Innovation Grants, which for more than 20 years have been available to Westerville City School District employees, are the longest-standing part of the Westerville Education Foundation’s GAP (Grants-Adoption-Projects) Initiative. Due to the WEF’s launch of online program funding opportunities announced earlier, a number of changes to this program are taking place this year:
- WEF has moved to one larger annual grants competition, rather than the two smaller cycles that were used in recent years;
- WEF has removed the cap of $1,000 on the Innovation Grants. While they still hope to award $8,000-$10,000 per year, they are seeking the best proposals, regardless of the costs;
- WEF is asking for more detailed documentation, clearer outcomes and a definite commitment to share what was learned with colleagues;
- Funding awarded this spring shall be available as of July 1 in preparation for Summer or Fall 2015; and
- The WEF has revamped its web page to offer better guidance to educators: http://www.westervilleeducationfoundation.com/p/8/grant-information#.VLZ1OCvF-ug
Timeline for the competition is as follows:
- March 6, 2015 – Grant proposals with principal/supervisor’s endorsement is due to District Headquarters. Principals/Supervisors must submit the proposals to Linda Cannon (CannonL@westerville.k12.oh.us) electronically by this date. To meet this deadline, applicants are urged to submit their proposals to their Principals/Supervisors at least 72 hours before this deadline (March 3) to ensure that there is sufficient time for the proposals to be reviewed by supervisors.
- March 9, 2015 – Review by District Leadership Team
- March 10-12, 2015 – Review by WEF Grants Committee
- March 13, 2015 – Submission to WEF Board for review
- March 20, 2015 – Decision by WEF Board
Application forms for the Spring Grant Cycle can be found on the Westerville Education Foundation website.