of 20

Current View
Imagine Learning’s
Donor Grant Toolkit
Brought to you by the Grants & Funding Initiatives team.





























Provided for Imagine Learning’s

District and School Partners

imaginelearning.com
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 2

Grant Toolkit Overview

Our Imagine Learning Partner-

Imagine Learning shares each educator’s mission to foster student growth. Our belief in the power

of every learner’s unique potential is what drives us to create dynamic curricula that can adapt to
meet each student where they are. Funding challenges should not be an insurmountable barrier for
students to achieve that mission. We value our partnership and are here to help support the
boundless potential for your students and school communities.


Imagine Learning is sharing some helpful resources and tips on donor relations, secrets and guides
for your grant-seeking and grant-writing efforts, and resources to support your district and school
communities in researching potential grants to further support your education programs and
initiatives. Our purpose in providing this information is to help your school communities pursue
donors, reduce your preparation and grant writing time, improve the quality of your grant
applications, and increase your chances of being selected for funding.

If you should have any questions about Imagine Learning’s solutions and supports, please contact
your dedicated Imagine Learning Account Executive or contact our team
here. Thank you for
entrusting Imagine Learning to support your endeavors in pursuing funding opportunities and
meaningful partnerships with donors.

Best of luck with your endeavors!

The Grants & Funding Initiatives team

Imagine Learning

www.imaginelearning.com/funding

Identify your education needs.

Find potential donors.

Engage donors.

Pursue funding opportunities.

Write grant applications.

Imagine Learning’s
Donor Grant Toolkit
will provide you with
supports to...
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 3



Grant Toolkit Contents



The Donor Landscape ......................................................................................... 4

Identifying Needs ............................................................................................... 5

Engaging Donors ................................................................................................. 6

Secrets of Grant Writing ..................................................................................... 7

The Grant Writing Process ................................................................................. 8

Pinpoint Key Information ................................................................................. 12

Helpful Resources ............................................................................................. 13

Finding donors and grant opportunities .................................................... 13

Philanthropic trends and insights ............................................................... 13

Resources from the School Superintendents Association (AASA) ............. 13

Potential Donors ............................................................................................... 14

Elementary and Secondary Education ....................................................... 14

STEM Education .......................................................................................... 16

Early Childhood Education ......................................................................... 18


Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 4

The Donor Landscape

As the nation continues to be concerned with a potential
economic recession and school community leaders
concerned with a potential 2025 “funding cliff”, there are
many critical decisions districts and schools are facing to
ensure the most critical PreK–12 education needs are
funded and can be sustained for future academic years.

Aside from the primary PreK-12 funding revenue streams
deriving from state and local governments and the federal
government (primarily from the U.S. Department of
Education), districts and schools may also apply to
competitive grant opportunities across a variety of
grantmakers such as individuals, foundations,
corporations and other organizations.

According to CCS Fundraising’s “2023 Philanthropic Landscape”
report, it was
estimated that over $70 billion in charitable giving during 2022 was made to
education, including higher education. Per CCS Fundraising’s 2022
report,
education ranked as the top sector for foundation giving. Giving to education
ranked second behind economic opportunity and equality investments across

corporations’ societal impact investments—“which seek to achieve social
good and financial return for the company.” (Source:
The Conference Board).
Furthermore, across the United States, it is estimated that over 45,800 grantmakers made more than 457,000
grants towards elementary and secondary education during 2019-2023 (Source:
Candid). Keep in mind: as of
April 2024, Candid’s
data collection was still in progress for the 2022-2023 calendar years—meaning, those
estimations will increase.

There are significant investments and donations being made towards education, although, many districts and
schools do not actively pursue these types of funders. This could be due to a variety of reasons such as districts
and schools may simply be unaware of how donors support education, districts and schools may not have the
capacity to research or write grants, or districts and schools might lack the skillsets in approaching donors
and securing grants. Whatever the case may be, Imagine Learning wants to help our district and school
partners recognize the importance of donors’ roles in education and how to establish and grow relations with
donors, specifically foundations and corporations, who are investing into a wide variety of education areas.

So, what does all of this mean to you? It is important for your district and school communities to establish (or
grow) partnerships with funders outside of the typical players (state, local and federal government agencies)

to not only build and increase community relations with donors (especially foundations and corporations),
but to create diversity and sustainability through other education revenue sources for your identified

education areas, programs and needs.



Education Funders (examples)

$70 billion
in charitable giving to
education
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 5


Identifying Needs

Foundations and corporations alike understand the critical importance
they have in supporting the financial, equitable, and sustainable needs
of districts and schools. For example, donors make grants to a wide
range of educational programs in subjects such as reading, math,

Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), computer

science (CS), tutoring, early learning and bilingual education.

Through an
annual survey to funders, issued by Grantmakers for
Education (EdFunders), respondents shared some of their two-year
projections for increasing funding in a variety of education categories
and subjects. The below is a snapshot of some of those trends:


In addition to the funding increases projected and donors’ growing areas of interest as shown above,

programmatic support is one of the leading investments across foundations, followed by capacity building

(Source:
CCS Fundraising). As you pursue donors and applicable grants, it is essential to identify which
education programs you need financial support for before seeking potential donors and aligned grant
opportunities. For example, consider the following:

1. Are there any programs that might be eliminated or cut back due to other dwindling sources of
revenue? If so, identify which ones have the strongest (or potential) student outcomes—donors prefer
high-quality programs and efficacy as they want to see a return on their investment.

