Matching Grant Program Application

BetterLesson is sponsoring a Matching Grant Program. The purpose of the Program is to provide public and private K-12 schools, districts, and education service agencies in the United States with virtual professional learning services to improve teaching and learning in distance/hybrid environments, as well as to develop practices that promote social justice. BetterLesson is especially interested in supporting organizations with a high percentage of students that qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program.

The grant will be funded up to $1 million and a total of up to 30 grants will be awarded. Grant awards will match district investments and can range from between $30,000 to $150,000. For awarded grants, BetterLesson will match the amount the district is investing with the same amount of BetterLesson in-kind services/products. Grant awards will be made starting Monday, October 5th, 2020.

Proposals submitted should be aimed at increasing the capacity of schools and districts to create student-centered, flexible teaching and learning and support teachers to integrate culturally responsive and sustaining practices and social-emotional learning (SEL) as part of their regular instruction.

Resources to Complete Your Application

• Topics and services descriptions, sample pricing
• Grant proposal template — complete the template, download your completed template and then submit it via the form on this page or email it to matchinggrant@betterlesson.com
• Need help? Grab a few minutes to connect.

Proposal Format

Written proposals should be complete and precise. For programs focused on flexible/blended learning, proposals should address how and why the education organization is going to direct efforts to increase sound pedagogical knowledge and practice of highly effective strategies in distance or hybrid learning environments. Information on how organizations are addressing technology devices and internet access should also be included. For applications focused on culturally responsive and sustaining teaching and learning or SEL/, proposals should address why this work is important to the educational organization, what has already been done to lay the foundation for this work (i.e., book discussion groups, implicit bias work, equity audits), and the intended outcomes of this work. Proposals will be evaluated on the elements listed below. The most competitive proposals will show attention to PD considerations for both teachers and leaders.

Proposals should follow the outline below:

(The editable proposal template can be accessed above).

1. Application Page: The first page of the proposal should be a fully completed application page (included in the proposal template) 
2. Project Title: This should be precise and meaningful.
3. Brief Summary: Describe the project for which you are seeking funding in one-half page or less.
4. Goals and Objectives: State the overall goals and objectives for undertaking this project even if the project is only one part of a larger goal. Describe how the project relates to the larger goal.
5. Project Plan: Applicant’s detailed narrative of how the project will be accomplished. The narrative should include the following:
1. Activities Planned: describe the specific professional learning activities planned, the timetable for accomplishing these activities, and the participants that will be involved in the professional learning services provided (leaders, coaches, teachers).
2. Partnerships Involved: If other groups or organizations will be involved in accomplishing your goals, list these groups, and describe what their involvement will be in accomplishing your goals.
3. Administration and Staffing: Identify at least one person who will be responsible for implementing and project managing the grant program and coordinating with BetterLesson. 
6. Project Budget: Include a breakdown of the cost of the budget including services purchased by the education organization as well as the services being matched by BetterLesson. (Reference Topics and services descriptions, sample pricing document below)
7. Project Final Report: Grantees will submit a final report to BetterLesson within two months of all grant services being delivered. Reports must include at least one set of measurable data (e.g. pre and post student/teacher surveys, anonymized assessment data, etc.) as well as anecdotal data such as teacher and leader quotes and/or testimonials. Grant projects can be used by BetterLesson to share findings and results of the overall grant program.