Get funds for your project with children.
How to get started.
Maybe your class has planned a labyrinth on the school grounds. Perhaps your 4-H youth have decided to spruce up the city in which you live. Whether you have a small planting in mind, a major science education effort, or a large community-wide beautification program, there are a number of foundations that can assist you. Here is some basic contact information to get you started. Since guidelines occasionally change, you’ll want to check these out in detail.
Larger projects:
Coca-Cola Foundation
Purpose and Activities: The mission of the Coca-Cola Foundation is to improve the quality of life in the community and enhance the individual opportunity through education. The Foundation supports educational programs primarily within three main areas: higher education, classroom teaching and learning, and international education. Their programs support scholarships for aspiring students; encourage and motivate young people to stay in school; and foster cultural understanding. http://www2.coca-cola.com/citizenship/foundation_guidelines.html
Delta Air Lines Foundation
Purpose and Activities: Their mission is to continuously create value through an inclusive culture by leveraging partnerships and serving communities where we live and work. They focus on several areas, including community enrichment, health and wellness, youth development and arts and culture. Within youth development they support organizations that focus on keeping young people interested in math and science and helping them develop leadership skills and positive self esteem. http://www.delta.com/inside/community/foundation_guide/index.jsp
EPA Environmental Education Grants
Purpose and Activities: The goal of the program is to support environmental education (EE) projects that enhance the public’s awareness, knowledge, and skills to make informed and responsible decisions that affect environmental quality. To be considered EE, a project must be based on sound science and promote environmental stewardship. The project must enhance critical-thinking, problem-solving, and effective decision-making skills, as well as teach individuals to weigh various sides of an environmental issue to make informed and responsible decisions. Environmental education does not advocate a particular viewpoint or course of action. http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/grants.html
Ford Foundation
Purpose and Activities: Support organizations that seek to reduce poverty and injustice, promote democratic values, increase international cooperation, advance human achievement. The program in Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom, under its Education, Sexuality and Religion section, supports education research and reform in grades K-12 and in university systems as well as graduate fellowships and research in the social sciences and humanities, with emphasis on gender, identity and pluralism. http://www.fordfound.org/
Newman’s Own Foundation
Purpose and Activities: Fields of interest include human services, education, hospitals (general), child and youth, homelessness programs, general charitable giving. Giving is on a domestic and international basis. http://www.newmansown.com/commongood.cfm
The Overbrook Foundation
Purpose and Activities: Funding concentrates on three strategic areas: Human & Civil Rights, Youth, and the Environment. The purpose of the Youth Program is to provide low-income adolescents and young adults with opportunities to develop leadership skills, practice active citizenship, and foster creativity. The Foundation supports programs that include a direct services component and/or leadership development activities that encourage collective action and advocacy, promote systemic social change, and build communication skills in young people. They look to support organizations that demonstrate an active, consensus-driven form of management in which young people are among the decision-makers and leaders. http://www.overbrook.org/index_s.html
Pew Charitable Trusts
Purpose and Activities: Supports programs in a wide variety of areas, including Education with part of the focus on research institutions. Support should fall within their three cluster areas of advancing policy solutions, informing the public, and supporting civic life. Descriptions of all of these are on the website. http://www.pewtrusts.com/
The Prudential Foundation
Purpose and Activities: The Prudential Foundation provides support to innovative direct-service programs that address the needs of our communities in three areas: Ready to Learn, Ready to Work, Ready to Live. Ready to Learn funds initiatives that strengthen public education at the elementary school level. Emphasis is put on systemic school reform; improving teacher and educational leadership skills; increasing parental involvement; arts education; early childhood care and education; and bolstering literacy in the early years. Look on the website for more information on this and on the other two areas. http://www.prudential.com/productsAndServices/0,1474,intPageID%253D1440%2526blnPrinterFriendly%253D0,00.html
Ronald McDonald House Charities
Purpose and Activities: Ronald McDonald House Charities Board of Trustees is most interested in national and/or international organizations that have a specific program related to children’s health and well being. Organizations seeking funding should have a specific program which: Directly improves the health and well being of children (ages 0-21 years), addresses a significant funding gap or critical opportunity, has long-term impact in terms of replication or reach, and produces measurable results. http://www.rmhc.com/grant/index.html
The Wallace Foundation
Purpose and Activities: To foster the fundamental improvement in the quality of education and career development opportunities for all school-age youth and to increase access to these improved services for young people in low-income communities. http://www.wallacefoundation.org/WF/
Small projects:
Brinker International
Purpose and Activities: Brinker International is the owner of Chili’s Grill & Bar, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Cozymel’s Coastal Mexican Grill, Corner Bakery Café and Big Bowl restaurants. Giving back to the communities where we live and work is one of Brinker International’s core values. With a diverse variety of local fundraising activities and corporate giving programs, Brinker and its restaurants contribute more than $3 million annually to a number of worthwhile charities. The objective of the Brinker International Foundation is to support programs and projects that are affiliated with Children/Family, Arts, Civic, and University related educational programs. http://www.brinker.com/contact/charitable_requests.asp
The Captain Planet Foundation
Purpose and Activities: The mission of the Captain Planet Foundation is to fund and support hands-on environmental projects for children and youths. The objective is to encourage innovative programs that empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and communities. All projects must promote understanding of environmental issues, focus on hands-on involvement, involve children and young adults 6 to 18 (elementary through high school), promote interaction and cooperation within the group, help young people develop planning and problem solving skills, include adult supervision, and commit to follow-up communication with the foundation. http://www.captainplanetfdn.org/aboutUs.html