2. Which programs are your educators craving to implement in their classrooms but do not have the
budget to do so? For example, programs coveted by your educators are appealing to donors since
they know that creates a favorable environment for strong implementations—especially when a new
program is implemented.

3. Are there any new education policies (or forthcoming legislation) where donors could collaborate and
financially support district-wide implementations? For example, donors may be more willing to invest
in these initiatives due to the requirements for student achievements, efficacy and improved learning.

Once you’ve identified your education programs, then you may begin the process of pursuing qualified donors
(whose giving interests match your community, geographic location, and identified programs) and engaging
with those donors.



Education Programs (examples)

Reading/Literacy
Math STEM/CS
Tutoring
Early
Learning
Bilingual
Education

Funding increases
projected in...

Wraparound supports (social-emotional needs, mental health, trauma-informed care)

Educator shortages, teacher preparation,
and/or professional development

Literacy and reading skills

STEM

High-dosage tutoring

Personalized learning curriculum

Multilingual learners

Special needs education

Growing areas of
interest...

Extended-learning, before-and after-
school programs and summer school
programs

Early learning

Vocational training

Mentorship programs

Family engagement

Source:
Grantmakers for Education “Trends in Education Philanthropy” (2023)
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 6


Engaging Donors

Engaging donors can be a highly rewarding experience. You get to discover the types of foundations and
corporations giving to education, learn about their giving interests, develop relations with local, regional or
national executives and program officers, scale your own network, and, hopefully, reap the benefits for your
community through their investments. Engaging donors can be a lengthy process, so it is important to allocate
time within your schedule to commit to these activities. We are providing suggestions to help facilitate your
approaches to three central stages (cultivate solicit steward) of the donor engagement process:



Cultivate. Building knowledge and relations with a variety of potential donors.

Develop your talking points (community, program, plan, timing, strategies and outcomes, for
example)—be prepared for your conversations (and pitches, not “asks”) to donors.

Connect with your own network for donor referrals—a warm introduction is a strong advantage.

Follow their social media channels and engage with their content—you might also learn of new
funding opportunities (or interests) posted in their feed.

Invite donors to events or site visits—even if they don’t accept, know they appreciate the invitation
and notice your interest in them.

Show your passion for your community when meeting with donors—share success stories (and
challenges) of students, educators and families—don’t be afraid to be vulnerable.

Find out more about them—be careful not to make it only about your interests and needs.

Foster relationships with donors before making the “ask” for funding support.


Solicit. Making the “ask” for financial support.

Keep learning about each donor and their communication preferences—do they accept emails,
calls, meetings or proposals? For example, some donors welcome unsolicited calls, others don’t
accept unsolicited grant proposals or applications.

Make a direct ask for financial support during face-to-face (or virtual) meetings, calls, or events.

Apply to aligned grant opportunities—see our toolkit’s subsequent sections for tips and resources!


Steward. Growing relationships with donors following a grant award.

Acknowledge their investment and thank donors through personalized calls, meetings or emails,
sending formal letters, announcing their gift at events, and sharing on social media.

Grow the relationship and consistently communicate with the donor—involve them in your
program, share success stories, and report back on the program’s impact—this may help grow
future (and larger) investments.
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 7

Secrets of Grant Writing

Don’t panic! Although a lot of people speak about grant writing using the same tones they use to describe a
trip to the dentist, grant-writing can actually be a fun and rewarding (literally) experience. This is because:


Grant writing is easy.

There is no other type of technical writing that is easier:

The donor tells you exactly what they want to know. They even tell you what order to put it in.

You (and your grant team members) are experts on the education subject you are writing about—the
needs for your students, educators and school communities. As such, you already know the answers
to all of the questions they’re going to ask you.


Funders want to give away their money.

For some reason, lots of people forget this. They see grant writing as some sort of audition—like you have to
trick or sweet-talk them into giving you money. The opposite is true: the worst thing to happen to a funder is
that they don’t get enough good applications, so that they aren’t able to fund as much work as they intended.

Because of this:


When in doubt, contact the funder.

It’s true that some funders will not interact with prospective applicants, but most
of them actually will. This is why it is critical for district and school leaders to
engage with donors by sharing your community’s story, desired initiatives and
the education programs and needs you are seeking support on before submitting
requests for funding. Establishing this type of rapport helps build interest and
trust. Some donors will even work with you on your pitch, tell you more about
their education priorities, or even suggest how much to ask for related to your
proposed project or program. This is because:

Remember—it’s their job to make sure that they get enough strong applications that they can give
all their money away.

More importantly, they don’t want to make their own members waste time reviewing a lot of
applications that have no chance of being funded.

The funder wants you to write a high-quality application as badly as you do.


The two things funders look for.

In the end, to win a grant your application has to demonstrate just two things:

1. That you are well-versed on the education issue they want to fund.

2. That you will be an honest and efficient steward of their money.

Or, to put it another way: the best ways to lose a grant are to (a) write a grant application addressing
education issues without providing evidence for your school community’s needs, or (b) fill your applications
with misspellings, run-on sentences, math errors, and the like.

if you have questions
about the grant or
application, contact
the funder.
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 8

The Grant Writing Process

Design your strategy.

