Environmental Science Resource Grants

The Environmental Science Resource Grant Program is to enhance environmental science curriculum through projects, supplies, and professional development.

Program Details

Who

Any TK-12 grade teacher working at a low-income (as determined by Title 1 status or percentage of students eligible for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch) public school in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Santa Clara, San Francisco or San Mateo County is eligible to apply.

Limit of five grants per school and one grant per teacher.

What

Grants of up to $1,000 are available for the school year and summer learning sessions to enhance environmental science curriculum through projects, supplies, field trips and the teacher’s own professional development.  Examples of uses could include:

  • Supplies for a summer gardening club
  • Water testing kits
  • Materials for a compost and/or recycling unit
  • An online academic subscription
  • A workshop or training session for teachers
When

Send your application in as soon as it is ready – money is limited. Funding will be immediately available, if approved.

Scan and email your application to slira@venturesfoundation.org. Please do not fax.

How
Submit a description of your idea and need on school letterhead, including the following information:
  • Date and notation on top that request is for an Environmental Science Grant
  • School and district name, address, and telephone number
  • Your name, grade level, and email address
  • Description of your classroom and funding need (Please state your Title 1 status and/or percentage of students eligible for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch)
  • Total amount requested
  • Itemized list of how the money will be spent in relation to your Environmental Science curriculum. Please note that if you are requesting funds for bus transportation, you are required to include a quote from the bus company (or other documentation showing costs) with your application.
  • Who the check should be made payable to (school, district or PTA only) and the address the check should be mailed to
  • Applications must be signed by both the submitting teacher and principal.
Questions?

For questions, please contact us at (510) 645-1890 or slira@venturesfoundation.org.

Section

“Thanks to the generous grant support provided by the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation [we were] able to incorporate a number of new hands-on nutrient cycling laboratory activities…. Biogeochemical cycling, and nitrogen cycling in particular, is very abstract conceptually. It is a topic which many students struggle to grasp. After incorporating hands-on labs rather than just lectures and videos, students developed a much deeper understanding of the processes. They also learned important methods that scientists use in the real world to assess environmental health.”

– Joseph M. Centoni, Biology, Marine Ecology, and AP Environmental Science Teacher

Funding is currently available for the 2024 – 2025 school year.

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This program is made possible with funding from the Lampert Byrd Foundation, the Maxwell | Hanrahan Foundation, and PVF donors.

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“These grants have been a vital resource for us here in the science department, as it is so expensive and difficult taking students out of the classroom. Our subject, biology, lends itself to going outside, yet so often we are confined to the walls of classrooms. We appreciate your conservation focus which was to  provide support to outdoor field trips that teach students important environmental lessons.” 

 

– Jessica Tiatia, 9-12th grade biology teacher