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Grants for Children’s Books
By Kathe Gogolewski
As a retired classroom teacher, I found myself gravitating toward the classroom for sales of my book, Tato, a fantasy
adventure for middle grade readers. I had already experienced selling the book to one person at a time, branding myself in
slow motion. I wanted to see if I could step up that process and still have fun!
I used my knowledge of what would appeal to busy teachers: A teacher-friendly guide to supplement the book with someone
to demonstrate the lessons inside sounded like it would do the trick. I also understood that grants for teachers are
plentiful, and if I could ghost write a grant, I would be able to pay for myself, a class set of books, the guide and
some educational materials to boot.
I set to work writing the guide. Since there is magic in Tato, I included science experiments to explain certain illusions
in the story, which included experiments with mirrors, lights and lenses. I also added language arts activities that tied in
with the story, such as creating a wanted poster of the villain, or a 3-D chart graphing the strength of characters’
emotions during different events. I downloaded the California Content Standards for Science and Language Arts for 4th and
5th grade, and tied in as many of the standards that I could. Administrators are big on standards, and I wanted to be
prepared in case I needed to discuss the program with an administrator. They are also big on lessons that serve English
Language Learners, who are students learning English as a second language. Both these additions to the guide turned out
to be serendipitous. I now had an integrated language arts and science program to present for a unique author visit to schools.
Next, I had to locate grants. I knew that once I greased this wheel, the rest would be as easy. These wonderful gems are
called Teacher Mini-Grants, and they are all over the USA, usually awarded in amounts up to $500, though a mini-grant
exceeding $1,000 is not rare. Even $500 is enough for a class set of books and an honorarium for me. And the beauty of these
little grants: they are usually a two or three page form requesting basic information about the project and proposed
budget.
I chose the San Francisco Bay Area to start my search for grants, my former stomping grounds. I knew they were plentiful
there. Sure enough, I locked into the East Bay Community Foundation and the Palo Alto Partners in Education (PIE).
Both are private grants. The East Bay Foundation awarded $500 per teacher, and PIE awarded up to $1,500. I have written
about twenty educational grants in my career, and so far I’m batting a thousand. The applications are simple forms because
the people that offer them know that teachers are busy, sometimes too busy to fill out forms that require time-consuming research. Teachers are often too busy to investigate
the possibilities with grants, so many of them go untouched. Most school districts have these grants available for their
teachers. Also, school districts or schools that have a significant number of children with free or reduced lunches
will have Title I funds. Both funding opportunities are accessed through the district, and the teachers know about
them.
You may also consider private grants. Google for "Teacher Mini-Grants" in your area and see what you can find. Also,
look for industries, banks or other organizations. Companies such as Kaiser, Chevron, banks, credit unions, and
organizations such as women's clubs, Rotary or Lions’ Clubs, are all great candidates. Many of them award yearly grants to
teachers. To give you the idea, I will list a few grants that I found instantly by Googling Teacher Mini-Grants. You need
to find one of these in your area:
Kids in Need: up to $500:
http://www.shopa.org/shopa_foundation/teacher_programs.php
East Bay Community Foundation: up to $500 for San Francisco East Bay teachers - http://www.eastbaycf.org/
The Education Fund: up to $500 for Dade County
http://www.educationfund.org/mini.html
Visalia Education Foundation Mini-Grants: up to $500 for Visalia, CA school district teachers:
http://www2.visalia.k12.ca.us/foundation/minigrants.htm
After I found grants that I liked, I approached the teachers in two school districts, and instantly found seven takers.
That was the easiest part of this whole venture. I dare anyone to find a teacher to say “no” to this: “I will come
into your classroom and demonstrate a lesson with your students from my students’ guide while you observe. I will
present lessons that will engage and motivate your students. I will also write the grant that will pay for me and a class
set of books for your kids!”
I wrote four grants for seven teachers after each teacher had given me the input I needed to fill out the grants. Each
interview with the teachers lasted no more than ten minutes. A curriculum focus is needed when writing these grants, and
an author visit to the classroom to read with the children and engage them in a writing activity will do nicely! A
teacher’s guide is not necessary for these grants to work, but it certainly helps. After I’d finished writing them, I
sent them back to the teachers, who signed them and sent them in.
I was relatively confident that they would come through, because teachers rarely get turned down for these grants.
If necessary, I was prepared to write new ones from new sources. However, they all came through. Class sets of my
book were ordered for each classroom, plus a teachers’ guide for every teacher, and an honorarium from each class for me.
Two classes also received science materials for the science experiments. For the other classes, I brought non-consumables
with me, so that the children could perform the experiments under my direction. Afterwards, I collected the materials to
use again. By the time I finished performing for each class, the teachers had made my book part of their core curriculum,
and those who did not have the science materials were ordering them. I also now have letters from many of the
children, plus class books of stories that they wrote while I was with them. That feedback alone makes it all worthwhile.
---
NOTES:
Pictures of the children performing the experiments may be viewed on my website at:
http://tri-studio.com/TEACHERS.html
and excerpts from some of their letters may be read at: http://tri-studio.com/kathegogolewskiTEACHERS1.html
Email Kathe Gogolewski at kgogolewski@sbcglobal.net .
Tato is available from Wings ePress in trade paperback and ebook formats at:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=19895&ProductID=2571398
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