District and schools often find a promising grant opportunity and then design a
strategy that fits the opportunity. This is rarely a good idea—especially if the work
is in an area that isn’t already part of your community’s long-term goals.

Instead, you should start by figuring out what your district would have to do in order to perform better, how
that strategy would work, and what it would cost. Feel free to dream big but stay realistic (and transparent).


Find prospective donors.

The reason you want to design your strategy first is that it will help you to narrow down who to apply to for
funding that align to your education needs. The best applications come from the best matches between the
grant opportunity program and the applicant’s proposal.

1. First, get to know the foundations and corporations in your area. Go meet with some of them. Have

a long conversation; get to know them and let them get to know you and your work. Even if, in the

end, that funder doesn’t end up being a good fit for you, they will probably be able to suggest other

local funders you could approach instead.

2. Is there anyone on the state level – government agency or private foundation – who is willing to refer
you to funders or fund work in your area? What about on the national level? Do some research on
foundations (see our toolkit’s
Helpful Resources and the curated lists of Potential Donors). Also, ask
around: find anyone who may have funded similar work in your (or any neighboring) school

community in the past. And be sure to check out the charitable giving practices of any nationwide

corporation that has a facility in your area.

3. Aside from foundations and corporations, every state education agency and federal cabinet-level
department has regular newsletters posting information about upcoming discretionary and

competitive funding opportunities. Sign up for them.

Once you’ve found a short list of prospective funders for your identified education needs, you’re ready to:


Read the grant application. (Aka, the “RFP”)

This should be a no-brainer. Grant Writing Secret #1, above—“They tell you exactly what they want to know”
—works only if you actually pay attention to what they tell you they are looking for.

But, just like there are some people who insist on putting together their IKEA furniture without reading the
directions first, there are some people who just skim the first few pages of the Request for Proposals (“RFP”)

and then just dive right in.

Imagine Learning recommends the opposite strategy: read through the RFP cover-to-cover, carefully and
slowly. What you’re looking for is any reason not to apply. If there’s even only one grant requirement that
doesn’t fit your community needs or your project/program, don’t bother applying. Put that RFP down and
start looking through the next one. Don’t waste your time writing that application, and don’t waste the

funders’ time making them read it.

As you read through the RFP, take good notes. Writing an RFP is even more complicated than writing a grant

application, and they aren’t always structured logically. Often you will fund grant requirements that aren’t

listed at the front of the RFP but appear later on in the instructions (special restrictions on “Project Design,”
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 9


every grant writer has a story about how the electricity went out, the
computer crashed, a required file would not upload, the online grant portal
didn’t have enough bandwidth, or a school (or family) emergency arose.

“Targeted Demographics,” or the “Program Budget,” for example). The funder will hold you to these “extra”
requirements, whether they were easy for you to find or not.

Here's a short list of all grant parameters you should make sure to include in your RFP notes and we also
recommend using the toolkit’s
Pinpoint Key Information checklist:
Application due date

Date when the funder will announce its
decisions

Grant term (start date and end date)

Funding range or limitations

Amount in matching funds that each grantee
must provide (if any)

Allowable (and restricted) costs

Applicant and partner requirements

Applicant and partner restrictions

Grant outcomes measurement and reporting

expectations

Outline for grant narrative

List of required attachments

You will need all of this information when you:


Plan your writing and submission process.

Grant Writing Secret #1 states: “They tell you exactly what they want to know. They even tell you what order
to put it in.” Most RFPs contain an outline for the grant narrative and/or a list of questions you have to answer.

Whatever order they set for you, follow it.

There’s a basic reason for this: grant reviewers often have a scoring and rubric sheet they have to fill out for
each application they read, and the score sheet will be based on the list of questions in the RFP, scoring
ranges and the reviewers’ scores on the applicant’s responses and program fit. Following the RFP’s proposed
structure and using the RFP’s own titles for different sections in your narrative will make it much easier for
reviewers to run down their checklist while they’re reading your grant.

Figure out who on your team has the knowledge and the skill to write each section of the narrative. Your
district may have a designated grant writer, team or a contractor to write the applications, but you still need
to bring in the experts. Develop a full list of who is responsible for which section. Set interim deadlines, and
then ensure your designated team leader will enforce those deadlines. The more people you have on your
team, the more likely it is that the whole project will get scuttled because one partner doesn’t follow through
on what they promised to do.

Also, make a list of all of the attachments you will be required to submit—financial statements,
project/program budget, scope of work, personnel résumés, partnership/vendor agreements, research and
supporting evidence, letters of support, etc.—and start gathering those materials right away. If the
application includes a front sheet of basic information (your district address, contact information, FEIN, etc.),
don’t start writing your narrative until that sheet is completely filled out. The fewer requirements you leave
until the last minute, the less stressful your whole grant writing process will be.

Which brings us to the most important rule of all: Avoid submitting your grant on the day it is actually due.





Instead of working right up to the last minute, set your own hard deadline that’s at least two or three days
early, and then stick to that deadline.

Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 10


Write.

Notice that we’re five steps into a seven-step process and only just now getting
to the actual grant writing. That’s because you don’t want to start putting words
on paper until you’re 100% sure that your district or school is ready to apply for
and qualified to fulfill all of the conditions of the grant.

