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Ideation Grant Application 2024-25

General Instructions:

1. All applications must be submitted via this online system. No paper grants will be accepted.

2. Do not include identifying information in your narrative sections of the grant (campus name, newsletter, proper names of staff)

3. Applications are now accepted on a rolling basis. Please contact the HISD Foundation staff to find out the deadline that applies to your project specifically.

4. You must include or attach an itemized budget.

5. Attachments to your application can be accepted (i.e. artwork, book), but they must not exceed size limits.

6. The Foundation will award projects ranging from $500 - $20,000. The vast majority of projects approved are $5,000 or less.

7. Funds awarded for this program will be available only during the 2024-2025 school year. Any funds unspent by May 31, 2025 will be forfeited and you will need to reapply for funding if you wish to use the funds in a future year. Funding in one year is no guarantee of funding in a future year.

8. You must receive approval from your supervisor prior to submitting this request.

Allowable Costs/ Activities:

1. The Foundation’s focus for funding is for materials, supplies, and equipment. The Foundation does not fund salaries and stipends through this fund. Applications requesting funds for salaries or stipends will be disqualified prior to review. Very occasionally, the HISD Foundation will allow funding for outside consultants or funds designed to reward performance (metrics for award must be outlined and met prior to award).

2. The Foundation will consider requests for field trip and equipment purchases, but not when these are an end to themselves. Such expenditures should be just one component of a well-planned project, integrated with curriculum materials and activities. Separately, the HISD Foundation is unlikely to provide funding for staff celebrations or student parties that do not have a specific objective related to the overall grant.

3. The Foundation will consider requests for staff development activities (registration fees to attend workshops, training, conferences, or bringing in a consultant) but, only when these activities represent one component of a well-planned project, integrated with other activities that directly impact students. We will not fund coaches or consultants focused on teaching or the implementing the standard curriculum. The HISD Foundation Ideation Fund also will NOT fund tuition towards degrees or certification programs.

4. The HISD Foundation Ideation Fund generally will not fund travel-related costs such as lodging, per diem, airfare, or mileage reimbursement for staff. On occasion, the HISD Foundation may consider funding certain parts of travel when there is evidence of effort to be economical. (For instance, if four staff members are traveling for PD and a very affordable rental on AirBNB can be found, we can consider it).

5. The HISD Foundation will not award money to be used for gift cards or other cash equivalents for any reason. Applications that include requests for gift cards or other cash equivalents will be disqualified prior to review.

6. Be sure to include shipping and handling costs - use actual costs or estimates.

7. Additional funds will not be awarded after the fact due to budget errors or price increases.

Technology & Construction Request Instructions

1. If your project involves adding technology through the purchase of hardware or software, you are strongly encouraged to talk with Purchasing to see if the technology has been approved.

2. If the software being requested has not been approved, then you must contact your supervisor or the HISD Technology Department to begin this approval process.

3. If any aspect of the project is for construction (e.g. play structures, landscaping, digging, changes to facilities) you will need to reach out to the appropriate HISD department for approval and upload the letter of approval.

I have read and understood each guideline. *

Yes

Applicant Information

First Name *

Last Name *

Work Email Address *

Personal Email Address
(used for long-term research purposes) *

Personal Phone Number
(used for long-term research purposes) *

Houston ISD Campus or Department Name
Enter the full name of your Houston ISD campus/department as listed on HISD's website. Please do not abbreviate your school (EX. Lamar High School). If you represent an outside organization partering within HISD, list the name of your organization.
*

Are you an HISD *

Supervisor's Email Address

Supervisor's Approval
A copy of your application will be shared with your Principal/Supervisor prior to advancing to the next step. Please make time to visit with your Principal/Supervisor about this proposed project before you submit it and then answer the question below.

I have met with my Principal/Supervisor to discuss this proposed project. My Principal/Supervisor is in support of this project and agree that any funding received will be implemented as proposed. *

Yes

No (If no, please explain why not) No (If no, please explain why not)

Additional Project Contributors/Grant Writers
Share the names of other contributors to this project. Be sure to number and include each contributor's first
name, last name, and title. (Ex: 1. Jane Doe, 5th Grade Teacher; 2. John Doe, Coach, etc...)

