Grants for Teachers

Grants for teachers are some of the more numerous and better funded areas within the grant community. Education is an area every one can support, and there are grants to help teachers continue with postgraduate degrees, to fund projects, to teach overseas, and to pay for classroom materials among others. In this area, there are many choices both inside and outside of the government grant system.

Graduate education teacher-students can access grants through programs such as the TEACH program, for students planning to teach in inner city elementary schools; Fulbright grants for persons who wish to learn and teach in countries outside the United States; and the Pitsco/Hearlihy Foundation for Technology Education (www.iteea.org). Pell grants are available for students who have not yet obtained a postgraduate degree, and there are grants for teachers funded by many national and local foundations.

Some grants for teachers target specialty teaching niches. The Toyota Corporation’s Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. makes grant funds available through their Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program, and has contributed more than $9.7 million over the past 21 years, in grants of up to $10,000 each, for science teachers (www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry) to implement projects.

Some grants for teachers are mini-grants, such as the Center for Excellence in Education in Huntington Beach, CA, which funds grants of $250.00 each. Some are funded by corporations that have national name recognition, such as Dell, Compaq, AOL-Time Warner, Exxon, Ford Motor Company, that may award in amounts from $5000 to $25000 and more.

A good place to start looking for grants for teachers is right in your own backyard. Libraries often have listings of foundations within a state and can offer free research opportunities to locate local and regional foundations that support teachers. Some foundations partner with the United Way, such as the IPTEF (Idaho Professional-Technical Education Foundation, www.idahoptef.org)

If you are a teacher, check with your school’s program (fundraising) officer. Your school’s alumni association may have access to funding opportunities, and may even directly support grants for teachers.