Apply Now for 2016 Grants in Place!

2016 Grants in Place

The Rural Schools Collaborative is now accepting applications for its 2016 Grants in Place program. The application deadline is March 15, 2016. This modest classroom grant program is open to any certified teacher who is employed in a rural public school located in the United States.

All grade levels (K-12) are eligible, and projects or learning activities from any content area will be considered. Strong consideration will be given to interdisciplinary projects. Last year's (2015) Grants in Place recipients are not eligible for the 2016 program.

Grants in Place proposals should feature the basic tenets of place-based education:

• Learning addresses a community problem or issue
• Activities engage students in a community’s history, environment, economy, or culture
• Work involves members of the community
• Student work has a public impact or will be shared with the community

The application process is quite simple. Applicants should submit via email a concept letter not to exceed 250 words. This letter should include the following:

• Name, position, school, and community
• All pertinent contact information
• Name of building administrator and their contact information
• Brief description of your project—include community issue or problem that the project will address
• The role of students in your project
• How community members will be involved
• A very simple project budget

Applications may include more than one classroom or teacher/community organization collaborations. However, one teacher must be designated as the primary contact. Multi-age projects will also be considered.

Typically, grant requests should not exceed $1,000, and matching funds, of any amount, will enhance a project's viability. The Rural Schools Collaborative may want to schedule a brief conference call with applicants whose projects are being considered.

Grant recipients will agree to the following:

• Grant awards will be distributed at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year after verifying that the grant recipient is in the appropriate teaching position.
• Grant recipients will cooperate with the Rural Schools Collaborative to host a Grant Recognition activity.
• Grant recipients will provide materials (photographs, film, slideshows, written pieces, etc.) that demonstrate a project's outcomes.
• Missouri Ozarks' grant recipients are required to attend an April 8th recognition event in Mansfield, Missouri at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum.

Grants in Place applications or related questions should be submitted to: [email protected] .

*Questions regarding eligibility should be submitted to [email protected] .

Funding support for the 2016 Grants in Place program has been provided by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks' Rural Schools Partnership, Sixteenth Section Fund, Madison Audubon Society, Louis L. Coover and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation of Missouri's Commerce Trust, and Bill and Gina Eggert of Cambridge, Wisconsin.

Click here for our Grants in Place Gallery to see the latest on the good work being done by inaugural 2015 grant recipients and their students!

Funding support for the 2015 Grants in Place program was provided by the John and Mary Cooper Charitable Fund, Rural Conservation Fund, South Dakota Innovation Lab, Leadership South Dakota, Richard and Carol Silvey, Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools, Eastern Illinois University's Men's Basketball program, Steve and Laurie Struss, Jay and Nicole Spoohnour, Rand and Molly Chappell, Brent and Jeannie Glover, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Galesburg Community Foundation, and Arkansas' Rural Community Alliance. Thanks to all of these individuals and organizations for their gracious support.