs/lsl/eligibility.html. 

Estimated Range of Awards:$100,000-$600,000

Estimated Number of Awards: 50.

Application Deadline: March 28, 2011

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Best Buy

Teach@15 Award

The purpose of the Teach@15 Award program is to improve learning by helping schools (grades 7-12) meet their technology needs.

Teach@15 Awards of $1,500 will be granted to nominated schools with the most votes during a Voting Period. All awards are in the form of Best Buy Gift Cards.  The winning school will use the Teach@15 Award (awarded as a Best Buy gift card) to purchase any Best Buy products to help meet the need described by the Member in the online nomination form. At the end of each voting period, the school with the most votes will win $1,500, second most votes wins $1,000 and third most votes wins $500.

Eligibility: 

1. Accredited non-profit junior or senior public, private, parochial, magnet and charter high schools (serving any grades 7-12.)

2.  All schools must be non-profit.

3. All schools must be located in the United States.

4. Nominations must be made by teen Members of the @15 Site.

5. All questions on the nomination form must be answered clearly and concisely.

6. Home schools, pre-K schools/programs, after-school programs, colleges, universities and vocational-technical schools are NOT eligible.

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I Love This OpportunityU.S Dept. of Education

The Institute of Education Sciences announces its interest in considering unsolicited applications for research, evaluation, statistics, and knowledge utilization projects that would make significant contributions to the mission of the Institute.

The Institute's mission is to conduct and support rigorous education statistics, research, and evaluation in order to provide reliable information about the condition of education, education practices that improve academic achievement, and the effectiveness of federal and other education programs, policies and practices. Unsolicited applications are defined as those that are not eligible for funding under the Institute's current grant competitions. The Institute's current grant competitions are those for the fiscal year (FY2011), both open and closed, which are described at http://ies.ed.gov/funding/

Funding Available: The Institute expects that relatively low levels of funding will be available for these projects. Typical awards will be in the range of $25,000 to $200,000 (total cost) per year for 1 to 3 years. Larger budgets and longer award periods will be considered if a compelling case can be made for such support. The size of the award depends on the scope and significance of the project

TIMELINE: A prospectus may be submitted at any time during the fiscal year. However, to be assured consideration for funding in FY 2011 (ending September 30, 2011), the prospectus must be received by 8:00 pm Eastern time on March 2, 2011.

Why do I love this opportunity?  Because it is the only DOE opportunity that offers support for projects outside the norm.  This is where educators who have great ideas for addressing issues not addressed by the department can present those ideas and get them considered and possibly funded...there should be more of this...much more.

Go for it...and good luck.

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