Grant Writing Tips

Due to school system budget constraints, educators often do not have the necessary resources to give students the STEM education they need to thrive in tomorrow’s workforce.  To overcome this obstacle, teachers can apply for educational grants that provide funding to purchase products and curriculum that will help students reach their full potentials.  

If you have never written a grant proposal, it might seem intimidating.  Here are some tips to make it a little more approachable. 

Grants are simply money “granted” to you by organizations like businesses, city and county government agencies, and community foundations.  The funds are allocated, and they have to go somewhere, so they might as well go to your deserving students!

Research grants that you are likely to get

This will save time in the long run, making your efforts more targeted.  Here are a couple of websites where you can start your search for educational grants: Get ED Funding and Grant Writing Contests.   You can also call your local Chamber of Commerce to see if there are any organizations in your community who offer to fund for innovative ideas.

Grant writing sounds more complicated than it really is

 It is a lot like applying for scholarships, like you may have done back in high school.  You can also think of it like a job application. There is usually a form to fill out with basics like name, school address, grade you teach, etc. (Some applications are completely online and just involve check-marking boxes!)  Then there may be a list of supporting materials the granting agency requests, like a written description of what you will use the money for or a list of your goals. Pretty straightforward so far.

Use clear, simple language and/or graphs to get your point across (this is good news.)  

The granting organizations do not want anything fancy or long, because they don’t have time to read it. Simply state your points as cleanly as possible.  

Knowing ahead of time what you will use the grant money for may help you to write a more effective proposal.  Brackitz educational toys offer your students a hands-on education in STEM concepts. Brackitz education encourages design skills and creativity, and demonstrates the math and science principles students are learning in class.  Brackitz STEM toys work for multiple grade levels, and Brackitz provides its own curriculum! You can download sample lesson plans here.

Click here to explore Brackitz educational kits with pricing. And good luck with your grant proposals.  You can do it!