Sunday, June 24, 2012

Cacti & Journalism Advisers - Five Ideas for Grants




Q.  What do cacti and journalism advisers have in common?

A.  Both have to be tough enough to survive with minimal resources. 

Cacti have to get by with little or no water, and many advisers have to get by with little or no funding.  With that in mind, here are five ways I’ve found to raise cash.  Some of these organizations may be California-specific, though other states may have similar grant-making entities.

1.  DonorsChoose:  Via its website, this organization matches teachers who have funding needs with citizens willing to write the check.  Visit www.donorschoose.org

2.  Your school district’s educational foundation (if your district has one):  A good source of money for classroom and program needs. 

3.  School Site Council:  Every California public school has one of these.  They control a discretionary pot of money for classroom and program needs.  Without Santa Clara High's School Site Council, my students wouldn’t have any textbooks!

4.  NewsSchool:  If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, sign up online to have the local newspaper delivered to your school daily for FREE.  You can order up to 10 copies per week.  Visit www.newsschool.com

5.  California Newspaper Publishers Association:  Each spring, CNPA makes equipment grants to campus newspapers in California that are members.  Becoming a member is as easy as filling out a form.  Visit http://www.cnpa.com, pull down CNPA Foundation from the menu bar and select grants.

Maya Suryaraman
Santa Clara High School
Santa Clara CA

7 comments:

  1. This was a great idea for a post Maya. Thanks for adding it in. I have been trying to do research on this type of thing since school let out this past year and have only found a few things hear and there. Excellent resources!

    Sarah Noah
    Goshen High School
    Goshen, Indiana

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great info., Maya. I agree with #2...we've gotten cameras and recorders that way. I also suggest just asking your principal (particularly if there is a specific need). It's amazing to me how they seem to be able to come up with money if they want to. My predecessor has started the tradition of framing the yearbook covers and displaying them on the wall. Unfortunately, he was about 4 years behind and it was going to cost more than $500 to do it right. I showed the principal what had been done and what needed to be done and he came through with the money. It means a lot to my kids to have those yearbooks displayed in our room. Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your lead. It is attention-getting and thought provoking.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post, Maya. I emailed it to myself so I don't forget it. May I have your permission to steal, er, use it in my comments to my fellow teachers at my high school who are dealing with programs that lack funding?

    -- Steve Caswell

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have my permission. If you email me in the fall, I can send you more resources. I have a handout in my classroom with a list of other resources.

      Delete
  5. Very helpful information, Maya. Thanks for sharing.

    Steve Elliott
    Arizona State University
    Phoenix

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very helpful information, Maya. Thanks for sharing.

    Steve Elliott
    Arizona State University
    Phoenix

    ReplyDelete