Innovative Education Fund Grant Program
The Georgia Foundation for Public Education is pleased to announce the Innovative Education Fund Grant Program – a new grant opportunity for public schools, school districts and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. The Innovative Education Fund provides $25,000-$50,000 over 18 months for eligible organizations – traditional public and charter schools, school districts, and nonprofits organizations partnered with public schools and districts – to implement or expand innovative programs that contribute solutions to improve outcomes for Georgia students. The Innovative Education Fund is funded with donations from the PEACH Education Tax Credit. The GFPE defines characteristics of innovative programs as those that are:
- Targeting the Root Cause of a Problem
- Inclusive
- Disruptive & Transformative
- Contextualized
- A Breakthrough Approach
Eligibility Requirements
To apply for an Innovative Education Fund grant, the organization you are representing must be one of the following:
- You are a school administrator, principal, or instructional coach at a charter school or traditional public school in the state of Georgia.*
- You are another type of leadership-level administrator in a Georgia LEA.
- You are a Georgia 501(c)(3) partnering with a Georgia school or school district.**
*If you are a school administrator, principal, or instructional coach at a Georgia public school applying, please ensure that your district is aware of the application before submitting.
** If you are a 501(c)(3) organization, you must include a Letter of Commitment from the school or district with which you are partnered. The letter must be signed by the school principal and district superintendent.
Priority Points
You are eligible for priority points if you meet one of the following criteria:
- You are a school identified on the Georgia Department of Education’s Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) Schools list (2 points added to your raw score).
- You are a school/school district located in a county with a population of 35,000 or less (2 points added to your raw score).
- You are a current or past IEF Prototype or Expansion Grant recipient and you are seeking an Expansion Grant to scale the work you implemented with your current or past IEF Prototype or Expansion Grant to impact a neighboring district, a new school(s), or more students at the original schools (2 points added to your raw score)
Funding Timeline
Application Timeframe Will Open | Applications Received By | Will Be Reviewed and Awarded By |
February 15, 2024 | March 15, 2024 | Early May 2024 |
Application Instructions
Watch the “Grant Writing 101” Webinar (recommended, but not required).
Watch the “Innovation 101” Webinar (recommended, but not required).
Take the “Which Grant Should I Apply For? Quiz:” https://bit.ly/whichgrant
Carefully review The IEF Guidelines, including the eligibility requirements, application components, and the scoring rubric for the program to which you are applying: Innovating Education Expansion Grant and Innovating Education Prototype Grant.
Complete an application using the GFPE Application Portal: https://grants.gfpe.org/
Submit your application online by March 15, 2024.
The GFPE may invite the applicant and prospective grant team to participate in an interview with GFPE staff and board members during the weeks of April 1-12, 2024.
See the Impact
Find inspiration in our past winners! In May 2023, we awarded a total of $287,723 to 15 innovative programs across the state. In May 2022, the GFPE awarded six Innovative Education Fund grants totaling $90,000 to schools and districts across the state.
Questions
For questions regarding the Innovative Education Fund, please contact Jaclyn Colona at Jaclyn.colona@doe.k12.ga.us or 404.445.9828.
Grant Portal
