Waukesha Education Foundation - Grants & Scholarships

Where Does the Money Go?

The Foundation Board has set a goal of raising a permanent endowment of over a million dollars for for the purpose of funding grants and scholarships for students in the Waukesha School District. The philosophy behind an endowment fund is that approximately half of the yearly investment earnings are distributed as grants and scholarships, leaving the principal investment untouched to grow and to continue to fund creative programs for years to come. A one million dollar endowment would allow us to award approximately $50,000 in grants and scholarships each year. So far, the Foundation has collected over $500,000 towards our endowment goal.

Awarding Grants

Each year in the early spring, the Waukesha Education Foundation receives grant applications from teachers, administrators and staff with proposals for programs for the following school year. The grants are reviewed by a sub-committee of the Foundation Board with input from the District to ensure proposed programs are consistent with District curricula and policies. The grant requests are then reviewed against the following criteria and objectives:

That they be of a dollar amount that is reasonable to fund given the dollars available to fund grants
That the programs have a clear objective that is aligned with the target areas of funding for the Foundation
That there be evidence of need for the programs
That the programs be in alignment with District standards and policies
That there be clear measures of success for the programs
That in total, programs impact as many kids in the district as possible
That to the extent possible, the grants be spread across grade level, school and department within the district
That to the extent possible, the grants be spread considering schools and programs that have received awards in past years
That the grants are not funding activities that should be covered by on-going district operating budgets

Recommendations are made to the full Foundation Board for approval at the May Board meeting, and grant awards for the following school year are then announced.

Click here to download a copy of our Grant Application

Grant Award Winners

The Waukesha Education Foundation made its initial grant awards for the 2004-2005 school year, and has increased the number of grants and the dollars awarded for each subsequent school year. To date, the Foundation has awarded over $75,000 in grants to almost 50 programs to nearly every school in the District.

View the grants awarded for each year below!

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