TIPS FOR SUCCESS
So you’ve decided to apply for a Success Foundation Innovative Learning Grant. Good for you!
Our application process is straightforward but we thought we’d offer a few tips to give you the greatest chance for
success.
Tip #1:
The readers of these grants are all former educators, so know that other teachers are your audience.
They pay attention to everything from content to clarity to spelling and grammar. It all matters!
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Tip #2:
Read each question and make sure that your answer is specific to what is being asked. Cutting and pasting from other projects or grants you’ve applied for often leads to information being included that is not pertinent to the question. Make sure to use language that is clear and to the point.
Tip #3:
Have someone else read your grant application before you submit it to catch inconsistencies,
misspellings, incomplete answers, grammatical errors, etc. as all of these can affect how your grant readers interpret your request. If you’re taking the time to apply, make sure to put your best foot forward!
Below are some suggestions to keep in mind as you answer each of these questions.
Question #1: Provide an overview of your project and explain why you are excited about it.
This is your chance! Briefly tell us the big picture of what you plan to do and why your project is worthwhile. Be
specific but also make us understand why this is a worthy project in which to invest some of our money. We
want to hear YOUR voice in this answer; why are YOU excited about this project?
Question #2: Please identify the Colorado Academic Standards your project will address; including the wording, not just the number. You must connect at least two standards to this project.
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This is very straightforward. Just list the two or more standards you are linking to this project.
Question #3: Please provide at least three examples of how your project will support student learning across the disciplines represented by the standards you have chosen.
This is a chance to explain to us why this is not just a request for funding the purchase of some materials or
providing for an experience for your students. Here are some ways to think about answering this question: Why
is this something that you think is worthy of The Success Foundation supporting it? How will you use the
materials/experiences to enrich and enhance the learning of your students? Why do you need these
materials/experiences to do this? How might you be using these resources in a different way from usual or to
support learning in different content area? How might you use these resources in a way that allows students to
make connections to learning that they may not have previously? What makes this project unique from others
that are requesting resources from TSF? Provide three examples of why this is not just a run of the mill request
for materials/experiences.
Question #4: What student outcomes do you expect (list at least three)? For each outcome, please describe how you will assess student success. What specifically will you look for as indicators that outcomes are being achieved (can be quantitative and/or qualitative measures). Finally, how will you, as the teacher, use the information learned to inform your own future teaching?
The key to answering this question successfully is to be very specific and make sure that your outcomes and how
you plan to measure success are directly connected to each other. So, if your outcome is that students will be
able to articulate how banjos can be used to help with climate change, make sure that you describe HOW you
will know that they can do this. There might be typical assessments that you use, but what else might you look
for to indicate learning in this area? Finally, make sure you think about the last part of this question: How will
YOU, as the teacher, use this information to inform your own future teaching? We want not only for the
students in your class to learn, but for you to learn as well. How will you use what you are seeing in your
students’ performance (e.g., comprehending content or not, engagement or not, wanting to learn more or not)
inform how you teach this (and possibly other) content in the future?
Question #5: The Success Foundation prefers to fund projects that impact more than one classroom. How might your project impact other classes in your grade level, in your school community or in District 6 on a broader scale moving forward?
This question is asking you to think about the bigger picture. While you cannot speak for other teachers in your
grade level, at your school or in the district, think about how you see the learning you and your students will be
experiencing and how that might and could impact other students. We want to fund projects that might inspire
others to try something you’ve learned from your project or to try something related to your project but in a
different curricular area or grade level, for example. We want to spread the love here! How can what you and
your students are learning help others to learn and grow?
Question #6: Optional Information: Let us know if there is anything else we should know about your project that is not covered in the questions above.
Optional is the key word here, but if there is something more you’d like to tell us so that we can better
understand your project, your motivation, why you are so excited, or anything else, please use this space to do
so. If you feel that you’ve explained all this through the questions above, no worries. Leave this question blank.
So, that’s it! The Success Foundation is extremely proud to support our educators in Greeley -Evans School District 6.
We appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to apply for one of our Innovative Learning Grants and wish
you the best in completing your application!