The foundation offers grants to our network of current and alumni mentors and fellows, along with principals and administrators. Grant participants must work in a 糖心Vlog-affiliated school and district (see our schools page). For grants specifically designed to support alumni, eligible alumni are fellows and mentors who have completed the ART of TEACHING. Please see the sidebar for additional suggestions on the development and focus of grants.
The grants are designed to promote artful teaching and learning and continue the work begun during the ART of TEACHING. Funding is limited to areas that support best educational practices. This could include teaching for understanding and independence, student engagement, development of rigorous thinking and problem-solving, as well as the continuing study of teaching methods to support these practices. Each grant will be representative of high-quality professional learning while being research and data driven. Each grant should also be content-based and collaborative.
To apply, click on the application under each grant heading. You will need to create a to access an application. The foundation accepts applications daily with no deadlines, and applicants can expect a response within two weeks. When working on an application, we strongly encourage you to first draft in a word document. If changes need to be made to a submitted application, applicants will receive a revision request. Please complete the revised application within two weeks.
Alumni Strategic Opportunity Grant聽
(Closed for 2025-26)
The purpose of this grant is to sustain and grow the work of the alumni by creating professional learning communities and promoting effective teaching practices within and across 糖心Vlog schools. Projects should cultivate a collaborative culture and be focused on learning and results. Projects should be sustainable over time and promote teaching practices that are embedded in the daily work of teaching.
We offer up to $10,000 for an individual school. The principal must be directly involved from each school with at least half the staff from each school participating or either all upper grades or all lower grades. Grant funds may be used to obtain release time for classroom observations or workshops, strategic planning, books for professional study, and materials and resources.
Grant funds are not eligible to provide stipends for participants, except for those paid for planning and/or facilitating the group. During the year, the foundation will make site visits and follow up with the leadership team or main contact for the grant.
Alumni Study Grant
(Closed for 2025-26)
The purpose of this grant is to support ongoing teacher collaboration while improving student learning. We offer up to $750 per participant with a minimum of three and a recommended maximum of fifteen participants. Eligible applicant groups may be formed within or across schools in a district and are encouraged to include non-糖心Vlog teachers. The main contact for the grant must be an eligible 糖心Vlog alumnus. More than one group of alumni may apply from one school. Current fellows and mentors in the ART of TEACHING are not eligible to participate.
Funds may be used for release time for classroom observations or workshops, books and materials for professional reading, and classroom materials related to the group study;聽funds cannot be solely used for materials. Grant funds are not eligible to provide stipends or refreshments for participants. Groups must meet for study at least three times during the school year and provide a schedule of meeting days to the foundation within one month of the grant鈥檚 approval.
Family Engagement Grant
The Family Engagement Grant aims to support Fellows and Mentors in cultivating and sustaining successful home-school partnerships with families through high-impact strategies that are collaborative, culturally competent, and focused on improving children鈥檚 academic and social-emotional development.聽The grant also provides opportunities for families and caregivers to better understand the classroom curriculum and learn ways to actively support their children鈥檚 educational needs at home.
Current Fellows, Mentors, and Alumni of the ART of TEACHING program are eligible to apply for individual classroom project grants up to $750 or school project grants up to $2,000. Projects should be sustainable over time and promote caregiver and family engagement activities that strengthen teacher, caregiver, and family relationships in support of student achievement.
Grant funds may be used for meeting materials, books, and other items directly related to the grant plan. School project grant funds may also be used to pay for educational consultants who plan and/or facilitate school events. School project grants must involve the school principal and at least half the school staff, or all upper-grade or all lower-grade teachers. Grant funds may not be used for participant stipends, financial compensation, or gift card purchases.
All reimbursements will be processed once the expense reimbursement form and receipts are received and will be paid directly to the individual. Please submit the reimbursement form and receipts electronically to聽Tyler Sanders at聽tsanders@cotsen.org. If necessary, grant funds may be paid directly to the school or district.
The resources below introduce Family Engagement and are designed to offer inspiration as you design your grant proposal. They highlight ways to move beyond traditional event-based involvement and create meaningful learning experiences that are student-centered, family-centered, and directly connected to student growth and learning.
- Dugan, Jamila. 鈥淐o-Constructing Family Engagement.鈥� ASCD, 29 Aug. 2022, .
