How to Fund Your Work

Securing funding is an essential component of the field working process. Projects need support, whether it's for one-time mailing and photocopying costs, or for an entire team of paid researchers for a period of years.  This section includes our funding guidelines and links to funding sources for specific kinds of fieldwork and education-based grants.




#1: When you seek outside funding, it's important to consider some particulars. You'll need to follow the agency's specific proposal guidelines, posted on their websites or in their brochures, along with their grant applications forms. Learn who they are and why they offer funding.

#2: Sometimes funds come from local service clubs, businesses, or civic organizations eager to support the work of local schools, students, and teachers. Learn their missions, what kinds of projects they want to help, and what kind of assistance they're willing to offer. Look at your own plan and be able to verbalize how your ideas fit their mission . For larger regional or national grants, be sure to read the forms and rules for submission as carefully as you would if you were entering a contest or applying to for your dream job.

#3: If this is your first attempt at asking for funding, it's worth some homework. Some organizations that fund projects provide informational links about grant writing on their websites; some even offer to read and respond to proposal drafts.


    * National Council of Teachers of English
    * National Council for the Social Studies
    * National Council of Teachers of Mathmatics
    * National Science Teachers Association
    * NEH Grants and Funding for Teachers
    * NEA Grants and Programs
    * U.S. Dept of Education Teacher Grants (Ed.gov)
    * Ed.gov's Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology Program (PT3)
    * Also check your state's board of education web site for opportunities
    * Arizona Heritage Project Grants
    * Montana Heritage Project Grants
    * Maine Preservation Poliquin Heritage Grants
    * Grants for Teachers

 

This website was born in 2000 thanks to an “Imagining America” grant from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. We'd love to hear from you about your own grant efforts and suggestions. Tell us about your experiences and share your questions on our Community Blog.

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