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	Last updated 7.11.07

Learning & Leadership Grants

Read about recently awarded grants.

Frequently Asked Questions

Guidelines

Overview:The vision of the NEA Foundation is a great public education for every student.

Purpose: Grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two purposes:

• Grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment.

All professional development must improve practice, curriculum, and student achievement. “One-shot” professional growth experiences, such as attending a national conference or engaging a professional speaker, are discouraged. Decisions regarding the content of the professional growth activities must be based upon an assessment of student work undertaken with colleagues, and must be integrated into the institutional planning process. Grant funds may be used for fees, travel expenses, books, or other materials that enable applicants to learn subject matter, instructional approaches, and skills. Recipients are expected to exercise professional leadership by sharing their new learning with their colleagues.

Amount: The grant amount is $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups engaged in collegial study.

Restrictions: Grant funds may not be used to

• pursue degrees
• pay indirect costs, grant administration fees, or salaries
• support travel costs or conference fees for more than one person

With the exception of study groups, applicants may not use grant funds to pay themselves stipends. Funds may not be used for lobbying or religious purposes. Identical applications will not be considered.

Notification: Applications may be submitted at any time. Applicants are encouraged to plan ahead. Applications are reviewed three times per year, every year.

Please give careful attention to the timeline of your grant. Applications that include activities scheduled prior to the date of notification will not be considered.

Only grant recipients will be notified in writing. A list of grant recipients will be posted on the NEA Foundation's website. Please do not contact the foundation regarding the status of your application.

Duration: Grants will fund activities for twelve months from the date of the award.

Eligibility: Applicants must be practicing U.S.

• public school teachers in grades K–12,
• public school education support professionals, or
• faculty and staff at public higher education institutions.

Preference will be given to members of the National Education Association. The NEA Foundation encourages grant applications from

• teachers with less than seven years of experience in the profession
• education support professionals

The National Education Association uses the following job categories to classify education support professionals in K–16 educational settings: 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. For additional information about jobs classified as education support professionals consult www.nea.org/esphome/.

Employees, members of the board of directors, and immediate family members of the staff and board of the NEA Foundation are not eligible to receive grants. Employees of the National Education Association are not eligible to receive grants.

Application Instructions

Please adhere to the following submission instructions. Failure to comply with these instructions will disqualify the application.

Part I: Applicant Data Sheet

Please complete the data sheet and include the sheet with each copy of your application. For your convenience, the applicant data sheet is available in two formats: Microsoft Word file or pdf file. Hand-printed data sheets will not be accepted. When completing the data sheets please use formal names and avoid nicknames.

Lead Applicant: The lead applicant will be the NEA Foundation’s contact person for award notification, reporting, publicity, and other grant-related activities.

Partner Data: For all Learning & Leadership Grant applications submitted by groups, please complete a data sheet for one partner who will assume leadership of the project should the lead applicant be unable to continue. Applications for group grants without partner data will not be considered. Applications submitted for individual grants do not need parter data.

Fiscal Agent Note: If no fiscal agent is designated on the applicant data sheet, grant funds will be made payable to the lead applicant and reported to the Internal Revenue Service. Because the grant funds may be considered taxable income, the lead applicant may wish to consult with his or her tax advisor before submitting the application. NEA members who elect to designate a fiscal agent are encouraged to consider their local NEA affiliate for this role.

Applications missing lead applicant data will not be considered.

Part II: Narrative and Budget

Please consult our Learning & Leadership Grant Writing Tips.

The first page of this document must be on the letterhead of your institution. Proposals not submitted on letterhead will not be considered. The narrative must be completed in four or fewer double-spaced pages. Handwritten applications will not be accepted. Use twelve-point or larger type and provide at least one-inch margins.

The narrative must address the following items:

1. Provide an abstract/summary of your proposed work of 90 words or less. (For examples, please see the descriptions of our recently funded grants.) Failure to comply with the word limit may lead to disqualification of your application.
   
   
2. What do you propose to learn? How, where, and when will that learning be accomplished? Please specify any learning resources you plan to use and the time frame for your work.
   
   
3. What is the need for such professional development? Describe the way you and your colleagues assessed the need, including the student work used in your process.
   
   
4. How, when, where, and with whom will you share what you have learned?
   
   
5. Provide a line-item budget for the proposed work. Individual grant requests must total $2,000. Group grant requests must total $5,000. Identify any additional support (cash or in-kind) that will be provided by other sources.

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Mail the original and one copy of your application to:

The NEA Foundation
Attn: Learning & Leadership Grants
1201 Sixteenth Street NW, Suite 416
Washington, DC 20036-3207

Please do not staple or bind your application. Applications that do not comply with the guidelines or that include materials not specifically requested by The NEA Foundation will not be reviewed. Applications sent by e-mail or fax, or incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

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SELECTION CRITERIA

• Proposed learning is high quality (see Teachers Take Charge of Their Learning: Transforming Professional Development for Student Success or The ESProfessionals: An Action Guide to Help You in Your Professional Development).
• Proposed learning is directly related to a clear and compelling student need.
• Proposed collegial sharing is interactive and sustained over time.
• Proposed learning is likely to improve student achievement.
• Budget is appropriate to the proposed learning and sharing.

The NEA Foundation may allocate a number of grants based in part on geographic considerations.

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REMEMBER TO

• Check your application for compliance with these guidelines.
• Check one grant category on the data sheet.
• Identify the lead applicant and one partner for a group grant.
• Assign a fiscal agent if desired.
• Obtain your principal’s or dean’s signature on the data sheet.
• Prepare the first page of the proposal narrative on institution letterhead.
• Include the original and one copy of the applicant data sheet(s).
• Enclose the original and one complete copy of your proposal narrative and budget.

Failure to complete any of these items will disqualify your application.