LEARNING for Equity Grants

LEARNING for Equity Grant Application

LEARNING for Equity grants support small-to-medium-sized projects designed by a team of educators, usually (though not exclusively) from the same school. Award amounts range from $1,000 to $15,000

Announcing our ’23-’24 LEARNING for Equity Grantees

Check out this Side-by-side Comparison of LEARNING for Equity and LEADING for Equity grants

And here’s a Step-by-step Guide to Writing a Schools Fund Grant

Priority Funding Areas

LEARNING for Equity proposals are prioritized where they clearly support at least 1 of the Schools Fund’s priority funding areas:

Explicit About Equity

LEARNING for Equity proposals will be evaluated based on the following equity dimensions:

  • For whom? (Who is the proposed audience?)
  • By whom? (What relevant qualifications does the educator team have?)
  • What? (What is the intended curriculum or content?)
  • How? (What is the chosen pedagogy? How will the project be implemented?)

Read more about what the Schools Fund means by “equity.”

Collaboration

LEARNING for Equity grants aim to grow equity-informed practice beyond individual classrooms and into the fabric of grade level, subject area or whole school systems. As such, proposals are evaluated on the project team’s capacity for aligning their work and sharing best practices.

Project teams are comprised of a Project Lead (who is usually the applicant), a Project Co-lead (optional), and Collaborators who are specifically named in the application. Collaborators must be fully committed to implementing the project. LEARNING for Equity proposals from a single educator will not be accepted.

Who Can Apply

LEARNING for Equity grants are open to teams of current BUSD staff members, both classified and certificated.

Community organizations may partner with BUSD staff and be listed as a Co-lead but a BUSD staff member must serve as the Project Lead.

Please consider whether a LEADING for Equity grant may be a better fit. See this side-by-side grants comparison.

Are you a current grantee interested in re-applying for the same or similar project?
Read more our criteria for re-applying

Grantee Requirements

We ask grantees to participate in the following:

  • Start-of-the-year: Conversation on Goals & Evaluation*
  • Mid-year: Project Check-in (brief, via email)
  • End-of-year: Final Reflections (written form)

*ONLY for projects awarded $10,000 & above

Questions?

Email Deputy Director Duffy Ross (duffyross@berkeley.net) or during winter-spring ’23, drop in to any Grants Office Hours.

Strategic Investments Where They Matter Most 

With universal goals for all BUSD students, the Schools Fund works in a focused way to ensure that all students, and especially those furthest from opportunity, thrive in school and in life.

Grant Timeline, Spring 2024:

  • LEARNING Applic. Opens Mon Jan 8
  • LEARNING Applic. Deadline Wed Apr 17
  • Applicant Final Notification Thurs May 23
  • Funds Available Mon July 1

Grantwriting Tools

For Current Grantees

LEARNING for Equity Grant Application