Welcome to the 2023 Innovation Grant Season. The application process will open on November 1st. Use the 2023 Innovation Grant Application link below to apply. Good luck!

GRANT PROGRAM CRITERIA

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.

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

Grant Application is open on CVEF website November 1
Grant Application closes December 3
Award winners are notified By January 14
Grant money spent and fundedBy June 2
Post funding summary is due (videos, report, etc)June 15

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.

 In general, we favor grant applications for projects that: 

  • Are creative and innovative, complementing the classroom experience
  • Clearly and specifically state what the grant will be used for
  • 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 

  • 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.

The Grant Evaluation Committee will recommend to the Board of Directors that those applications which most closely meet the goals of the Foundation be fully or partially funded.

The Foundation will not fund the same project more than once.  The Foundation endeavors to provide funding parity between schools.

A post-funding report will be required for every Grant awarded.

Failure to submit a post-funding report will result in the Applicant’s school’s possible disqualification from the next grant cycle.

Congratulations to the 2022-2023 Innovation Grant Winners! More than $5,000 in grants were awarded. Learn more on the Past Innovation Grants page.