The teacher librarian must seek funding to support the evolving needs of the library media program.
You can't rely on your budget to meet the ever changing goals of your school library media program. Of course you can ask students to sell candy, advertise junk food on your school walls, and beg for donations. However there are many other approaches to funding center programs.
Explore a wide range of options as you seek funding.
How do I get started?
Begin by dreaming. Start with lots of ideas. Brainstorm all the things you'd like to do. What would you need to try these wonderful projects? Then, begin exploring funding sources. Rather than looking for a particular grant to meet a specific need, be flexible. You may need to modify your idea to get the funding you need.
Read Abshore, Sheryl (Feb 2002). Grant
Writing Made Easy (Access requires
login). School Library
Journal; 48(2), 38. Retrieved from MAS Ultra - School Edition database.
In order to get the grant, you first have to write a
grant proposal.
Explore Teacher Tap: Grants for lots of ideas.
Where can I go for funding sources?
There are a several websites that provide information and links for grants.
- Administrator Grants and Funding from Scholastic
- Awards, Grants & Scholarships from American Library Association
- Discretionary Grant Application Packages from the U.S. Department of Education
- Federal Grants Wire- federal grants, government grants and loans
- Foundation Center
- resource and assistance for grant seekers
- Education Funding Watch (Online Newsletter)
- Funding Your Technology Dreams by Sheryl Ab shire, Chief Technology Officer, Calcasieu Parish Schools, LA
- Grants Gold mine from Gale Schools
- Grants and Funding from the Indiana Department of Education
- Grant Wrangler - grants and awards for teachers
- Grants Center, The at Education World
- NEA Foundation Grants from the National Education Association Foundation
- Non-Profit Guides - grant-writing tools for non-profit organizations
- Writing Successful Grants Knowledge Base from the Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center
There are many funding sources. Some are listed under Funding Sources at the bottom of this page.
Read Wallevand, Kevin (Sept 2010). Local Bank Steps In to Keep High School Library Open After Hours. DDAY News6.
As the Moorhead School District prepared to ask voters in November for help in dealing with severe financial woes, Gate City Bank has agreed to sponsor "after hours" time at the high school library.
What about funding sources specifically for school library programs?
Try some of the following programs designed for school libraries:
- AASL Awards and Grants
- Books Across America from the NEA Foundation
- Early Childhood Reading Grants from Target
- Improving Literacy Through School Libraries from U.S. Dept of Education, ED Recovery Act
- Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries
Partner with a teacher in your building and work on the grant project collaboratively! For example, write a grant with your reading specialist or special education teacher. Consider a grant for high school history or science.
Here are some ideas:
- Awards and Grants from International Reading Association
How do you write a grant that will get funded?
There's no guarantee. However if you don't write a grant, you'll never get one.
Complete the following steps in creating a grant proposal:
- create a list of needs for funding and support
- identify a potential funding sources
- brainstorm a list of need for funding that would match the grant guides
- discuss the possibilities with the teachers and principal in the building
- select an active grant program of interesting where funding is currently available
- write detailed background information about your school
- identify a need
- write a statement of purpose
- discuss how your proposal matches the grant requirements
- discuss your proposed project including how it will impact the students and teachers in your school
- discuss how you would evaluate the project.
- check your proposal against the guidelines
- discuss the following issues as they relate to your project:
- hardware/software requirements
- facilities planning
- staff development
- public relations
- evaluation
- budget
- timeline
Read McGowan, Judith (Mar 2003). Winning
the Grant Game (Access requires
login). School Library
Journal; 49(3), 52. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Avoid the
pitfalls, get the federal funding you deserve.
Explore the information and resources found at Finding, Writing, and GETTING the Right Grant for YOU! from The Fermilab Leadership Institute Integrating Internet, Instruction, and Curriculum (LInC Website).
The Great Source Education Group, a division of Houghton-Mifflin, has prepared a Grant Writer's Guide to assist eligible local districts in competing for funds available through the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries
grant. Note that the help packet includes Great Source products but can be adapted to other resource products.
How do I handle rejection?
It's likely that you might have to apply for a number of grants before receiving funding. Eventually you'll be awarded a grant. The key is to keep trying.
If you get frustrated, try for some smaller grants. Here are additional grants & funding resources:
- Funding Sources at The Grantsmanship Center
- Community Outreach at Target - grantmaking guidelines
Read Glaser, Carol (May 2004). Got That Grant? Great! And if You Didn't? The Thomson Gale Report.
What are other sources of funding for my program?
In addition to grants, there are many other fundraising programs you and your school can consider.
- Adopt-a-Classroom
- Boxtops for Education
- Heart of America Foundation
- Scholastic Book Fairs
- We the People "A More Perfect Union" Bookshelf from ALA Public Programs Office and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Check Your Understanding
You're the new teacher librarian. In the past, the librarian had a candy bar drive in the fall, sold Christmas wrap from catalogs in the winter, and pushed magazines in the spring to supplement that library media budget. Your school already collects soup labels and boxtops and has a Coke banner on the football field. This money is used for buying computers. You've decided to go another direction.
Describe one of the many funding opportunities not already mentioned. How would you develop this type of program? Why do you think it's an effective approach? What do you plan to do with the money?
Make It Real
There are many grant opportunities for school library media programs.
Write a grant proposal for a particular funding source.
Consider the Innovative Reading Grant at the American Association of School Librarians.
Read More About It
Kenney, Brian (Mar 2010). A Federal Fumble (Access requires login). School Library Journal; 56(3), 9. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
The elimination of the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries grant program, the importance of the grant funding to poor and rural school libraries, and the impact of the grant funding are discussed.
Funding Sources
Beyond Words: the Dollar General School Library Relief Fund (Access requires IUPUI login) at American Library Association
The fund will provide grants to public schools (Up to $ 15,000) whose school library program has been affected by a disaster. Grants are to replace or supplement books, media and/or library equipment in the school library setting.
Donors Choice
An online charity that connects donors to classrooms in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests; then persons can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires them. Once a project reaches its funding goal, Donors Choice delivers the materials to the school.
Funding / Grants / Scholarships from The Rural School and Community Trust
Funding Solutions from Scholastic
Fundraising Links at Character Counts!
Grant Sources for Educators from Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators
Service Learning Funding, Grants and Awards from the National Service-Learning Partnership
School Funding and Education Grants from eSchool News