Founders Grant for Educational Excellence
TOTAL AWARD: $40,000
PURPOSE OF FUNDS:
In celebration of two decades of creating powerful classrooms and inspiring futures, the WASD Education Foundation is pleased to present the Founders Grant for Educational Excellence. The WASDEF is offering a competitive $20,000 award to be matched by the Williamsport Area School District (WASD) for a sum of $40,000. All proposed projects must directly align with and support the missions of both WASDEF, which is to create powerful classrooms and inspire futures, and WASD, which is to develop responsible citizens through excellence in education.
The Founders Grant is designed to give WASD educators and administrators the opportunity to enhance educational, cultural, and athletic opportunities and experiences through innovative and creative projects and programs. Project or program proposals must be based on a clearly demonstrated need, supported by relevant data, and designed to produce measurable outcomes that directly address this need.
Applications must be collaborative (ex. Departmental, grade level teams, building level) in nature with an emphasis on one or more of the following:
- technology;
- entrepreneurship;
- environmental literacy;
- career development and exploration;
- social emotional;
- health wellness/nutrition;
- STEM/STEAMS/STEELS;
- leadership development/academy;
- mentorship programming;
- communications;
- community engagement/development;
- other
Applicants are encouraged to develop projects or programs that bridge multiple focus areas (e.g., integrating technology, STEM, and environmental literacy) to foster innovation through the combination of diverse areas of expertise. Grants will be awarded based on the strength of innovation, creativity, educational value, enrichment benefits, and the sustainability of the proposed activity.
Details about the requirements for the Letter of Intent (LOI) can be found in the RFP, which can be downloaded by clicking on the button above. Final LOI submissions should be in PDF format and sent via email to Greg Hayes at ghayes@wasd.org.
Application Timeline:
1. Announcement: Sept. 20, 2024
2. Letters of Intent (LOI) due: Friday, Nov. 8, 2024
3. LOI review period: Nov. 9 – Jan. 10, 2025
4. Invitations to apply announced: Jan. 13, 2025
5. Full Applications Due: April 11, 2025
6. Finalists present to WASDEF Board: April 28, 2025
7. Board presentations: May 14, 2025
8. Final Awards Announced: Fall 2025