Grants for School Facilities
A variety of funding sources support the construction and maintenance of school facilities. Government funding supports public schools as well as some other types of schools. Foundations and locally based corporations often provide money for school facilities and programs as well. Look on the websites listed under Resources periodically to learn about new funding announcements.
State Grants
Each state's department of education provides different funding opportunities, some of which support the construction, upkeep and improvement of school facilities. In Montana, for instance, the Quality Schools Facility Grant Program provides funding for planning, making emergency improvements to health or safety problems, bringing schools up to code, using energy-efficient design, meeting technology needs and more.
Impact Aid-Facilities Maintenance
This grant, given by the U.S. Department of Education, funds the maintenance, restoration and improvement of school facilities owned by the federal government. Public elementary and secondary schools may apply for the grant. This grant can be found on the Federal Grants Wire, linked in the Resources section. This website also includes other federal education facilities grants. Prepare to secure funding early by browsing the Department of Education's funding forecast, linked to its homepage.
State Charter School Program
The State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grant Program, sponsored by a division of the U.S. Department of Education, provides funding for charter school facilities. The grant supports both newly founded schools as well as established charter schools looking to make improvements.
Replacement and Repair of Indian Schools
This funding program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior, funds the planning, construction and improvement of schools funded or owned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. One feature unique to this grant is that it will fund major improvements to individual classrooms as well as entire schools. This grant can be found on the Federal Grants Wire.
Foundation Grants
The Foundation Center provides information on foundations that award grants at a local, regional or national level. It requires a subscription for more in-depth information, but check with your administration to see if your school or district already has one. Even without a subscription, you can search for foundations that award funding in your area and then get more details from the websites of each foundation. Grants on this site come from foundations as well as corporations that provide funding for special projects such as gardens, which encourage hands-on learning. The Harvest Grants program sponsored by Welch's and Scholastic, for instance, awards $1,000 to each successful applicant to be used in growing a school garden. See the Public Education Network for full details and other opportunities.
Tags: school facilities, Charter School, Department Education, Federal Grants, Federal Grants Wire, found Federal, found Federal Grants
