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Education grants play a critical role in connecting students and schools with engaging educational experiences
The past year has been unexpected and unpredictable, to say the least. But one thing has remained constant: Schools need funding to elevate students’ learning experiences, and education grants are key in that process.
Solving health challenges, strengthening financial literacy, promoting innovative ideas around sustainable communities, and supporting interest in STEAM learning–these education grants have a little something for everyone.
Deadlines for some of these education grants are approaching, so don’t wait too long before applying.
Here are five education grants worth investigating:
1. The TI Codes Contest is simple to enter and encourages teams of up to five students to work together virtually or in person, following appropriate safety and social-distancing protocols. Teams submit a written proposal outlining the process or existing product related to health, wellness, or medicine they want to improve. A panel of TI judges will determine which teams move on. As teams advance, they must start coding and building their proposed design and showcase it in a video. The public will vote on their favorite video to determine the winner of the contest. Each member of the winning team receives a TI graphing calculator, the TI-Innovator™ Hub with TI LaunchPad™ Board and TI’s calculator-controlled robotic vehicle, the TI-Innovator™ Rover. The teacher or adult that sponsors the winning team also wins a $250 gift card to help cover the cost of future class activities. All students who accept the challenge will automatically be entered to win TI technology and TI-themed items at the end of the contest.
Deadline: April 4, 2021 (opening round)
2. The Changemaker Challenge, from T-Mobile, the T-Mobile Foundation, and Ashoka, offers youth ages 13 to 18 with innovative ideas around creating connected, sustainable and informed communities the opportunity to receive seed funding–up to $15,000–and mentorship to grow their ventures. The top 15 teams will be announced in May. Each will receive $5,000 in seed funding and a spot at the 2021 Changemaker Lab at T-Mobile HQ in Seattle (pending CDC COVID-19 safety recommendations). From the top 15, the best in each category–Technology, Education and the Environment–will receive an additional $5,000 in seed funding and the chance to pitch their projects to T-Mobile senior leaders. One Grand Prize Winner will be awarded still another $5,000, plus a 1:1 meeting with a T-Mobile leader for additional guidance on how they can grow their venture. Deadline: April 8, 2021
3. Through the Beyond Lunch Sustainability Challenge, teachers, in collaboration with their students, can submit their innovative, out-of-the-box ideas for how they would make their school’s lunchrooms more sustainable. One lucky grand prize winner will be awarded up to $10,000 to help bring their ideas to life at their school. The Beyond Lunch Sustainability Challenge is an extension of Beyond Meat and EVERFI’s free course, Sustainability Foundations: Plants, Animals and Our World, which was created last fall and designed for fifth through eighth grade students in an effort to expand access to sustainability education for all students. The science-based course is grounded in real-world examples and covers topics on global resource constraints, the importance of biodiversity, climate change and how to innovate for a healthy life. Through this course, Beyond Meat aims to empower youth to understand that their choices, no matter how small, can make a big difference. Deadline: April 13, 2021
4. The 5th annual Cha-Ching Money Smart Kids Contest, from the Jackson Charitable Foundation and Discovery Education, enables communities to vote for their school to win $10,000 to use toward critical educator resources to teach kids how to earn, save, spend, and donate. This national contest encourages elementary school teachers, families, and community members to show their commitment to financial education by voting online daily for their school to receive a prize package featuring: A grant of $10,000 to build a brighter financial future at the winning school; $1,000 to be donated to the charity of the school’s choice; and a fun, educational financial literacy event hosted by Discovery Education that brings to life Cha-Ching’s four pillars of financial education – earn, save, spend, and donate. Deadline: June 10, 2021
5. Osmo for Schools, in partnership with Osmo Cares, is offering one-time mini-grants consisting of $2,000 worth of Osmo for Schools’ educational technology. A total of 20 in-kind mini-grants will be awarded to schools in time for the Fall 2021 semester. Grant application will be open to public schools in the United States desiring to outfit a classroom with Osmo’s STEAM technology. Mini-grant recipients will be able to choose from a selection of Osmo for Schools products; only one recipient will be selected per school. Schools must already have appropriate tablets on hand, or a plan to purchase them–they are not included as part of the mini-grant. Deadline: July 17, 2021.
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