There’s only one rule about the actual writing: clarity. Never forget that the grant
reviewers aren’t reading just your grant application—they will have a whole stack
of them. Anything that makes your application more difficult to read—a rambling
sentence, an undefined technical term—will just slow them down. Slow them
down often enough and it will be much easier for the reviewer to just vote “No” and move on to the next, less
frustrating application.


Common mistakes grant writers make.

Using big words.
Keep it simple. You don’t earn any extra points by saying “we utilize this software”
instead of “we use this software.” It doesn’t make you look smarter; it just makes

your narrative more clunky.

Being too technical.
Don’t assume your grant reviewer knows education jargon. Education acronyms
(“ELA,” “ELL,” “IEP,” “504,” “SSO,” “MTSS,” “RTI,” “SEL,” for example) are even
worse. Your reviewer might not even be from education, but just a corporate or
community volunteer or the great grandson of the woman who started the foundation

a hundred years ago. Explain in detail everything that you’d have to explain to a

complete stranger who just walked in off the street.

Trying to be arty or

flowery.

Stick to the facts. Funders prefer to believe that their funding decisions are based in

logic and evidence, not on which applicant wrote the saddest sob story.

Telling things out of
order.

No grant reviewer should ever have to flip back to page 2 to remind themselves of
something you’re talking about on page 24. Do that work for them: if it’s been more

than five pages since you last mentioned it, introduce it again (but concisely). Better
to repeat yourself a dozen times than to lose your reader even once.

Not adhering to

word, character or

page counts.

If there are word or character count limitations or page restrictions, stick to it. Many

funders don’t want lengthy submissions as in year’s past and desire brief and concise

responses to the RFP’s questions and sections. This helps shorten their review process

and eliminate applicants that are not able to succinctly describe their program.

Grammar, spelling,

and punctuation.

This is about more than just making a bad impression (Grant Writing Rule #4). Your

goal is for your reviewer never to have to read over the same sentence twice.



In the end, there’s only one way to make sure that your grant narrative is clear and easy to understand:

it is more important
for your writing to
be clear than it is
for your writing to
be impressive.
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 11

You can never proofread enough.

You have absolutely no control of who ends up reviewing your grant application. And you won’t be sitting
next to them while they read, ready to answer any questions they may have. The only other alternative is to
make sure that absolutely anyone can read your application and not have any questions about what you’re
trying to say.

Check your narrative over multiple times, looking for multiple things:

Have someone proofread for errors.

Have someone mark down any passages that are even a little bit confusing, such as statistics,
implementation, procedures, curriculum or program design.

Have someone read your grant who may be an expert in another department, to make sure your
narrative is suitable for a general audience.

Have someone read your grant looking for inconsistencies.

That last one is important. If (as often happens) something about your proposed strategy changes during the
planning phase, it’s hard to catch and change every single piece of outdated information throughout your
application. If you want to demonstrate to the funder that your district will be an honest and efficient steward
of their money (Grant Writing Secret #4), the last thing you want is to present them with a grant application
that to keeps jumping back and forth between saying you’re asking for $100,000 and also saying you’re asking
for $150,000.


Bless and release.

After you’ve submitted the grant, stop fretting about it. Inevitably, you’ll go back and might find a spelling
error or a piece of information you forgot to add. Overall, it’s too late to do anything about it. However, let’s
say you really did forget to include information that is critical to your district/school to receive funding, reach
out to the donor—hopefully, by that point, you have established rapport making it a little easier for them to
accept the information.

On the same note, don’t submit a grant and then sit around waiting to hear
back from them. Engage with them by liking their social media posts or
inviting them to district and school events. Though they may not react to your
engagement or formally accept an invitation during the review process, their
teams will notice your interest and desire to build a relationship. Also, simply
keep moving forward: looking for other grant opportunities and submitting
other applications. Try to always have two or three irons in the fire.

“But what happens,” people always ask, “if you end up having two funders
select your applications for the same strategy?” First of all, that’s exceedingly rare. And if it does happen,
just tell yourself: that’s a good problem to have.


continue to engage
with the donor—even
after your grant is
submitted—they
notice.
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 12


Pinpoint Key Information

Quick checklist to reference during the grant writing process.
Research grant
opportunities
Assemble your target list of grant applications/RFPs, understand the funder
criteria/guidelines as well as the associated submission deadlines, and make sure your

district/school community is eligible for consideration.

Grant writer(s)
Identify your designated grant writer or team member(s) who will lead the grant writing
process and submit the grant application(s)/proposal(s). Ensure the grant writer(s) have all
the necessary information and details to prepare a comprehensive grant

application/proposal.

Imagine Learning’s

program(s)
Decide which program(s), associated professional development, school supports and other
services from Imagine Learning you are seeking funding support for as part of your proposed

grant program.

Beneficiary/recipient

school(s)
Identify which grade level(s) and school(s) will be proposed to the funder as part of the

project/program. As part of the grant application/proposal, traditionally, the funder will

request a list of all school(s) who will be the recipient of the grant, if awarded. Be fully
prepared to provide a detailed list of all proposed recipient school(s).

Student subgroups and

demographics
Address the total number of students, teachers, and people served by the project/program.
Clearly address student age groups, student subgroups, demographics, and Free Reduced

Priced Lunch percentage. Funders will likely request this information in grant applications.

Districts/school(s) serving Black, Hispanic/Latino, and low-income students traditionally

receive significant consideration and, at times, is a criterion by funders.

