Grants
Individuals and groups submit grant applications that describe the educational opportunity, the goals and objectives of the program, the number of students that will benefit from the program, implementation and evaluation plans, and a detailed budget. The SEF Board of Directors evaluates each application and awards grants annually based on merit and available funds.
Grant applications are normally submitted in late November and awards are made in late December. Grant award recipients will be recognized during the SEF annual awards event in late January.
All applicants must submit an application cover page and grant proposal, which includes:
- Introduction - Briefly define the purpose of the project, why it is innovative, and which students will benefit.
- Statement of Need - Describe why this project will be beneficial and why outside funding is needed.
- Goals and Objectives - Describe what the program will accomplish and how it will be accomplished.
- Methods - Discuss the approach that will be utilized and how the project will be implemented to benefit the most students.
- Evaluation - Describe how you will determine whether your objectives have been reached and whether the project has been successful.
- Budget – Please provide details supporting your total dollar request. All budget items must be directly related to the proposed program. Items such as salaries or food should not be included in your budget request.
Historically individual requests are for less than $2,000. Team request budgets can vary widely depending on the intended breadth and/or longevity of the proposal.
On the cover page of the application form signatures from the applicant(s) and the building principal are required. Simply CCing the school principal on your emailed submission will constitute his or her signature. These signatures are to ensure that the proposed project is in accordance with the school's programmatic focus, but it is not meant to require a formal review of the proposal at the school level.
Applications will be reviewed on a competitive basis. The review committee of the Shrewsbury Education Foundation will evaluate and rank proposals solely on the basis of merit.
The grant applications will be evaluated and ranked using the following metrics:
- Creativity and Innovation
- Clarity of Goals and Objectives
- Quality and Longetivity of Impact
- Evaluation Plan
- Realistic Budget
- Collaborative Effort (is encouraged and recognized but not required)
- Quality of Presentation
Projects should meet as many of the following criteria as appropriate:
- Involve as many students as possible
- Stimulate creativity in or out of the classroom
- Meet student’s needs and increase motivation to learn
- Encourage unique ideas
- Enhance or enrich the curriculum
Purposes of the program are to:
- Develop new resources for schools
- Encourage extraordinary curricula