Mini Grant Opportunities

This Week's Web 2.0 Wows

This week I am sharing two sites for writing mini grants.  The sites are very similar and both are worth giving a try.

Grants can be a bit of a hassle, but these grants do not require a lot of time to write.  One very nice thing about writing grants for projects is that it helps you to focus on what you plan to do with equipment and not just what stuff you will get.  You focus on the verbs not the nouns.

Both of these grant sources are great for items under $500.  I know teachers who have received novel sets, dictionaries, web cams, cameras, microphones, playground equipment, etc. As the year progresses and I hear of grants you may be interested in, I will share those with you.

Digital Wish:
Like a gift registry, teachers can create a "wish list" of needed technology products for their classrooms. Educators describe how each resource will be utilized, write project plans, and tell the story of their classroom. Visiting donors can elect to buy items from the teacher's wish list, or donate money directly to a classroom so that wish list items can be purchased. Right now, Digital Wish has a special promotion going on. Digital Wish has partnered with Flip Video cameras.  You get 2 Flip Ultra 120 minute cameras for $150.  You can purchase them yourself, or better yet, put them on your wish list for others to purchase for your class.

DonorsChoose.org   is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need.

Here's how it works: public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. Then, people can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that makes their eye twinkle. Once a project reaches its funding goal, Donors Choose delivers the materials to the school

Teachers in our district have been very successful in getting projects funded through Donors Choose.