Learning & Leadership Grants

Learning & Leadership Grants

Educators frequently need outside resources to engage in meaningful professional development due to limited district funding.

Summer 2024 Application Deadline Date

May 1, 2024

Overview

Through our Learning & Leadership grants, we support the professional development of NEA members by providing grants to:

  • Individuals to participate in high-quality professional development like summer institutes, conferences, seminars, travel abroad programs, or action research.
  • Groups to fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson plan development, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff.

Learning and Leadership grants are intended to provide resources for educators hoping to engage in professional learning that can be implemented in their classrooms. 

We do not fund tuition or board certification. 

“Through the generous support of the NEA Foundation Learning and Leading Grant, I attended the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) qualifying certification seminar. This inventory helps us understand the impact our work has on student learning and development.”

ANNE M. HORNAK, Associate Professor & Chair, Central Michigan University, MT. Pleasant, MI

Funding

Learning & Leadership grants will fund projects up to $5,000. Grants fund activities for 12 months from the date of the award.

Applicants must be teachers, education support professionals, or specialized instructional support personnel and must be current NEA members. Current NEA Foundation grantees are ineligible for this funding opportunity. A successful proposal will also make an individual ineligible for other NEA Foundation funding opportunities, until the grant is successfully completed and closed out.

*Education support professionals (ESPs) are defined as: paraeducators, school bus drivers or other transportation staff, custodial and maintenance staff food services staff, school nurses, health aides and other health and student services staff clerical staff, security staff, skilled trades staff, and technical services staff.

*Specialized instructional support personnel (SISP) include professionals such as school counselors, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, library media specialists, speech pathologists and others.

Grants are available to current members of the National Education Association who are educators in public schools or public institutions of higher education. We especially encourage education support professionals* to apply.

* Education support professionals are defined as: para-educators, school bus drivers, maintenance and custodial staff, food services staff, school nurses and student services workers, clerical and office assistants, school security officers, and technicians.

Unfortunately, the following groups may not apply as either the lead or partner:

  • Educators who are not members of the National Education Association
  • Employees, members of the board of directors, and immediate family members of the staff and board of the NEA Foundation
  • Employees of the National Education Association

Grant funds can be used for travel, room, meals, registration fees, materials, etc. for individual grants. For group grants, funds can be used for educator stipends, substitute fees, materials, travel, meals, etc.

Grant funds cannot be used to pay indirect costs, grant administration fees, salaries, or lobbying or religious purposes.

Need Help Applying?

Take time to watch this How To Apply video to guide you through our application.

Application Timeline

Application Period

March 1, 2024 - May 1, 2024

Notification: July

Ready to apply?

Applications are now open!

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