Corning Foundation
Purpose and Activities: The Corning Incorporated Foundation, established in 1952, develops and administers projects in support of educational, cultural, community and selected national organizations. Selected elementary and secondary schools, community colleges and four-year institutions of higher learning are the consistent beneficiaries of Foundation support. Corning’s areas of involvement have included community service programs for students, curriculum enrichment, student scholarships, facility improvement, and instructional technology projects for the classroom. http://www.corning.com/inside_corning/foundation.asp
The Dreyer’s Foundation
Purpose and Activities: The mission of the Dreyer’s Foundation is to promote family, school and community environments that build skills and foster talents in young people. Priority is given to programs/projects that affect a significant number of young people, foster the concept that it is better to teach young people how to learn than to simply give them answers to their problems, and are unique and creative. http://www.dreyersinc.com/dreyersfoundation/index.asp
Gannett Foundation
Purpose and Activities: The Gannett Foundation supports local organizations in communities where the Gannett Co., Inc. owns a local daily newspaper or broadcast station. Each local Gannett operation establishes its own priorities, depending upon local needs, and may have additional guidelines and restrictions. If your organization is located in one of the Gannett communities, contact them to learn about their priorities, restrictions, and deadlines. If unsure about your organization’s eligibility, an e-mail (or one-page letter) of inquiry to your local community contact is welcome. Must be within a Gannett Foundation community. http://www.gannettfoundation.org/home.htm
The Grable Foundation
Purpose and Activities: To help children and youth to become independent, caring, contributing members of society by supporting programs critical to a child’s successful development. In order of priority, The Grable Foundation will focus on: Improving Educational Opportunities so that children can achieve their potential; Strengthening Community Efforts that create an environment in which children can succeed; Strengthening Families so they can serve as the core support of children and society. http://www.grablefdn.org/mission.htm
Hasbro Children’s Foundation
Purpose and Activities: The Foundation is committed to improving the emotional, social and physical well-being of disadvantaged children, birth through age 12, through the support of innovative direct service programs in the areas of health, education and social services. Small grants are available for the expansion of direct service programs that meet a need of disadvantaged children in a local community in an innovative way. Funding can be sought to add a new program component, to serve additional children, or to make an existing program more efficient or effective. Further information can be found on the website. http://hasbro.org/hcf/
Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Grant Program
Purpose and Activities: Wild Ones is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the use of natural landscaping with native plant species as an ecologically better alternative to traditional landscaping practices. In 1996, the Wild Ones Board of Directors started the Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education (SFE) Fund. Project goals should focus on the enhancement and development of an appreciation for nature using native plants. Projects must emphasize involvement of students and volunteers and increase the educational value of the site. Creativity in design is encouraged, but must show complete and thoughtful planning. The use of and teaching about native plants and the native plant community is mandatory, and they must be appropriate to the local eco-region and the site conditions (soil, water, sunlight). The project leader should be knowledgeable and committed.http://www.for-wild.org/sfecvr.html
Millipore Foundation
Purpose and Activities: Through its grant program, the Millipore Foundation provides valuable support in the following areas: Education and Research; Social Services; Culture; Health Care; and Public Policy. They support numerous educational institutions and programs, with an emphasis on primary and secondary education (grades K through 12). They also fund institutions and other organizations engaged in research and training–primarily in the life sciences and biotechnology fields.http://www.millipore.com/corporate/milliporefoundation.nsf/home
The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education
Purpose and Activities: The NEA Foundation provides $2,000 and $5,000 grants to public school teachers, public school education support professionals, and faculty and staff in public higher education institutions for the purpose of engaging in high-quality professional development or implementing project-based learning and break-the-mold innovations that raise student achievement. Grants are broken into two categories: Learning and Leadership (Professional teacher development that will improve practice, curriculum, and student achievement–Individual grants awarded in this category only) and Innovation (creative project based-learning– More specifics are on website) http://www.nfie.org/grants.htm
Office Depot
Purpose and Activities: The mission of Office Depot’s Taking Care of Kids program is to directly impact the quality of life for children; their education, health, and welfare. http://www.community.officedepot.com/default.asp
Teammates for Kids Foundation
Purpose and Activities: The Teammates for Kids Foundation accepts proposals for grants from nonprofit organizations that specialize in working with children. Grants from the Foundation support the on-going work of operating organizations that help needy children in the areas of health, education and inner-city services. Within education grants the Foundation supports grants that encourage educational achievement in areas of documented weakness, grants that promote advanced learning opportunities to gifted children who would otherwise lack the resources necessary to pursue dreams and talents, and grants that expose children to learning opportunities they would otherwise not experience due to insufficient financial resources.http://www.touchemall.com/index.htm
Toyota TAPESTRY Grant Program
Purpose and Activities: Toyota TAPESTRY grants will be awarded to one-year long projects that center on either environmental science education, physical science applications (applied physics, chemistry, and technology), or science and literacy. Projects should demonstrate creativity, involve risk-taking, possess a visionary quality, and model a novel way of presenting science. Projects should involve hands-on activities, have an interdisciplinary approach and relate science to students’ lives. http://www.nsta.org/programs/tapestry/
Youth Garden Grant Program
Purpose and Activities: NGA’s Youth Garden Grants program has helped more than 1.2 million youngsters reap rewards and vital life lessons from working in gardens and habitats. http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=52778
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