Grants
Grants
Small Grants. Big Hearts.
With the $4,000 raised through a mini-grant, donations, and fundraising, Liberty Middle School’s Physical Education Department rented sport wheelchairs and facilitated adapted sports for eight days. The project aimed to enhance students’ understanding of cultural complexities and inclusion by allowing them to experience wheelchair sports and learn about the importance of inclusion from Hope Incorporated. Counseling and Physical Education teams collaborated on lessons about compassion and inclusion, aligning with the district’s graduate profile goals. Surveys showed increased awareness and appreciation for adapted sports among students, with significant improvements in recognizing the importance and challenges of wheelchair sports.
Grant Guidelines
- Applicants may be a single teacher, a group of teachers/staff, a teacher-parent group, or another West Fargo Public School District employee or employee group.
- There is a total of $5,000 available for distribution. The award maximum has been set at $500 for each recipient.
How to Apply
- The building principal, as well as any necessary department leaders (curriculum/technology/special education/CTE/EL/MTSS, etc), need to be consulted about the grant application before submission. This is to avoid duplication and to ensure that the project cost is not currently funded through the district’s general funding process.
- The composition and appearance of the proposal are important; grants are public information and are available for all donors and reviewers to read.
All grant applications will be scored using the same rubric. Still, applications will be coded into one of four different categories: K-5, 6-8, 9-12, and all other specialty programs (Community High School, Early Childhood Special Education, ELL, Special Education, and before/after school programs). The number of grants awarded to a program or building in a year is not restricted.
Review Process
- Once the grant window closes, all proposals will first be reviewed by a district-level team of administrators. Additional information may be requested at this time from the grant applicant.
- A Grant Review Committee, composed of both Foundation members and district staff, will then review all proposals, score them based on the attached rubric, and make recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for approval.
- All applicants will be informed of their proposal status before the holiday break.
- Grantees must submit a final evaluation report. The Foundation will send an email reminder when reports are due.