*

0/500 characters

Collaborating Campus
Will this application include collaboration from multiple campuses or departments? *

Yes

No

List the Collaborating Campus names, contact, contact's job title, and contact's email address

	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
1	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
2	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
3	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
4	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
5	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
6	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
7	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
8	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
9	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address
10	Full Campus Name	Campus partner's/contact's name	Campus partner's/contact's job title	Campus partner's/contact's email address

Which region of the district will this project primarily benefit? (Please CLICK HERE to view the demographic location of campus) *

Is your campus considered an NES campus? All NES campuses are listed here. *

Yes

No

What % of students at your school or in your proposed program are economically disadvantaged? *

Is your project targeted to assist students classified as SPED, ELL, 504 or Homeless/Refugee? If so, explain how each target population will benefit. *

Project Information

Project Title
Think of a creative title that will grab the reader's attention
*

Project Summary
Describe your new project in 3 to 4 sentences. If your grant request is funded, this brief description will be placed on the foundation's website and be used in press releases to the media. *

0/500 words

What is the most important outcome you hope to achieve for students in implementing this project? *

Has this project previously been funded by the Houston ISD Foundation? *

Yes

No

Have you submitted a Grant Report for your previously funded project? *

Yes

No

Not required

Project Campus Level
What is (are) the campus level(s) where the project will take place?
*

Elementary

Middle

High

Grades Impacted
Check off the grade levels that will be impacted by this project *

Which stakeholder group does this project primarily target?
(If the project offers professional development to staff, the answer is staff, even if it eventually benefits students) *

Faculty/Staff

Current Students

Broader HISD Community (includes parents and alumni)

The Estimate of Student Impact
What is the estimated number of students this project will impact during the project period? *

The Estimate of Staff Impact
What is the estimated number of staff this project will impact during the project period? *

Primary Academic/Program Area
What is the primary content area that most accurately defines your project? *

Project Description (This section is required if your project request exceeds $5,000)

Statement of Need
Provide a thorough description of the needs this project will address. Be sure to use any demographic, academic, survey, or historical data to support the issue at hand and why it needs to be addressed at this time. Also, include the target population, number of beneficiaries, and a clear picture of how things at the present state are in need of change.
*

0/3000 words

Project Design
Now that you have identified the need, tell us how you plan to solve the need using specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound (SMART) objectives, when possible.

Describe your project in thorough detail. The following questions are included to spark your thinking but should be addressed in narrative format and not answered directly as listed.

- What will your project do to impact student learning?
- What activities do you plan to implement with grant funds?
- Where will activities happen? How many students?
- Specifically, how will your project improve, advance, or enrich student learning?
- How does this project support the district’s mission of personalizing learning and/or your campus plan?
- Include research as support for why you want to implement this project.

*

0/5000 words

Communication Plan
In this section, the applicant must explain how they will communicate the project activities to the campus, district, foundation, and other constituents regarding events, progress, etc. The applicant must address how, if funded, they will communicate how the Houston ISD Foundation supported the project. This may include the use of the foundation logo, stewardship, invitations to student showcases, social media, etc. *

0/3000 words

Have you/your/school/your organization taken the time to follow the Houston ISD Foundation on social media? Please do so if you have not already, then check all that apply *

	Applicant follows	Organization/School/Department follows
LinkedIn	Applicant follows	Organization/School/Department follows
Facebook	Applicant follows	Organization/School/Department follows
Twitter	Applicant follows	Organization/School/Department follows
Instagram	Applicant follows	Organization/School/Department follows

Management Plan
The section explains the flow of activities, when/where activities will take place, etc. This should provide a connection for the activities included in the Project Design. Include project-specific activities/tasks that will define your project and showcase well-planned implementation strategies. Also, include who is responsible for carrying out each activity, listing a person's title, and not their specific name. *

0/3000 words

If this grant is awarded, I agree to publicize the Houston ISD Foundation's support *

Yes

No

If this grant is awarded and successful, I would be willing to share information about my project's success at HISD Foundation events *

Yes

No

I would like to serve as a Houston ISD Foundation Ambassador to my school community or department, sharing information about opportunities for funding from the Foundation and opportunities to support the Foundation. *

Yes

No

Budget Information

Budget Narrative
Explain any amounts listed in the Ideation Grant Budget Template that you attached that is not clearly itemized (large amount) or obvious as an expense to a reviewer reading the other portions of the grant application.

Explain how the project can be adapted if partially funded. If this grant will serve multiple collaborating campuses, how much funding will each campus receive if awarded the full funding amount?

(Remember, do not include campus names! Be sure to check your math.)

*

0/2500 words

Amount Requested
Type in the number of funds being requested. Whole numbers only. Do not include cents. *

Partial Amount Requested
If a partial award can be accepted, what is this amount? Whole numbers only. Do not include cents. *

Budget Upload
Please upload an excel copy of your budget (Please find a budget template here)

Supporting Documents (Optional)

Attachment Upload
Include other attachments that support your project. Be sure to explain the relationship of the attachment to the project.

Explain the relationship of the attachment to the project

Consent & Submission

In submitting this application to the Houston ISD Education Foundation, I certify that all of the information provided is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I understand that the contents of this application may be shared with district stakeholders and educators upon request. Please type your full name below as a digital signature. *