Education

43 Best Education Grants for Teachers and Schools

Published on October 24, 2023

It’s no secret that teachers spend money out of their own pockets to make sure students have the tools and resources they need to learn. In fact, a 2021 teacher-spending survey by nonprofit adoptaclassroom.org found that 30% of teachers spend $1,000 or more of their own money on their classrooms during the school year. And they shouldn’t have to do it. Fortunately, there are many companies and organizations that offer education grants, and teachers can definitely use them!

It’s often time-consuming, however, to find the grants that are worth your time to fill out an application. Here is our big list of school grants and classroom education grants for teachers, separated by category so you can easily find the ones that best work for you and your school.

(We are always looking for more resources! Want to submit your education grant to us for review? Send details, including the grant amount and deadline, to resources@weareteachers.com!)

Jump to a section below:

General Education Grants for Teachers and Schools

DonorsChoose

What It Is: Create a fundraiser that allows others to donate toward goals like new school resources or classroom projects. Get crayons, books, cleaning supplies, technology, and more to help students get back to learning.
Award: Varies
Deadline: Ongoing

Voya Unsung Heroes

What It Is: Recognizes innovative and progressive thinking in education by providing grants for educators to fund classroom projects.
Award: Up to $25,000
Deadline: April 30

Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation

What It Is: Dedicated to helping young Americans with disabilities maximize their potential and fully participate in society. A major program emphasis is inclusion: enabling young people with disabilities to have full access to educational, vocational, and recreational opportunities, and to participate alongside their non-disabled peers.
Award: Up to $90,000
Deadline: June 1

ConocoPhillips

What It Is: ConocoPhillips offers Charitable Investment Grants in the areas of education, the arts, health and safety, natural resources, civic and social services, and disaster relief.
Award: Varies
Deadline: July 31

Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

What It Is: Mini-Grant programs give teachers and librarians a unified, flexible way to meet Common Core goals, and offer students a fun experience, a sense of achievement, and a source of pride.
Award: Varies
Deadline: Fall (applications postponed until spring 2025)

Association of American Educators Foundation

What It Is: Classroom grants can be used for a variety of projects and materials, including but not limited to books, software, calculators, math manipulatives, art supplies, audiovisual equipment, and lab materials.
Award: $500
Deadline: October 1/March 1

Casey’s Cash for Classrooms Grant Program

What It Is: In 2021, Casey’s awarded $1 million to benefit K-12 public and nonprofit private schools through 99 grants. Categories included physical improvements, material needs, teacher support, and community engagement. (Note: Open to K-12 public and private schools within Casey’s 16-state footprint: IA, IL, IN, AR, NE, MO, KS, KY, MI, MN, ND, OH, OK, SD, TN, WI.)
Award: $3,000 to $50,000
Deadline: November 30

Walmart

What It Is: Providing after-school enrichment, tutoring, or vocational training for low-income individuals and families in the United States.
Award: $250 to $2,500
Deadline: December 31

NEA Learning & Leadership Grants

What It Is: These grants are for teachers and school administrators who are current NEA members. They support educators from districts with limited budgets with the funding to access professional development opportunities.
Award: Between $1,500 and $5,000
Deadlines: December 1 to February 1, March 1 to May 1, and June 15 to September 15

U.S. General Services Administration Computers for Learning Program

What It Is: K-12 educators can apply for this computer grant, which aims to provide students in disadvantaged communities with equipment for their schools.
Award: Varies
Deadline: Registration is ongoing

Fund for Teachers

What It Is: These self-designed teachers grants allow educators to create their own unique professional development opportunities based on what they know they need in order to grow as a teacher.
Award: $5,000 to $10,000
Deadline: April 20

McCarthey Dressman Teacher Development Grants

What It Is: A grant for teachers that can provide individual or small teams of K-12 teachers the opportunity to engage in insightful professional growth and training to bring fresh and innovative teaching strategies and methods to the classroom.
Award: Up to $10,000 per year for three years
Deadline: April 15

Pets in the Classroom

What It Is: This small grants provides financial support toward the purchase of a classroom pet.
Award: $50 to $150 toward a classroom pet
Deadline: Applications open for each school year in August.

Jordan Fundamentals Grant

What It Is: This education grant provides funding for schools with the goal of improving academic outcomes, school communities, teacher-student relations, and teacher development.
Award: The average award is $10,000 but can vary
Deadline: April 15

STEAM Education Grants for Teachers and Schools

Dell

What It Is: The Dell Technologies Grants Support Program helps get your technology projects funded. As a free service, the Grants Program provides customized reports and consultations regarding ongoing annual technology grants that align with your project.
Award: Varies
Deadline: Ongoing

National Girls Collaborative Project

What It Is: Mini-grants are awarded to girl-serving programs that focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to support collaboration, address gaps and overlaps in service, and share exemplary practices.
Award: $1,000
Deadline: Ongoing

Saxena

What It Is: The foundation awards grants and supports programs that have a particular focus on STEM education and around empowering women in the United States and India.
Award: $5,000 to $50,000
Deadline: Ongoing

Verizon

What It Is: For education grants, Verizon Foundation funding is intended to support, among other things, projects that promote science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM”), including, for example, summer or after-school programs, teacher training, and research on improving learning in STEM areas through use of technology. New applications are by invitation only.
Award: Varies
Deadline: Ongoing

