| Additional Resources |
February 2008 News Flash:
M-A PTA awards over $24,000 in mini-grants!
M-A PTA Mini-Grant Program
The M-A PTA offers small grants to aid special programs proposed by teachers, staff, and students. This Mini-Grant program, established in 1999, aims to serve as many Menlo-Atherton students as possible.
The PTA Mini-Grant program encourages grant applications from many segments of the Menlo-Atherton community. You are welcome to apply if you are a:
- teacher
- club leader
- administrator
- staff member
- student
PTA AWARDS MINI-GRANTS
By Judy Hood and Maggie King
At the October 2007 PTA general meeting, the membership voted to award over $17,000 in mini-grant requests to 36 teachers, counselors, staff, and student clubs. This round of PTA mini-grants will support a variety of classroom enrichment materials, improvements, and projects:
- Social Studies: maps, atlases, books, videos
- Science: laboratory supplies, scientific calculators
- Foreign Language: stereo speakers, tape recorders, dry erase board
- Math: overhead transparencies, geometry manipulatives, books, safety compasses, classroom supplies, lectern, microwave, refrigerator
- English: CD players, noise canceling headphones, dry erase board, ESL curriculum
- Journalism: printing cost
- Digital Photography: guest lecturer, lights, stands, paper background
- Health: wheelchair
- Adolescent Counseling: DVD player, brochures, therapeutic sand tray
- Computer Academy: mentor lunches, camcorder for video production, books
- Student Activities and Store: refrigerator
- Outreach Club: Project Backpack, Holiday Gifts for M-A Adopted Families, Student Support Fund
The PTA will fund a second round of mini-grants at its February meeting. Application deadline for the spring round will be Friday, January 25, 2008. We welcome anyone in the M-A community to apply. Please keep in mind that the PTA hopes to benefit as many students as possible with each mini-grant. The Mini-Grant program does not cover salaries and field trips. Sports related requests should be directed to M-A Athletic Boosters.
We strongly encourage everyone to support the PTA through membership donations, e-Scrip and the Fashion Show. For more information about mini-grants, please contact Judy Hood or Maggie King.
What a Mini-Grant Can Fund
To help the M-A community, mini-grants fund:
- supplies
- publications, such as books, magazines, newspapers
- instructional CDs, videos, and software
- electrical or electronic equipment
- furniture
- construction materials for small projects
- leadership support
As stated in the PTA Financial Procedures Made Easier handbook, "The PTA should be guided by the principle that a gift to the school should benefit the largest possible number of students." With this in mind, mini-grants generally fund:
- Requests that benefit more than just a few specific students, with the goal of benefiting the entire M-A community through the Mini-Grant program.
- Requests that impact a wide variety of subject areas and grade levels.
- Requests with a limit of approximately $10 per pupil for any consumable or one-time event funding.
- Requests for partial funding of more expensive projects, if needed.
Please note that, in accordance with PTA guidelines, anything that the Mini-Grant program funds becomes a "donation" to the school or the school district.
What Mini-Grants Can Not Fund
Based on PTA guidelines, here are the general limits of mini-grant funding:
- No field trips, unless they are pre-approved by the district.
(Insurance limitations generally make this impossible.) - No food.
- No athletics-related requests. Please check with Athletic Boosters.
- No projects that benefit just a very few students.
- No furnishings for staff lounge or administrative offices.
How to Apply for a Mini-Grant
A universal funding form titled the Project Funding Proposal is used to request funding from the PTA Mini-Grant program, the Foundation for the Future and the Shared Decision-Making Site Council, and can be used for the Athletic Boosters. You can obtain the form as follows:
- Get a printer-friendly version of the Project Funding Proposal here.
- A funding application is put in the mailbox of every M-A teacher and staff member prior to each funding deadline.
- Pick up a funding application form in the PTA mailbox in the school office.
Submitting an Application
- To submit a printed application, place it in the the Mini-Grant box under the PTA mailbox.
