Innovation Grant Program

The Castro Valley Educational Foundation awards grants to CVUSD teachers and other district employees, students, parents, and others for programs or projects that are especially effective in promoting academic excellence for the students of the Castro Valley Unified School District.

Grant Program Criteria

Grants, up to a maximum of $1,500 per grant, are awarded once each year, in the fall. Applicants must complete a “Grant Application Form” which must be received electronically by the published cutoff date. The application must be signed by the Applicant and reviewed by the school Principal, Director, and/or Head of Department before submission. Incomplete applications and those with insufficient information will be rejected. An Applicant may submit only one application per grant cycle. (This limit does not apply to collaborations of Applicants who plan to share a program or project.)

Typical Grant Timeline

November 1st

December 7th

By January 18th

By June 7th

June 21st

Grant Application is open on CVEF website

Grant Application closes

Award winners are notified

Grant money spent and funded

Post-funding summary is due (videos, report, etc)

Applying for a Grant

The Grant application should be received electronically via the CVEF website. Applications received without an itemized budget shall not be considered and shall be returned to Applicant for re-submission by the due date.

Applications will be evaluated by a Grant Evaluation Committee comprising of CVEF members who are parents, educators, members of the business community, and members of the community at large. The committee will make recommendations for funding to the CVEF Board of Directors. The Board of Directors will make all selection decisions.

Successful District applicants must place orders through the CVUSD Purchasing Department by the end of the current school year and instructional materials must be approved by the Educational Services Department and/or the Board of Education as appropriate. Other successful applicants must request reimbursement from CVEF and provide original copies of sales bills. In addition, such applicants must agree to assign ownership of all items purchased to the District. Failure to use the funds as intended by Applicant and as approved by the CVEF Board of Directors will result in loss of the Grant.

Generally, we will favor applications that:

Are creative and innovative, complementing the classroom experience
Clearly and specifically state what the grants use
Are complete and well-researched
Present a clear budget with specific line items for proposed purchases
Serve a large number of students (especially if the grant request is large)
Are enhancing the teaching/learning process and integrated with the adopted curriculum
Are engaging for students
Are age appropriate
Identify contributions from other sources, matching grants, or school fundraising, such as Donors Choose
Support purchases that will endure over time, e.g., at least three years

We will NOT fund grants that:

Incomplete applications, including not having a completed budget
Projects that do not describe or provide a clear educational benefits to the students of Castro Valley Unified School District
Salaries or stipends
Non-durable or one-time use supplies (such as coloring books)
Classroom supplies, books, or furniture
Field trips
Retroactive expenses or activities
Debt retirement or fund balance deficits
Student snacks or any food for staff, etc.
Clothing, e.g., uniforms, T-shirts, or sweatshirts
Teacher training, professional growth activities, or memberships of organizations
Trophies, pins, certificates of achievement, etc.