Toshiba America Foundation Grants

What It Is: Supports inquiry-based projects designed by individual teachers and small teams of teachers for use in their own classrooms to improve teaching and learning in science and mathematics.
Award: Varies
Deadline: February 1 or August 1 for grades 6-8, October 1 for K-5

AEP

What It Is: AEP has a special interest in science, mathematics, technology, the study of energy and a sustainable environment, and energy efficiency.
Award: $100 to $500
Deadline: February 28

American Chemical Society

What It Is: The ACS-Hach High School Chemistry Classroom Grants support ideas that enhance classroom learning, foster student development, and reveal the wonders of chemistry.
Award: $1,500
Deadline: April 1

Gravely and Paige Grants for STEM Teachers

What It Is: The Gravely and Paige Grants provide grants for elementary schools and middle schools in the United States to promote STEM innovation in the classroom with an emphasis on academic programs.
Award: Up to $1,000
Deadline: July 31

AIAA

What It Is: A clear connection to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) with an emphasis on aerospace must be included in the grant proposal.
Award: Varies
Deadline: August 31

NCTM’s Mathematics Education Trust

What It Is: Funding ranges from $1,500 to $24,000 and is available to help math teachers, prospective teachers, and other math educators improve the teaching and learning of mathematics.
Award: Up to $24,000
Deadline: May 1 and November 1

Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program

What It Is: This grant offers a unique professional development opportunity for K-12 teachers who have taught STEM subjects for at least five years. These educators participate in 10- or 11-month positions in federal agencies or U.S. congressional offices across the country before returning to the classroom.
Award: $6,000 monthly stipend, $1,000 monthly living expenses
Deadline: November 17

National Science Foundation Discovery Research Grant

What It Is: NSF offers this edtech grant to provide funding for STEM programs for pre-K–12 educators with financial need.
Award: Varies
Deadline: Submit a full grant proposal by the first Wednesday in October each year.

ASM’s Kishor M. Kulkarni Distinguished High School Teacher Award

What It Is: A grant to recognize the accomplishments of a high school science teacher who has demonstrated a significant and sustained impact on pre-college-age students.
Award: $2,500
Deadline: June 30

Edward C. Roy Jr. Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching

What It Is: The award is designed to recognize one teacher of grades K-8 each year for their leadership and innovation in Earth science education.
Award: $2,500 and $1,500 grant to attend NSTA Conference
Deadline: January 20

Literacy Education Grants for Teachers and Schools

Believe in Reading

What It Is: Believe in Reading awards grants to existing and provably successful literacy programs.
Award: $1,000 to $10,000
Deadline: Ongoing

Snapdragon

What It Is: Provides books for school/educational libraries for disadvantaged students.
Deadline: February 16

International Literacy Association

What It Is: The Diane Lapp & James Flood Professional Collaborator Award recognizes an ongoing professional collaboration between two or more people who regularly contribute to the professional knowledge base of literacy educators.
Deadline: March 15

Dollar General Literacy Foundation

What It Is: Schools, public libraries, and nonprofit organizations that help students who are below grade level or having trouble reading are eligible to apply.
Award: $4,000
Deadline: May 19

The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation

What It Is: The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation awards grants to organizations that operate a lending bookmobile that travels into neighborhoods populated by underserved youth. For preschool through 8th grade.
Award: $500 to $3,000
Deadline: September 1

American Association of School Librarians Innovative Reading Grant

What It Is: Members of the American Association of School Librarians can apply for this curriculum grant that supports planning and implementing programs to encourage students, particularly struggling learners, to read.
Award: $2,500
Deadline: February 1

The Laura Bush Foundation Grant

What It Is: This grant is intended for high-needs schools with a significant percentage of students who qualify for the free or reduced lunch program.
Award: Varies
Deadline: Ongoing

Arts Education Grants for Teachers and Schools

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation

What It Is: The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation awards grants to organizations for whom a small amount of money can make a big difference. The foundation will consider requests to support schools, museums, and cultural and performing arts programs.
Award: $1,000 to $20,000
Deadline: Ongoing

Classics for Kids Foundation

What It Is: Money granted toward the following instruments: violins, violas, cellos, double basses.
Award: Varies
Deadline: Ongoing

The Mockingbird Foundation

What It Is: The Mockingbird Foundation offers competitive grants to schools and nonprofit organizations that effect improvements in music education for children.
Award: $100 to $10,000
Deadline: January 15

P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education Grants

What It Is: For projects within schools serving all children that integrate the arts into educational programs. The purpose for this grant is to aid and support teachers who wish to establish or maintain an effective learning tool using the visual arts within the school day.
Award: Up to $1,000
Deadline: September 30

Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation

What It Is: Provides vital support services to school districts and new musical instruments to underfunded music programs nationwide. Gives under-represented youth access to the many benefits of music education, leading them to success in school, and inspiring creativity and expression through playing music.
Award: Varies
Deadline: By invitation only

Education Grants for School Grounds

Good Sports

What It Is: Get sports equipment for your school.
Award: Equipment from their catalog
Deadline: Ongoing

Whole Kids Foundation

What It Is: Through their Garden Grant Program, schools and nonprofit organizations turn outdoor spaces into powerful hands-on learning gardens that connect kids with food, spark their curiosity, and support classroom curriculum.
Award: $3,000
Deadline: March 11

Teaching Gardens Grants Program

What It Is: The American Heart Association works with schools to find local sponsors to help fund the installation of raised-bed gardens in schools.
Award: Up to $1,000
Deadline: October 29