FUNdraising Fridays

Hello!

Included in this entry are some fantastic opportunities for students, teachers, and schools. I encourage you to look at these during the holiday break.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

~Eneida

Opportunities for Students

• The Gates Millennium Scholarship Program

Deadline: December 31, 2007
Award Amount: Varies

The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS), funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was established in 1999 to provide outstanding, low income African American, American Indian/Alaska Natives, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Hispanic American students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline they choose.

Continuing Gates Scholars may request funding for a graduate degree program in one of the following discipline areas: computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.

The goal of GMS is to promote academic excellence by providing thousands of outstanding students, who have significant financial need, the opportunity to reach their full potential.

• Global Action Awards

Deadline: January 31, 2008
Award Amount: $5,000

NetAid, an initiative of Mercy Corps , is accepting applications for the Global Action Awards. The awards honor high school students in the United States who have organized and led a project that has impacted people in poor countries, or raised awareness about global poverty in their own communities.

The awards celebrate young people who have shown great leadership in areas such as preventing disease, alleviating hunger, protecting the environment, promoting human rights, and improving access to clean drinking water, health care, or education. Projects may involve organizing advocacy campaigns, raising funds, volunteering, or using media and technology to involve others in the fight against global poverty.

Each year, a prestigious panel of judges reviews applicants on the basis of innovation, cooperation, leadership, inspiration, and impact. The honorees receive $5,000 each for college or a charitable cause of their choice, and are honored at a ceremony in New York City.

Guidelines and application materials are available at the NetAid Web site.

• National Peace Essay Contest

Deadline: February 1, 2008
Award Amount: Varies

The United States Institute of Peace established the National Peace Essay Contest to expand educational opportunities for America's youth.

The topic for the 2007-08 competition is "Natural Resources and Conflict." Participants are asked to write a 1,500-word essay stating what they believe are the necessary elements for the development of fair, peaceful, or effective use of natural resources after a conflict.

Students are eligible to participate if they are in grades nine through twelve in any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory, or if they are U.S. citizens attending high school overseas. Students may be attending a public, private, or parochial school, or participating in a high school correspondence program. Entries from home-schooled students are also accepted.

First-place state-level winners are awarded $1,000 each and compete for national awards. National awards include one first-place award of $10,000; one second-place award of $5,000; and one third-place award of $2,500. First-place state winners are also invited to Washington, D.C., for the awards program. The institute pays for expenses related to the program, including travel, lodging, meals, and entertainment.

Visit the USIP Web site for complete program information and entry procedures.

Opportunities for Teachers

• Funding Available from the Professional Educator Standards Board

The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) has funding available to support teachers to add the following endorsements:
• Secondary Mathematics
• Any Secondary Science area
• Middle Level Mathematics/Science

Funds may be used to pay for PRAXIS II exams, university supervision for the pedagogy assessment, and in some cases, tuition for a limited amount of coursework. Priority will go to teachers currently teaching in secondary math or science without an endorsement, or those whose district would provide the opportunity to teach in one of those areas if an endorsement was earned.

Apply by emailing Mea Moore at PESB.

For more information on Pathway I and II and endorsement requirements go to the PESB website under Quick Links select “Add an Endorsement”.

• Leadership and Learning Grants

Deadline: February 1, 2008
Award Amount: $2,000 - $5,000

The NEA Foundation supports individuals participating in professional development activities, such as summer institutes, or groups of teachers and education-support professionals engaged in research, mentoring, or other relevant activities. Eligible applicants include teachers at public schools, education-support professionals at public schools, and faculty and staff members at public colleges or universities.

For more information, visit the NEA Foundation's Web site.

• Student-Achievement Grants for Teachers

Deadline: February 1, 2008

NEA Foundation supports individuals whose work engages students in critical thinking and problem solving that increases their knowledge of curricular subject matter. Proposals that focus on enrolling low-income or minority students in advanced coursework are especially encouraged. Eligible applicants include teachers at public schools, education-support professionals at public schools, and faculty and staff members at public colleges or universities.

For more information, visit the NEA Foundation's Web site.

Opportunities for Communities and Schools

• We the People Bookshelf Program

Deadline: January 25, 2008

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in cooperation with the American Library Association Public Programs Office is accepting applications for the fifth We the People Bookshelf program.

Each year, NEH identifies a theme important to the nation's heritage and selects books that embody that theme to build the We the People Bookshelf. The theme for the 2007-08 Bookshelf is "Created Equal."

The program will provide three thousand school (K-12) and public libraries across the United States with a set of classic books related to the "Created Equal" theme.

Any U.S. public library or K-12 school library in the United States and its territories is eligible to apply. School libraries include public, private, parochial, and charter schools. Libraries with collections that circulate to the general public and offer reading-based programs for the general public are eligible to apply. A library system or school district may apply on behalf of its member schools or branches.

Each library will receive a collection of seventeen classic hardcover books for young readers, all related to the Created Equal theme, and related resources and materials for programming.

Visit the We the People Bookshelf Web site for details about eligibility and instructions for completing the online application.

• ThinkQuest International 2008 for Students and Educators

Deadline: April 2, 2008

The Oracle Education Foundation has announced the opening of ThinkQuest International 2008. ThinkQuest is open to students between the ages of 9 and 19 and their teacher-coaches worldwide. Students are encouraged to team with peers in other regions to develop Web sites on educational topics. The program is designed to help participants develop important skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, self-direction, problem solving, and technology skills. In addition, students become published Web-authors in the popular ThinkQuest Library, sharing their work with thirty million Web learners each year.

Qualifying entries will be published in the ThinkQuest Library. Winners will receive prizes from the Oracle Education Foundation, including laptops and $1,000 school grants for the top five teams in each age division, travel to the annual ThinkQuest Live event for the top three teams in each division, and digital cameras for the team that receives the Global Perspectives Award.

Students and educators interested in participating should visit the ThinkQuest Web site.