The Challenge:

Over my career I always tried to make my classroom a special place, from having a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, a boom box and funny posters. I wanted my students to feel that our classroom was special and unique. I also wanted cool stuff so kids could invent create and think outside of the box. A workbench, hand tools, special video cameras, great reference books, tools to study insects like fruit flies were all part of my classroom. Many of things that I had available to my students were beyond the school budget. In my last KBLOG 48 I describe how to create an affordable makerspace. But what happens when you want to upgrade your makerspace with grand equipment and technology?

A Solution:

The bottom-line teachers, parents and administrators is that there are a lot of funding sources through grants. I was always on the lookout for grants. It turns out that there are many grants of various amounts available through many large and small organizations. Grants can be for specific funding such as technology or makespaces or funding for a particular classroom project. An educator, community and homeschool leader needs to do their research as there are grants that may not be advertised online but can be found through clubs, parent support groups and local businesses. I have included a few helpful links. One thing to remember is that a great grant proposal takes time to complete and needs to be well thought out.

Resources:

https://www.donorschoose.org/about - Donors Choose getting money for your public school, contact Rich (rkurtz3@k12stemspace.com) if you want advice!

https://stemgeek.com/makerspace-grants-for-libraries/ - Makerspace Grants for Libraries

https://1stmakerspace.com/grants - How to Fund Your Makerspace

https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/e/1/7/c/1/MakerSpace_in_Library_-_Funding_Resources.pdf - Makerspace in the Library

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/6-strategies-funding-makerspace-paloma-garcia-lopez - 6 Strategies for Funding a Makerspace

https://www.makerspaces.com/makerspace-guide-school-and-library/ - Ultimate Makerspace Resource Guide

https://ideas.demco.com/blog/getting-buy-in-for-your-makerspace/ - Getting Buy-in Your Makerspacer

https://sites.tufts.edu/makerspaceresources/getting-started/ - Resources for Getting Started: Markerspace Resources

https://makezine.com/article/education/funding-school-makerspaces/ - Funding School Makerspaces

https://ideas.demco.com/blog/5-tips-for-makerspace-funding/ - 5 Tips for Funding Your Makerspace

https://blog.creationcrate.com/makerspace-grants/ - Makerspace Grants Aren’t the Only Way to Raise Money