Here are a few tips to assist you in submitting a grant application.

Grant applications should:

• be specific and well-written
• have a specific budget and explanation of how and when funds will be spent
• be tied to a learning goal or meet a specific unmet need of students or residents
• ideally, support projects that are collaborative and that have the potential to be duplicated by other classrooms or sites

A successful school-based application will:

• support projects that encourage and facilitate innovative teaching practices
• enrich learning in the classroom
• promote collaboration and the exchange of ideas
• further district initiatives and curriculum goals

Some reasons why grants may not be approved:

• the goal of the project is unclear
• the cost per student is exceptionally high and/or the number of students affected is very low
• the application requests the purchase of technology or software that cannot be supported by the district
• the project is not clearly tied to learning goals
• the project could easily be funded by other sources
• the project is not innovative or does not have a sound plan to evaluate success
• the request falls within a category of grants that WEF does not fund