Implementation start

and end dates
Establish your anticipated implementation start and end dates for Imagine Learning’s

program(s). This will help the potential funder understand your timeline and when your

district/school(s) need the funds secured to formally launch the program(s). Be mindful that

funders’ grant award dates and payment deliveries vary and may not necessarily align to

your anticipated implementation start date.

Implementation,

measurements, and

success plan

Determine how the product(s) will be used for your implementation plan, such as whole-

class, small-group, one-on-one instruction, computer lab rotation, pull-in or push-out

instructional time, before- or after-school programs, and/or summer school. Establish your

measurements (outcomes/outputs) and your success plan. In addition, include any results,

studies, or research pertinent to your project/program and include those as part of your

submission.

Budget and funding

amount requested
Determine the programs you elect to acquire, sustain, or expand, along with the number of

schools, students, and teachers that will be impacted by the proposed program and other
program supports, such as professional development and instructional services. Establish the

total project/program budget while also identifying other funding resources that might be

directed toward the total project/program costs. Then, determine the amount you are
requesting from the funder.

Educators’ and

leaders’ support
Ensure your district/school(s) has educators’ and leaders’ support for your proposed
project/program. Include any testimonials, signed letters, or other supporting evidence in

your submission.

Academic recovery
plans and strategies

Address your district/school(s)’ highlights, challenges, strategies, and your overall plan as it
relates to how your district/school(s) are continuing to rebound from COVID-19. Share your
story. This could include basic needs, technology, educational equity, centralization and
distance learning, learning time, family resources, summer learning, budget constraints, and
your strategies to address academic recoveries. This is extremely important to share with
donors, so they have a full understanding of your circumstances and your plans to address
your most pressing priorities and needs.
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 13




Helpful Resources


Finding donors and grant opportunities

Candid

Council on Foundations

Grantmakers for Education
(EdFunders)
GetEdFunding

Grants.gov

GrantWatch

Inside Philanthropy

Early Childhood Funders

We Are Teachers (45 Best Education Grants for Teachers and Schools)

NCTM grants


Philanthropic trends and insights

CCS Fundraising “Snapshot of Today’s Philanthropic Landscape | 2022” report

CCS Fundraising “2023 Philanthropic Landscape” report

Giving USA Foundation, Giving USA “The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2021”

(subscription required)

IUPUI Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, The Giving Environment “Understanding Pre-Pandemic

Trends in Charitable Giving” (2022)

Candid: "Key Facts on US Nonprofits and Foundations" (2022)

Council on Foundations “A Call to Action: Philanthropy’s Commitment During COVID-19.” (2020)

The Conference Board, Survey: “Philanthropic Investments Gain Momentum” (2022)

Grantmakers for Education “The Big Vision for the Next State of Education Philanthropy” (2020)

The Children’s Funding Project “Leaders and Champions: The Role of Funders in Strategic Public

Financing” (2023)

Nonprofit Hub: "How to Ask Donors for Money: 7 Proven Tips" (2023)

NPOInfo “Donor Cultivation 101: How to Build Lasting Relationships” (2023)

Medium "Philanthropy Trends To Be Aware Of In 2024" (January 2024)

Grantmakers for Education Funding Out-of-School Time Programs - Now and in the Future"

(September 2023)

Grantmakers for Education “Leaders and Champions: The Role of Funders in Strategic Public

Financing” (August 2023)

Grantmakers for Education “Trends in Education Philanthropy” (2023)


Resources from the School Superintendents Association (AASA)

A Few Tested Fundraising Routes

A Dubious Donation

Accounting for Good Intentions

A Prime Resource in External Relations

5 Ways to Build a Culture of Collaboration with Staff, Teachers and Parents

Crowdfunding: Simple Solutions to Big Liability

Crowdfunding’s Big Implications for Schools

Wallace Resources Toolkit
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 14

Potential Donors

Curated prospect lists of donors making education grants.

To support your education programs and initiatives and accelerate your research endeavors, Imagine Learning is providing
curated lists of national and regional donors who have made historically made grants to elementary and secondary education,
STEM education and early childhood education across the United States. It is important to understand that these lists may
contain errors, are not comprehensive, and have not been fully vetted by Imagine Learning. These lists exclude federal and state
government agencies and donors who have publicly indicated they do not accept unsolicited grants. Imagine Learning prepared
a list of prospective donors for this toolkit using publicly available information to significantly reduce your time and effort to
identify potential donors. Please note that the focus areas, giving priorities, available grants and the contact information
contained herein is subject to change without notice. Imagine Learning provides this information for your convenience and
makes representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability,

availability, or completeness of any information contained in this list.