- To submit the application electronically, email the completed application to Maggie King.
- To submit an application by mail, send it to the following address so that it is received by the application deadline:
PTA Mini-Grant Program
Menlo-Atherton High School
555 Middlefield Road
Atherton, CA 94027
Application Deadlines
Funding of mini-grants is voted upon by PTA members at the October and February general meetings held on the first Wednesday of the month. Funding proposals are generally due two Fridays prior to the PTA meeting. The 2007-2008 deadlines are:
|
Quarter
|
Application Deadline
|
Funding Decision
|
| Fall 2007 | September 21, 2007 | October 3, 2007 |
| Winter/Spring 2008 | January 25, 2008 | February 6, 2008 |
Hints for a successful application
- Free free to contact us with any questions. The Mini-Grant program is more a cooperative than a competitive process.
- Make sure to fill out the application completely.
- Complete and submit the application before the deadline date and time.
- Be as specific as possible about how you would spend the grant money. The committee will use the information you provide in order to evaluate your proposal. So tell us everything you think we should know.
- Be clear and thoughtful about how the M-A community will benefit from what you propose.
- Check out Secondary School Educators: Grant Writing Tips. Techniques for finding appropriate grant funding.
- SchoolGrants.Org: Grant-writing tips; more elaborate than required for the Mini-Grants program but still very wise and useful.
Questions on the process? Contact:
* Maggie King
* Judy Hood
Additional Resources
Here are some resources that M-A teachers, staff, and others can use to find alternative funding, funding for larger projects, and funding for projects outside the mission of the M-A Mini-Grant program. If you know of additional funding sources that others would find helpful, please email Maggie King.
Grant Sources at Menlo-Atherton High School
- Foundation for the Future: Raises funds for academic and enrichment programs; seeks to serve all students. Funds student leadership, mentoring and tutoring programs, capital improvements, athletic equipment and uniforms. Does not fund furniture. Contact Cindy Folker at 322-5311, ext. 5206.
- Shared Decision-Making Site Council (SDMSC): The former Site Council and Site-Based Management have merged to form a new committee called the SDMSC.
- School Improvement Program (SIP). Contact Principal Matthew Zito at (650) 322-5311, ext. 5110.
- Menlo-Atherton Athletic Booster Club: Supports athletic teams. Contact Laurie Knapp and Suzanne Amato.
Local Grant Sources
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Grants for secondary education include attention to areas such as: teacher professional development, leadership and management among school staff and administration. Does not fund construction, student aid, equipment or computer purchases. Emphasizes multi-institutional projects.
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Their program on Children, Families, and Communities concentrates on the four local counties, including San Mateo County. This program has given grants that support youth leadership and community activism, teen leadership and service, mentoring, job training, children's health, and food and clothing for needy children.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation Education
grants are a major focus of the foundation's grant making. Specifically includes a Teachers Fund to support educational programs. Areas of specific support include field trips for low-income students, collaboration for school-wide change efforts, literacy, and school-linked social services.
State and National Grant Sources
- SchoolGrants. For K-12. Grant opportunities, grand-writing tips, and sample proposals. A useful gateway to federal, California state, regional, and national grants.
- California Department of Education. Very clear listings of state and federal funding programs for education by topic.
- National Teaching & Learning Forum. Descriptions of numerous grants related to teaching and learning.
- Secondary School Educators: Grant Writing Sources. From About.com. Listings about foundations and federal programs related to education funding sources.
- Secondary School Educators: Grant Writing Tips. Techniques for finding appropriate grant funding.
- The Foundation Center's Learning Lab. Online tutorials on grantseeking, including finding appropriate funding sources, proposal writing. Sometimes offers free courses in San Francisco. Extensive links to foundations.
Questions? Contact Mini-Grant Co-Chairs:
Menlo-Atherton High School
555 Middlefield Rd.
Atherton, CA 94027