Funding, Grants & Awards

Motorola Foundation Funds Florida STEM Projects

• By Michael Hart
• 08/26/15

For the fifth year, the Motorola Solutions Foundation will fund grants to Florida school districts with projects for students that foster and support initiatives involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The Motorola foundation will give a large grant to the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (CFEC), which will oversee the projects and distribute the funding to districts.

"A critical component of engaging today's students and encouraging them to consider careers in the STEM arena is providing hands-on learning opportunities," said CFEF President Mary Chance. "The Motorola Solutions Foundation gives students the chance to truly understand how classroom curriculum translates into real world employment."

 Over the previous four years, Motorola distributed an average of $50,000 per year in $5,000 Innovation Generation grants. As a consequence, 39 projects in Florida schools were completed involving more than 11,000 students. Priority is given to projects that involve girls and underrepresented minorities. Past projects have involved students engineering human-powered submarines, using phytoremediation to remove poisonous arsenic from soil and developing new mobile apps.

The Motorola Solutions Foundation is the charitable and philanthropic arm of Motorola Solutions and the CFEC is an organization of more than 60 educational foundations throughout the state working to build public-private partnerships to improve education for Florida students.

"Organizations like the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations are teaching tomorrow's leaders that careers in engineering and technology are not only fun, but also within their reach," said Matt Blakely, director of the Motorola Solutions Foundation.