Elementary and Secondary Education

Donor Name
Headquarter City State Website
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Baltimore MD aecf.org
Arkansas Community Foundation, Inc.
Little Rock AR arcf.org
Austin Community Foundation
Austin TX austincf.org
Baltimore Community Foundation, Inc.
Baltimore MD bcf.org
Bank Of America Charitable Foundation
Charlotte NC about.bankofamerica.com/en/making-an-
impact/charitable-foundation-funding

Best Buy Foundation
Minneapolis MN corporate.bestbuy.com/community-grants/
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Seattle WA gatesfoundation.org
California Community Foundation
Los Angeles CA calfund.org
California Endowment
Los Angeles CA calendow.org
Cargill Foundation
Minneapolis MN cargill.com/about/
Carnegie Corporation Of New York
New York City NY carnegie.org
Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation
Los Angeles CA dohenyfoundation.org
Casey’s Retail Company
Ankeny IA caseys.com/community/cash-for-classrooms-
grants

Central New York Community Foundation, Inc.
Syracuse NY cnycf.org
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Flint MI mott.org
Charter School Growth Fund
Broomfield CO chartergrowthfund.org
Cleveland Foundation
Cleveland OH clevelandfoundation.org
Colorado Gives Foundation
Arvada CO coloradogivesfoundation.org
Communities Foundation Of Texas, Inc.
Dallas TX cftexas.org
Community Foundation For Southeast Michigan
Detroit MI cfsem.org
Community Foundation Of Greater Memphis
Memphis TN cfgm.org
Community Foundation Of Middle Tennessee
Nashville TN cfmt.org
Conrad N Hilton Foundation
Westlake Village CA hiltonfoundation.org
Daniels Fund
Denver CO danielsfund.org
David And Lucile Packard Foundation
Los Altos CA packard.org
East Bay Community Foundation
Oakland CA ebcf.org
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Kansas City MO kauffman.org
Fidelity Foundation
Boston MA fidelityfoundation.org
Foundation For The Carolinas
Charlotte NC fftc.org
Genentech, Inc. Corporate Giving Program
South San Francisco CA gene.com/good/giving/corporate-giving
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 15

Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Cincinnati OH gcfdn.org
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Kansas City MO growyourgiving.org
Greater Washington Community Foundation
Washington DC thecommunityfoundation.org
Houston Endowment Inc
Houston TX houstonendowment.org
Institute For Quality Education Inc
Indianapolis IN i4qed.org
James S Mcdonnell Foundation
St Louis MO jsmf.org
Jewish Community Federation Of San Francisco
San Francisco CA jewishfed.org
Jewish Federation Of Cleveland
Beachwood OH jewishcleveland.org
Jewish Federation Of Greater Philadelphia
Philadelphia PA jewishphilly.org
Joseph B Whitehead Foundation
Atlanta GA jbwhitehead.org
Lilly Endowment Inc
Indianapolis IN lillyendowment.org
Lynde And Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc.
Milwaukee WI bradleyfdn.org
M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust
Vancouver WA murdocktrust.org
Minneapolis Foundation
Minneapolis MN minneapolisfoundation.org
Mother Cabrini Health Foundation
New York City NY cabrinihealth.org
National Education Association
Washington DC nea.org
Nellie Mae Education Foundation Inc.
Quincy MA nmefoundation.org
New Profit
Boston MA newprofit.org
New Schools Fund
Oakland CA newschools.org
New York Life Foundation
New York City NY newyorklifefoundation.org
Oak Foundation / Oak Philanthropy
Chapel Hill NC oakfnd.org
Paul M Angell Family Foundation
Chicago IL pmangellfamfound.org
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Ligonier PA rkmf.org
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Princeton NJ rwjf.org
Robin Hood Foundation
New York City NY robinhood.org
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc.
New York City NY rockpa.org
San Diego Foundation
San Diego CA sdfoundation.org
San Francisco Foundation
San Francisco CA sff.org
Seattle Foundation
Seattle WA seattlefoundation.org
Sid W Richardson Foundation
Fort Worth TX sidrichardson.org
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Mountain View CA siliconvalleycf.org
Teach For America, Inc.
New York City NY teachforamerica.org
The Ahmanson Foundation
Beverly Hills CA theahmansonfoundation.org
The Amgen Foundation Inc
Newbury Park CA amgenfoundation.org
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
New York City NY mellon.org
The Arthur M Blank Family Foundation
Atlanta GA blankfoundation.org
The Brown Foundation Inc
Houston TX brownfoundation.org
The Bush Foundation
St Paul MN bushfoundation.org
The Chicago Community Trust
Chicago IL cct.org
The Colorado Health Foundation
Denver CO coloradohealth.org
The Community Foundation For Greater Atlanta
Atlanta GA cfgreateratlanta.org
The Community Foundation Of Greater Birmingham
Birmingham AL cfbham.org
The Denver Foundation
Denver CO denverfoundation.org
The Duke Endowment
Charlotte NC dukeendowment.org
The Ford Foundation
New York City NY fordfoundation.org
The George Gund Foundation
Cleveland OH gundfoundation.org
The Goizueta Foundation Inc
Atlanta GA goizuetafoundation.org
The Grable Foundation
Pittsburgh PA grable.org
The Greater New Orleans Foundation
New Orleans LA gnof.org
The Harry And Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc
Owings Mills MD hjweinbergfoundation.org
The Heinz Endowments
Pittsburgh PA heinz.org
The Michael And Susan Dell Foundation
Austin TX dell.org
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 16