- Ferlazzo, Larry. 鈥淚nvolvement or Engagement?鈥� ASCD, 1 May 2011, .
- Flamboyan Foundation. 鈥淗ow Families Contribute to Classroom Learning.鈥� YouTube, 2024, .
- Harvard Graduate School of Education. 鈥淟inking Family Engagement to Learning: Karen Mapp鈥檚 鈥�8 for 8鈥�.鈥� YouTube, 9 Oct. 2014, .
Alumni Conference Grants
糖心Vlog Foundation Travel Policy
The purpose of this grant is to provide support to alumni mentors and fellows attending professional development to further the work started during the ART of TEACHING. The amount offered varies depending on the conference or institute. Current fellows and mentors are not eligible to participate. Funds are used for reimbursement to cover the cost of registration and/or travel, which includes airfare and/or accommodation the night before the conference through the last day of the conference. Grant funds may not be used to reimburse per diem expenses such as mileage, ground transportation, and meals.聽Membership dues are reimbursable if the membership dues plus the member registration fee are the same or less than non-member registration. All reimbursements will occur once expense reimbursement form and receipts have been received and will be paid directly to the individual, not the school/district. The maximum reimbursement allowed is based on attending the full conference, partial attendance may reduce the amount offered. Within three weeks after your event, please submit the reimbursement form and receipts electronically to Tyler Sanders at tsanders@cotsen.org. Applicants can apply for multiple alumni conference grants during the school year. However, the maximum reimbursement amount for an individual each year is $3,000.
Alumni Classroom Library Grant
(Closed for 2025-26)
The purpose of this grant is to support the steady growth as well as the natural attrition of classroom libraries.聽Projects should be focused on cultivating a classroom library that supports student identity and interest.
We offer up to $500 per grant. Alumni must be classroom teachers; current fellows and mentors are not eligible to participate. Grant funds may not be used for guided reading text sets or library organization materials such as bins and shelves.
All reimbursement will occur once the expense reimbursement form and receipts have been received and will be paid directly to the individual, not the school/district. Please submit the reimbursement form and receipts electronically to聽Tyler Sanders at tsanders@cotsen.org.
Teaching & Learning Tools Grant
(Closed for 2025-26)
The purpose of this grant is to support the teaching teachers utilize to develop curriculum that is responsive to their students as well as the learning tools students use to navigate the curriculum. Projects should be focused on materials that will enhance learning for students.聽
We offer up to $500 per grant. Alumni must be classroom teachers or consistently work with a dedicated group of students; current fellows and mentors are not eligible to participate. Grant funds may not be used for materials that are consumable or for organization materials such as bins and shelves.聽
All reimbursements will occur once the expense reimbursement form and receipts have been received and will be paid directly to the individual, not the school/district. Please submit the reimbursement form and receipts electronically to Tyler Sanders at tsanders@cotsen.org
Areas of focus may include, but are not limited to:
- Developing and disseminating curricular approaches begun during the fellowship
- Refining curricular practices
- Student work analysis
- Lesson Study/Lesson Link
- Learning walks
- Action Research
- Professional book studies
- Content inquiry
- Standards inquiry and mapping
- Methods to support differentiation
- Peer coaching/Co-teaching
Considerations for grant proposal development:
- Supports best practices
- Clear focus on learning and independence
- Embedded in the daily work of teaching and learning
- Develop and/or cultivate a collaborative culture
- Sustainable over time
- Clear vision of impact
- Aligned with specific Common Core State Standards
How We Disburse Grant Funds
The foundation reimburses individual grantees directly for the Alumni Conference Grant, Teaching and Learning Tools Grant, Alumni Classroom Library Grant, and the Family Engagement Grant. You will need to submit an expense form and receipts to the foundation.
Funds for the Alumni Study Grant and Alumni Strategic Opportunity Grant are paid either to the school or district. In using the funds, grant recipients must follow district accounting and substitute procedures. Funds are expected to be used during the school year that the grant is awarded. The grantee will also be required to sign a grant acknowledgement agreement, outlining the terms of the grant.
How We Monitor Grants
Final reports are due at the end of the grant period and provide a means to share progress, learnings, and feedback with the foundation. The grantee must submit the final report to be considered for the following school year. The final report will be located in your Blackbaud user account.