Technology Funding Sources for Schools

Whether your current funding landscape is lush or arid, it's always a good idea for administrators to keep an eye on grants made available through government agencies, foundations, and corporations. Tracking individual agencies is an inefficient use of your time, but there are online resources you can access to find the latest information on a wide range of available funds. Here are links to sites that you will want to bookmark and visit regularly.

• Grants.gov education section is a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and provides access to approximately $500 billion in annual awards.

• U.S. Department of Education Grants Forecast lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the Department has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards and provides actual or estimated deadline dates for the transmittal of applications under these programs.

• Grant Wrangler makes it easier for teachers, librarians, and parents to find funding, including grants and awards for arts, history, mathematics, science, technology, and more. Look at the widget at the top of the page for featured grants!

• Digital Wish provides grants and resources to teachers and educators. There is an option to browse all grants available or sign-up for the service to create a wishlist. Several items are funded on a regular basis.

• Foundation Center is a national nonprofit service organization recognized as the nation’s leading authority on organized philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. grantmakers and their grants; issues a wide variety of print, electronic, and online information resources; conducts and publishes research on trends in foundation growth, giving, and practice; and offers an array of free and affordable educational programs.

• GrantsAlert.com provides teachers, administrators, counselors and related organizations with free access to up-to-date announcements of corporate, foundation, state and federal education funding opportunities and grant writing support.

• Donors Choose provides an avenue for public school teachers to submit project requests for the specific materials their students need to learn. Donors choose which projects to support and once a project is funded, materials are delivered directly to the school. In return, teachers submit photos of the project in use and thank-you notes from students, which are sent to the project’s donors.

• iLoveSchools.com matches donors with any school or teacher needing new or used donations of school equipment, materials, supplies and in-kind services. All at zero cost to the teachers and allowing the donor to select both the recipient teacher as well as how much.. SchoolSupplyDrive.com currently acts as the nonprofit's exclusive online store for a set period of time. Now when teachers create WishLists on iLoveSchools.com, they have the option of shopping through the online store, seamlessly powered by SchoolSupplyDrive.com, or creating custom WishLists for items not found in the store. SchoolSupplyDrive.com also sells school and office equipment, materials and supplies to the general public.