The Moody Foundation
Galveston TX moodyf.org
The Oregon Community Foundation
Portland OR oregoncf.org
The Rhode Island Community Foundation
Providence RI rifoundation.org
The Simons Foundation, Inc.
New York City NY simonsfoundation.org
The Spencer Foundation
Chicago IL spencer.org
The Sunderland Foundation
Leawood KS sunderland.org
The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
Menlo Park CA hewlett.org
The Winston-Salem Foundation
Winston Salem NC wsfoundation.org
Tides Foundation
San Francisco CA tides.org
Tiger Foundation
New York City NY tigerfoundation.org
United Way Of Greater Atlanta, Inc.
Atlanta GA unitedwayatlanta.org
Vanguard Charitable
Malvern PA vanguardcharitable.org
Virginia Early Childhood Foundation
Henrico VA vecf.org
Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation
St Louis MO choicecorp.org
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Battle Creek MI wkkf.org
Walton Family Foundation Inc
Bentonville AR waltonfamilyfoundation.org

STEM Education

Donor Name
Headquarter City State Website
American Endowment Foundation
Hudson OH aefonline.org
American Online Giving Foundation Inc
Newark DE onlinegivingfoundation.org/
Ancore Foundation Inc
Auburndale MA ancorefoundation.org
Baltimore Community Foundation, Inc.
Baltimore MD bcf.org
Bayer Fund
St Louis MO fund.bayer.us
Benwood Foundation Inc
Chattanooga TN benwood.org
Best Buy Foundation
Minneapolis MN corporate.bestbuy.com/community-grants/
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Seattle WA gatesfoundation.org
California Community Foundation
Los Angeles CA calfund.org
Citi Foundation
New York City NY citifoundation.com
City Forward Collective
Milwaukee WI cityforwardcollective.org
Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
Tucson AZ cfsaz.org
Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County
Annapolis MD cfaac.org
David And Lucile Packard FOUNDATION
Los Altos CA packard.org
Dominion Energy, Inc. Corporate Giving Program
Richmond VA dominionenergy.com/our-promise/customers-
and-community

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Inc
New York City NY ddcf.org
Early Learning Indiana
Indianapolis IN earlylearningin.org
El and Thelma Gaylord Foundation
Oklahoma City OK gaylordfoundation.com
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund
Boston MA fidelitycharitable.org
Google.org Corporate Giving Program
Mountain View CA google.org/our-work/
Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Inc.
Milwaukee WI greatermilwaukeefoundation.org
Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Inc.
Gulfport MS mgccf.org
Hartford Foundation For Public Giving
Hartford CT hfpg.org
Henry Luce Foundation Inc
New York City NY hluce.org
Jessie Ball Dupont Religious Charitable &
Educational Fund
Jacksonville FL dupontfund.org
Kahlert Foundation Inc
Sykesville MD thekahlertfoundation.org
Louis Calder Foundation
Denver CO louiscalderfdn.org
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 17

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc.
Milwaukee WI bradleyfdn.org
Meyer Memorial Trust
Portland OR mmt.org
Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc
Indianapolis IN msgift.donorfirstx.com
National Philanthropic Trust
Jenkintown PA nptrust.org
National Science Foundation Employees Association
Alexandria VA nsf.gov
Network for Good, Inc.
Washington DC nfggive.org
Oklahoma City Community Foundation
Oklahoma City OK occf.org
One Gas Foundation Inc
Tulsa OK onegas.com
Patrick P Lee Foundation
Williamsville NY patrickpleefoundation.org
Pricewaterhousecoopers Charitable Foundation
New York City NY pwccharitablefoundation.org
Raza Development Fund Inc
Phoenix AZ razafund.org
Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, Inc.
Indianapolis IN rmff.org
Robin Hood Foundation
New York City NY robinhood.org
Sarkeys Foundation
Norman OK sarkeys.org
Schwab Charitable Fund
San Francisco CA schwabcharitable.org
Shell USA Company Foundation
Houston TX shell.us/sustainability/request-for-a-grant-
from-shell.html

Simons Foundation
New York City NY simonsfoundation.org
T Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving
Baltimore MD programforgiving.org
The Ahmanson Foundation
Beverly Hills CA theahmansonfoundation.org
The Amgen Foundation Inc
Newbury Park CA amgenfoundation.org
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
New York City NY mellon.org
The Annenberg Foundation
Conshohocken PA annenberg.org
The Blackbaud Giving Fund
Daniel Island SC blackbaudgivingfund.org
The Burke Foundation Inc
Milwaukee WI theburkefoundation.org
The Chicago Community Trust
Chicago IL cct.org
The Collins Foundation
Portland OR collinsfoundation.org
The Heckscher Foundation for Children
New York City NY heckscherfoundation.org
The Marion I & Henry J Knott Foundation Inc
Baltimore MD knottfoundation.org
The Spencer Foundation
Chicago IL spencer.org
The UCLA Foundation
Los Angeles CA uclafoundation.org
The Women's Foundation of Colorado
Denver CO wfco.org
Tides Foundation
San Francisco CA tides.org
Tiger Foundation
New York City NY tigerfoundation.org
Toshiba America Foundation (TAF)
New York City NY toshiba.com/taf/
Triangle Community Foundation
Durham NC trianglecf.org
United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha
County Inc
Milwaukee WI unitedwaygmwc.org
Vanguard Charitable
Malvern PA vanguardcharitable.org
Wright Family Foundation
Cockeysville MD wrightfamilyfdn.org

Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 18

Early Childhood Education

Donor Name
Headquarter City State Website
Austin Community Foundation
Austin TX austincf.org
Baltimore Community Foundation, Inc.
Baltimore MD bcf.org
Bank Of America Charitable Foundation
Charlotte NC about.bankofamerica.com/en/making-an-
impact/charitable-foundation-funding

