"Do not go where the path leads;
Rather, go where there is no path and leave a trail."
-Emerson

The old saying says "never look a gift horse in the mouth," and it never is more true than when applied to education. For all the monies funneled into public education, there are thousands of worthy grassroots initiatives out there, from innovative Reading and Math programs to visionary technology and science proposals. The go-getters amongst us know that securing grant monies to fund a groundbreaking initiative can be the best way to get a project off the ground and running. Of course there's the old standby government grant programs which you can sift through using the Federal Register http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance http://www.cfda.gov/. But what about all the corporate and private sources of funding out there? This week's issue is dedicated to bringing you the very best online leads on finding the grant monies that are right for you.

If you're looking for a master list of all kinds of nonprofit foundations that issue grants you may wish to look at my original grants and funding issue at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Innovative-Teaching/message/74. For a look at some major corporate sources of funding, consider my last grants and funding newsletter at http://surfaquarium.com/newsletter/grants.htm. If you have other great sources not listed here, feel free to send them in and I'll disseminate the information to all our subscribers. Thanks to Jerry B as always for his input on this week's topic!

Education Week - http://www.educationweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=09grants.h22

Hot off the presses, Education Week lists grants already awarded and grants yet available for corporate, private and federal sources. Excellent annotations and up-to-date contact information make this recent presentation an invaluable resource for educators everywhere.

Education World - http://db.education-world.com/perl/browse?cat_id=1854

This 2000 publication by Education World presents 52 possible sources of grants for educators, from the always-dependable government agencies to some less-obvious sources you may not be aware of. Don't let the broken images bother you; the links are all that matter.

Foundation Center - http://www.fdncenter.org/funders/

Fully searchable listings of foundations, corporations and charities, along with a sector search tool that indexes the most useful web sites for more targeted results. You can even research a foundation's financial health by searching for its form 990-PF.

Fundsnet - http://www.fundsnetservices.com/educ01.htm

With all of these 100+ links verified as of October 1st, this annotated list of education grants is a veritable gold mine of possibilities. Click on the More Education Funding link at the bottom of the page and discover another full listing of grants related to education.

Grants and Grant Writing - http://www.eduscapes.com/tap/topic94.htm

Annette Lamb of Eduscapes offers this extensive hotlist of sources for school funding. The hotlist of links for Grants for 2002-2003 is especially useful and is up-to-date as of this past July. It includes many of the big names in educational philanthropy with quick links to each foundation's online presence.

Getting Grants - http://www.libraryspot.com/features/grantsfeature.htm

The Library Spot offers this extensive collection of links on proposal planning and writing, sample proposals, and grant sources from both public and private sectors. The collection on how to sharpen your proposal writing skills is definitely the meat of their offerings.

Great Grants - http://www.cof.org/whatis/grants/index.htm

The Council on Foundations offers this searchable database of any and all private grants offered around the world. Just indicate a category (such as Education) and a region or location and you will quickly receive a hotlist tailored for your interests. Click on the details link to find thorough grant and contact information.

McREL Funding for Technology - http://www.mcrel.org/products/tech/technology/funding.asp

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning has put together this easy-on-the-eyes site that offers you quick referencing of reports, articles, and bibliographies, strategies, grant writing tips, and funding sources. See also http://www.mcrel.org/resources/links/funding.asp for more links.

Pitsco Grant Resources - http://www.pitsco.com/Resources/grants.html

Pitsco offers this clean, streamlined list of many popular grant sources as well as some foundations you won't find listed anywhere else. Includes a dated but interesting presentation by Alan November on using grants to fund school initiatives.

Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology - http://www.pt3.org/

The much heralded PT3 program has been a great source of monies for large-scale initiatives aimed at integrating technology into education through teacher training and support. While these grants are very competitive, they can be a wonderful source of funding if your program meets the specifications outlined on this site.

SchoolGrants - http://www.schoolgrants.org/

SchoolGrants is a great online spot to identify grant opportunities and other assistance to help you in finding funding for supplemental programs for your students. Founded by Donna Fernandez of Dallas, it includes the Bring Home the Bacon discussion list that allows you to pick the brains of other educators who are already savvy in securing grant monies.

WestEd - http://www.wested.org/tie/grant.html

Looking for technology-specific grants? This page is chocked full of online and offline resources that will keep you in the loop of what's available and what's coming down the pike. There's at least a complete mailing address for each granting organization to help you start the process.

Find More Great Resources at

 

Next week's topic: "Fifty States"

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