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. Adhere to the deadline for submission of applications, which is 11:59 PM on SEPTEMBER 1, 2023. LATE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
4. You must attach the Ideation Grant Budget Template to your application. This has been created to provide more detail for the budget area. An example has been provided inside the spreadsheet.
5. Attachments to your application can be accepted (i.e. artwork, book), but they must not exceed size limits. All funding requests must utilize the district-approved vendor list.
6. The minimum funding level is $500 per proposal.
7. Funds awarded for this program will be available during the 2023-2024 school year.
8. You must receive approval from your supervisor prior to submitting this request. A letter on their professional letterhead or a PDF of the email you received from them stating their approval.
9. If you ask for more than $10,000 in funding, you MUST attend a Grant Ideation Fund Informational Webinar on July 24th or August 2nd at 5 pm. Click here to sign up for an Informational Webinar. A zoom link and calendar invite will be sent to you upon completion.
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.
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.
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. The HISD Foundation Ideation Fund will NOT fund tuition towards degrees or certification programs.
4. The HISD Foundation Ideation Fund will not fund travel-related costs such as lodging, per diem, airfare, or mileage reimbursement.
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 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 the technology is not approved by HISD's Technology Department, the money will be returned to the Foundation.
4. Additionally, if the request is for networked software, there will be a district testing and acceptance process before it can be implemented.