Baptist Community Ministries
New Orleans LA bcm.org
Blue Mountain Community Foundation
Walla Walla WA bluemountainfoundation.org
California Community Foundation
Los Angeles CA calfund.org
Catholic Community Foundation Of Minnesota
St Paul MN ccf-mn.org
Charter School Growth Fund
Broomfield CO chartergrowthfund.org
Ciresi Walburn Foundation
Minneapolis MN ciresiwalburnfoundation.org
Communities Foundation Of Texas, Inc.
Dallas TX cftexas.org
Community Foundation Of Anne Arundel County
Annapolis MD cfaac.org
Community Foundation Of Greater Memphis
Memphis TN cfgm.org
Community Foundation Of Middle Tennessee
Nashville TN cfmt.org
Community Foundation Of Sarasota County
Sarasota FL cfsarasota.org
Conrad N Hilton Foundation
Westlake Village CA hiltonfoundation.org
Daniels Fund
Denver CO danielsfund.org
David And Lucile Packard Foundation
Los Altos CA packard.org
Dyson Foundation
Millbrook NY dysonfoundation.org
Fidelity Foundation
Boston MA fidelityfoundation.org
Foundation For Global Sports Development
Los Angeles CA globalsportsdevelopment.org
Foundation For The Carolinas
Charlotte NC fftc.org
Givewell Community Foundation
Lakeland FL givecf.org
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Kansas City MO growyourgiving.org
Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Inc.
Milwaukee WI greatermilwaukeefoundation.org
Greater Texas Foundation
Bryan TX greatertexasfoundation.org
Greater Washington Community Foundation
Washington DC thecommunityfoundation.org
Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Inc.
Sarasota FL gulfcoastcf.org
Hardenbergh Foundation
St Paul MN hardenberghfoundation.org
Harris And Eliza Kempner Fund
Galveston TX kempnerfund.org
Harrison County Community Foundation
Corydon IN hccfindiana.org
Headwaters Foundation
Missoula MT headwatersmt.org
Intertech Foundation
St Paul MN intertech.com
Jesse Parker Williams Foundation Inc
Atlanta GA jpwf.org
Kosair Charities Committee, Inc.
Louisville KY kosair.org
Liberty Mutual Foundation
Boston MA libertymutualfoundation.org
Lincoln Community Foundation, Inc.
Lincoln NE lcf.org
Max And Helen Guernsey Charitable Foundation
Cedar Falls IA guernseyfoundation.com
Max And Marian Farash Charitable Foundation
Rochester NY farashfoundation.org
National Center For Families Learning
Louisville KY familieslearning.org
New Schools Fund
Oakland CA newschools.org
Obici Healthcare Foundation
Suffolk VA obicihcf.org
Otto Bremer Trust
St Paul MN ottobremer.org
Imagine Learning’s Donor Grant Toolkit (April 2024) | Page 19

Pro Bono Publico Foundation
New Orleans LA probonopublicofoundation.org
Richmond County Savings Foundation
Staten Island NY rcsf.org
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Princeton NJ rwjf.org
Russell Sage Foundation
New York City NY russellsage.org
Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation
St Paul MN spmcf.org
Samuel N & Mary Castle Foundation
Honolulu HI snandmarycastlefdn.org
San Diego Foundation
San Diego CA sdfoundation.org
Sauer Family Foundation
St Paul MN sauerff.org
Seattle Foundation
Seattle WA seattlefoundation.org
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Mountain View CA siliconvalleycf.org
Taylor William Emmons Memorial Foundation Inc
Lakewood Ranch FL guidestar.org
Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation
Denver CO buellfoundation.org
The Alvin And Fanny B Thalheimer Foundation
Towson MD thalheimerfoundation.org
The Chicago Community Trust
Chicago IL cct.org
The Community Foundation For Greater Atlanta Inc
Atlanta GA cfgreateratlanta.org
The Community Foundation For Northeast Florida
Jacksonville FL jaxcf.org
The Community Foundation For The Central
Savannah River Area, Inc
Augusta GA cfcsra.org
The Duke Endowment
Charlotte NC dukeendowment.org
The Gheens Foundation
Louisville KY gheensfoundation.org
The Greater New Orleans Foundation
New Orleans LA gnof.org
The Jim Moran Foundation
Deerfield Beach FL jimmoranfoundation.org
The Lynch Foundation
Boston MA thelynchfoundation.com
The Marion I & Henry J Knott Foundation Inc
Baltimore MD www.knottfoundation.org
The Michael And Susan Dell Foundation
Austin TX dell.org
The Morris And Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Washington DC cafritzfoundation.org
The Oregon Community Foundation
Portland OR oregoncf.org
The Rees-Jones Foundation
Dallas TX rees-jonesfoundation.org
The Spencer Foundation
Chicago IL spencer.org
The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
Menlo Park CA hewlett.org
Tracy Family Foundation
Mt Sterling IL tracyfoundation.org
Triangle Community Foundation
Durham NC trianglecf.org
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Battle Creek MI wkkf.org
Wal-Mart Foundation
Bentonville AR walmart.org
Walton Family Foundation Inc
Bentonville AR waltonfamilyfoundation.org
William Penn Foundation
Philadelphia PA williampennfoundation.org
Wright Family Foundation
Cockeysville MD wrightfamilyfdn.org