School Grant Spotlight
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New for 2017, SparkFun has launched a formal grant program that is awarding prize packages and sponsorships on the monthly basis to educational and non-profit organizations to support makerspaces, coding, robotics labs and STEM- and STEAM-related activities.
SparkFun is not your usual ed tech company. Its focus is on "electronics literacy," with a strong emphasis on making and coding. It specializes in distributing hardware based on open source designs and currently offers some 2,000 open source "components and widgets."
As for the new grant program, the SparkFun Community Partner program doesn't award pre-determined prize packages. Rather, it asks applicants what their needs are (a package of products, a sponsorship, etc.) and bases its awards on those needs. Awards "tend to be" in the $100 to $500 range, including free hardware — from individual micro-controller boards to full invention kits. According to SparkFun, some of the popular award requests have included:
- • SparkFun Inventor's Kit (pictured);
- • SparkFun Tinker Kit;
- • Intel Edison products, including the Open Power Starter Pack and others;
- • Lilypad Sewable Electronics Kit (bringing crafts into engineering);
- • SparkFun Pico Board;
- • SparkFun Digital Sandbox;
- • Arduino Mega 2560 R3.
According to the company: "SparkFun looks for individuals and organizations who embrace maker values of open source, collaboration, playfulness, learning at all levels, and making the world a better place. Our community partners will demonstrate a noble cause, a vital need and an inspiring story....."
Full details can be found on SparkFun's Community Partner site here.
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Grant News
Acer America has begun accepting entries for its Acer Extreme Classroom Tech Makeover program that gives educators at K–12 schools in the United States the opportunity to transform their classroom with technology. Acer will be awarding one classroom a set of Acer Switch Alpha 12 two-in-one notebooks, valued at $20,000. MoreThe number of E-rate requests for high-speed internet has doubled since last year, according to the 2016 E-Rate Trends Report, prepared by Oklahoma-based consulting group Funds for Learning. More
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Upcoming K–12 Grants
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Sponsor: Acer
Award: $20,000 in Acer equipment (a classroom set of Acer Switch Alpha 12 two-in-one notebooks)
Number of Awards: 1
Application Deadline: March 31
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Sponsor: SparkFun
Award: STEM/STEAM-releated prize packages, event and team sponsorships and other types of support
Number of Awards: Varies
Application Deadline: Third Thursday of each month; awards announced on the last business day of each month
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Sponsor: United States Department of Education
Award: $12 million to $15 million over a period of three to five years
Number of Awards: 23 to 30
Application Deadline: April 11
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Sponsor: McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation
Award: $30,000 maximum ($10,000 over three years)
Number of Awards: Not specified (five awarded last year)
Application Deadline: April 15
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Sponsor: McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation
Award: $30,000 maximum ($10,000 over three years)
Number of Awards: Not specified (two awarded last year)
Application Deadline: April 15 (submissions open Jan. 15)
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Sponsor: Siemens Foundation
Award: $10,000
Number of Awards: 1
Application Deadline: April 28, 5 p.m. ET
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Sponsor: Crayola and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
Award: $2,500 plus $1,000 in Crayola gear
Number of Awards: Up to 20 major prizes, plus one Crayola Classpack for every applicant submitting by the early bird deadline
Application Deadline: June 23 (June 5 for early bird prize)
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Sponsor: Toshiba America Foundation
Award: Two categories: Up to $5,000 and more than $5,000
Number of Awards: Not specified
Application Deadline: Up to $5,000 awarded on a rolling basis; Aug. 1 deadline for applications for more than $5,000
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Deadline: Ongoing
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Deadline: Ongoing
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Deadline: Ongoing
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Deadline: Ongoing
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Deadline: Ongoing
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Deadline: Ongoing
Award: No more than 10 percent of an organization's annual operating expenses or 25 percent of the total budget for the project being funded; awards have ranged from the hundreds to the millions of dollars.
Number of Awards: Varies
Qualification: Project should "directly serve or impact children living in urban poverty, particularly in the areas of education, family economic stability (including microfinance) and childhood health."
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Deadline: Ongoing (approx. 10 awards per month)
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Deadline: Ongoing (grants awarded on a rolling basis)
Call for Papers & Proposals
Upcoming Events
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March 2–4
New Orleans, LA
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March 6–9
Austin, TX
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March 12–16, 2017
San Diego, CA
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March 15–18
Palm Springs, CA
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March 30–April 2
Los Angeles
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March 31–April 1
Providence, RI
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April 3–6
Chicago
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April 24-25
Boston, MA
- More events at thejournal.com
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May 5–7
Duke University (Durham, NC)
- More events at thejournal.com
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