Grants
As of June 2023 over $185,000 has been awarded to educators with innovative ideas to support learning in DASD.
Learning Grant Applications
DCEF Learning Grants empower DASD educators to bring to life education related or curriculum related passion projects that impact learning across academic disciplines. Each year, DCEF aims to award $25,000+ for programs or activities that fall outside the district operating budget. Grants are awarded until funds are depleted. We want yours to be the next!
Please complete simple Pre-application Form. You will be contacted by a member of the Grants Committee who will serve as your liaison. The liaison’s role is to act as the ‘go-to person’ for any questions or concerns grantees might have about their grant application, its implementation, purchases, etc. We want to make it as simple and easy as possible so you can spend your time doing what you do best...helping kids learn!
For more information about Learning Grants: Grant Application Guide
The James Lee and Annanette Harper Family Foundation has gifted DCEF with $10,000 to be awarded for grants for projects in the area of ARTS, CULTURE AND HUMANITIES. Using form, sound, color, language and movement, artists help us interpret the past, understand the present and envision a better future. We are looking for grant requests from teachers that help students, particularly the invisible students, feel empowered over their own lives - forming creative, independent, productive citizens of the world. We encourage educators from different disciplines to collaborate to submit projects.
Jeff Singleton, long time DASD educator, with his wife Priscilla has gifted DCEF with $10,000 and established the Emily Singleton Fund in memory of his daughter. Emily was best known around the District for her music and theater gifts but she was a tireless organizer for international relief efforts as well. She was cofounder of "Generation for Africa", a DASD student organization devoted to ending the conscription of child soldiers in Africa. We are looking for grant applications that focus on SERVICE LEARNING - LOCAL & GLOBAL.
Friends and family of Kathryn Martinoli have established the Kathryn Martinoli Memorial Library Fund in memory of Kathryn Loftus Martinoli. Kathy taught in the libraries in the Downingtown Area School District for 26 years, including Uwchlan Hills Elementary School, Bradford Heights Elementary School, and Downingtown Middle School. During her time in DASD, she read an inordinate number of books so she could pair up a child with the perfect read, shared countless scary stories with her library classes every Halloween, and froze during her winter outdoor bus duty assignments. Kathy retired in June 2013. We are looking for grant applications from librarians that will improve the library capability by providing written or electronic reading or reference materials, hardware or software for accessing electronic files, or other materials that will aid in the mission of the library or will improve library infrastructure to make the facility more accessible and comfortable to the student population. Applications should not exceed $1,000 and are not generally funded or anticipated to be funded in the DASD annual budget. Pre-application Form.
Deadlines for Pre-Applications are November 15, 2023 and March 15, 2024. Once you submit your pre-application someone from the Grants Committee will work with you to complete a full proposal for board review.
Student Empowerment Mini-Grants
DCEF wants to support you to PURSUE YOUR PASSION and to DO GOOD by offering up to $1,000 mini-grants.
What problems do you see in your school or community, large or small, and what are your ideas on how to take action for substantial change? We know you are willing to ask hard questions and find creative solutions. We know you have the courage to think outside the box and make an impact that is greater than yourself.
WHO CAN APPLY? Students in grades 1-12 are eligible to apply.
ELIGIBLE PROPOSALS: Must be for projects that connect what you are learning in school to community service. Not a ‘go-fund-me’ or a donation by the foundation to a worthy charity, but a way for the education foundation to help fund YOU, as you learn new things and imagine a project to help your school, local community or the world. We do not fund senior projects or eagle scout projects. Collaborative requests are encouraged. You will need to find a teacher who will work with you on your idea. Your parent or guardian must also endorse the project.
EVALUATION & SELECTION CRITERIA: Grants are accepted all year long and reviewed on a rolling basis by the Grants Committee. Top rated applications will be funded until available funds are exhausted.
We want to make your great ideas come to life! Please complete mini-grant application form (link below). A member of the DCEF Grants Committee will connect with you and help you through the process. We want to make the process as simple and easy as possible so you can begin to change the world!