2024 GROW Grant

GUIDELINES
The focus of the GROW grant is on Innovation. The intention of the GROW grant is to have student impact greater than the $5,000 award. Make a case for how your big idea will touch your entire school population and we will consider it! Initiatives that spur student growth through the “Connect, Collaborate, Create” components of the EmpowerEd framework would be considered.

  • Teams must be comprised of five employees at the same school/location and at least three members must be teachers or work with children on a daily basis. In addition, one member must be an administrator, (Director, Principal, Assistant Principal, or Instructional Coach) but the Team Leader needs to be a teacher.
  • Only one application per UCPS School/Location.
  • Applications that are detailed and well-written are more likely to be funded. Check out the sample awarded applications on our website.
  • Please avoid the use of acronyms or write out the acronym in parentheses after its first use. Some of our judges are not educators and they are not familiar with the educational acronyms.
  • Keep in mind that if you receive a GROW grant and then transfer to another UCPS school OR to another district your project will remain at your school/location.
  • Keep a copy of this application for your records since your school's bookkeeper may need it if you are awarded. We don't have the capacity to supply original applications for each funded project.
  • NEW: Your principal will received a link from Reviewr to "Approve" your project. You may want to alert the principal and have him/her check their spam folder if they don't receive the notification from www.reviewr.com
  • Be prepared to answer the following questions and have a PDF version of your budget before you begin:

    • WHAT'S YOUR BIG IDEA TO GROW YOUR STUDENTS? WHAT BIG PROBLEM ARE YOU TRYING TO SOLVE?

    • WHICH COMPONENTS OF EMPOWERED DOES YOUR PROJECT ADDRESS? EXPLAIN WHY

    • HOW WILL THE FUNDS BE USED? WE SUGGEST A MINIMUM OF 100 WORDS IN THIS FIELD.

    • WHAT ARE THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THIS PROJECT?

    • WHAT IS YOUR PLAN OF ACTION? HOW DO YOU PLAN TO MAKE THIS PROJECT A REALITY?

    • HOW DO YOU PLAN TO SUSTAIN YOUR PROJECT INTO THE FUTURE?

    • WHAT IS YOUR TIMELINE FOR EXECUTING THIS PROJECT?

    • HOW WILL YOU EVALUATE THE PROJECT EFFECTIVENESS?

    • HAS YOUR PRINCIPAL APPROVED THIS REQUEST?

PLEASE NOTE: You will need to have an administrator submit a Building and Grounds Modification Form through SchoolDude if your project is for a garden or outdoor classroom. For questions please contact Danny McManus. 

Go to our website to learn more about your Union County Education Foundation. www.ucedfoundation.org Questions? Please contact Amy Sperry, Executive Director at asperry@ucedfoundation.org OR 704-296-0725