Award Range:

Up to $1,000 per applicant. The number of initiatives funded will depend upon available funds.

Key Criteria &

Eligible Projects: 

This grant will be awarded to an applicant demonstrating a thoughtful and well-designed plan for the usage of the funds in a manner that is consistent with the BCPS Blueprint 2.0:  Our Way Forward. Applications will be reviewed for a number of basic criteria with respect to the preparedness and completeness of their submission, however the single greatest determining factor will be how effectively an applicant can communicate how the grant would assist them in creating a solution, building a skill, pursuing an internship or apprenticeship, starting a business or initiating a project benefiting a good cause… even if that good cause is just helping a deserving someone go to a college or trade school.

That’s pretty ambiguous, and it’s supposed to be. We’re looking for problem solvers and tinkerers. That doesn’t mean you need to provide the basis for an invention that becomes the next Facebook or Google. In fact, the simpler the better. Just provide us the best description of your idea or cause as it applies to one of these two 21^st Century themes:

Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial  Literacy         

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

Don’t get hung up on the labels. All of those words cover some pretty extensive territories. So, we’re all ears if you have an idea that you think you could fit into one of those buckets. Just be prepared to explain in great detail. There are no restrictions onto the use of the funds beyond the qualification that it is a logical and valuable investment. Eligible applicants can fit one of two categories:

1.)    A current or former student(s)

2.)    A BCPS program or school

Application Deadline:

On or before May 1, 2016 by 5:00 PM

Notification of Recipients: 

Recipients will receive an e-mail notification from the director on June 16, 2016 and a media release will be placed on our website (educationfoundationbcps.org) on September 1, 2016.

Awarding of Funding: 

Funds will be disbursed to the applicant for initiative expenses according to standard Education Foundation practice as stated on the page titled Processing A Request To Disburse Funds From The Foundation Account with use of the form titled Request for Reimbursement/ Disbursement from a Foundation Project Fund.  Any unexpended funds will revert to the Education Foundation unrestricted fund at the conclusion of the project.

Applicant Eligibility: 

Applicants must be BCPS personnel, students or alumni. In the case of school or program-based proposals, a project coordinator must be designated to assume overall administrative responsibility for the instructional initiative grant application, submission of disbursement requests, and any other requested information or reports. Simultaneous funding of projects for the same applicant or benefitting the same classroom, department, or team will not occur.

Proposal Review: 

Proposals will be competitively reviewed by the presenting sponsor and the Education Foundation.  The presenting sponsor will have final discretion on the allocation of the grant.

Initiative Summary:  

A project summary is due to the Education Foundation upon the conclusion of the initiative no later than August 30, 2016.   See accompanying project summary guidelines for details. A grant recipient who does not submit a summary will not be eligible for future funding consideration until the summary has been received.